They all say this is their heaviest album – which it is. Many of them say this is their best album – well, that depends on your standards. Me? I say it’s simply an album which I’m totally in love with. And not for the heavy direction per se, but for the maturity behind it: BLACK VEIL BRIDES have grown, and so has their sound.

When “Bleeders” came out a couple of years ago (a song that’s also featured in this album), they proved ominous melodies suited them well, but it’s the menacing rhythm of “Certainty” that shows how much darker they can go. In terms of straightforward heaviness, one might think “Revenger” gets the prize, due to the guest appearance of MACHINE HEAD–Robb Flynn, his voice adding a raw spice to a quite fierce grill; but “Hallelujah”’s drumming and riffing are starker, with a fiery drive that a church choir enhances towards the end. Or the title-track, that explodes in all directions after that carnival-like lil’ intro, and not to mention the angry shredding and screaming of “Ave Maria”.

“Alive” lives pretty much to its title, offering what’s probably the most upbeat pulse (and chorus) here, while “Sorrow” and “Woe & Pain” are both less aggressive but just as impactful and spirited.

And of course there’s a ballad, a power-ballad, where Lilith Czar’s voice joins Andy’s and the emotional outcome of “Cut” is just stunning. Jinxx adds to it with his violin, and looking at some other orchestral pieces throughout the album – and their career -, I guess it’s safe to say they’re part of BVB trademark, no matter how heavy they get.

Haters will hate, and it’s not “Vindicate”– bordering the lines of a masterpiece – that will change their minds; but those whose opinion really matters, old and new Outcasts, will acknowledge it and savor it.

Label: Spinefarm

Producers: Andy Biersack & Jake Pitts

Track list:

1. Invocation To The Muse
2. Vindicate
3. Certainty
4. Bleeders
5. Hallelujah
6. Cut (feat. Lilith Czar)
7. Alive
8. Purgatory (Overture IIII)
9. Revenger (feat Robb Flynn)
10. Sorrow
11. Grace (Interlude)
12. Ave Maria
13. Woe & Pain
14. Eschaton

Digital bonus tracks:

• Death Of Seasons (AFI cover)
• Thank You For The Venom (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE cover)
• Black No. 1 (TYPE O NEGATIVE cover)

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