Black Veil Brides‘ lead vocalist Andy Black has finally released his much-anticipated solo project “The Shadow Side” and if you haven’t graced your ears with all its glory, you’re definitely missing out! Luckily for you, Celeb Secrets have the complete breakdown of the top seven tracks that you MUST listen to.
The album consists of 13 amazing songs that will have you feeling nearly every emotion on the spectrum. “The Shadow Side” was produced by John Feldmann as well as collaborations with Patrick Stump (lead vocalist for Fall Out Boy), Gerard Way (front man for My Chemical Romance), Ashton Irwin (drummer/vocalist for 5 Seconds of Summer), and Rian Dawson (drummer for All Time Low).
“The Shadow Side” track listing
01. Homecoming King
02. We Don’t Have To Dance
03. Ribcage
04. Stay Alive (feat. Matt Skiba)
05. Love Was Made To Break
06. Beautiful Pain
07. Put The Gun Down
08. Drown Me Out
09. Paint It Black
10. Break Your Halo
11. Louder Than Your Love
12. Broken Pieces
13. The Void
Homecoming King
“F**k the homecoming king!”
The track starts off with a mysterious, intense vibe – much like the feeling you get when you watch your favorite thriller. As the song develops, I can immediately see a 5SOS connection happening. From the way Andy sings about an invisible man to the underlying instruments, I suddenly feel as if I was sucked into a cult film about a reject being the true homecoming king. At the bridge of the song, everything slows down into a beat similar to the intro of “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”. The music quickly picks up from there, causing it all to go completely haywire. This is one of the many tracks I would kill to see Andy perform live.
We Don’t Have To Dance
“We don’t have to talk. We don’t have to dance. We don’t have to smile. We don’t to make friends. It’s so nice to meet you, lets never meet again.”
“We Don’t Have To Dance” is the next track to greet us, and it definitely keeps that upbeat tempo rolling. During an interview, Black admitted that this was his favorite song from the album and it’s pretty obvious why. Have you ever spotted that wall flower at a school dance and wondered what they could possibly be thinking about? Well this song here is the answer you’ve been looking for. It truly is everything an introvert wanted to say, but didn’t care to. The intro reminds me of Paramore‘s “Decode”, but with more intensity within it. It’s catchy, infectious, and dynamic.
Stay Alive ft. Matt Skiba
 “Don’t want to go back home tonight so I’ll drive this road alone.”
“Stay Alive” ft. Matt Skiba is like a classic rock tune, but with a smidge of gothic meets electropop. It’s lighthearted and inspiring, which is everything a feel-good song should be. Right off the bat, it reminds me of 5SOS’ “Outerspace” mixed with P!ATD‘s new music. In my eyes, it’s new the era of rock that has yet to break the surface.
Beautiful Pain
“Your life was a shooting star that burnt out too fast.”
To me, the title of this song sums up the album quite nicely. From the very start, Andy is telling us this story of turmoil and chaos. But at the same time, it’s beautiful to see how everything pans out. At this point in the story, everything has gone to sh*t and now they’re just wallowing in their pain. The is vibe similar to Demi Lovato‘s “Stone Cold”, but with an edgier feel. The array of instruments and Andy’s haunting vocals pull everything together perfectly.
Put The Gun Down
 “I can’t tune the voice out, how’d the get so goddamn loud,”
The heart wrenching story continues as we’re submerged into “Put The Gun Down”. Through out the track, we’re hit with spurs of emotion and many different instruments. The depth of the lyrics correlate well with the depth of Black’s vocals creating this uncomfortably haunting atmosphere. This song will reach into your chest and tear your heart out with one clean snatch.
Paint It Black
“Dont you know we’re still gold, just another day that we’ve made mistakes.”
With “Paint It Black”, we see a glimmer of hope as the mood begins to lighten up. The tune poses as a reminder that everyone makes mistakes every now and then and no matter how badly you think you’ve messed things up, you can always paint it black and start over. Whether you’re into rock music or not, I would recommend this song to anyone who could use a little pick-me-up. Black’s raspy tone and the passionate message behind the song makes for an impeccable anthem.
Louder Than Love
“We rather be anyone else than something inside a magazine,”
This track is just pure awesomeness. The message, the music, and everything in between is just perfection. It’s catchy and makes me reminisce about the times when bands like Sum 41 dominated the airwaves. “Louder Than Love” revolves around the idea that there’s nothing wrong with being a misfit or an outcast. If you want to let yourself go and become a hot-mess, go for it! It encourages people to go and figure out who they want to be, even if it’s not what society agrees with.
The Void
 “Farewell again. We’ve come to an end. I’ll miss you my friend.”
“The Void” is the perfect way to close out the album. This power ballad is much like the lovechild of “What A Catch Donnie”, “Save Rock and Roll”, and “Black Parade” which are coincidentally by the same bands who helped create the record. It’s both dramatic, yet calming much like when you reach the end of an amazing book series. This song fits the “grand finale” role down to a T.
