Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones
by Black Veil Brides
  • Record Label: Island
  • Release Date: Jan 8, 2013
User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 42
  3. Negative: 7 out of 42
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  1. TheQuietGamer
    Aug 19, 2014
    8
    A big step-up from "Set the World on Fire." A more fresh and original sound means the rest of the band members are able to do work that is just as memorable as Biersack's voice this time around. It's a pretty large concept album composed on 19 tracks, a small but noticeable portion of which are lackluster interludes, that does a good job of establishing the band as one of the rock bands toA big step-up from "Set the World on Fire." A more fresh and original sound means the rest of the band members are able to do work that is just as memorable as Biersack's voice this time around. It's a pretty large concept album composed on 19 tracks, a small but noticeable portion of which are lackluster interludes, that does a good job of establishing the band as one of the rock bands to keep an eye on in the future. Not only will the album please fans, but it also has the potential to bring in a lot of new ones. It will prove to people that these guys aren't just image and that they have something to offer people outside of the "emo" crowd. My overall score for the album is an 8.9/10.… Expand
  2. har1992ish
    May 28, 2013
    9
    A fine blend of punk, hard rock and glam metal that I enjoyed throughout the record. This is an album, not just a collection of tracks put together.

    The concept of the album and its narratives are very addicting. However the interludes get tiresome after repeated listens. T

    Standout Tracks Lost It All, In The End, Days Are Numbered
  3. StrawberryBlond
    Jan 30, 2013
    7
    Black Veil Brides are a new territory for me as I start my quest to broaden my musical taste and listen to as much new music as I can. After hearing their great lead single, In The End, I imagined great things for the rest of the album. And thankfully, it lived up to my expectations. Wretched And Divine is an album based around the theme of feeling rejected from society and rising up fromBlack Veil Brides are a new territory for me as I start my quest to broaden my musical taste and listen to as much new music as I can. After hearing their great lead single, In The End, I imagined great things for the rest of the album. And thankfully, it lived up to my expectations. Wretched And Divine is an album based around the theme of feeling rejected from society and rising up from oppression. Hardly reinventing the wheel, but a decent theme when done well. And they certainly do it well. With rousing guitar and passionate vocals, the group definitely sound genuine as they power their way through the 19-track album. However, this many tracks is somewhat annoying. Only 12 of those tracks are full length songs...plus a whopping seven interludes, some instrumental, some spoken. I find interludes to be very unnecessary, particularly when there's a lot of them and this album definitely overdid it in a bizarre attempt to make the album appear longer than the actually is. In reality, without them, the album barely scrapes 45 minutes. But despite all the padding, the actual songs are very good. My personal favourites are Devil's Choir with its classic beat and lyrics that reminds me of when I first discovered rock in my teens and Lost It All. a beautiful, introspective ballad. But every song is decent and are all roughly on the same level except maybe We Don't Belong, which is a bit too cheesy OTT teenage poetry-esque for me.
    I don't know much about the band, but I can tell from the way they dress and their songs that they probably get quite a bit of flack for being an "emo" band, even though they claim that they don't aim to be. It makes me wonder if anyone outside their teens should be considering their music good, but you know what? Society loves to put people into categories and it's ridiculous to generalise. Like what you like and embrace your inner rebel/outcast with this album.    … Expand
  4. Skydog
    Jan 13, 2013
    9
    This concept album describes the story of the kids who feel "unwanted" or "unknown", sort of in a gothic high school reunion tour. The first half is very good, but once it hits the middle i started to get scared. At first I thought Resurrecting the Sun wasn't very good, it took multiple listens to get any sort of connection to it, same with Shadows Die . The instrumentation is theThis concept album describes the story of the kids who feel "unwanted" or "unknown", sort of in a gothic high school reunion tour. The first half is very good, but once it hits the middle i started to get scared. At first I thought Resurrecting the Sun wasn't very good, it took multiple listens to get any sort of connection to it, same with Shadows Die . The instrumentation is the standout on this album, Lost It All being one of my favorites out of the 19 track album. Overall the album is not as bad as the mainstream critics are suggesting, I am in no way a fan of their first two albums but my friend happened to let me borrow the CD after he thought i'd like it.
    Take a listen, folks!    … Expand
  5. atheist123
    Feb 4, 2013
    5
    An average album by an average band. Andy's vocals have improved over Set the World on Fire and the guest vocals by Bert from The Used is a nice addition, if a little underwhelming. The interludes grow tedious on repeat listens but all of the songs are solid hard rock fare and nothing too offensive. It's nowhere near as experimental as Andy implied prior to release with the exception ofAn average album by an average band. Andy's vocals have improved over Set the World on Fire and the guest vocals by Bert from The Used is a nice addition, if a little underwhelming. The interludes grow tedious on repeat listens but all of the songs are solid hard rock fare and nothing too offensive. It's nowhere near as experimental as Andy implied prior to release with the exception of one song which included piano... Go listen to the Afterman: Descension by Coheed … Expand
  6. metalforbrainz1
    Jul 10, 2013
    8
    I recommend this album to a fan of rock music. It has one of the best modern rocks songs ever (In The End) and a great concept. Easily should've been Kerrang's best album
  7. drainbramaged
    Jun 21, 2013
    5
    While a drastic improvement over the band's first two records, Wretched and Divine offers nothing new or remotely creative. What we get instead is a collection of watered down rock (and I use that term very lightly) anthems accompanied by irritating spoken intervals. Black Veil Brides' biggest let down is probably their inability to write interesting lyrics. The words are bland at theirWhile a drastic improvement over the band's first two records, Wretched and Divine offers nothing new or remotely creative. What we get instead is a collection of watered down rock (and I use that term very lightly) anthems accompanied by irritating spoken intervals. Black Veil Brides' biggest let down is probably their inability to write interesting lyrics. The words are bland at their best and I assure you that every single emotional theme explored on the album will have been done to death by a plethora of other artists years before. Essentially, Andy Biersack and his crew are leathered-up pop stars with distorted guitars.… Expand
  8. ThatOneReviewa
    Oct 29, 2015
    8
    Black Veil Brides has certainly improved over Set The World on Fire and We Stitch These Wounds with Wretched and Divine. As Kerrang said, it may not be a game changer, but it is an opinion changer.
  9. GamecubeLover
    Jul 28, 2016
    10
    Why does this get a 10? Easy. In the End. NO OTHER REASON. In the end is my 2nd favorite song ever created and my favorite Black Veil Brides song. Its great. No PERFECT!
  10. DibbleChud
    Oct 25, 2017
    7
    TL;DR at the bottom for those with little time to spare :)

    In my opinion, Black Veil Brides, for better or for worse, will never top In The End. This album as a whole isn't exactly stellar. There are some songs on there I tend to just skip. However, when the album shines, it shines bright. In The End, Lost It All, New Day and Wretched and Divine come to mind whenever someone brings up    TL;DR at the bottom for those with little time to spare :)

    In my opinion, Black Veil Brides, for better or for worse, will never top In The End. This album as a whole isn't exactly stellar. There are some songs on there I tend to just skip. However, when the album shines, it shines bright. In The End, Lost It All, New Day and Wretched and Divine come to mind whenever someone brings up the band in question. It's certainly an anthem album for the fans of the band. Unfortunately it's just not one of those albums I can say I like every single song on. Resurrect the Sun unfortunately comes to mind with it's lacklustre chorus and forgettable verses. I barely even remember Done for You, and when you take out the F.E.A.R. Transmissions (not references to the game series but rather a fictional cult in the BvB Universe) and 'songs' like Overture and Exordium you are left with 12 songs in total. Which is a shame given that more than half of those 12 songs are actually banging tunes, but the others are just mediocre at best.

    TL;DR
    At it's best it's amazing
    In the End is an anthem for hard rock
    Some of the songs are just lacklustre
    7 of the 19 tracks are just filler

    Final Score: 7/10    … Collapse

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Kerrang!
    Feb 5, 2013
    80
    While Wretched And Divine might not be a game changer, for many people it could--and it should--be an opinion changer. [5 Jan 2013, p.54]
  2. The Guardian
    Jan 10, 2013
    40
    There is nowhere near enough invention on display to disguise the blank-eyed earnestness of the lyrics.
    Read full review
  3. AllMusic
    Jan 10, 2013
    60
    Wretched & Divine is a solid album of neo-hard rock that might just be the thing your inner Crüe fan has been looking for..
    Read full review
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