Album review: Pierce The Veil – The Jaws Of Life

Pierce The Veil fans are accustomed to long waits. The four-year gap between 2012’s classic Collide With The Sky and Misadventures from 2016 felt interminable, but nobody could have imagined when they finally got to hold PTV’s fourth album that almost seven years would pass before the next one would come along. While the San Diego trio do have a habit of taking their sweet time, they also deliver music of a quality that makes every day of waiting feel worthwhile. Misadventures might have been hailed as their best album to date, but The Jaws Of Life is snapping at its heels.

Admittedly, they chose a pretty convenient time to return, with the current emo revival injecting nostalgic notes into current music. This band, however, know better than to cash in on said nostalgia – instead, they’re making bigger leaps than ever. Even their more familiar-sounding songs show signs of metamorphosis. Majestic opener Death Of An Executioner displays tremendous attention to detail with a melting pot of shakers, synths and downtuned riffs, even if the seams show a little in the beginning. Later, lead single Pass The Nirvana swaggers in with perhaps the most grit the band have ever had, an approach Damn The Man, Save The Empire runs with in an explosion of dark rock opera magic.

Even When I’m Not With You, meanwhile, is a hairpin turn of a song, and its combination of buzzing, synthy guitar and hand claps takes more digesting than the average Pierce The Veil song, but it’s more than worth sitting with. Elsewhere, the opening passage of Flawless Execution takes subtle cues from twenty one pilots (unsurprising when producer Paul Meany has worked with the duo), as does the soft, undoubtedly alt-pop clatter of Shared Trauma, but every experiment still manages to feel utterly genuine. This time, they’re braver, blunter, and more mature and by doing that, they’ve future-proofed themselves.

Pierce The Veil aren’t just for your emo phase anymore; they’re for life.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: L.S. Dunes, Circa Survive, twenty one pilots

The Jaws Of Life is released on February 10 via Fearless – pre-order and pre-save your copy now

Read this: Pierce The Veil: “We’ve built this whole world where we can do anything creatively, and it’s so satisfying and comforting”