Andy Biersack

Andrew Dennis Biersack (born December 26, 1990), is an American singer and pianist. He is the founder and lead vocalist for the American rock band, Black Veil Brides, and is its only remaining original member. In May 2014, he started a solo music project under the moniker Andy Black and released his debut album, The Shadow Side, in 2016.

Early Life

Andy was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the US. There, he attended a Catholic school, which he has mentioned many times in interviews. Because of the way Andy dressed, and of the music he would listen to (like The Misfits, The Dammed, The Dropkick Murphys, etc) he would often get bullied. This was actually reenacted in the 'Knives and Pens' music video. For High School, Andy was a pupil at the Cincinnati's School for Creative and Performing Arts where he majored in Drama and Vocal music.

Shortly after turning 18, Andy left school before he graduated and moved to LA in hopes of furthering his potential career.

Black Veil Brides

Black Veil Brides in 2018

When Andy was 14, he formed a band with some friends called 'Biersack', however, they only ever played one show. This project eventually grew into what would be known as 'Black Veil Brides'. Bass player, Ashley Purdy explains how they got their name in an interview,

"Black Veil Brides is a Roman Catholic term used for when a woman marries into the church and gives up all the pleasures of life to devote her life to God. She is then deemed a Black Veil Bride. Sorta similar to a rock band where you have to give up many things in pursuit of what you're passionate about or believe in. It also has the dichotomy of the positive and negative. The happiest time in one's life, could be getting married. And the opposite of that in one's life would be at a funeral of a loved one. It all tends to fit really well for a dark and heavy rock band"

It was in September 2009 that independent label StandBy Records signed Black Veil Brides. By the end of that year, Black Veil Brides had released their first music video for the song, 'Knives and Pens', which has garnered over 110,000,000 views at the time of editing.

Albums

• We Stitch These Wounds (2010)
• Set The World On Fire (2011)
• Wretched and Divine: The Story Of The Wild Ones (2013)
• Black Veil Brides (2014)

• Vale (2018)

Andy Black

Cover of 'The Shadow Side'

In May 2014, Andy revealed to Kerrang! magazine that he had taken on a side, solo project under the moniker

'Andy Black'. He explained that his solo project will have a different sound compared to the Black Veil Brides and that he felt he couldn't create that sound within the band, thus deciding to take it on as a solo artist. Andy said that inspiration for this project was his love for '80s synth and goth music.

On May 19, 2014, he premièred his first song, titled 'They Don't Need to Understand' along with a music video. Then his first album 'The Shadow Side', was released on May 6, 2016, with the lead single from the project, 'We Don't Have to Dance' released on March 18, 2016. The music video for the 'We Don't Have to Dance' was released on March 21.

Other Media

Andy has been featured in two commercials, which were filmed shortly after his move to Los Angeles, one being the AT&T commercial "Confetti" and the other a Montana Meth commercial named "Jump." He has also starred in the "Average Joe" web series, in which Andy's cousin Joe Flanders is the main star.

Andy has also been in Legion of the Black, a film which stars Black Veil Brides and goes along with their Wretched and Divine concept album. In 2015, he and the rest of the band were featured on Alive and Burning, a live concert film which showcases their concert at The Wiltern during the Black Mass Tour.

In 2016, Andy was cast as Johnny Faust in the thriller American Satan, with Ben Bruce from Asking Alexandria featured in the film as well. It was released on October 13, 2017.

Religion

In an interview with Loudwire in 2012, Biersack said,

"I'm not a religious person but I grew up in a religious family. I went to the funeral for my grandfather, a person that I love very much, and everyone is speaking about how he went to Heaven and how he's in Heaven. I always fight with that, because I would love nothing more to believe that my grandfather is in the clouds playing "Xbox 460" or whatever awesome stuff they have up in Heaven, but I can't."

Injuries

Andy has suffered multiple injuries while performing with Black Veil Brides, most notably his fall from a 15-foot (4.6 m) pillar on June 18, 2011, in Hollywood. In an attempt to jump back onto the stage, he fell forward and hit his ribcage (which could have prompted the song 'Ribcage' on his 'The Shadow Side' album), knees and skull on the edge, which resulted in 3 ribs shattered (3 lower left), and one displaced. That particular injury caused Black Veil Brides to have to miss the first week of the Vans Warped Tour in 2011. On October 26, 2011, while on another tour in the UK, Biersack broke his nose on the drum riser while performing a gig in Luxembourg, resulting in more missed tour dates. However, two days later, he performed with Black Veil Brides in London.

References

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJd2cRv8rUw

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Biersack