Black Veil Brides are a band that hold a special place in the hearts of many elder emos out there. Whether you discovered them through massive hits like In The End or Knives and Pens, in my case, it was Fallen Angels, they carved out their place in the early 2010s emo-metalcore scene with huge anthems tailor-made for every spray-on skinny jean, hairspray-caked fringe kid of the era (myself very much included).
By the time 2012’s Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones dropped, it genuinely felt like the band were on track to become untouchable within the scene, a force that would evolve and stay culturally relevant in the same way bands like Bring Me the Horizon managed to. Especially with frontman Andy Biersack’s undeniable star power leading the charge.
Unfortunately, while other bands grew with their audience, evolving their sound, sharpening their song-writing, and leaning into more mature themes their fans could grow alongside. Black Veil Brides seemed content to stay exactly where they were. And for a lot of us, they slowly faded into the background: another scene band chasing the high of a peak they never quite reached again.
Fast forward to 2026 and we arrive at today’s subject: Vindicate, the band’s eighth studio album. After radio silence since 2021’s brutally underwhelming The Phantom Tomorrow, I was strangely excited to give this one a chance. Black Veil Brides have never taken this long between releases, so part of me hoped the band had spent that time reflecting, maybe crafting something more mature, more refined, something that finally showed growth. I want to be a Black Veil Brides fan again. Sue me. 
Image courtesy of BVB // PFA Media
Vocally, Andy Biersack still absolutely has it. The opening 30 seconds alone are a reminder of why so many of us fell in love with this band in the first place, his instantly recognisable clean vocals exploding into those scrunched-face, full-throttle heavies. It’s nostalgic without feeling completely trapped in the past.
The chorus is undeniably catchy too, although lyrically it does still feel very 2013-era Black Veil Brides. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does create a bit of tonal whiplash against the more polished and mature production. There are definitely some growing pains on display here, but overall? I like this one a lot.
Next up is Certainty, which pulls us straight back into the gothic atmosphere introduced on the opener, church organs, funeral-choir vocals, all the melodrama dialled to eleven, before bursting into a track that genuinely caught me off guard. Lyrically, this is where I started to understand what the album is actually trying to say.
“Certainty” feels rooted in guilt and emotional self-destruction: the shame of refusing to drop your pride while someone you love is clearly struggling, and the slow realisation that your own stubbornness is helping drive everything toward collapse. Thematically, I think this is one of the strongest songs on the record, and musically, the hook is ridiculously effective. Out of every track here, this is the one immediately going into the playlist rotation.
Then we get to Bleeders. And honestly… this one just isn’t it for me.
This feels like a song that would have landed perfectly back in 2012. The track centres heavily around themes of self-harm and emotional isolation - “aren’t you lucky you’re a bleeder, do what you need to stay alive” - painting the story of someone using self-destruction as a coping mechanism while feeling rejected unless they conform to society’s expectations: “they want you there to save a life, but only if you’re dressed in what they like.” This one's a great callback to their past and the unique Sweeney Todd storyline.
Hallelujah genuinely caught me off guard. This track is fun, unapologetically, theatrically fun. Leaning once again into the album’s recurring themes of death, funerals, and the afterlife, “Hallelujah” feels like Black Veil Brides fully embracing the gothic arena-rock aesthetic they’ve always flirted with but never quite committed to this confidently. There honestly isn’t a huge amount to dissect lyrically here, but musically? This thing rips. Massive orchestral strings sweep across the track while an arena-sized chorus crashes in backed by huge choir vocals. It’s dramatic, over-the-top, and exactly the kind of energy this band should be leaning into. More than anything, the song acts as another showcase for Andy Biersack’s ridiculous vocal ability. This is the kind of track I wanted more of on this record, something that sticks tightly to a tonal aesthetic that just naturally fits the band’s whole identity.
Now we get to what might genuinely be the hidden gem of the album: Cut featuring Lilith Czar. And hear me out here. This is basically the emo universe’s version of This Is Me from Camp Rock. I know that sounds ridiculous, but there’s something weirdly nostalgic and emotionally sincere about it. Between Lilith Czar’s huge vocal performance and the instantly recognisable Black Veil Brides sound underneath it all, the song feels like some alternate universe version of Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas doing a dramatic emo-metal ballad together. And to be clear: I mean that as a compliment. This track has a level of sincerity and emotional weight that cuts through a lot of the album’s more dated moments. There’s something surprisingly special about it.
Next up is Alive, which launches straight into heavy vocals before opening up into another massive chorus. The choir vocals return once again, at this point basically becoming a defining feature of the album’s sound. While the song itself isn’t especially memorable for me, the production absolutely deserves a shout. There’s so much happening in the mix here: moody synth layers, stacked backing vocals, cavernous church-hall reverb, all clashing beautifully against the sharper modern guitar tones the album has established so far. The huge call-and response gang vocals feel purpose-built for live shows, like the band wrote this specifically imagining a festival crowd screaming every word back at them while a circle pit erupts dead centre. Honestly? Running around a pit to this song would probably be an incredible time. Sometimes a track doesn’t need to be deeper than “this would go hard live,” and that’s perfectly fine.
Following that is Purgatory Overture IV, a beautifully arranged orchestral interlude built around motifs and choruses from earlier tracks on the album. Once again, the string sections absolutely shine here, and it really highlights how committed the album is to this dramatic gothic presentation. It’s cinematic, haunting, and weirdly peaceful, like the soundtrack to your soul slowly ascending out of your body. Immaculate vibes throughout.
Then comes Revenger, featuring one of the most unexpected collaborations on the entire record: Robb Flynn from Machine Head. And somehow… it works way better than you’d expect. The track is chuggy, aggressive, catchy as hell, and packed with enough energy to feel like a genuine highlight. Flynn’s appearance during the second verse adds a heavier edge without completely overwhelming the band’s core sound, and the chemistry between him and Andy actually feels natural rather than forced. As a Machine Head fan myself, I was pleasantly surprised by how seamlessly this collaboration comes together. It kind of has everything you’d want from a track like this.
Sorrow arrives just past the halfway point of Vindicate’s 45-minute runtime and feels very much like a thematic continuation of Certainty. Lyrically, the song circles around guilt, self destruction, and the inability to forgive yourself after ruining a relationship with someone important, eventually collapsing into the realisation that “I am the enemy.” There’s also a clear connection back to the album’s opening spoken-word piece, tying together the record’s ongoing themes of regret, death, and spiritual reckoning. As someone who loves albums with even a loose narrative thread running through them, I can’t really complain here. The storytelling aspect genuinely works. The issue is that musically, “Sorrow” ends up being one of the more forgettable moments on the album. It once again falls into that slightly melodramatic "woe-is-me" territory that pops up throughout the record. Maybe that’s simply the kind of music Black Veil Brides are happiest making — and honestly, there’s still an audience for that, but it does continue to expose some of the growing pains I mentioned earlier.
Following that is Grace, another short interlude that leans heavily into the album’s gothic atmosphere. It feels like a moment of acceptance within the story, the sensation of your soul drifting into the unknown, no longer fighting whatever comes next. The orchestral elements continue to carry a lot of the emotional weight here, and at this point, the album’s commitment to this spooky, religious aesthetic is honestly one of its strongest qualities.
Then we dive headfirst back into exactly that aesthetic with Ave Maria. Hell yes. This track fully commits to the semi-religious horror imagery the album has been teasing all the way through, and as a result, it ends up being one of the heavier and more memorable songs on the record. The harsh vocals explode into the verses, almost interrupting the cleaner melodies, creating a sense of tension that actually feels purposeful rather than theatrical for the sake of it. More than anything, “Ave Maria” sounds mature, or at least closer to the version of Black Veil Brides I was hoping this album would deliver consistently. If more of the record had leaned this heavily into its gothic-metal identity, Vindicate would probably be a much stronger album overall.
We’re officially on the home stretch now with Woe & Pain, which immediately opens with some serious Sleep Token energy through its synth textures and atmospheric keys. The intro cleverly subverts expectations too, teasing what sounds like it’s about to become a massive breakdown before suddenly swerving into classic Andy Biersack clean vocals instead. The track experiments with some spoken-word and monologue-style sections before eventually crashing into heavier moments, but unfortunately, this is where the album starts losing momentum for me. The biggest problem is that “Woe & Pain” barely feels like a Black Veil Brides song at all. Honestly, it sounds more like a Motionless in White track being covered by Black Veil Brides, and whether that works for you probably depends entirely on how much you enjoy Motionless in White in the first place.
The album’s recurring call-and-response gang vocals return once again, but here they feel less organic and more like they’ve been included because the album thinks they should be there. Out of every song on the record, “Woe & Pain” is probably the most underwhelming to me.
Look, at the end of the day, Black Veil Brides have delivered a genuinely fun listen here. Is Vindicate the album that’s going to catapult them back to the very top of the modern metal scene and restore their iconic status in some triumphant comeback story? Probably not. But honestly, I don’t think Black Veil Brides need that anymore. More than anything, this record feels like a band finally understanding what their core audience actually wants from them. There’s a level of self-awareness running throughout the album that makes even its weaker moments easier to appreciate. Will I still buy tickets the next time they tour? Absolutely. Will I be excited to hear some of these newer tracks live? Honestly, yeah.
Nothing here is ever going to fully match the magic of those early classics, but despite its flaws, Vindicate still manages to come together as a strong and surprisingly enjoyable record. The growing pains I mentioned throughout the review are definitely still present, and I’d really like to see the band push themselves further creatively because you can tell they’re so close to finding something truly special again.
Andy Biersack has already proven through his solo work that he’s capable of thriving across a range of different sounds and genres, and honestly, I’d love to hear more of that experimentation bleed into Black Veil Brides themselves. That hesitation to fully evolve feels like the one thing that’s been holding the band back for years now.
With modern metal seeing newer, more stylistically distinct bands explode into the spotlight, acts like President carving out fresh identities and building huge momentum, there’s a part of me that still wants to see Black Veil Brides reclaim some of that cultural relevance again. And I think that’s a feeling a lot of us who grew up with this band still carry around.
Vindicate by Black Veil Brides
Review by Luke Lawley - @directed_by_lawley
Album Review: Vindicate by Black Veil Brides