Pierce The Veil Interview

So, after being hard at work on their latest album Collide With The Sky it seems the year long break for Pierce The Veil has paid off; having already hit the US Billboards at number 12 and selling thousands of copies within only the first week of its release, I think these Californian chaps deserve a pat on the back.

Having already played the main stage at Warped Tour this summer, they're now about to embark on their first ever UK Headline tour; we couldn't think of a much better time to catch up Vic Fuentes from the band to find out a little bit more.

R13:Having just released your third studio album 'Collide With The Sky' (first for Fearless Records) I can imagine as a band, you're feeling pretty chuffed with yourselves, are you content with the outcome?
VF:I think every band always feels most proud of their new material. I was really happy with this record from start to finish, from the writing process to the very last day when I went with our producer Dan Korneff to get it mastered in New York City after staying up all night finishing the final mixes.

R13:When making a record, do you set yourselves a time limit or do you know when your work is done?
VF:The record label likes to put a deadline on things but I always like to push them and stretch them just about as far as they will go. I'm a crazy perfectionist so if you give me a year to record an album I'll use the entire year, if you give me a week, I'll still make it happen.

R13:And when putting the record out, did you receive the support you'd hoped for from Fearless Records?
VF:I honestly can't express to you how happy we are with our new label Fearless and the way they are handling the new album Collide With The Sky They have been incredibly proactive in promoting the new stuff, which shows us that they really care.

R13:A lot of song writing must have gone down in a year; what will you do with the tracks that weren't picked for the album?
VF:We'll definitely hang on to them, because there was a lot of material that we really liked but just couldn't fit it on the album. There was one song that we actually recorded in the studio that I couldn't get the lyrics right so I didn't want to release it. I'll finish it one day when I find the right words for it.

R13:Do you circle your lyrical inspiration around more life time events, rather than the love and hate cliché?
VF:On the new record, every song is about a different person. For example, A Match Into Water is about my ex girlfriend who was diagnosed with breast cancer. I wrote the lyrics as a gift to her, to let her know how proud I am of her for getting through all of the chemo and surgeries and never giving up hope. I write lyrics constantly as I go, so that when it comes time to make an album I have a lot of things to say.

R13:There's a fair amount of heavy material on the album, was this an intended change; as there was a mention of a pop track?
VF:We don't think of ourselves as a heavy band but it seems like we always find ourselves on metal tours. I think this may have had a little bit of influence on the heavier side of the new album. I think the guitar tones also had a lot to do with it. Even the pop songs on the album sound more intense because of the darker tones.

R13:Can we expect to see you on the next Punk Goes Pop instalment?
VF:Our band is not on this round of Punk Goes Pop, but I actually did do a guest vocal on Mayday Parade's cover of Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye. They did a solid job of making the song sound like a Mayday Parade song and I can't wait for people to hear it.

R13:You played Warped Tour this year in support for the release, what was the biggest highlight of the tour for you guys?
VF: The highlight for us was being able to play on the same stage as some of our heroes that we grew up listening to. We have looked up to bands like The Used, Taking Back Sunday and Anti-Flag since we were 15 years old. Tony even got the chance to play guitar on a song with his favourite band New Found Glory.

R13:You're also set to embark on your first ever UK headlining tour, exciting times...
VF:It will be amazing to play to our own fans in the UK, as opposed to someone else's. We have been looking forward to doing this tour for a real long time. I'm actually in a van right now on our way to our first sold out show in Leeds!

R13:The album displays some interesting artwork; what was the thought process behind this, and does it have a significant meaning?
VF:The meaning behind the artwork, was inspired by fan letters and messages. We have read so many heartfelt stories about how music has saved their lives, kept them from self-harm, and helped them with depression. The cover portrays a girl jumping away from a house that is falling apart and the idea is to inspire hope amongst the chaos that may be going on in your life.

R13:You collaborated with Kellin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens for your first single 'King For A Day' what made you want to work with him in particular?
VF:Our friendship with Kellin was brought together by our fans through Twitter. I would get tweets from fans encouraging Kellin and I to collaborate on a song literally 10 times a day until I eventually just reached out to him. I called him while we were recording and asked if he would be down to do a song and the rest is history. He's a really good dude and I'm grateful that our fans made such a good call.

R13:Talk us through the theme for that video; the film Point Break springs to mind!
VF:Haha our secret is out! That was literally one of the main inspirations when we first started talking about doing a video. It was meant to be a mix between 80's heist movies like Point Break and Gleaming The Cube and more recent movies like Ocean's Eleven. Jaime really wanted to do a heist video so we just ran with it.

R13:You're working fast and doing it successfully, what would you say is next for Peirce The Veil?
VF: After this UK run we do a US headliner with Sleeping With Sirens, then Sound wave in Australia, then hopefully get our asses back to the UK again as soon as possible.