Black Veil Brides are finally ready to present their seventh studio album, Vindicate. Over the years, BVB’s undeniable greatness has earned them both much love and jealousy. The exhilarating Vindicate will surely serve as fuel to whatever fires still burn under the worn-out trousers of the filthy creatures known as haters.
BVB’s helmsman, Andy Biersack, may just be one of the only true rock stars of his generation. Controversial opinion: He is a much more gifted entertainer than Yungblud. Biersack has clearly been blessed with a voice of gold, though his work ethic and drive also speak quite loudly in his music. On Vindicate, Biersack delivers highly varied performances, his cleans entrance, and his harsh vocals scorch with infernal heat. Biersack, who has always cultivated a love of the theater, welds his dramatic abilities and polish with raw passion and authenticity. Speaking of his experience as a thespian, Vindicate actually showcases the Sweeney Todd-inspired “Bleeders” from the eponymous chart-topping 2024 EP. This infectious song proves that BVB should be on top of the music world.
The remarkably intense Vindicate opens with organ on “Invocation to the Muse”—a lovely, calm, and meditative track emphasizing the benefits of allowing wounds to fester. Biersack offers film-worthy narration here: “All that power you can possess from vengeance, from knowing they are wrong — grasp it, never let it go (…) no forgiveness …” (Biersack has always encouraged his fans to stand up for themselves and has dealt with his own aforementioned haters fiercely yet gracefully.) Nevertheless, before the record concludes, “the vengeance” ends, and the idea of vindication is relinquished. Biersack eventually solemnly sings, “Just keep fighting on; life is never won.”
Vindicate contains a broad range of artistic impulses, drawing from the best of rock, metal, and more. On this offering, BVB incorporate everything from touches of bal-mussette and rap to those catchy, stadium-worthy chant-along choruses that Biersack learned to appreciate as a child from listening to Kiss. While “Alive,” for example, may be described as brutal metal in part; “Purgatory” and “Grace” are ethereal instrumentals; Vindicate is often pleasantly heavy, but the aggression never wears our ears down due to the artful and balanced songwriting. The album often provides that sought-after “Youth & Whisky” feeling of speeding down the highway in a death-race, but, as already implied and can be expected from BVB, with maturity and meaning. Listeners can always count on great guitar sounds and ear-candy solos as part of the all-around quality musicianship from BVB.
Machine Head’s Robb Flynn contributes additional vocals to “Revenger.” However, it is Juliet Simms, or “Lilith Czar,” who makes the truly unforgettable guest appearance on the emotive and introspective duet “Cut.” This gem eventually ends after some head-spinning back and forth with the lines, “Nothing’s ever gonna be alright; it’s time to say goodnight.” Although it might not be all that optimistic, “Cut” emanates much spiritual power, as the also sonically fascinating “Hallelujah,” which immediately precedes it. While Biersack may have a complicated relationship with Catholicism, he has expressed respect for the faith that shaped the likes of his late beloved grandfather; Biersack’s background beautifully colors his richly ornamented musical present.
Photo courtesy of Spinefarm Records
