Pierce the Veil emerged toward the end of the 2000s by blending post-hardcore, emo-punk, and progressive rock. Audience growth remained steady after Selfish Machines appeared in 2010, then accelerated sharply in 2012 once the gold-selling Collide with the Sky arrived and introduced the hit single "King for a Day." A second run at the top of the U.S. alternative rock charts occurred with 2016's Misadventures, after which the group entered a prolonged break. Seven years later the outfit resurfaced in a quieter, more introspective state on its fifth studio album, The Jaws of Life.
San Diego emo-inflected post-hardcore band Pierce the Veil revolves around brothers vocalist/guitarist Vic Fuentes and drummer Mike Fuentes. Their first project together, Before Today, began while the pair were still in high school. The group formed in December 1998 and quickly expanded to a quintet once guitarist Joe Tancil and bassist Mitchell Ballatore joined. After several years of activity and a contract with Equal Vision Records, Before Today issued A Celebration of an Ending in September 2004. When Tancil and Ballatore departed, Vic and Mike rebuilt from the ground up. In fall 2006 they changed the name to Pierce the Veil—taken from a track on the earlier Before Today release—and recruited bassist Jaime Preciado and guitarist Tony Perry.
The brothers wrote Pierce the Veil's debut, A Flair for the Dramatic, inside their San Diego home studio and tracked it in Seattle with producer Casey Bates (Gatsbys American Dream, Fear Before the March of Flames). Equal Vision remained the outlet, releasing the album in early summer 2007. That autumn the band supported From First to Last on tour. Second album Selfish Machines followed in 2010 and reached number one on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. After parting with Equal Vision, the group signed with Fearless Records the next year. Third album Collide with the Sky appeared on the new label in 2012, produced by Dan Korneff. It became their biggest commercial success to date, topping multiple Billboard charts and featuring the hit single "King for a Day." Late 2013 brought the tour documentary This Is a Wasteland, which captured performances across Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
Further touring filled 2014 and 2015 while the band recorded fourth album Misadventures, issued in spring 2016. Like its predecessor, the record climbed high on the U.S. alternative rock charts. Multiple sexual misconduct allegations against Mike Fuentes in 2017 led him to step away from the drum kit, placing the band on hiatus. The 2020 arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic added another obstacle when a planned tour had to be scrapped.
Now operating as a trio, the group returned in 2022 with the intense, grunge-tinged single "Pass the Nirvana." Comeback album The Jaws of Life arrived the following year. Featuring drumming from Third Eye Blind's Brad Hargreaves, the set introduced a more mature, midtempo direction for the typically high-energy act, heard on the single "Emergency Contact" and the duet with Chloe Moriondo, "12 Fractures."
