Black Veil Brides, Wolf & Chain @ The Gov, Adelaide 4/7/2022
Break out the leather and make-up, Black Veil Bride’s long awaited return to Australia was finally here. After a couple false starts, the Hollywood based quintet finally made it to The Gov last night and the gig-starved punters of Adelaide were out in force to get their glam on. Having not toured Australia since 2014 Soundwave, to say they were overdue was an understatement.
With three albums released since then including their recent rock opera concept release The Phantom Tomorrow, there was a lot of ground to cover, but we hoped to have a few oldies thrown in along the way!!
As we arrived at the venue, the usually buzzing front bar was closed and as such punters had no choice but to join the biggest line I have seen at an Adelaide gig, maybe ever. Unfortunately the line didn’t exactly race, and we were forced to listen to start of the openers from outside the venue.
Once inside though, holy shit it was pumping! The atmosphere was thick with anticipation and Adelaide’s own Wolf and Chain were in full flight whipping the growing crowd into a frenzy. I’ve seen Wolf and Chain a few times and they are legit! The boys blistered through a sharp set including Repent, the yet to be released Ashes and finished with the crowd and my favourite Killer. Other than a couple mic issues, handled with ease by enigmatic front man Jack, the up-and-comers crushed it. Do yourself a favour and check them out.
Then it was time for the main event. When Christian appeared the crowd erupted, the boys quickly launched into Faithless which lifted the crowd again, but when Andy swaggered onto the stage and took the mic the place exploded and from there it never came down. The edgy front man had the crowd eating out the palm of his hand, it was ridiculous. Rocketing through a set spanning their entire collection and including Rebel Love Song, Wake Up and the rarely played Stolen Omen for the girl in the front row who’d been to all the shows on the tour.
Even the feedback issues that were clearly pissing Andy off, Black Veil Brides could not be denied, they were on fire. They were super tight, tough and played with the polish of a band at the top of their game. They have come a loooooong way from those 2014 shows.
Wretched and Devine and Knives and Pens were crowd favourites, before the main set was closed with The Legacy. The crowd had barely caught its breath before the boys returned for a one song encore of Fallen Angels.
Vowing not to be so long between drinks next time, the boys left the stage for the final time. All done within the hour (efficient…?), but leaving the punters fully spent. Here for a good time, not a long time and hopefully back soon to do it again!!
Live Review By Tim Nicholas