Black Veil Brides at the Best Buy Theater

Andy Biersack

Vocalist Andy Biersack formed heavy metal glam band Black Veil Brides in 2006 in his native Cincinnati, Ohio. He relocated to Los Angeles, California, and in 2009 formed a new band there, continuing to use the moniker Black Veil Brides. Inspired by the stage persona of the early glam periods of Kiss and Mötley Crüe, Black Veil Brides stood out from contemporary bands by wearing black makeup, body paint, tight black leather and studded clothing, and jet black hair. Before long, the band had the second biggest selling t-shirts in the country, Revolver awarded the band Best New Artist at the Golden Gods Awards in 2012 and Kerrang! named the band Best Newcomer. The band won in 20 categories in the 2013 Alternative Press Readers Poll. The band is currently composed of Biersack, Jake Pitts (lead guitar), Jinxx (rhythm guitar, violin), Ashley Purdy (bass, backing vocals), and Christian "CC" Coma (drums). The band's fourth and most recent album, Black Veil Brides IV, was released October 27, 2014.

Black Veil Brides headlined the Best Buy Theater tonight to an audience that consisted largely of teenage girls in front and their parents in the back. The girls squealed at everything spoken or sung by Biersack while the parents squirmed at his barrage of f-bombs liberally peppered through the show. Although the black make-up flourishes, the long hair, the extensive tattoos and the black shredded clothing helped make the musicians appear like post-apocalyptic rock stars, the fans seemed to find them adorably and cuddly cute. Beyond the larger than life metal boy-band image, however, the music was solid and the "primp" and circumstance stage act was killer. Amidst bright lights, the front line of pretty boys played up to the cheers of the audience by frequently running onto the risers at the edge of the stage and smiling at the crowd below. Biersack's voice was raspy when he spoke between songs, but any vocal shortcomings were disguised by the volume and intensity of the musical accompaniment. The songs were fast and fierce, with well-played guitar leads and plenty of opportunities for sing-along choruses. For 90 minutes, the audience witnessed a glam metal explosion.

Visit Black Veil Brides at www.blackveilbrides.net.