After conquering Wembley last year, Black Veil Brides have returned with a monstrous new single Hallelujah – taken from their soon-to-be-announced seventh album. In an exclusive interview, Andy Biersack reveals how this “much heavier” record explores his observations on empathy, ideological shifts and being comfortable with what he can’t control…
Clenching his mic stand, Andy Biersack stands motionless while the final riffs of Knives And Pens cannon around London’s OVO Arena Wembley. For just five seconds, perhaps the Black Veil Brides frontman is merely soaking in the magnitude of what the band have just accomplished. On Devil’s Night, alongside Creeper, arguably the world’s most sacred arena has finally been blessed by BVB.
“It was such a humbling experience,” beams Andy, speaking to Kerrang! nine months down the line. “The thing that was more staggering – that kept me thinking throughout the show – was that it's so cool that all these people care. The documentary that’s coming is called Who Cares About Black Veil Brides?, because to me, that's what I looked out and saw: the people who care about Black Veil Brides.”
Nevertheless, when BVB graced the K! cover shortly before that show, Andy promised his “full-blown” commitment to writing their seventh album would follow. Now, in the form of rampant new single Hallelujah, that promise has seen the light of day – baptising their next era with an earth-shaking breakdown. In an exclusive interview, Andy takes us deep inside the next chapter of Black Veil Brides…
How was last month’s U.S. tour with BABYMETAL and Bloodywood?
“It was unique, because there's very few bands in our ‘scene’ that we could tour with, where there wouldn't be some preconceived notion of what our band is. A great deal of BABYMETAL’s audience comes from a world that Black Veil has nothing to do with. To be able to play for people who don't know that they're not supposed to like us, and see the positive reaction, was great!
“Bloodywood blew me away. An incredibly refined show… what they deliver is so unique, and it was done so professionally. They are wonderful, really kind people. What an interesting blend of bringing their cultural heritage into the music and then delivering such a heavy metal show, with choreographed moves and different instrumentation.”
Why did Hallelujah feel right to properly introduce album seven?
“It went through about 15 different versions, but I felt like we had something special with it… you start to feel the ‘magic’ of some [songs]. It's not the heaviest song on the record, but much has been made about how heavy it is. This is a much heavier record overall, but I think Hallelujah is emblematic of where the band is going and a good indication for old-school fans. There's a lot of old-school Black Veil in there…”
What message were you trying to convey through the lyric ‘They worship the screen, the digital shrine / Demanding purity while rotting inside’?
“In the biblical corpus, there's a lot of reference to the ‘in’ group and ‘out’ group – and fear of being rejected by the group. I see that so often: ‘This thing sucks’, and then everybody has to agree. I'm fascinated how things that we find ideologically acceptable shift constantly. I started exploring it in [2021’s] The Phantom Tomorrow.
“Notoriously, in your publication over the years, there’s many quotes of me saying very outlandish, angry things about our haters. It’s interesting how that has almost permeated all of culture. We don't like people that take oppositional views – but then that can change overnight. The feeling of getting revenge and [being] vindicated? A lot of the record is about the futility of feeling that way, and how feeling truly comfortable with who you are is the only means of getting through that. I will readily admit that I vacillate between those.”
Where does Hallelujah fit in the spectrum of these ideas across the record?
“There's this canonical idea that when you're certain of your faith, you can praise the thing that you believe in. The certainty that comes from the deeply held belief causes you to exclaim, ‘Hallelujah!’, even though that certainty could shift in a year and a half.
“The other thing referenced in the song is [Susan Sontag’s 1962 essay] The Artist As Exemplary Sufferer, which is about Saint Sebastian, who was told by the Romans that he should claim that he's not Christian during the persecution. He refused, got slain with a million arrows, and they kept doing it until he eventually died. There is an element of that with every artist or public figure. You work so hard on things, and you're willing to take those arrows from an audience.”
How have you personally navigated that grey area between having certainty in your beliefs, while they can equally shift overnight?
“I don’t think it’s misguided to have deeply held beliefs. The misguided thing is an inability to see that context or life experience can sometimes help you develop different beliefs. As I got older, I found that the Catholic Church did not align with the ways that I felt about things, and I became a very ardent atheist… I had essentially shifted from one church to the next. I was never wrong on any of those steps.
“I'm interested in how empathy can change you. The ardent atheism of my early 20s was primarily changed by the empathy that I had for Christian believers in my life. I didn't feel like being angry about their belief structure all the time. How can we stay kind, hopeful and empathetic through those transformations and ideological shifts that occur through our lives, as opposed to painting it as, ‘You were on the good team, then you're on the bad team’?”
Where are you at in your own journey with empathy?
“The hardest thing for me [recently] has been coming to terms with the fact that the things that I make – no matter how earnest or sincere – are innately going to be misinterpreted and disliked. I know myself to be a person that I believe is empathetic, kind and cares about people. That's not my job to sell you on that. It’s inherently disingenuous to make art for the purpose of trying to make sure that you know that I am nice. I'm not always nice – sometimes I'm a total shithead. Coming to a place where I feel a level of comfortability with that, [knowing that] I can't control the narrative – all I can do is make the best thing I can.”
Were you surprised at the initial reaction to the heaviness of Hallelujah?
“For us, it’s an interesting inflection point, because the record is more indicative of us being allowed to make the record that we want to make, [rather] than trying to assimilate to a current sound. I think a lot of people are unfamiliar with our catalogue. Sure, it's heavy and it's an evolution of the sound, but Hallelujah would fit on [2011’s] Set The World On Fire without any issue.”
How did your last two EPs inform the sound of this record?
“Saviour II is a ballad, but the rest of [2022’s] The Mourning EP was much heavier in tone, and I think it’s more indicative of where things went. [The track] Bleeders will be on the full-length seventh record. Once the record comes out, that natural evolution will be really evident.”
You told us how you often need to write in isolation. What was it like when you brought this record to life with the others?
“While it's a heavy, dark record, I like to think that the fun we had making it can be heard. ‘Hey, what if we brought in a live orchestra and Jinxx [guitarist/multi-instrumentalist] conducted them in real time?’ Jake [Pitts, guitarist] and I wrote a song three days ago that we are hoping to get onto the album. It's a living record that is still ongoing, because we're having so much fun with it.”
Black Veil Brides’ new single Hallelujah is out now
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