Album Review: Pierce The Veil - 'Collide With The Sky'

‘Collide With The Sky’ is San Diego’s Pierce The Veil sounding better than they ever have to date. Their past records have always had the ideas, but the translation of those into a recorded format has often sounded clouded with the various layers a little squashed together. With their third record however, the various sounds have been given plenty of space, which makes for a more defined listen and has a greater impact.

The band has always had a unique edge in their post-hardcore sound in the form of the various Latin influences and flavours that are slipped in. Whilst this is a little less prevalent on this record, it comes to the fold and makes a lasting impression when it does appear, such as one of the stand out tracks, Bulls In The Bronx, which has a Spanish Flamenco guitar break down and atmospheric outro. Another stand out is the record’s first single, King For A Day, which features guest vocals from Sleeping With Sirens front man Kellin Quinn. This song is a good representation of the harder more energetic sound the band has applied to their new music, still plenty of sweet melody breaks but rooted in aggression.

There are spacious moments such as Tangled In The Great Escape, which features Jason Butler of Letlive and seems like empty vacuums that exists purely to be driven by their vocal hooks and percussion grooves, but as whole, Pierce The Veil have come out swinging. Opening track Hell Above is a perfect example of this, frantic paced with frenzied guitars leading into yet another highlight, A Match Into Water which sounds like a more refined version of early My Chemical Romance. The group said they wrote this record with their main stage Warped tour run in mind, and when vocalist Vic Fuentes screams “We will bring the tidal wave” at the end of this song, it’s easy to envision hordes of fans opening up the pit and losing their minds.

The final section of the album offers one last burst of energy with The First Punch, the fastest song on the record, the wall of sound that is Stained Glass Eyes And Colourful Tears and the brightly tinged yet sad album closer, Hold On Til May.

This is Pierce The Veil’s best album to date and thanks to the production values and clever song-writing, has the potential to turn those who were on the fence about the band into fans.

1. May These Noises Startle You in Your Sleep  
2. Hell Above  
3. A Match into Water  
4. King for a Day
5. Bulls in the Bronx  
6. Props & Mayhem  
7. Tangled in the Great Escape
8. I'm Low on Gas and You Need a Jacket  
9. The First Punch  
10. One Hundred Sleepless Nights  
11. Stained Glass Eyes and Colorful Tears  
12. Hold on Till May