Andy Biersack

“Growing up, I went to the Warped Tour a lot, and I got to see bands like Rancid and AFI and Dropkick Murphys and these bands that meant so much to me when I was a kid - all in succession on these stages, so to get to play that same stage that I watched those bands play is a huge thing for me.”

“We made 'Wretched and Divine,' and as much as I love it, it's a pretty sparkly record - it's a record that could be done as a play because it's very theatrical with no grit.”

“You can't deny a band whose fans will literally do anything to see them win the awards. We're very appreciative to the fan base. That mutual feeling of appreciation is something that really helps.”

“As you get older, you realize you're not that cool. You also realize the people you called posers are just people like you.”

“For us, we are interested in doing what's cool for us and what's cool for the audience. That's it.”

“In terms of stage presence for me, I'm influenced by a myriad of things. A lot of punk performers, people like Dave Vanian from The Damned and Davey Havok from AFI was a huge influence on me when I was younger.”

“We've won both the best and worst band in so many major magazines - we just get written off so much, but we don't care.”

“We know that listening to Black Veil Brides, wearing Black Veil Bride shirts, or being in Black Veil Brides isn't always the most popular thing in the world.”

“Coming out of 'Wretched and Divine,' I was still wanting to explore the more theatrical elements of songwriting. That led to Andy Black.”

“I don't really have any interest in allowing other people's kind of idiotic, unnecessary, either bigotry or hatred or whatever derision they have for me, I don't allow for it to really bother me, because I don't need it.”

“We never made attempts to say we were anybody's role model or the be-all-end-all of what people should look up to. We have always just been very open about the fact that we have difficulties and we are messed-up people, just as our fans are.”

“I see the merit in religion, and I see the need for faith and hope and sometimes people who are more snide look at people who are religious, particularly people in rock bands, and they'll say, 'Oh that's dumb, you believe in whatever,' but I think everybody believes in something.”

“Lyrically, the most important thing for me is, how can I tell a cohesive story?”

“I will say one thing: Mick Mars is one of the greatest songwriters I've ever met in my life and had the pleasure to work with.”

“Kiss will always be Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley to me.”

“On Warped Tour in Boise, Idaho, I broke my tooth on the mic. I took a pretty significant chunk out of my tooth and had to have it sanded down. It wasn't the most painful injury, but it was the most unexpected one.”

“The only real inspiration or muse that I have is just the life that I live.”

“I'm not religious, but I understand the need for faith and hope.”

“Always be yourself and rebel against what people tell you should be and be whatever you want to.”

“When I walk around on the street and someone comes up to me, I have just as many full-grown men with large beards in Slipknot shirts saying he likes my band as much as I do girls with bright pink hair.”