It’s hard to imagine in 2024, after the band’s most recent album produced their highest-charting single, and legions of supporters passionately scream their devotion during every performance. But before the birth of the BVB Army, the thousands of lyric tattoos, and the gold and platinum records that followed, Black Veil Brides was simply a dark vision dreamt up by an only child in Cincinnati, Ohio.
His dad gave him KISS, his mom played him show tunes, and he already loved Batman. But the striking visage of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, on the cover of a dusty CD released a dozen years before he was born, kicked open the door for Andy Biersack. The macabre allure of Tony Award-winner Len Cariou’s transcendent magic led the way to The Phantom of the Opera, The Misfits, and all that followed, culminating in the “birth” and ascension of Andy Black.
The Bleeders EP, Black Veil Brides’ inaugural release in a new partnership with Spinefarm Records, celebrates one of the singer’s first loves. The EP boasts the title track (a Black Veil Brides original unleashing a vision of their past and future) alongside a loving rendition of Sweeney Todd’s “My Friends” and a faithful cover of a U2 classic (the appropriately titled “Sunday Bloody Sunday”).
Declaring themselves “bleeders,” the band even encourages fans to donate blood to the Red Cross. The group’s cinematic scope and unwavering commitment to self-expression strikes a familiar chord with fellow “bleeders” who seek refuge (and revenge) in the power of dark themes and imagination.
There are over 160 million views of “Knives and Pens,” an early demo committed to music video before Andy (who moved to Hollywood at 18 and lived in his car) met his band of brothers. The RIAA-certified platinum single “In the End,” itself close to 170M views, further proves the group (whose merch dominated Hot Topic before they’d even made their debut album) was built to last.
A treacherous DIY headlining outing in 2009 paved the way for the next 15 years of performances and beyond, a history that includes the triple-co-headlining smash Trinity Of Terror Tour; multiple mainstage runs on Vans Warped Tour; treks supporting Avenged Sevenfold and Mötley Crüe; and just about every major rock and metal festival in North and South America, Europe, and Australia.
Kerrang! and Rock Sound repeatedly put Black Veil Brides on the cover. In the United States, Revolver counted Andy among the “100 Greatest Living Rock Stars.” Historically, Andy and BVB appeared on the cover of Alternative Press more times than any other artist in the magazine’s nearly 40-year run.
The shredding guitar duo of Jake Pitts (also an accomplished producer) and Jinxx (a classically trained violinist) joined the fold before the creation of BVB’s debut album, 2010’s We Stitch These Wounds.
Jake and Jinxx played in an earlier band with charismatic drummer Christian Coma and knew he’d be a perfect fit in BVB. CC came aboard for their major label debut and first Billboard Top 20 album, Set the World on Fire. The 2011 sophomore set produced the gold-certified single “Fallen Angels.”
Like Bleeders, 2011’s Rebels EP featured a new BVB anthem (“Coffin”) and two cover tunes. The sprawling, conceptually driven, metalcore milestone and No. 1 Rock album Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones followed in 2013, debuting in the Top 20 in the UK and Top 10 in the US. A 46-minute film called Legion of the Black (co-written by Andy) offered an even deeper immersion.
BVB’s no-frills fourth album, titled simply Black Veil Brides, gave them another Top 10 debut. Songs like “Goodbye Agony,” “Heart of Fire,” and live staple “Faithless” became some of their biggest yet. Vale (2018) topped Billboard’s Hard Rock chart, with significant chart success in Europe and Australia.
Lonny Eagleton, BVB’s newest member, was a fan of the band first. Already an accomplished musician who performed at the Juno Awards in his native Canada, Eagleton played guitar on tour in support of Andy’s solo work. When BVB’s bassist position opened in 2019, Lonny fit in seamlessly.
Jake produced 2019’s The Night EP, comprised of the caustic “Saints of the Blood” and “The Vengeance,” followed by a tenth-anniversary redux of their debut, retiled Re-Stitch These Wounds.
Pulpy concept album The Phantom Tomorrow launched the character of Blackbird and a fresh story of resistance, kicking off a new creative chapter for Black Veil Brides in 2021. “Scarlet Cross” became their highest-charting single, climbing to No. 8 on Mainstream Rock Radio in the United States.
Erik Ron (Papa Roach, Godsmack, Staind) produced and mixed The Phantom Tomorrow and the Bleeders EP. Before joining forces with Ron, BVB worked with several other A-list producers, including John Feldmann (Panic! At The Disco, Blink-182, 5 Seconds Of Summer), Bob Rock (Metallica, The Cult, Mötley Crüe), and Josh Abraham (Linkin Park, Velvet Revolver, Weezer). Jake handled 2022’s The Mourning EP, which boasts another Top 20 Mainstream Rock Hit, “Saviour II.”
Black Veil Brides forever champions the isolated and dismissed. They’re an object of devotion and obsession for those who sing their anthems in unison, a diverse BVB Army who never surrenders.
Bleeders offers a taste of what will become Black Veil Brides‘ most visceral, theatrical, and unrelenting era yet. As always, BVB combines its unique identity with an unquenchable creative thirst.
Black Veil Brides and their audience slash away at the darkness together, bleeders one and all.
Tracklist:
Bleeders 4:34
Sunday Bloody Sunday 4:23
My Friends 3:38
