REVIEW ~ BLACK VEIL BRIDES ~ 'BLEEDERS'

For horror fans looking to have a “slasher-summer,” Black Veil Brides might have conjured up a tantalizing trio to add to your playlist. Their new EP titled Bleeders is due for an early summer release, a three-track compilation with one original and two grisly covers. It’s no surprise to the BVB Army that the band feeds on their morbid interests with the new release. Frontman Andy Biersack has consistently expressed his admiration for the dark and whimsical side of media from his love of the theatre to Tim Burton and artists like the Misfits.

Playing on that love of horror, Bleeders opens with an original song, the title track of the EP. Dark and moody, “Bleeders” carries a haunting, industrial opening that doesn’t go away even when the full band sound kicks in. Biersack’s deep, somber voice croons in, leading the song the way a priest leads a congregation. Powerful and anthemic, the chorus raises the right kind of hell. A traditional metal breakdown follows the bridge, while choir-like harmonies enhance the eerie ambience. In fact, the whole song feels like a religious experience, a grim and cryptic ritual, theatrical and whimsy, yet serious.

Moving on to their U2 cover, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” authentically captures the essence of the song without recreating it or swaying away from the original material, but it’s done in that abrasive Black Veil Brides tone. Their version reaches the point quicker with a hard kick, turning the iconic song into a hard rock hymn. They don’t twist it around into something unfamiliar but instead find a way to pay homage to U2 with their own metal flair. A snare-heavy drum beat dramatizes this already passionate song, thickening it with an added layer, and a guitar solo in the midst.

The next cover comes straight from Biersack’s love of broadway showtunes. Opening with a melodic acoustic picking, a stretch from the band’s usual sound, “My Friends” originally from the horror musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, fits Biersack’s somber wails beautifully. This haunting, melancholy cover brings the theater stage to hard rock listeners.

Bleeders strikes as a well-executed passion project. Black Veil Brides have consistently been authentic in the work they put out, but this EP truly feels like something done out of love. It’s creative and genuine, the work of a horror connoisseur. The title track already has a music video out, displaying Biersack in Victorian-gothic flair in his own reimagining of the notorious demon barber. Gory and stylish, it’s exactly the type of cinema one could expect from Black Veil Brides. While it’s no question that fans will latch on to this compilation wholeheartedly, it’ll be interesting to see how hard rock stations perceive Bleeders, but if we’re judging on past releases, it’ll more than likely draw the attention of many.

I’m Music Magazine Writer Alice Kearney