Black Veil Brides - We Stitch These Wounds (2010)Release ID: 24460
Everyone's gotta have past trauma sometime in their life. Even I had these kinds of painful experiences in the past. Sometimes you gotta battle those harrowing struggles or just accept them. You might get to move on, but if you're unable to do so, there are better ways in life than just taking the devastating but painless way out. Black Veil Brides' melodic metalcore debut will motivate you by detailing the somber sorrow while giving it optimistic light. It's the greatest the band has even been!
The story of frontman Andy Biersack is a clear example of these problems and how to overcome them. When he was a kid, he started taking on punk aesthetics since his father was in a punk band. This happened before the emo scene took off, and bands from the then-rising scene of nu metal had their own looks. Andy's "emo" look made him a victim to bullying complete with insults and slurs. Luckily, he lived on, and now that he's in a band that can dress up as they did in high school, with the audience members in the same attire, he is no longer alone. He never regretted all that was bad, and it all gave him the strength and inspiration to be where he is today.
"The Outcasts (Call to Arms)" is a 30-second intro spoken by Andy's grandfather Urban Flanders, introducing the band and the purpose of the album to the listener. The title track crashes in with catchy leads and Andy's pleasant vocals. His cleans had yet to improve in quality, but that doesn't stop the perfect glory of this album. My favorite parts of the track are the breakdown and soloing with enjoyable energy. Plus we have some wonderful motivation atmosphere overall. Awesome start to this offering! "Beautiful Remains" is a little softer while still having the metalcore heaviness. The drums and vocals are well-crafted. The gang-led pre-chorus flows smoothly to one of the most beautiful choruses of the album. "Children Surrender" has cleaner melodies to remind me of old-school Trivium.
"Perfect Weapon" is a superb track with catchy guitarwork in the chorus and bridge. The metaphorical lyrics fit perfectly for anyone in the most dire situations. "Knives and Pens" has similar riffing to that Avenged Sevenfold song "Unholy Confessions", and that actually beats that one! This is what got me interested in this band, despite dumping those metalcore roots in subsequent albums. SO AWESOME!!! "The Mortician’s Daughter" takes a break from the metalcore action for an acoustic ballad. Soft violins and piano cover the song in serenity. "All Your Hate" picks the pace back up, as each section stands out as its own.
Picking it up further is "Heaven's Calling" with wild drumming and power metal-ish guitar melodies. The guitars have less focus in "Never Give In", but it allows the somber atmosphere and percussion to shine. The motivational lyrics you can be addicted to as much as the mighty instrumentation. Slowing down slightly with melodic guitars is "Sweet Blasphemy" which is a little cliche while still good. One more ballad "Carolyn" has some sweet guitar soloing mixed in with acoustics to bring light to darkness.
Sometimes you can find positivity within tragedy and trouble, and it shows you that you can't give up on the precious gift of life. You can't stay silent when harsh mysteries haunt you in this world. So overcome your struggles and look for as much help as you can. And this grand masterpiece of motivation can help be your savior!
Favorites: "We Stitch These Wounds", "Beautiful Remains", "Perfect Weapon", "Knives and Pens", "All Your Hate", "Never Give In"
