REVIEW: Pierce The Veil – Collide With The Sky

July 24th, 2012

Kriston McConnell

Artist: Pierce The Veil
Album: Collide With The Sky
Genre: Post-Hardcore
Label: Fearless/Equal Vision Records

Vic Fuentes. Mike Fuentes. Jaime Preciado. Tony Perry. These four men make up the band we all know as Pierce The Veil. These guys have been making music for quite a few years now, and Collide With The Sky is their third full length album. Over the years fans have watched these men grow and develop into high caliber performing musicians. Needless to say we all have had high expectations for this record, and little doubt that the band could meet or exceed those expectations.

The album starts off with a short intro, “May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep Tonight”. It might be short, but it’s fast, energized, and transitions very well into the first full song of the album, “Hell Above”. “Hell Above” is easily my favorite track on the entire album. It has that good old Pierce The Veil feel that any long time fan is familiar with, but it also offers a more mature, developed sound. The song is fast paced, catchy, and dare I say almost a little pop-sounding.

“A Match Into Water” is the next track in line. Not only is this one of the top songs of the album, knowing the meaning behind the lyrics almost makes it impossible to not like the song, let alone not appreciate what it means. Vic wrote it for a girl in his life who discovered she had breast cancer, and her battle with it. This song is definitely a track that everyone should take the time to really listen to.

This album has a few songs with guest vocals from different bands, including Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens, Jason Butler of Letlive., and Lindsey Stamey of Oh No Fiasco. The first of these tracks is “King For A Day”, which features Kellin Quinn. Let’s just face it, girls like to hear both of these guys sing so it only makes sense they finally got together and collaborated on a song. Aside from that, this has to be another one of my favorite songs on the album. I enjoy everything the song has to offer, and it’s another one of the band’s very catchy tracks that will be stuck in your head for days on end.

If you haven’t had the chance to read Pierce The Veil’s message behind the track “Bulls In The Bronx” then you should. To know how much fans mean to these guys is amazing, and to know that they can draw inspiration from those fans is something great that can truly be appreciated. The band’s message is simple: you’re not alone. It’s well written, very meaningful, and worth listening to.

The next track that needs to be mentioned is “Tangled In The Great Escape” featuring Jason Butler. His slightly raspy voice mixed with Vic’s higher pitched voice make a song that’s unique compared to the rest of the album. It’s a wonderful break from the more upbeat tracks featured on most of the album. I’d really be okay with him singing in more than one song to be honest!

While the remaining songs on the album are fun and true to Pierce The Veil style, they don’t stand out to me quite as much as the chunk of tracks at the beginning of the record. That being said, the very last track, “Hold On Till May”, is a nice slow collaboration with Lindsey Stamey. It has great lyrics, and is still catchy enough to have stay stuck in your head for a few hours. It will be a fun one to learn the lyrics to and sing to your girlfriend (or boyfriend?).

Overall, Collide With The Sky is a great effort, and easily the band’s best release to date. The flow of each track is just right, and the lyrics are just as meaningful as they could be. I personally would like to see more of the fast paced heavy tracks they do so well, but it certainly does not hurt them to have a few of the slower tracks so Vic can show off his lovely voice.

It’s obvious that these men are still just as passionate about what they do as they were when they produced their first album. The only thing that’s different now is that they have matured as musicians, which has made their music better with every release. I know I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

SCORE: 9/10
Review written by Kriston McConnell