Opening quite unexpectedly with a pep talk from frontman Andy Biersack about standing firm in the face of criticism, this album’s title0track then proceeds to out-kick a mule race. Its first 60 seconds alone is a shellshock-inducing melange of carnival freakshow, metallic riposte and killer chorus. A mighty start, and a level this more creatively freed incarnation of Black Veil Brides comes close to sustaining.
Back in 2024 Andy told K! he wanted this seventh album to feature interlocking themes, tinged with the usual echoes of vaudeville and horror. It’s clear now, through this fine and plainly connected set of songs, that absolution and validation are its over-arching motifs, something much more personal than plain old revenge, as Andy outlined to us recently.
It’s more than two years since Black Veil Brides unleashed their lavish, Sweeney Todd-inspired video for Bleeders, and the song makes a welcome if slightly surprising appearance here. It’s in good company, slotting in nicely alongside similarly ambitious but brilliantly realised highlights like the exultant Hallelujah, and Alive, the titles of which say something about Vindicate’s overall spirit of redemption.
