I’ve been loved for 10 years
“If you wanted to set me free, why the fuck would you say something? See, I was just over seventeen. May the poison SET. ME. FREE. Oh no, please don’t abandon me. Mother, Father, I love you so. BUT THIS IS JUST ME DISGUISED AS ME. I’M THE KILLER WHO BURNED YOUR HOME. THIS HOME. What the fuck is this home? THIS IS THE STREET YOUTH RISING UP!”
Iconic. My Pierce The Veil era was a wonderfully depressing time for thirteen year old me. PTV had their own unique sound. Catchy “mexicore” riffs, metalcore influenced breakdowns, and let’s not forget the wildly varying vocal range of the one and only, Vic Fuentes. Previously known as, Before Today, Pierce the Veil’s success amplified in 2012 after signing to Fearless Records and later dropping their most famous album, Collide With the Sky. Good thing the world didn’t end. AMIRITE?! I can single handedly say PTV had an enormous impact on the youth in the music scene. This entire album is based on personal experiences from Vic coming from a broken home, self-infliction, and the heartache he endured throughout his teen years. Things that many, including myself, resonated with.
It’s sorta hard to put into words the emotional impact Pierce the Veil had on me. It was one of the most difficult times in my life and anytime things were bad at home I knew I had their music to get me to the next day. Cliche. I know. It’s something my parents never understood and something I couldn’t quite express either. I was thirteen when I heard Bulletproof Love blasting from my brother's room. It sounds silly to say this post-hardcore band introduced me to heavy music, but they were most definitely the first band that was “screamy” that I liked. I grew up in a broken home. I had a very similar upbringing to Vic Fuentes, and sometimes when I look back to 2012, I am so thankful I had 13 songs to get me through every day. Who would I be today without the influential musical impact of Pierce the Veil? What would my company be today without this album creating the ideology of success in my goal driven, youthful mind?
Pierce the Veil gave me this beautiful breakthrough that motivated me to break my family's generational cycle and make something great of myself through music. Vic Fuentes was proof that you didn’t have to become a product of your environment. He showed vulnerability in his songs like Stained Glass Eyes and Colorful Tears, Props & Mayhem, and let’s not forget the haunting yet soul-stirring intro, May These Noises Startle you in your Sleep Tonight. His lyricism surfaced self-infliction, suicide, and betrayal in love. They had a fanbase that outnumbered every other in the scene at the time. They sold 27,000 copies of Collide with the Sky in just one week. Can you guys believe that? Hundreds and thousands of us have been loved for 10 years. Understood for 10 years. Nonetheless, sad emo girls for 10 years.
I feel it in my bones that Pierce the Veil will soon retire, but when that day arrives, it will be a beautiful celebration of an ending.
"The theme to the album artwork is 'jumping off of the ground that is breaking beneath you.' The idea is to inspire hope amongst the chaos that may be happening around you. If the ground was breaking beneath your feet, your first reaction may be to run and jump to safety, and it's that moment where you are suspended in the air that I am focusing on. A still frame where you're not sure if the person is falling or flying. It's about freeing yourself from the things that are breaking or falling apart in your life, and inspiring a sense of hope from the desperation." - Vic Fuentes (Description of Collide with the Sky cover art)