Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack recently addressed the long-standing “poser” and “not metal” labels directed at his band. He explained his perspective in an interview published on Louder Sound.
When asked whether it bothers him that gatekeepers call Black Veil Brides posers and “not metal” without even listening to the music, Biersack acknowledged the frustration but offered a nuanced take on how the criticism has ultimately worked in the band’s favor.
“It is frustrating when people misattribute what you make,” Biersack said. “People who only know us from the cover of Set The World On Fire don’t really know what we sound like, or realise the depth in tracks like Fallen Angels, which was written about John Milton’s Paradise Lost poem.”
Despite the frustration, Biersack noted that the gatekeeping has had an unexpected upside for the band.
“Though, the ‘gatekeeping’ has actually benefitted us in the long run,” he continued. “When someone who inexplicably decided what the band sounded like a decade ago based on our aesthetic hears a song, they’re blown away.”
Biersack also reflected on the broader significance of the reaction the band continues to provoke, tying it back to his own history with the group.
“I started this band when I was 15, so I consider it a pretty significant honor that, even if it’s a misconception, our band still elicits a response in people,” he said.
The comments offer a rare look at how Biersack views the band’s complicated relationship with metal gatekeeping. He framed long-standing criticism as an unexpected driver of new listeners.
The debate over Black Veil Brides’ place in the metal world is not new. It speaks to a broader tension within heavy music between image, accessibility, and authenticity. The band’s theatrical presentation has always been as much a talking point as their sound, making them a lightning rod for the kind of criticism Biersack addressed in the interview.
Black Veil Brides have long been associated with a polished, theatrical metalcore and hard rock style. Their strong visual identity helped them stand out in the scene but also invited backlash from metal purists. The band’s elaborate stage costumes, heavy makeup, and cinematic imagery drew comparisons to glam metal acts of the 1980s. Some in the metal community viewed this as a departure from the genre’s rawer traditions.
The “poser” label directed at the band reflects a broader pattern of gatekeeping around image, accessibility, and crossover appeal in heavy music. Critics within the metal community have historically been skeptical of bands that achieve mainstream visibility through aesthetics, often questioning whether their music carries the same weight as their look. Black Veil Brides built a devoted fanbase through social media and a highly visual brand in the late 2000s and early 2010s. They became a frequent target of that scrutiny.
Yet that same controversy has consistently kept the band in the conversation. The criticism around authenticity has reinforced Black Veil Brides’ outsider appeal, particularly among fans who identify with the band’s defiant, anti-elitist stance. Rather than distancing themselves from the debate, Biersack and the band have leaned into it. This strategy appears to have paid off in sustaining long-term relevance.
Biersack’s latest comments suggest that the gatekeeping, far from being a wound, has functioned as a kind of slow-burn marketing. Each time a skeptic finally listens to the music without the filter of preconceived notions about the band’s image, it creates a moment of genuine discovery. This is a moment Biersack seems to welcome rather than resent.
