Black Veil Brides - Crimson Skies

Our spotlight this week falls on Black Veil Brides, a rock band which I must admit I'd committed the sin of writing off without paying much attention to purely based on their look and popularity with teenage girls.  There we go .. rock prejudice is alive and kicking still.  But had I done that with KISS, I'd own one less KISS album, and had I done that with Poison, well .. I'd still own exactly zero Poison albums.

Black Veil Brides look like what would have happened if grunge hadn't killed hair metal, and instead merged to form some kind of unholy union with emo.  It's clear that image is a big part of this band's persona, but then that's nothing new in the world of rock and metal, or indeed the world of music in general.  Sometimes donning the odd extra buckle or fake zip here and there can help one stand out from the crowd after all.

Musically, the band are often compared to Metallica during their more “mature” years, but with a few classical flourishes and twiddly bits thrown in.  Their second, third, and fourth albums in particular feature plenty of tracks that could have slipped right into the Load and ReLoad sessions.  That’s not an insult, by the way.  Sure, the sound is polished and the lyrics verge on eye-rollingly generic at times, but they’re undeniably good at what they do.  There’s more than enough hooks in those records to draw you in, and even if you normally like your metal a little heavier, you might just find yourself discovering a few guilty pleasures along the way.

What did surprise me while binging their discography, though, is that the band actually have a bit of an edge to them.  Outside of the polished,  radio friendly rock sound of the middle albums, their first and last albums veer a bit into metal territory.  Their first offering, "We Stitch These Wounds", is a more raw sounding affair that features screamed vocals and could almost be described as metalcore.  Their most recent album, "The Phantom Tomorrow" also has something that feels carried over from this era, and wouldn't sound out of place at the lighter end of Trivium's discography.  It's a good listen, particularly if you liked Trivium's "Silence in the Snow" album.

And with that, I’ll wrap up another old man rant and get to this week’s pick. From The Phantom Tomorrow, here’s “Crimson Skies” ... a soaring, hook-laden anthem to carry you gloriously into the weekend.  Enjoy!