A lot has happened in the three years since Pierce The Veil released their debut A Flair
For The Dramatic in 2007. The band have toured the world including Warped Tour in
2008 and Taste Of Chaos in 2009; converted countless fans to their unique brand of
progressive post-hardcore; and, most notably, grown as both people and musicians from
these cumulative experiences. All of this figures into the group’s long-awaited
sophomore release Selfish Machines, an album that sees the band—frontman Vic
Fuentes, drummer Mike Fuentes, guitarist Tony Perry and bassist Jaime Preciado—
coming together to craft an inventive album that is certain to challenge people’s
perception of the band.
Recorded with Mike Green (Paramore, Set Your Goals) in Los Angeles, the album ended
up being more involved than initially planned—but that ended up being a blessing in
disguise. “It was actually a pretty intense process,” Vic explains, adding that the band
didn’t finish the album in the time allotted which forced him to stay in LA for an extra
two months working on vocals and bouncing between recording studios working on new
ideas. “It was definitely necessary to take the extra time with this recording,” he
continues. “We’re not settling on anything with this record.”
From the soaring pop sensibility of songs like “Bulletproof Love” to the upbeat
aggression of “Caraphernelia”, the album shows how versatile Pierce The Veil have
become, whether they’re screaming their hearts out or gently bearing their souls. There
are also plenty of sonic surprises on Selfish Machines, most notably the emotive, piano-
driven ballad “Stay Away From My Friends” which displays the band’s growth as
songwriters. “That song was my first crack at writing on piano,” Vic explains. “I’ve got a
piano in my house now so I’d been messing around on it and ended up writing some
riffs, which I think definitely gave the album a different feel,” he continues, adding that
he hopes to eventually implement keyboards into the band’s live performances.
Although Pierce The Veil have toured incessantly for the past three years, they made
some time late last year to write these tracks and instantly threw themselves into the
songwriting process. “It’s pretty hard for us to write on the road because we’re touring in
an RV most of the time with tight quarters, which doesn’t bode well for creativity,” Vic
acknowledges with a laugh. “We have a studio at home that I like to hang out in, so I
basically just shut myself out from the world for three or four months and spent all day
and night writing,” he continues. “Every song is super personal; they’re all very real

about our lives and I think once people read them they can probably see a little bit about
what’s going on with us.”
“We are all in one way or another selfish machines,” Vic explains when asked about the
album’s title. “In no way is this a negative thing, it's human nature.We all have natural
tendencies to want, love, and take.When it comes down to it, humans have animal like
qualities that we keep inside and even try to deny—but no matter how morally good
someone may think they are or try to be, we are still humans,” he continues. “One
example of this is how we are all constantly searching for someone to love, or even more
desperately, someone to love you.It is human nature broken down to its bare bones, no
bullshit, just rock bottom honest feelings and desire.No trying to be nice, shy, or
respectable, it's about the ‘evil’ thing inside of us that is really not evil at all, it's just
there and always will be inside of us all.”
Having played with bands in nearly every subgenre, Pierce The Veil have always prided
themselves on not confining their band to one particular scene or genre—and the
harmony-rich songs like “I Don’t Care If You’re Contagious” are guaranteed to expose
them to entirely new crowds of followers with Selfish Machines. “Every band that I’ve
ever loved and admired has constantly grown and each record is a little different in their
own way and I think that’s how it should be because it keeps you setting new goals and
trying to change for the better,” Vic explains. “This record is definitely going to take us
new places and after this we’ll keep writing and try to make the next one even better,” he
summarizes. “We’re always looking ahead.”
Pierce The Veil recently signed with Fearless Records, and continues their live attack
this fall in support of Selfish Machines, with a tour of South America this September
with Sum 41, Four Year Strong and Attack Attack!. The band then heads to
Europe with labelmates blessthefall and Motionless In White, before kicking off
the "No Guts, No Glory" Tour this November with Miss May I, Woe, Is Me, LetLive
and The Amity Affliction. Pierce The Veil will head back into the studio early next
year to record album three, set for release later 2012.