Black Veil Brides- ‘Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones’ (08/01/2013- Lava/Universal Republic)

     Originally from Hollywood and formed in 2006, Black Veil Brides are a unique blend of Metal, 1980s and Gothic genres. They have been through various line-up changes since they released their debut music video ‘Knives and Pens’, leaving them with 7 ex members! In fact, only Andy Biersack, the band’s lead vocalist and keyboardist has been a member since their inception.

     In keeping with Black Veil Bride’s fundamentally dark image, ‘Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones’ has been available for pre-order since Halloween last year. The first single to be released from it, ‘In the End’ was offered instantly to all those who pre-ordered the record.

    The band also released ‘Legion of the Black’; a film that basically provides visuals explaining the Rock Opera concept behind the album.  It was issued as a 24-hour pay-per-view event on Facebook on January 6^th and a DVD is available with the deluxe version of ‘Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones’.

    Known mainly for their horrendous take on Gothic fashion and Kiss inspired-style Black Veil Brides are one of the most visually controversial bands around. But is there look just smoke and mirrors to conceal a lack of musical capacity?

    The record commences just as most concept albums do; with an interlude.  But the questionable spoken lyrics of ‘Exordium’, “The Kingdom of God is inside you…”, it appears Black Veil Brides are white-washing who they select as fans, not only through their appearance, but also excessive elements to their album such as this.

    ‘I Am Bulletproof’ is dynamic and makes it clear that Black Veil Brides know their niche and intend to maintain it. Although John Feldman, who has worked with Neon Trees and The Used, has made a real attempt to smooth the band’s edges and make them a little more commercial.

    But ‘New Year’s Day is proof that the band have retained their young audience and rebellious backbone,’ “Stand up we are united, in the eyes of the greatest storm.” Its use of strings and blistering guitar solos work surprisingly well together, yet they fail to blend into the transitional track that follows.

   There is nothing stand-out about the album’s title track and ‘We Don’t Belong’ is mellow yet has all the power and gang vocals of a politically-driven Rock track. The transitional tracks defeat their purpose and divide up the album into individual songs rather than a complete compilation.

    The lyrical themes of ‘Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones’ delve into spirituality, society’s failures and alienation is early life- classic concepts of a band desperate to entice unruly teens. The band even take a stab at piano-driven, symphonic power ballads with ‘Lost It All.’

   ‘Shadows Die’ might be made up of solid, stellar riffs but is simply underwhelming and ‘Days Are Numbered’ comes across as patronising and moralising despite its concrete instrumentation. However enchanting ‘Done For You’ is, it cannot be denied that Biersack appears as a vocally inferior Jared Leto. But ‘In The End’ is gritty, well-composed and above all, marketable.

      If you strip back their Kohl-loaded façade and focus solely on their music, Black Veil Brides produce some well-written and engaging material. But as they’re more preoccupied with attracting image-conscious, angsty kids and their focus is pageantry over performance, they are likely to have very little lifespan in the industry.

2.5/5