Black Veil Brides

On their fourth album, Hollywood’s Black Veil Brides eschew their metalcore dirges and emo freakouts in favor of a kind of old-school arena-ready rock. Produced by metal legend Bob Rock (Mötley Crüe, Metallica), the effort’s a hyper-riffed mix of big choruses (“Heart of Fire,” “Drag Me to the Grave”), oddly optimistic and melodic darkness (“Faithless,” “Devil in the Mirror”), and a glorious metal weeper in the guise of a ’80s-styled power ballad (“Goodbye Agony”) that would’ve done Whitesnake proud. Singer Andy Biersack’s tone suggests unironic seriousness, so make no mistake—BVB are hardly backdated.