“Hold my breath and drive, staring at the sky… A luminescent bright, running out of time.”
For much of the 2010s, Pierce The Veil was one of the most successful bands of the modern post-hardcore scene. With a deft blend of hard-hitting technicality and catchy hooks firmly rooted in mass appeal, it wasn’t hard to understand why the band commanded such devotion from its adoring fanbase.
However, after some line-up instability within the band due some unsavory happenings, and a subsequent several years of inactivity, the question was left open whether Pierce The Veil would be able to reconnect with that same kinetic energy again… or if they would be yet another band relegated to Emo Nite nostalgia status.
That’s why one of the things that makes the band’s long-gestating comeback album, The Jaws of Life, so surprising and commendable is that it seems largely uninterested in treading the nostalgia-filled waters of the band’s past.
To be sure, there are still signature elements of the band’s sound on display here. The band’s guitar tones remain distinctively recognizable on much of the tracklist. But the compositions take on a surprisingly diverse range of influences, as the band widens their sonic palette without losing sight of the emotional vulnerability that made them scene staples.
Opening track “Death Of An Executioner” combines the band’s signature kinetic post-hardcore energy with a dose of melancholy alt rock, teasing some of the disparate sounds that will be found throughout the tracklist.
Lead single “Pass the Nirvana” combines distorted grunge guitar leads with chaotic grooves, leading to a mix strongly reminiscent of Lowcountry-era Envy on the Coast. It’s a genuinely thrilling and unexpected left turn, and remains one of the album’s strongest highlights.
The excellent production work by Paul Meany (frontman of Mutemath) helps Pierce The Veil embrace their newfound genre experimentation while still keeping their core identity intact. The Jaws of Life largely pulls off this difficult balancing act, one that has led many veteran scene bands to stumble. It’s commendable to see this group clearly mature their songwriting and grasp for greater shades of subtlety – not something they could often be accused of doing with their past work.
This more nuanced approach is fully embraced to great success on “Shared Trauma”, as skittering electronic drums and synths serve as the backbone for a gorgeously restrained vocal performance by Vic Fuentes.
That’s not to say that every outside-the-box moment is equally successful, however. “Even When I’m Not With You”, while emotionally vulnerable in its lyrical content, feels musically flat in its execution in a way that prevents it from making much of an impact.
Still, between the album’s peaks and valleys, Pierce The Veil deserve immense credit for swinging for the fences so often, and The Jaws of Life contains far more hits than misses. It is a very welcome comeback, and one hopes it will signal the start of a new chapter for the long-dormant band.
8/10
The Jaws of Life is out February 10th via Fearless Records, and can be pre-ordered here.