The Shadow Side

The Shadow Side is the debut solo album by Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Black. It was released on May 6, 2016, on Lava and Republic Records.

The Shadow Side
Studio album by Andy Black
Released	May 6, 2016 (2016-05-06)
Recorded	2015–2016
Studio	Foxy Studios (Woodland Hills, California)
Genre	Pop rock[1][2][3] synthpop[4] pop punk[5] synthpunk[4] alternative rock[5]
Length	49:26
Label	Lava, Republic
Producer	John Feldmann, Ricky Reed (track 2)
Andy Black chronology
The Shadow Side (2016) The Ghost of Ohio (2019)
Singles from The Shadow Side
"We Don't Have to Dance" Released: March 18, 2016

The album was produced by John Feldmann and marks the departure of Black's hard rock musical style as the frontman of Black Veil Brides in exchange for more pop influences. It features guest performances from Quinn Allman, Rian Dawson, Ashton Irwin, Juliet Simms, Matt Skiba, and Gerard and Mikey Way.

Background and production

Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack debuted his solo pseudonym project under the name Andy Black with the song "They Don't Need to Understand" releasing in May 2014.[6] Black began to record the album in August 2015 alongside producer John Feldmann.[7] Throughout the recording process, Black often teased the upcoming album on social media with images of Black alongside well known rock musicians including Patrick Stump and Gerard Way.[7][8]

In an interview with Kerrang!, Black commented on the musical style of the album.

"I think my intention for this was to go as far in the other direction as possible. Sonically, the goal was to really play with music and a lot of different stuff, to have a lot of odd instrumentation and to have a lot of programmed stuff, keyboards and more classic, almost pop-rock guitar."[9]

While Black was recording the album, he also intended to record the next Black Veil Brides album, later resulting in writing about 45 songs for the solo project.[7]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Alternative Press	[1]
Kerrang!	4/5[11]
Paste	7.9/10[5]
Rock Sound	8/10[12]

The Shadow Side has received positive reviews from music critics. It holds an average score of 83/100 on Metacritic, indicating "positive reviews".[10] Rock Sound described the album as being "full of bombastic alt-pop". Alternative Press writer Ryan Downey commented that Black "chases his dark muse against a cinematic backdrop of impressive pop 'n' roll on The Shadow Side", also writing that Black sounded "confidently in charge" despite the large number of collaborations with known rock artists on the album.[1] At the 2017 Alternative Press Music Awards, The Shadow Side was nominated for "Album of the Year", and lead single "We Don't Have to Dance" was awarded "Song of the Year".[13]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Homecoming King"	Zakk Cervini Matt Pauling Andy Biersack John Feldmann Simon Wilcox	4:56
2.	"We Don't Have to Dance"	Biersack Feldmann Patrick Stump Quinn Allman Cervini Pauling Ricky Reed	3:14
3.	"Ribcage"	Cervini Pauling Biersack Feldmann Allman Wilcox	3:51
4.	"Stay Alive" (featuring Matt Skiba)	Cervini Pauling Biersack Feldmann	4:08
5.	"Love Was Made to Break"	Cervini Pauling Biersack Feldmann Joel Madden Benji Madden	3:25
6.	"Beautiful Pain"	Biersack Feldmann Cervini Pauling	3:33
7.	"Put the Gun Down"	Cervini Pauling Biersack Feldmann Emily Warren	3:46
8.	"Drown Me Out"	Biersack Feldmann Bonnie McKee Sarah Hudson Ashton Irwin	2:52
9.	"Paint It Black"	Cervini Pauling Biersack Feldmann Scott Stevens	4:13
10.	"Break Your Halo"	Cervini Pauling Biersack Feldmann B. Madden	3:31
11.	"Louder Than Your Love"	Pauling Cervini Biersack Feldmann Gerard Way	3:31
12.	"Broken Pieces"	Biersack J. Madden B. Madden Feldmann Allman	3:36
13.	"The Void"	Cervini Pauling Biersack Feldmann McKee Hudson	4:50
Total length:			49:26

Personnel

Adapted from album booklet notes[14]

Musicians

• Andy Black – primary artist
• John Feldmann – backing vocals; keyboards (tracks 1–3, 10 and 11); guitar (tracks 1 and 2)
• Zakk Cervini – guitar; keyboards (tracks 1–3, 5–8 and 10–13); bass guitar (tracks 1–4, 9 and 12)
• Matt Pauling – guitar; keyboards (tracks 1, 3, 5–8 and 10–13); bass guitar (tracks 1, 7 and 13)
• Peter "JR" Wasilewski – horn (tracks 1 and 13)
• Simon Wilcox – backing vocals (track 1)
• Juliet Simms – backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 8 and 13)
• Ashton Irwin – drums (tracks 1–4, 6 and 12)
• Ricky Reed – guitar, programming, synthesizer (track 2)
• Mikey Way – bass guitar (tracks 2 and 11)
• Quinn Allman – guitar (tracks 2, 3 and 12); keyboards (track 12)
• Matt Skiba – guest vocals (track 4)
• Rian Dawson – drums (tracks 7–9 and 13)
• Dean Butterworth – drums (track 11)
• Gerard Way – backing vocals (track 11)

Production

• John Feldmann – production, additional mixing
• Ricky Reed – production (track 2)
• Zakk Cervini – mixing, engineering
• Matt Pauling – engineering
• Manny Marroquin – mixing (track 2)
• Ethan Shumaker – engineering (track 2)
• A&R – Ryan Silva

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15]	23
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16]	62
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17]	85
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18]	182
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19]	33
Italian Albums (FIMI)[20]	99
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21]	33
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[22]	66
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23]	75
UK Albums (OCC)[24]	16
US Billboard 200[25]	22

References

1. Downey, Ryan (May 6, 2016). "Andy Black The Shadow Side". Alternative Press. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
2. Childers, Chad. "Black Veil Brides' Andy Biersack Announces Andy Black 'The Shadow Side' Album + 2016 North American Tour Dates". Retrieved February 12, 2017.
3. "Album Review: 'The Shadow Side' by Andy Black". The Soundboard. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
4. Exposito, Suzy (May 11, 2016). "Andy Black, Black Veil Brides Frontman, on His All-Star Synth-Punk Debut". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
5. Rosner, Ben (May 12, 2016). "Andy Black: The Shadow Side Review". Paste. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
6. Carter, Emily. "Andy Biersack Streams First Song from Solo Project Andy Black". Kerrang!. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
7. Sharp, Tyler. "Andy Biersack recording with Patrick Stump, the Used's Quinn Allman". Alternative Press. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
8. Chatterjee, Kika. "Gerard Way, Mikey Way team up for new Andy Black track—hear teaser". Alternative Press. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
9. "Black Veil Brides Frontman's Andy Black Project To Release 'The Shadow Side' Album in May". Blabbermouth. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
10. "Reviews for The Shadow Side by Andy Black". Metacritic. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
11. Kerrang! Magazine (30 April 2016 ed.). Kerrang!. p. 66.
12. Lloyd, Gav. "Andy Black – 'The Shadow Side'". Rock Sound. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
13. "And the winners of the 2017 APMAs are... - Alternative Press". Alternative Press. July 17, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
14. The Shadow Side (booklet). Andy Black. Lava/Republic. 2016. 02557 01349 8.CS1 maint: others (link)
15. "Australiancharts.com – Andy Black – The Shadow Side". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
16. "Austriancharts.at – Andy Black – The Shadow Side" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
17. "Ultratop.be – Andy Black – The Shadow Side" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
18. "Ultratop.be – Andy Black – The Shadow Side" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
19. "Andy Black Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
20. "Italiancharts.com – Andy Black – The Shadow Side". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
21. "Charts.nz – Andy Black – The Shadow Side". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
22. "Spanishcharts.com – Andy Black – The Shadow Side". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
23. "Swisscharts.com – Andy Black – The Shadow Side". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
25. "Andy Black Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 June 2018.