Live Review : Black Veil Brides + Saint Agnes @ Arts Club, Liverpool on June 16th 2026

There’s no feeling quite like being at a gig that is somewhat different to the norm. Tonight, we have around 900 people packed into the Arts Club like sardines to witness a truly intimate moment with a band that are more used to bothering arenas. Even the format is different – rather than song after song we get the band (and especially frontman Andy Biersack) doing Q&A with the crowd, responding honestly (and sometimes hilariously) to questions from the crowd. Some of said crowd are obviously familiar with this side of the Brides, and have come prepared with phones, tablets and hand-written notices whereas others are just yelling!

First though we encounter the rage-fuelled dynamics of Saint Agnes. Frontwoman Kitty speaks and spits on behalf of the downtrodden, the outcasts and the overlooked. The rest of the band back her up with a loud, aggressive sound that can be both terrifying and intriguing. They open with the title track from their most recent album “Bloodsucker” and as Kitty snarls the lyrics – bloodsucker motherfucker, who the fuck are you? – the ferocity and passion is unbridled. The band swap instruments throughout, with guitars, bass and pianos thrown seemingly randomly into the mix. This produces a veritable cacophony of sound that is sometimes oddly jarring but also rather pleasing. There’s lots of energy and movement, and a special mention goes to the drummer whose solid but fast beats keep the whole thing moving along in splendid fashion. It’s noisy, irreverent and fierce but at the same time relevant and relatable.

Black Veil Brides have come a long way since their beginnings as a glam-rock emo crossover band. There have been a lot of phases, a lot of direction changes and a lot of growth over the years. This has resulted in a band that appear on stage in Liverpool tonight as older, wiser, more mature. They have finally grown into themselves – gone are the days of makeup, concept albums and wildly varying genres. Instead we are faced with great musicianship, an essentially greatest hits setlist and a lot of gentle humour. They are loud, uncompromising and unapologetic. On a stage so small that they have to keep politely excusing each other to use the ego ramps they take us on a musical journey that encompasses their entire career. In between, we catch glimpses of the real humans that make up this band. Andy regales us with tales of meeting Danzig, not being British enough to be James Bond and how hard it was to wash off the body paint during their “Motley Crue Phase” We learn what each member’s favourite cereal is, and their most and least favourite songs to play. It’s different, fun, and when they do get back to the music it’s performed in a relaxed and cheerful fashion that is only belied by the intensity of the lyrics.

The music then, after all finding out the name of Jinxx’s first pet is all very well but it’s not really what we are here for. They open with ‘Knives and Pens’, taking us right back to their first album, and then proceed to dip into everything right up to the most recent release ‘Vindicate’. There are definite crowd favourites – ‘Rebel Love Song’ draws a huge response, as does ‘Wake Up’. They weave singalong choruses into serious riffing without missing a beat, and the crowd love them all. At one point a random lady is pulled out of the crowd to join them on stage, at another Andy accepts a teddy bear with his face on both sides of it, which concerns him as with two fronts there is no asshole so can it really be him?

They close the main set with ‘The Legacy’ which remains a beacon of fast, furious and brutal metalcore. The setlist shows two encores but due to venue curfews ‘Fallen Angels’ (which is Andy’s least favourite song to play despite being probably their most well-known) is dropped and instead we just have the power and glory of ‘In The End’. For this they arrive in stage wearing masks created by a fan and given to them during the meet and greet earlier, a rather lovely gesture that I’m sure caused much joy! The crowd are with them every step of the way, and the song turns into a celebration of the symbiosis of band and crowd. Black Veil Brides will be back with their full-size show in early 2027, and while I’m sure they can’t wait to have a full-sized stage to run around on again it was still very special to have been part of such a contrasting event as tonight.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Black Veil Brides + Saint Agnes