Reviews list for Black Veil Brides - Set the World on Fire (2011)

If you have gained the motivation from Black Veil Brides' debut to overcome the b****rds dragging you down and keep living, then that's a job well done for that album. Sadly, their next album has taken a quick 180. While the lyrics are still motivational, the majority of it ends up coming out as cheesy. And instead of thinking, "What an inspiring offering!", you would instead think "What the f***?!?"

The band's entryway into Universal Republic traded their emo-metalcore sound for attempting to revive 80s hard rock/glam metal which part of what made a lot go wrong. At least Andy Biersack has improved his singing, with a Metallica-like rough edge...

I can only accept the 5-track run of tracks 3 to 7, starting with "Fallen Angels", which shows the better side of motivation to take seriously, like Skid Row but better! "We scream! We shout! We are the fallen angels! "Love Isn’t Always Fair" should definitely appeal to fans of both rock and metal. "God Bless You" has a more punky motive, which is all right despite being a little trite. Same with "Rebel Love Song". Then we have "Savior", which starts as a symphonic love ballad, but right at the last minute, the heaviness makes its comeback, and we get to hear the only instance of metalcore shrieks in the entire album. Love that song, though I still prefer its sequel track in The Mourning EP.

And the rest of the album is just too glam for my liking. Though I still like the E-flat/drop D-flat riffing and DragonForce-fueled shredding. But all I'm gonna say is.... KISS called, they want their 80s glam metal sound and makeup back!

Favorites (only songs I like): "Fallen Angels", "Love Isn’t Always Fair", "Savior"