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Black Veil Brides - Set The World On Fire

The music might not match the image anymore, but it's decent nonetheless...

Rating: 7

Black Veil Brides are undoubtedly a Marmite band, inspiring utter hatred or sheer rabid adoration; no doubt partially created by the fact that they’re fronted by a singer who looks like the lovechild of Tokio Hotel and KISS. Leather and eyeliner reign supreme, and their debut (last year’s ‘We Stitch These Wounds’) was a snarling, vitriolic effort, all cigarette-husky vocals and roaring screams. It comes as a surprise, then, that second full-length ‘Set The World On Fire’ seems an altogether happier record. There’s very little anger here, in fact there isn’t very much screaming or heaviness at all, with the likes of ‘Die For You’ coming across as a HIM / Hinder hybrid, more rock ‘n’ roll than metal. However, though the metal aspect’s been toned down this time round guitar solos are present in abundance, so many of them that after a while they feel almost shoehorned in. Ironically, what begins as the softest song – the acoustically led ‘Saviour’ – ends up being the heaviest of the lot with some much-needed screaming as it comes to a close, while ‘Ritual’ has ‘fan favourite’ stamped all over it, with uplifting lyrical content (“celebrate your life”). All in all, ‘Set The World On Fire’ sounds a bit like a band having an identity crisis – the sound no longer matches the carefully-created image but the music’s decent none the less.

Jen Thomas