1	Death Of An Executioner
2	Pass The Nirvana
3	Even When I'm Not With You
4	Emergancy Contact
5	Flawless Execution
6	The Jaws Of Life
7	Dam The Man, Save The Empire
8	Resilience
9	Irrational Fears
10	Shared Trauma
11	So Far So Fake
12	12 Fractures

Pierce The Veil

The Jaws Of Life

---

Genre: Post-hardcore.
Released: 10/02/2023
Via Fearless Records

Album Review: Pierce The Veil – The Jaws Of Life

Pierce The Veil seems to have a new lease on life with the resurgence of the “Emo” scene thanks to apps like TikTok and the return of many giants of the scene. What better time to unleash a brand new album to try and capitalize on all the hype that the underappreciated scene is currently receiving? Here’s what I thought of Pierce The Veil’s ‘The Jaws Of Life’.

The album opens up with ‘Death Of An Executioner’ and right off the bat, you are met with a familiar sound that will throw you back to your scene days. A moody, emotional track blended with a surprisingly groovy rhythm is a great way to ease listeners into a new album. Single ‘Pass The Nirvana’ follows and if you are a fan of extremely angsty music full to the brim with attitude then this is the song for you my friend! ‘Even When I’m Not With You’ comes massively out of the left field and I feel this song is going to divide opinions a lot. Personally, I am not a huge fan of the mundane and repetitive track as I feel it is really lacking that personality fans are used to finding in Pierce The Veil’s music.

On the other hand, ‘Emergency Contact’ is a shining example of how the band can dial the aggression back and deliver a deeply emotional track without relying on screams and distortion. This song was a huge hit during their sold-out UK tour in December and it’s clear to see why. Continuing down a more mellow vibe is ‘Flawless Execution’ and once again, this one is going to divide fans. I personally think the contrasting styles throughout the track make it a pleasant listening experience. Title track ‘The Jaws Of Life’ is up next and it does a good job of summing up the album in just one track. A nice mixture of the band’s heavier tendencies died with their more soppy-sounding tracks may leave a little to be desired but overall, it is a decent track.

‘Damn The Man, Save The Empire’ is one of those songs that is destined to hit so much harder live than it does on the album. The pre-chorus is begging for a venue full of emos to scream it at the top of their lungs! Not wanting to disturb the flow of the record, ‘Resilience’ keeps a more mellow approach with a predominant acoustic sound with electronic accents to compliment the track’s melody. ‘Irrational Fears’ is a nice, short interlude that allows for a quite drastic change in sound in the form of ‘Shared Trauma’. This track used heavily reverberated vocals and layered harmonies while the instrumental comes across as quite a wavey. It’s an extremely different feel from what most fans would expect from the band and I’m honestly not too sure how I feel about it.

As the album draws closer to its conclusion, ‘So Far So Fake’ brings back a bit more aggression and almost feels as if it has returned to a more familiar-sounding track. The final track ‘12 Fractures’ dials everything down one last time for a more vocally driven song to serenade the listener home. A tonne of passion can be found within this track and it does an amazing job of wrapping everything together neatly.

This album is bound to divide opinion amongst new and existing Pierce The Veil fans. It has some amazing moments however it also feels very all over the place. The band are clearly not afraid of changing it up and I believe it’s only natural for a band’s sound to adapt over time however, that will not always produce the best results. The album isn’t bad by any means however it doesn’t reach the same heights as the band’s earlier material, unfortunately.