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Gig ReviewsReviews

[Review] Pierce The Veil / Bear Tooth@ Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide 24/07/2023

Review By Suzanne Blacketer

From a venue upgrade to a sold out show I was not surprised to see hundreds of people lined up when I arrived at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. I’m not the biggest fan of a huge snaking lineup but when it’s for a gig of one of your favourite band’s you suck it up and jump on the end! Starting the week with a Monday night gig featuring Beartooth is about as awesome a start as you can get. Add Pierce The Veil and Dayseeker and you are in for a belter of a night.

Starting off the evening Orange County lads Dayseeker enter the stage to a roar from the crowd as punters continued to fill what little space remained in the venue. Opening with Dreamstate, which is also the opening track off their new album Dark Sun sees heartfelt lyrics delivered amongst melodic guitar riffs and crushing drums. Encouraging us to have a good fucking time the band lead into Crooked Soul as the screams of the female fans go up an octave.  Songs off the new album are peppered in amongst older crowd favourites like Sleeptalk. Rory laughs telling us that even though they are known as a sad song band their song Homesick is about being happy. Taking a moment to reflect Rory spoke about his father, about how he has always written songs about him and his dad’s battle with Parkinson’s disease and cancer, which sadly took his life in 2021. He dedicated Beyond Grave to his dad to which the crowd applauded. Dayseeker had the audience captivated from the first note with Rory Rodriguez’s powerful and emotive vocals taking us on a journey full of highs and lows. An awesome set from the opening act, setting the tone for the rest of the night.

Four years ago, this week I was in Brisbane seeing the very same band that was next on the bill. Beartooth holds a special place in my heart, as many of their fans will attest, their lyrics hit hard but also provide comfort and direction when things become overwhelming. As the first notes of Devastation echoed around the AEC the vibration in the air changed. A shirtless Caleb Shomo pranced and whirled around the stage, as he radiated an energy so high it pulsated out through the crowd elevating and electrifying us. For the next hour Beartooth took no prisoners. Hammering us relentlessly with all our favourites – Disease, The Line, Hated, Body Bag and newer single Sunshine. Caleb reflects on how his life has changed over the last four years, mentioning that anyone familiar with the band will know that the subject matter over four EPs has not been the most positive, leading us into the bands newest single that is only days old – Might Love Myself. He talks about how he has been alcohol free for nineteen months and the positive effects it has had on his life. He also shares with us that even when everything is going well anxiety can still occasionally rear its ugly head, telling us that not long before coming onto the stage he suffered from a panic attack. Connecting with the audience is something that Beartooth do extremely well. Everything about this set was just so damn wholesome and my heart is full.

Seven years’ worth of ear-splitting screams heralded Pierce the Veil’s arrival on stage. The band has obviously been missed by the Adelaide contingent of fans and I think that the band may have just missed us. Exploding into Death of an Executioner my eyes continually darted from one side of the stage to another as three bodies used every spare space they could find. Relief came between songs as the stage darkened while we prepared for the next onslaught. Touring Australia to celebrate the release of their latest album The Jaws of Life, PTV have brought the party spirit with them. Bulls In The Bronx and Pass The Nirvana revved the crowd up no end, helped along be confetti, streams of smoke and a crazy good light show. Vocalist Vic thanked the crowd for selling out the show, telling us it had been way too long, and they had missed us.  Vic thanked us for being there, apparently, we were supposed to ease our way into the gig, but we just turned it all the way up. Yes Adelaide! After a quick check to make sure that we had brought along our Emergency Contact we were back into moving our bodies. One lucky young lady named Charli was invited onto the stage for a sing and dance and was gifted Vic’s guitar leaving her speechless.  Well-rounded after a decade of playing together their energy was infectious and exhilarating. The Boy Who Could Fly, Caraphernelia and finishing with the huge tune King For A Day, music certainly does make the world go around. As the last note echoed through the arena and the lights slowly brightened, a few thousand sated punters meandered on home, hearts full, because music is life.

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Album ReviewReviews

Pierce The Veil – The Jaws Of Life

It’s been over 6 long years since we have had an album release by Pierce The Veil, and to be honest, I really was not sure what to expect. I mean at their height, they were the quintessential emo band. As the band, and fans alike get older and more mature, we often see a shift in stylings and this can go in almost any direction. After my first play through, I could hear that there has been a shift, however it feels like a very natural progression, retaining several of the main elements that made Pierce The Veil just who they are.

Founded in San Diego California in 2006, Pierce The Veil have met with success, line up changes and controversy over the years, however their long awaited return sees them having delivered a very solid 12 track album. This is also the first album since the departure of Mike Fuentes, and sees Vic Fuentes (vocals/guitar), Jaime Preciado (bass) and Tony Perry (guitar) take PTV onto the next level.

The Jaws Of Life, out February 10 via Fearless Records, is the fifth album for the band. The first single from the album, Pass the Nirvana, dropped on September 1st of 2022 and was ridiculously well received, racking up massive numbers of streams. This however is not surprising, as these guys are no strangers to receiving high accolades, including topping Billboard charts, reaching platinum record sales and selling out arenas. Emergency Contact was released in November to coincide with the announcement of the upcoming album, and its official music video has amassed over 1.1 million views already. The third single, Even When I’m Not With You landed on January 12.

The opening track is Death of an Executioner, and it kicks the album off with high energy. A somewhat latin inspired intro brings us into the main riff, which is then followed by some really dirtied up bass and some synth. The trademark emotional, deep, well worded lyrics are not lacking, and give the listener the instant “they’re back” feel.

Pass The Nirvana is up next and has that fuzzy retro sort of sound, which gets heavier as the song progresses. Quite the post hardcore element at times. The screams are still on point, and not overdone.

Track #3 is Even When I’m Not With You which brings with it some gritty fat chromatic guitar work, accompanied with some mildly hip hop & lofi influenced beats and bass work which is, to me, the lifeblood of the track.The vocal melody on this track is very catchy despite being under 3 mins long, leaving the listener wanting more.

Emergency Contact is up next. A modern radio rock hit, it hits all the right points when it needs to. A very catchy chorus and the production of the song is fantastic, with some ambient work thrown in the verses. Lyrically it reaches into your soul, as PTV very typically do.

Whilst Flawless Execution may not have the screams or super heavy riffs, it is no less emotional, and is perfectly placed in the tracklisting. It starts with a lush, chorus soaked clean guitar, and has an excellent vocal melody.

The next song, The Jaws Of Life, tells its story in somewhat of a theatrical manner, almost reminiscent of a song from a movie. I get a kind of Weezer vibe coming through on this one. The guitar and vocals are quite anthemic and showcase perfectly why this is the title track of the album.

Track 7, Damn the Man Save the Empire, starts with some banter and some heavy hitting drums and noisy feedback from guitars. A bop your head type verse which even includes a cowbell in the second verse. Groovy bass too.

Another chill, somber emo track is what Resilience is for me. Opening with a quote from the film “Dazed and Confused” that ramps up from mellow and ambient, to distorted guitars.

Irrational Fear is a 22 second piece with an airline safety spiel running underneath. I guess maybe someone doesn’t like to fly?

The tenth song on the album is Shared Trauma, a soft, spacey sound, with piano, and guitars soaked in reverb. Yet another track that lyrically will reach many who can completely relate.

Not hard to miss the title of song 11, So Far So Fake, as the name is belted out right  in the beginning. Upbeat, groovy chorus, with a surprisingly very ‘notey’ and hard hitting bridge section with some small brush strokes of post hardcore towards the bridge and end of song.

Closing the album at track 12 is the beautiful 12 Fractures. With superb  harmonies, and a stellar feature from Chloe Moriondo, who lends her beautiful, yet haunting vocals that compliment Vic’s vocals wonderfully.

As far as comeback albums go, I believe this album, The Jaws Of Life, definitely will have a captive audience. Whilst some songs are a vast departure from some of their older material, I think the maturity that comes with growing older will also mean that the more melodic and intimate nature of the album will appeal to fans who have grown up listening to Pierce The Veil. The angsty teens are now 20-30 somethings, many of whom still relate to the struggles that life can present, and look to music such as this to help them get to where they need to be.

I will undoubtedly have this one added to the rotation once it drops, and cannot wait to get a hard copy, to be able to read all the lyrics, some of which I am sure to have missed in the first few listens. Mature alternative modern emo rock is what I would define this as, and it’s damn good!!

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