Courtesy: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Glam/Goth metal act Black Veil Brides will release its first-ever live recording this week. The recording, dubbed Alive and Burning, will be released tomorrow, July 10th on DVD and Blu-ray. For those that are fans of the Hollywood, CA-based band its debut live recording proves to be a good first effort. The main element of the recording that fans will appreciate in this concert is its set list. The seventeen song set list lifts from all four of the albums that the band has released since it first formed roughly nine years ago in Ohio’s Queen City. The band’s stage presence is also of note in regards to what fans will like about it. Last but not least worth noting is the concert’s collective audio and video mix. The audio mix by itself is slightly problematic. It is not perfect but still bearable. On the other hand, the work of the camera crew does an expert job of capturing the band’s energy and the effect of that energy of the audience in attendance. The end result of their work is a concert that translates quite well not only that combined energy but also captures the very essence of a BVB live show. For those that are not able to attend a live BVB show for one reason or another, this is very important. So, kudos to the camera crew for that. That having been noted, it is one more reason that BVB fans will enjoy this recording. All things considered, Alive and Burning is not a perfect first live outing for Black Veil Brides. But it is a good one nonetheless. It is one that any of the band’s fans will want to have in their own collections.
Alive and Burning is a good first live effort from Black Veil Brides. The seventeen-song, eighty-two minute concert will entertain any fan of the glam/goth rock band. The set list in question is the primary reason that BVB’s fans will enjoy this recording. The show’s set, which was recorded during a stop on the “Black Mass Tour 2014,” covers all four of the albums that the band has released since originally forming roughly nine years ago in Cincinnati, Ohio. Examining the set list even more closely, fans will be interested to know that not one of the band’s albums is featured more so than any of its others over the course of the concert. All four albums are equally represented throughout the course of the concert. The band even included its cover of Billy Idol’s hit ‘Rebel Yell’ and its original composition ‘Coffins’ that were both included in its 2011 EP Rebels in te show. Simply put BVB fans get a set list in this concert that is both full and fully representative of the band’s career so far. It’s just one reason that BVB’s fans will enjoy this recording. The band’s stage presence throughout the show is another reason that fans will enjoy the show.
The set list pulled for Alive and Burning is in itself plenty of reason for BVB’s fans to check out the band’s new live recording. It covers a relatively healthy swath of the band’s career so far, covering equally all four of its albums and even its currently lone EP. While the set list is pivotal in its own right to fans’ enjoyment of Alive and Burning, one would be thoughtless to ignore the band’s stage presence as part of the recording’s success and enjoyment by fans, too. Fans that weren’t lucky enough to be at the band’s hometown show will be happy to know that the band’s stage presence will keep them rapt. Front man Andy Biersack takes every opportunity to interact with the audience both during and between songs. This includes climbing giant stacks of amps among other things. Guitarists Jake Pitts and Jinx throw back to rhe days of big riffs and even bigger hair with their work on their instruments and teased hair. The pair’s performance, complete with old school glam metal motions, instantly conjures thoughts of Motley Crue, Poison and other well-known names of the 80s. The same applies to bassist Ashley Purdy’s presence. Even drummer Christian “CC” Coma keeps audiences happy with his work behind the kit. All five members’ performances are full of energy and combined they make for a stage presence that translates quite well even to fans watching at home. Being that the band members’ performances translate so well, they show in their own way why they are important in their own right to the success and enjoyment of the recording among BVB’s fans.
Both the set list featured in Alive and Burning and BVB’s stage presence play their own part in making it a recording that the band’s fans will enjoy. While both elements play their own important part in the enjoyment of the show, neither would be worth mentioning without a mention of the recording’s production values. This is where things get just a little bit dicey. The production values, while good, are not perfect. The camera crew is to be highly commended for its work capturing the band’s performance. However, the audio mix is a bit troublesome. Those behind the lenses capture every possible angle of the show both from the stage and from the vantage point of the audience. It is thanks to their painstaking efforts that fans watching the concert in their own homes will find that they have the best seat in the house. What’s more, it is thanks to the camera crew that the energy of the band in its stage presence translates so well. That is because of the pacing and angle of the shots. For all of the quality work put out by the concert’s camera crew, those charged with handling the concert’s audio came up a little bit short. The issue at hand here is that at many points throughout the concert, Biersack is seemingly overpowered by his band mates. There are times at which it even sounds like his mic isn’t even on and he is being picked up by one of his band mates’ mics. It could of course just be this critic’s own take. On the good side, Biersack’s interaction with the audience between songs is much clearer. So why the audio at least seems unbalanced during the songs in comparison to between them is anyone’s guess. Luckily the imbalance isn’t so bad that it ruins the concert. It is bearable. Because it is bearable, it serves to heighten the intensity of the band’s stage presence and the work of the camera crew. The efforts of all involved coupled with the show’s set list more than make up for the seeming issues with the concert’s audio mix and in turn keep Alive and Burning a good first effort from BVB.
Alive and Burning is a good first live effort from BVB. Its career-spanning set list of sorts in itself makes it worth the watch among the band’s fans. The band’s stage presence and the work of the camera crew in capturing the band’s presence work together to provide fans with a show that they will agree makes up for not being there. Even with what seems like some issues of balance in the show’s audio mix, the rest of the concert’s positives more than make up for that one issue. Because they do, they show once more why BVB’s fans shoud see this concert at least once. Alive and Burning will be available in stores and online both on DVD and Blu-ray. More information on this and other titles from Eagle Rock Entertainment is available online at:
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