Pierce The Veil: The Jaws of Life – Fearless Records, Released February 10th.

After a six year long hiatus, Pierce The Veil have returned and are due to release their fifth studio album The Jaws of Life on 10th February 2023. With a brand new tour starting in spring 2024.

The 12 track album comes after their 2016 release Misadventures. Now back after completing a successful sold out UK tour this past December, it’s time to see what the band brings just over six years later.

Death Of An Executioner being the first track of the album, and also not one of the singles so straight away fans have something completely brand new. From the get go you’re brought into a badass intro of sirens, and bass building the tension and getting you riled up already listening to it you can picture yourself walking into a room as a main character. Everything slows down and Vic’s soft, satisfying vocals amplify and mix perfectly with the soft and smooth tempo of the backing track. Vic’s vocals over time have just improved massively, it fits in so well with whatever tempo you pick, and whatever kind of genre they want to go with. And like nothing has changed over the past six and a half years, the lyrics get you thinking and feeling. Tony’s guitar solo was insanely satisfying midway through the track, shredding it giving you a sense of their previous albums, even a gorgeous acoustic guitar that threw me right back to Bulls In The Bronx from their Collide With The Sky album.

A solid start to this album, bringing in the familiarity of their previous songs but also something new, we know this is Pierce The Veil with a twist.

Pass The Nirvana was the first track to be released from the band when they made their grand return to the scene, and I can say this is not what we expected from them at all, in every good way possible. Taking a way heavier approach with a sound that could be compared to the band Turnstile, and believe me you do not feel more badass and in control of every situation than when you listen to this song. You could listen to this song right before a confrontation and know you’re about to boss and own this entire thing, with the hype this track fills you with. Vic’s rough vocals are beautifully added in at the perfect moments in the song, Jaime’s Bass amplifying and creating the roughness to bring you to life. The backing track blended in with the low guitar building the tension just as the song says. For this being the first song that they released for this album, this was the perfect way to bring the fans back into the Pierce The Veil family.

Even When I’m Not With You was the third and final single release before the album launch, now this one for me was the dip but that’s a matter of my opinion. When i heard the intro for the first time I thought it was a build up, only to then realize its the same throughout the entire song, with Vic’s vocals being simple but then I guess when you listen to the lyrics it’s about a journey, you can picture a scene of life passing by as the song plays. Thats what comes to mind for me at least, I just feel this is the weaker song from the album, the passion in the lyrics are there and the lyrics are 100% the highlight of the track.

Emergency Contact is where we’re going to get soft and sappy now, when performing this live Vic has said this song came to mind when he was changing his emergency contact from his parents to his now wife, a beautiful message about change and love. The song is still fairly fast paced and simple but the vocals are sharp and high with a touch of sweetness, you can feel the serenade in the chorus. A song where all you want to do is sing the lyrics while looking up at the person who you want to be your emergency contact. The guitar, bass and drums are simple throughout, but that’s what this song is, it’s simple and beautiful, a perfect love song.

Flawless Execution begins are dreary and dark but with a touch of light in the backing track, vic’s voice echoes in and it’s like you’re having a mix of emo and grunge blended in together for a moment. As the bass and guitar stays the same the vocals get higher and carried out, before everything amplifies and Vic belts out every lyric in the chorus as if his heart depends on it. You can imagine a scene of tragic love, beautiful and depressing moments shown with this song playing in the background.

No song on this album is the same and that’s what’s making it so good, it’s different you don’t know what’s coming next and it’s like you don’t want to know, you want the shock factor and you want to change emotions every single time. And let’s face it, would it be a Pierce The Veil album if you didn’t go through every emotion possible in one album?

The Jaws of Life being the centerpiece of this album, well the song is the album right so its in the perfect spot and what makes it even better is the changes that are made compared to the previous, yes every song is different but this one has an element of the past in it. It’s taking me back to Collide With The Sky it’s reminding me of a lighter version of Hold On Till May maybe doesn’t make me cry as much as that song did, but The Jaws of Life has more edge to it, the lyrics are about having the time of your life but the vocals sound like the statement is a downright lie, the lyrics connect with my brain and heart and every emotion that i’ve been feeling lately.

Damn The Man, Save The Empire starts with the voice of the band in the background talking about which take of this recording it is, giving a more homely feel to the song already. This is another song that you could connect to previous albums and songs they’ve released, when a band releases a new album fans can be skeptical because it’s been so long and the sound could change, which yes they have changed their sound slightly but you can hear OG Pierce The Veil in these tracks at times. I’ve always thought that the band’s mixing has been perfect and done so well that every song of theirs is satisfying and it’s still there, it’s not changed the screams are in the right place at the start, middle and end of the chorus, being used where they need to be. I’ll be screaming this song at the top of my lungs the next time I’m confused and heartbroken for sure, because for the love of god could someone “Tell me what I want” – perfect lyrics to describe how most of us are feeling 99% of the time.

Resilience has slowed it down for us all now, it’s like the slower version of Even When I’m Not With You it’s the same kind of vocals used and everything sounds kind of similar to it, if you had to put this song in a movie of music videos, the flashbacks for the video to EWINWY would be played over this track without a doubt. It’s numb but sometimes we all feel numb and sad and again this band has made me emotional over one of their songs, which to be fair as a fan of theirs they’ve been doing for many years now, thanks guys for making me cry again. Tony’s riffs during this song are slow, and beautiful but full of emotion throughout.

Go take a break with your sadness for 22 seconds before we’re back in with another banger that is Shared Trauma, a title that I relate to all too well, and I know we’re about to get in too deep with this one. And yep Vic’s vocals from the start sounds just like me when I’m going through a breakdown. Some may think songs like this being sad and dreary isn’t good, but it is, Pierce The Veil have always been one of those bands for me that helped me get through dark times, because they were singing about things I was dealing with when I thought no one else was, and now i’m in my 20s and still have my hard times, and they’re still making incredibly relatable songs like this to help me get my way through it. With the dreary tone picking up and there is some light in the backing track, just like a light in life, the dreary vocals brighten up like the breakdown and the sadness is slowly coming to an end and the perkiness is starting to show itself once again.

So Far So Fake is another title that I’m pretty sure we can pinpoint to a moment in all of our lives. You want a song that shows how you feel when you’re just so done with something, this is it. Light bass and guitar as an intro as if you can feel the audacity of the situation unraveling, Vic is letting out every emotion we’ve all felt throughout this track for us. The middle part of the song tones down, a smooth backing track floods in, vocals are light but heavy at the same time, with a satisfying scream throwing you into an insane solo from Tony. A song that I cannot wait to see being played live next year! Also a song I’m slightly annoyed that I have to wait an entire year to hear live, but we move and we will belt out this track at every minor inconvenience if we have to until then.

And to finish off this quite frankly amazing album, because let’s face it to me it’s perfect, it’s new it’s different but its still Pierce The Veil its got got songs to get angry to, to cry to and to fall in love to. So to end it with 12 Fractures just feels right, the lyrics speaking about thinking of moments of love and missing the pain at times, what a way to make me cry right now. A throwing of female vocals too giving the point of view of both in a relationship, as if they’re speaking the same words but they both have no idea. I’m sitting here right now and I can already think of past memories that connect so well to this song. The lyrics are beautiful, the instrumental is so simple but fits in, in such a gorgeous way. This is the perfect way to end a song, with satisfaction and a lot of tears.

The Jaws of Life is a beautiful, heartfelt album and Pierce The Veil have completely blown me away with this one. It’s new, yes it’s a bit different if you’re going to compare it to Collide With the Sky but not everything could be like it was in 2012 again. A new approach with their roots still thrown in there, this album is going to be a hit with old and new fans. With popularity growing, I can’t see it going down anytime soon. So make sure you stream the hell out of this album, and get those tickets for their UK tour in April 2024! A solid 9/10 from me!

Album reviewed by Lauren Allard.

Speaking about the album, guitarist Vic Fuentes says, “This album has truly brought us closer than we’ve ever been. It was extremely difficult for us to be off the road and apart for so long. We’ve never missed anything more than playing music together and never had such a strong appreciation for recording, touring, and simply being in the same room together than we do now. The Jaws of Life is about how life can sink its teeth into you and try to devour you. The negativity in the world and within your mind can be a vicious thing. We’re extremely grateful for this record, our fans, and the opportunity to play live music again.”