I’ll be the first to admit that the visual aesthetic of Black Veil Brides is a bit of a turn off for me. The whole “goth glam rock” just brings up feelings in me that can best be described as “Ugh…” However, one of the benefits of listening to an album is that I am not hit with visuals and I can simply focus on audio.

So, with that distraction aside, I turned to the newest BVB album Wretched And Divine: The Story Of The Wild Ones. I sat back, cranked up the volume and dove in. Read on for my thoughts.

Let me talk about what I enjoyed with this album to kick things off, shall I? First of all, there are some amazing dynamics. The band goes from hard rock tracks (“I Am Bulletproof”, “Shadows Die”) to piano-driven, symphonic power ballads (“Lost It All”) to an acoustic mellow level (“Done For You”). The wealth of instrumentation, the diversity in vocals, and the vast amount of production make for a very engaging album.

Secondly, the album flows very well. Each track leads into the next and the interludes come in when necessary to give a short breath. This makes the album fall into the put-it-on-and-don’t-hit-‘Next’ category. Considering that this is a concept album, Black Veil Brides did something very right here.

However, this flow also comes back to haunt the album as none of the songs really stand terribly well on their own. And for all the dynamics, they songs aren’t thrilling or exciting. They just…are. Which makes this a disappointment as there was great potential here.

The Final Word: What’s obvious with Wretched And Divine: The Story Of The Wild Ones is that Black Veil Brides are playing directly to their audience and not looking to expand. They know exactly who is going to listen to their music and their music has a laser-sight pinpointed directly where it needs to be. However, the music never got my heart pumping. It serves its purpose and that’s really about it.

Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonathan Barkan? Shoot him a message on Twitter or on Bloody-Disgusting!