After taking a break from the road to record their new album, Black Veil Brides kicked off their latest touring schedule in the UK and on October 7th landed in Birmingham to entertain their devoted fan base.
Having earlier in the day appeared on an episode of BurnFM’s very own The Pit (which you can listen to here), Fearless Vampire Killers [7/10] took to the stage clad in their dark but smart attire and make-up, exuding an infectious enthusiasm which swept across the crowd. Their brand of theatrical rock compliments Black Veil Brides’ glam rock style and it would be safe to assume that fans of one band would also enjoy the other. A promising set was unfortunately disturbed by technical problems that were beyond their control, which was a massive shame to both the crowd and the band, as up until then the performance had been solid. Nevertheless, the band did not let this deter them and still carried themselves with the same energetic stage presence and professionalism as they finished their set with ‘Neon in the Dance Halls’. Technical issues aside, Fearless Vampire Killers were very enjoyable and have set the foundations to become incremental in their scene.
Atlanta deathcore band Attila [7/10] were a rather unusual picking for the bill, as they differ vastly from Fearless Vampire Killers and Black Veil Brides in both their musical style and their theatrics. With their hard-hitting breakdowns and R-rated lyrical content, many of the adults bringing minors to the show were not expecting a gig with songs promoting promiscuity and drunkenness such as ‘Shots For The Boys’ and ‘About That Life’. Front man Fronz questioned the crowd mid-way through the set on how many of them had not heard of Attila before, and despite around half of them raising their hands, they welcomed the band with open arms and got involved with the only mosh pits of the night. The mixing could potentially be questioned, as it was very difficult to hear any bass on the guitars, but even so, Attila will have gained a lot of fans on the night and will be hoping that when they return for their UK tour in 2015 there will be familiar faces in the crowd.
It is hard to give a true assessment of Black Veil Brides’ [7/10] general live performance, due to Andy Biersack revealing that he has been feeling under the weather lately and that his voice has been suffering due to their rigorous touring schedule, but the show went on and you have to give credit to Biersack for giving it his all and risking further damage to his voice. He did not sing each line of every song – instead putting his effort into his impressive growls and held notes – but it did not matter as not only did his guitarists pick up the slack, the partisan crowd sang every word for him, as you would expect from such a passionate fan base. The rest of the band’s performance was solid, playing old classics such as ‘Knives and Pens’ and ‘Perfect Weapon’ as well as songs off the new album, Black Veil Brides IV, which will be released October 27th. The set was split up near the end by a drum solo from Christian Coma, fusing a rather 80’s vibe with a more modern one with the use of a dance backing track, and then soon after the band finished off their set with the encore song ‘In The End’. It brought to a close a set full of excellent musicianship and true passion both on stage and in the crowd, and if Andy had been fully healthy the performance could’ve been shooting for a 10.
It’s difficult to shake the feeling that the gig didn’t seem to carry the same cohesion that many gigs have, which could be in part due to the technical issues which kept rearing their head and disrupting the building hype for the headline act, and it is a shame that these extenuating circumstances had such an impact on the show. The young crowd did not let this affect them, and with the more mature Black Veil Brides leading a scene in its toddler years, the future is promising. Overall, the show was exciting and energetic and the individual performances commendable and enjoyable.
Ryan Barley
