BLACK VEIL BRIDES' ANDY BIERSACK: 'Vindicate' Has Been 'One Of Our Most Well-Received Records We've Ever Made'

In a new interview with the JJO Discover New Music Podcast, BLACK VEIL BRIDES vocalist Andy Biersack spoke about the fan response to the band's seventh studio album, "Vindicate", which came out in May via Spinefarm. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I kind of always feel like records live three lives. There's the creation period, where until it comes out, it's this thing that exists where you could still maybe change something or do something with it. Then there's the initial release, where now it's everybody's. And then there's when you start playing those songs live, and the response changes. And then ultimately, those songs become part of your catalog. Especially for a band like ours, we've been around a while, we have music that stretches quite a while. So we've been slowly introducing — I think at this point we're playing six of the new songs on this tour right now, which is a lot, and I think by the time we get to Europe, we'll probably end up doing just about the whole album plus a set of kind of the greatest hits from the other eras. So you kind of relive the experience because the live portion, you see people respond to and they're singing with you. But I think for us, it's so exciting when you make something, and you hold on to this for so long, and then to see that it not only comes out and people like it, but for us it's been one of our most well-received records we've ever made. And so this many years into the band's career, to be in a position where new people are discovering the band in large numbers, not that it matters, but critically our most highly rated record we've ever done, and commercially did very well for us. So, that's all secondary to the joy of making the thing. But when it comes out and you see, 'Oh, wow, people really dig this,' that's a cool experience."

Biersack also talked about the decision to helm "Vindicate" with BLACK VEIL BRIDES guitarist Jake Pitts and not involve an outside producer this time around. Asked if he approached the songwriting process differently because he was also in charge of the production process, Andy said: "It's interesting, I haven't really thought about it that way. There's certainly differences to my typical role to that, but it's kind of what I do within the context of the band anyway. I wake up every day and I'm planning what we're doing and when we're doing it and where we're doing it and how we're doing it, and all that kind of stuff from a, I guess, structuring our plans and what happens next for the band. I've been doing that — I started the band when I was 15, so it's been... I'm 35. It's been my whole life to this point, has been doing that. So it just felt like a very natural fit to sort of take out the middleman, so to speak. And by the way, we wouldn't have been able to do that if it weren't for these producers that we've worked with that taught us so much. Erik Ron, who we've worked with for a long time, is one of my best friends and a guy I text about football all week long. And so it's a relationship where I could lean on him and get some information from him, and that helped a lot. Working with John Feldmann for years, we learned so much from that. Working with Bob Rock, we learned so much from that. So we're sort of standing on the shoulders of all these people who taught us how to do this. And so the move to producer from band dude kind of felt more lateral than anything else. But it was because of all the lessons that we had learned."

BLACK VEIL BRIDES was one of the most polarizing bands in the late 2000s and early 2010s because of their heavy theatrical image, which critics dismissed as style over substance while a dedicated fanbase fiercely embraced them.

At the 2013 Revolver Golden Gods award show, the band was famously met with ear-shattering boos from the audience after winning the "Song Of The Year" award.

Since its release five months ago, "Vindicate" has been receiving critical and fan acclaim. Kerrang! stated that "BLACK VEIL BRIDES have never sounded better" and Blabbermouth called the latest album "…an exciting listen."

In addition to Biersack and Pitts, BLACK VEIL BRIDES includes guitarist Jinxx, bassist Lonny Eagleton and drummer Christian Coma.

Photo credit: Jonathan Weiner