Pierce The Veil Collide With The Sky

The San Diego post-hardcore quartet Pierce the Veil displays remarkable growth and maturity in its musicianship here—especially when compared to early recordings by Before Today, the earlier project in which brothers Victor Fuentes (guitar and vocals) and Mike Fuentes (drums) cut their teeth. Collide with the Sky opens with “May These Noises Startle You in Your Sleep Tonight”. A gradual build of haunting ambience ushers in bassist Jaime Preciado’s distant screaming over Spanish guitar arpeggios, all recorded with low fidelity. But then the production opens up, bringing everything to the forefront as “Hell Above” properly sets the tone with complex arrangements and Victor’s androgynous voice pumping out barbed melodies. Sleeping with Siren’s Kellin Quinn lends his boyish vocals to the outstanding “King for a Day”, which plays with all the sophisticated complexity of 2112-era Rush while adhering to post-hardcore contrast of melodic singing and feral screaming. “Bulls in the Bronx” is another notable song, pulsing with catchy punk-pop melodies while maintaining those prerequisite temper tantrums of post-adolescent angst.