Pierce The Veil are my favourite active band. I found them through Youtube last August when I heard King For A Day (featuring Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens) and went mental. They're Vic and Mike Fuentes, Jaime Preciado and Tony Perry, and they make post-hardcore music, according to Wikipedia. Really, if it's a band I like, you can be almost certain that 'post hardcore' is going to pop up somewhere.
But why do I like them? Well firstly because their songs sound great. Even before you get onto lyrics, purely on how they sound alone, so many of the songs are amazing-sounding, especially on their first album A Flair For The Dramatic, which has an amazing mix between twinkly little delicate bits, piano and then BANG MASSIVE GUITARS AND SHIT. It really is a very beautiful-sounding first album, especially The Balcony Scene and Currents Convulsive.
Lyrically they're brilliant as well. I love a good song lyric, and the ones Pierce The Veil come up with are wonderful. They tend to be quite literal, especially if you know the context - for instance "She sits up high, surrounded by the sun/One million branches and she loves every one/Mom and Dad, did you search for me?/I've been up here so long, I'm going crazy," in the song Hold On Till May off their most recent album, Collide With The Sky, is referring to a friend of Vic's who was neglected by her parents to the point that she would climb nearby trees and wait for them to notice she was missing - and very honest and cleverly written. It's not so much clever plays on words and stuff like you'd expect with a band like Fall Out Boy; PTV are more no-nonsense, getting-right-down-to-it kind of people with lyrics. But that's good when you need something to express yourself with. There's no ambiguity in what each song's about, either you can tell, or you can relate it to a very specific part of your own life.
Take Caraphernelia, for example - fans trying to invent some kind of lovelorn meaning for the title aside (it's just a word-like sound with no real meaning) - it doesn't mess you about. It's got Jeremy McKinnon from A Day To Remember in the chorus, screaming "What if I can't forget you? I'll burn your name into my throat, I'll be the fire that'll catch you?" followed by Vic's, "What's so good about picking up the pieces?" Best break-up song I've ever heard, and it's very therapeutic to stamp about your bedroom to, as well.
I also love their dedication to the fans, and how much stuff actually matters to them. Most fans who've done their research know about this one. Olivia Penpraze. She was an Australian girl, and a Pierce The Veil fan. Last year, however, after a long history of bullying and various other problems, she killed herself (honestly, the people who think it's ok to tell people they're better off dead sicken me more than anything else). When Pierce The Veil found out, it led to the creation of the song Bulls In The Bronx.
At concerts, Vic tends to ask at some point if music has ever saved anyone's life. As you can imagine, the crowd goes crazy. It saved Vic, too; he had a history of self-harm, but got himself together and now is an inspiration to many.
On a lighter note, I will end with this video, which I think sums it all up, really:
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