BLACK VEIL BRIDES vocalist Andy Biersack has launched a "dark wave" side project called ANDY BLACK. According to the singer, ANDY BLACK which he stresses is "not a band" is merely "a fun and artistic way for me to try something that musically I wouldn't want to force into BLACK VEIL BRIDES."Speaking to Kerrang! magazine, Biersack stated about how the idea for ANDY BLACK came about: "My whole life, I've loved '80s synth and goth rock like THE SISTERS OF MERCY and DEPECHE MODE. "My biggest love has always been the music BLACK VEIL BRIDES make, but that doesn't mean I don't listen to or enjoy other things. "The older I get, the more interest I have in writing other kinds of music. "Over the last few years, I've been thinking up ways I could write this music on my own or with friends of mine. I started writing some songs with [producer John] Feldmann at the start of the year just playing around."The idea of doing it as a side project didn't really interest me until I got about nine songs in and realized I had some great stuff."Asked if there is a reason he couldn't do this kind of music within BLACK VEIL BRIDES, Biersack said: "It was always the intention to do it as a hobby. "There are so many bands I loved growing up whose singer would have a new idea for a sound and then completely ruin the band by taking a shit on the whole audience. That wasn't my interest. "There's no place for DEPECHE MODE and THE SISTERS OF MERCY in the music I make with my band. If I was a fan, I wouldn't want to hear that on a BLACK VEIL BRIDES record. It was important for me and for the integrity of the band not to tarnish it."He added: "It would be different if the reason I was doing this was that I wanted to get away from BLACK VEIL BRIDES. For some artists who do this, it's because there's an element in their main music that's missing, and I understand that. But this is more that I didn't want to cross the two things."If I came to the band and said, 'I want to do this '80s synth thing,' then they would have been nervous, but they would have made it work. But I don't want to do that, but I also don't want to neglect an opportunity to do something that could be fun while I have the chance."Asked what his bandmates' reaction was to him doing a solo project, Biersack said: "I made it very clear. I told the band what was going on and made it clear it was a passion project on the side, and everybody in the band gets it. And because we're doing this BLACK VEIL record at the moment, it's a non-issue, because they know I'm totally committed to the band."Regarding his decision to call the side project ANDY BLACK, Biersack said: "I chose the name ANDY BLACK because it feels like a good way to distinguish this from the band, because I don't want too much confusion. To me, this is an alter ego and the way that I'm singing is an alter ego. It's whole different side of my personality."He added: "This is a total passion project and I'm really enjoying writing these songs and being a little more cryptic and moody."Biersack also spoke about his plans for ANDY BLACK, telling Kerrang!: "I'm not sure what the full intention is I haven't signed with a label, for example, but I've made a music video. Right now I'm giving the music away for free."He continued: "I've got enough songs for a full album, but I'm not sure what the plan is. First, we're going to release a video. We made that on our own, with no budget, with my longtime friend and collaborator Patrick Fogarty, who has made almost all the BLACK VEIL BRIDES videos. We just did it for the fun of it because I was proud of the song, and so that will come out online for free."BLACK VEIL BRIDES' follow-up to its third album, last year's "Wretched And Divine: The Story Of The Wild Ones", is being helmed by producer Bob Rock, whose resume includes albums by METALLICA, MÖTLEY CRÜE, THE CULT and many others. Biersack hinted to The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that the new album may be another concept disc like "Wretched And Divine". "I think we're gonna go in a bit of a darker, heavier direction on the next one," he said. "We've got some concepts. I don't think we're gonna do a sequel or a follow-up to this story, but we've kind of got a new story that we're working on and I think we wanna follow that concept record route at least one more album.""Wretched And Divine: The Story Of The Wild Ones" came out in January 2013 and featured the Top 15 rock radio single "In The End".
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