Black Veil Brides combine a striking dark gothic image with a sound that looks to metalcore, shock rock, punk, and glam metal for inspiration. Emerging in 2006, the Ohio rockers quickly became darlings of the alt-metal scene via narrative-driven, chart-busting efforts like
Set the World on Fire (2011), the ambitious rock opera
Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones (2013),
Vale (2018), and
Phantom Tomorrow (2021).
Primarily the brainchild of vocalist
Andy Biersack (aka Andy Six),
Black Veil Brides formed in Cincinnati in 2006. In their first couple of years together, the band went through a number of lineup changes while they gained attention from labels with two EPs: Sex & Hollywood in 2007 and Never Give In the following year. They eventually relocated to Los Angeles, settling on a lineup and beginning work on their full-length debut. Bringing together guitarist
Jinxx (formerly of
the Dreaming), guitarist
Jake Pitts, bassist
Ashley Purdy, and drummer Sandra Alvarenga, the group began to refine their image and sound, touring with bands like
Eyes Set to Kill and
From First to Last.
In 2010, they released their debut, We Stitch These Wounds, on Standby Records. Later that year, Alvarenga left the group and was replaced by drummer
Christian "CC" Coma, who made his debut with the band on 2011's
Set the World on Fire, which was issued on Lava Records. For their third release,
Black Veil Brides channeled their gothic image to create the conceptual punk rock opera
Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones, which arrived in early 2013. Less than a year later, they released their fourth album, the self-titled
Black Veil Brides, which debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200.
The following year saw the group issue their first concert LP/film, Alive and Burning, and in January 2018, they released their fifth full-length,
Vale, which served as a narrative prequel to
Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones. Bass player
Ashley Purdy left the fold the following year and was replaced by
Lonny Eagleton, who made his studio debut on that year's
The Night EP. In 2020, the band issued a re-recording of their 2010 debut We Stitch These Wounds. The single "Scarlet Cross" arrived later that year with "Fields of Bone" materializing in early 2021. Both tracks appeared on the group's conceptual sixth full-length effort,
Phantom Tomorrow, which was released later that October. ~ Gregory Heaney & James Christopher Monger