BLACK VEIL BRIDES have released the official music video for another new song, “Torch”. The track is taken from the band’s upcoming album, “The Phantom Tomorrow”, which will be released on October 29 via Sumerian Records.
The “Torch” clip is the final installment in the initial “Blackbird”/9 story arc. “Torch” also marks the second time BLACK VEIL BRIDES frontman Andy Biersack got behind the camera to direct a video for the band alongside longtime visual collaborator Patrick Fogarty.
Biersack states: “We wanted to create something that felt like a fitting ending to the four-video story arc that started with ‘Scarlet Cross’, and while this is the end of the original ‘Blackbird’ video chronology, it certainly is not the end of ‘The Phantom Tomorrow’ narrative that plays out on the record and in our upcoming comic book series. It’s been one of the greatest joys of my professional life getting to dream up these concepts. For us as a band to work with such amazing individuals and to see this story realized on the screen is an absolute honor.”
The cover artwork for “The Phantom Tomorrow” was created by Eliran Kantor, known for his work with TESTAMENT, HATEBREED, HAVOK and Andy Black, to name a few. “The Phantom Tomorrow” was produced by Erik Ron (GODSMACK, DANCE GAVIN DANCE, BUSH) and co-produced by guitarist Jake Pitts.
“The Phantom Tomorrow” track listing:
01. The Phantom Tomorrow (Introduction)
02. Scarlet Cross
03. Born Again
04. Blackbird
05. Spectres (Interlude)
06. Torch
07. The Wicked One
08. Shadows Rise
09. Fields Of Bone
10. Crimson Skies
11. Kill The Hero
12. Fall Eternal
BLACK VEIL BRIDES singer Andy Biersack told “Cutter’s Rockcast” about the lyrical themes covered on “The Phantom Tomorrow”: “It’s a concept record. There is a comic book happening as well. We’re developing all the artwork and everything for that. The story is essentially the idea… In our society, especially now, we have this love of building up heroes and obsessing over other people who often don’t give a shit about you or anybody else, and we kind of have these false idols and heroes. And so the story is kind of about taking this mythological character and the people putting all of this power on to them, and then ultimately turning their back on the character because nobody can fulfill the dreams and ideas that you put on somebody else. So it’s an alternate version of our own timeline where our obsession with heroes and the iconography of somebody that’s aspirational kind of gets out of control and becomes our whole society.”
Regarding how he came up with “The Phantom Tomorrow” concept, Andy said: “In January of last year, I just kind of sat down and started writing this story. I do a lot of drawing when I’m writing as well. I’m not great, but I like to be able to represent my ideas in that way. So I wrote out this whole story and drew character designs, and then, about a week and a half later, we were set to enter the studio, and it just kind of coincidental that this whole rush of this idea came to me. And so I went to the studio with everybody and said, ‘Look, this is what I think we should do,’ and laid out the story and the plot and the ideas. ‘Cause we’ve done concept records before. The kind of method that we’ve found is best is I give the concept and the ideas, as far as the narrative perspective, to the band, and then that is how we write as a band together, to get tone and how we are gonna get through this journey. I will take those songs and then go basically write the lyrics to serve the story and plotlines along the journey from song one to the last song.
“There are unfortunate kind of shackles that are put on it — meaning that you’ve gotta write within the context of what you’re writing,” he continued. “But I tried to keep this one more open-ended where it’s applicable… ‘Cause I didn’t wanna write about stuff I don’t know; I wanted it to be about my experience. And there’s really nothing about our story that doesn’t mimic the current situation, whether it’s on a personal level with people that I’ve known, or on a sociopolitical level, with the craziness of the world right now. The ideas are universal, and so that made it a little bit easier to kind of get through the journey. But as far as the comic book goes, it’s kind of the same thing — I come up with the story and the artwork ideas, and then work with people who are much more talented than I am to make that a reality.”
BLACK VEIL BRIDES celebrated the 10th anniversary of their debut, “We Stitch These Wounds”, with a brand new, reimagined, re-recorded 2020 edition of the album titled “Re-Stitch These Wounds”, released in July 2020 via Sumerian Records.
In November 2019, BLACK VEIL BRIDES announced the addition of bassist Lonny Eagleton to the group’s ranks. He joined the band as the replacement for Ashley Purdy, who exited the group earlier that month.
Eagleton previously played with Biersack (a.k.a. Andy Black) on his solo tour.
Biersack‘s memoir, “They Don’t Need To Understand: Stories Of Hope, Fear, Family, Life, And Never Giving In”, arrived in December via Rare Bird Books.
Photo credit: Joshua Shultz
