It's finally here! The long awaited first single from Pierce the Veil's upcoming album. After postponing the release last year, the album was set to drop sometime in early 2015. But we all know now that the album will be coming out in the last half of the year. "Collide with the Sky" was nothing short of incredible, solidifying the band's position at the top of their field. So does this new single live up to expectation? Here's a link to buy the new single on iTunes (The Divine Zero)
Pierce the Veil has ups and downs in terms of reception from critics. Their debut is considered just that. A debut. Just like fellow bands, BMTH and ADTR, they rarely ever perform songs from their debut, nor do they look back on that first release with fond memories. Everyone has a hard time with their first album (unless you're PVRIS then you knock that motherfucker out of the park).
"Selfish Machines" was the album that helped get them noticed by fans and media. The band split from Equal Vision Records and "upgraded" to Fearless Records. Two years later and we get the masterpiece that is "Collide with the Sky". That was the album that proved the band knew what they were doing, and they were here to stay. Hit singles like "King for a Day featuring Kellin Quinn of SWS", "Bulls in the Bronx" and "Hold on Till May" are just a few gems that the band produced.
And now the "Collide era" has been brought to an end with this new single. Does it match up the the greatness their 3rd album built the band up to be? Not exactly. A song dedicated to the fans is a sure crowd pleaser, but falls short after the work from their previous album. "The Divine Zero" is hardly divine. It isn't as catchy as "Bulls in the Bronx" or as creative as "Besitos". The track hits all the right notes, but it doesn't knock them out of the park like previous numbers had.
The mixing is what really lets this track down. The lyrics are classic PTV, as are the instrumentals. But the over powering vocals make this track feel more like an unfinished demo than a polished single off their highly anticipated new album. Perhaps they mixed up the tracks and sent the actual demo version of this song to the record company for release instead of the finished one. That's the only explanation I can think of for why this song sounds so incomplete.
Summary -
Fans of PTV are sure to love this new single, and get pumped up for the new album. But with the single sounding like something off their debut, it has to be leaving some a bit worried that the success they had with their previous release was just a fluke. Hopefully the album sounds much better than this because we don't need another "A Flair For the Dramatic"
Rating -
7/10