Pageant's

Album: Set The World On Fire
Artist: Black Veil Brides
Label: Lava Records
Released: June, 2011
Produced by: Josh Abraham
Reviewer: Kialynne Wood

Sites:
www.bvbarmy.com
www.facebook.com/Blackveilbrides
twitter.com/officialbvb
www.myspace.com/blackveilbrides
www.youtube.com/user/BlackVeilBridestv
www.myspace.com/blackveilbrides

Track Listing:

1. New Religion
2. Set The World On Fire
3. Fallen Angels
4. Love Isn’t Always Fair
5. God Bless You
6. Rebel Love Song
7. Saviour
8. The Legacy
9. Die For You
10. Ritual
11. Youth and Whiskey
12. Smoke and Mirrors

Black Veil Brides seem to tow the line between carbon copy and latest craze. Listening to Set The World On Fire, the skyrocketing band’s second signed release in just a year and a half, the average listener will probably hear the band’s influences clearly: Motley Crue, Alice Cooper, etc… But they might also have that awful deja vu, where some songs seem to have taken riffs from pre-existing hits to give them an “edge”.

That being said, the album is wonderfully mastered and it is great return to the roots of their genre, with the heavy metal sounds and strong guitar focus without the modern overuse of ‘screaming’ and synthesising. For such a young band, they have an excellent handle on what makes an anthem and they use multiple ideas per track, building each one up so it cannot be identified by just one aspect, each sound becoming part of something bigger. As far as anthems do go, ‘STWOF’ doesn’t seem to feature one stand out track, but each piece itself has a rock-out quality, as all rock albums should. Only “Love Isn’t Always Fair” and “Ritual” seem to get caught up in the mix for me, not particularly memorable tracks in regard to the excitement of the listening experience they create.

The most gentle of the tracks, the inspirational “Saviour”, is a mix of perfoming media that highlights the new and old in classic “metal ballad” style. The track makes the best of lead singer Andy Biersack’s husky tones in contrast to the somber, yet sweet, orchestral backing. Then, turning everything on its head, the full band tunes in with chomping guitars, screaming and a hidden anger that’s lingering below the surface. A nice mixture of genre, style and conflicting messages that creates a memorable – if not slightly generic – song. But we all love the metal ballad in the breather it gives any album, a chance to reflect and remember that even hard-rocking metalers have their soft side, and “Saviour” plays that perfect part.

Over all, Set The World On Fire is a terrific album, and an excellent second effort by Black Veil Brides. It’s accessible to fans both old and new and can be seen as a bridge between what rock used to be and what it has become today.

Album: Vices and Virtues
Artist: Panic! At the Disco
Label: Fueled by Ramen
Released: March, 2011
Produced by: John Feldman & Butch Walker
Reviewer: Kialynne Wood

Sites:
www.panicatthedisco.com
www.facebook.com/panicatthedisco
http://twitter.com/#!/panicatthedisco
www.youtube.com/panicatthedisco
http://www.myspace.com/panicatthedisco

Track Listing

1. The Ballad of Mona Lisa
2. Let’s Kill Tonight
3. Hurricane
4. Memories
5. Trade Mistakes
6. Ready to Go (Get Me Out Of My Mind)
7. Always
8. The Caledar
9. Sarah Smiles
10. Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)

Vices and Virtues is the latest release by alternative pop band Panic! At the Disco. The return of their infamous exclamation mark is paired with a return to their electronic roots, after the folksy deviation of their second album (Pretty Odd). The album features upbeat hits such as their first single “Mona Lisa” and the second, the sweet “Ready to Go”, along with some rebellious tracks, and a love song for singer Brendon Urie’s girlfriend.

The band’s line up changed with the departure of bassist Jon Walker and lyricist/guitarist Ryan Ross last year and with them goes any Beatles knock offs, and some of the catchier lyrics, but the departure has allowed for more reflection from the two remaining members.

An added treat for any avid Fall Out Boy fans, and also a spunky pop song for any newcomers, is the final track on the album, Nearly Witches. This is a remix of a demo released in 2008 for Fall Out Boy’s Welcome to the New Administration mixtape, as part of a viral campaign for their fans. Panic! released the steampunk-inspired track as an unfinished, catchy hit and it has now been recreated into a pop piece which includes brighter lyrics, and a feature for the Los Angeles Childrens’ Choir.

While a tad disjointed, the album is a fun affair from start to finish. It doesn’t seem possible to listen to Vices and Virtues without ending up with at least one of the tracks swimming around in your head.