Misadventures (Pierce the Veil album)

Background

In an article by the Oakland Press, the band stated they had started writing new material together with Tom Denney whilst on tour with Mayday Parade, You Me at Six and All Time Low. The group finished writing new material after their winter European tour with British rock band Bring Me the Horizon in December 2013.

Writing and recording

In May 2014, Pierce the Veil started pre-production for the new record. On June 5, 2014, Tony Perry and Vic Fuentes announced that they would be flying to New Jersey to begin recording their new album with producer Dan Korneff.

The group decided to reunite with producer Dan Korneff to record the album, who also co-produced the band’s third album, Collide with the Sky. The band recorded the album at his Long Island studio in multiple sessions between the summer of 2014 and the summer of 2015. Vic Fuentes stated that “It was exciting to do another record with Dan [Korneff], we had gotten to know him really well on [our previous album], so there wasn’t that initial period where you’re trying to get to know each other. We just dove in and started to make music right away.”

Commenting on the band's progression in songwriting ability, Vic Fuentes stated that “[Pierce the Veil] went into this record wanting to top the last one, which we try to do with every record, and we kept setting the bar higher and higher.”

Album title

When questioned by Rock Sound on the meaning behind the album's title, lead vocalist Vic Fuentes stated that "it sort of represents our lives over the last couple of years of making this record. All the different steps that were taken, the different places it took us. Places where we wrote, places where we recorded, places where we lived, every unexpected turn that this whole thing brought us. It was one of those things where you set out with a plan and you know that sometimes things don’t go the way that you planned. That’s sort of what happened. There were all these different, unexpected turns that came our way, and us trying to find the end of the album. That’s what that title represented."

Release

Plans for an upcoming album were initially announced on December 23, 2013 - the band released a holiday update announcing that they would have a new album coming out in 2014 again through Fearless Records. In an interview with Alternative Press Vic Fuentes stated that the band was aiming for an early 2015 release date, pushed back from 2014. The reason for the pushed back release date was due to the band being several weeks behind due to two songs which the band wrote whilst they were recording the new album in the studio with producer Dan Korneff. The band's ambitions for an early 2015 release date did not surface as the album was again pushed back for a later release in 2016.

On June 18, 2015, the band released "The Divine Zero", the first single from the album.

On March 18, 2016, it was announced that the album would be released on May 13 through Fearless Records. The album was produced by Dan Korneff. The band released the second single from the album, "Texas Is Forever" on March 24, 2016.

On April 26, 2016, Pierce the Veil released the album's third single, "Circles", on BBC radio and announced that they were touring the UK and Europe later in 2016. The single was also released as a digital download.

On May 13, the band released Misadventures with a concert in West Hall Sports Palace, in Mexico City in front of 4,000 fans.

On November 17, the band released a music video for the album's first track, "Dive In", showing behind-the-scenes footage from their most recent tours.

Reception

Misadventures was met with critical acclaim, based on 5 critics, the album currently holds an 86 rating on Metacritic, signifying 'universal acclaim'. Alternative Press gave it a 90/100 rating, and it quoted as stating: "Every single track is a winner. Misadventures expertly redraws PTV’s own map, celebrating their impossible blend of ambitious, creative obsessions and the electric crackle of raw intensity". Kerrang! Magazine stated "Misadventures has proudly claimed the belt as Pierce The Veil's best offering to date", giving it 80/100.

Peyton Bernhardt of Blunt Magazine gave the album 5/5 and wrote "listening to Pierce The Veil’s output should follow the same principle that the international mining industry does: the deeper you dig, the more value you’ll find. One run-through of this LP simply won’t do – there’s too much to discover."

Andy Biddulph of Rocksound scored the album 8/10 and stated that 'Misadventures’ represents a rich, more polished version of the Pierce The Veil that broke out on 2012’s ‘Collide With The Sky’.

In addition Lisa Vanderwyk of Exclaim! gave the album 7/10 and praised Vic Fuentes for his performance stating that, "His crooning is familiar, but sharper now; he maintains stellar vocal performances throughout, dropping effortlessly from his head voice to guttural wails."

Personnel