According to Wikipedia, Black Veil Brides is classified as an “emo” rock band. Not this stereotypical bullshit again. I passionately hate the term “emo” for anything, regardless if it’s referring to a person or music. Sadly, society often slaps on the “emo” label for my rock bands. This really pisses me off. I prefer to categorize my rock music as part of “scene” genre. My previous post elaborates on my strong disapproval of stereotyping in general. Stereotypes perpetuate a very close-minded perspective on life. Sorry for that slight rant.
Anyway back to my point. Alternative rock genre music has quite a wide spectrum in terms of sound. So this is why I had no idea what to expect with Black Veil Brides. I checked out some of this band’s music videos on YouTube. Normally, I don’t care to look up music videos. So this is speaking volumes about my level of intrigue in Black Veil Brides. “Heart of Fire” and “In The End” was my official introduction to the band’s music. I wasn’t expecting such an intense hard rock sound. The much heavier rock vibe of Black Veil Brides is drastically different from dark-wave pop/rock vibe of Andy Black’s The Shadow Side album. Out of all the rock bands I listen to, Black Veil Brides is pretty up there in hard rock vibes. Only my symphonic metal and nu-metal genre bands come close to this type of heavy hard rock sound. It’s safe to say I enjoy variety in my rock sub-genres.
It took me two to three days to get adjusted to the intensity of Black Veil Bride’s music. The drums, bass guitar, and two electric guitars offered a beautifully complex layering of sound in combination with Andy’s deep raspy vocals. This is literally the perfect combination. My ears were in love. I was hooked.
This sparked further exploration to other Black Veil Bride music videos on YouTube. Their past music videos definitely threw me for a major loop. “Knives and Pens”, “Perfect Weapon”, “The Legacy”, and “Rebel Love Song” music videos are very different from the more recent music videos. It is easier to get adjusted to this transition when you’ve listened to the band from its earlier days. Not when you’re going backwards like how I was. Sometimes things need to grow on you. This shaped my decision to stick with Spotify for a little bit until the drastic transition wasn’t so jarring.
Thankfully Spotify had all four Black Veil Bride albums. This worked out perfectly for me! The most noticeable thing I loved about their music is the very distinct sound for each album. This demonstrates the band’s musical evolution and maturity over the past six years.
After a few listens to their songs, I quickly learned why people love their music. Black Veil Brides embeds messages of self-empowerment within their song lyrics. No matter what crappy situations life throws your way, you choose how to react to it. Don’t ever let those situations diminish the full potential of your life. Also, don’t ever give your flaws and emotional scars the power to define you. Overall, their music encourages you to always be true to yourself. “Being called weird is like being called limited edition. Meaning you’re something people don’t see that often” (Ashley Purdy, bassist).
Various forms of media want to condition the masses by telling people what we should think along with how we should act or dress. (Side note: Let me reaffirm that there are universal moral principles that are applicable to all human beings in order to be civil citizens. I am not promoting people embrace an immoral or dangerously reckless lifestyle.) In general, society wants the masses to fit its “perfect” mold. Everyone experiences these societal pressures in their own ways.
“I encourage you all to find strength within yourself, no matter what. Be proud of who are you are and never let anyone take that away from you. Inner strength is something we are all born with. However I’ve learned that it requires patience and perseverance to fully achieve it. I promise you, though, as long as you know in your heart who you are what you want from this world, nothing is going to stop you” (Andy Biersack, lead singer). Black Veil Brides encourages their listeners to never change for the sake of society. You are awesome the way you are. Most of all, it is important to celebrate in the joyous times yet also always preserve through the tough times. Rock genre is known for beautifully encapsulating the ups and downs of life in within their lyrics. This is why I absolutely love this particular music genre.
I haven’t experienced such an emotional connection to a band’s music lyrics since Three Days Grace and Skillet. Rewind to 9-10 years back, it was a pretty dark time in my life. I’m glad I discovered Skillet and Three Days Grace thanks to randomly browsing YouTube. I didn’t have to pretend everything was fine and dandy when in fact it was the complete opposite. My introverted personality causes me to sometimes bottle up my feelings inside which is not healthy at all. Music especially alternative rock genre has always had a therapeutic effect on me. It gives me an outlet to vent my emotions in private. Emotional connection to song lyrics indicates stronger interest in a band.
Black Veil Brides have invoked a strong emotional connection with me. Song lyrics will often reflect the life experiences of the musician(s). I sought out interviews with the BVB band members on YouTube. Their interviews spanned from the early days to more recent. Being the front man, Andy Biersack talks more than the other four band members. I quickly learned why this was the case. The other four members aren’t as outgoing personality-wise like Andy. Yet Andy gives opportunities for Ashley, Jinxx, Jake, and CC to contribute to the interviews. By the way, Andy has a very soothing talking voice as well. He is so eloquently blunt and well-spoken in interviews. I thoroughly enjoyed Black Veil Bride interviews. Plus, you can tell how close the member by the way they interact with each other in the group interviews. They are all lovably, adorable dorks at times. Basically what you see is what you get which is extremely refreshing. After watching my fair share of interviews, I’ve come to love all five BVB members for different reasons. (Slightly random rambling: It is hard to ignore how ridiculously attractive Andy, Ashley, CC, Jake, and Jinxx are. They give me serious hair envy too. The awkward moment a guy is way prettier and has way better hair than you.)
I haven’t fallen so head over heels in love with a band since I discovered Panic! at the Disco five years ago. For the past 25 days, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this intense Andy Black and Black Veil Bride obsession. My appreciation quickly transformed into immense love. Congratulations, they’ve gained a new addition to the BVB Army. I know I’m late to the party…but it’s better late than never. Recently, Black Veil Brides announced their next album will be released in 2017 followed by a world tour. This gives me the opportunity to see them live in concert!
Fantastically Nerdy 