“Bleeders” is the 25th single by american Metalcore band Black Veil Brides. The song itself, alongside the promotional material and current tour outfits are all inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
The band released a mini-documentary that spoke on the conception of, mental headspace behind the writing of, and the inspirations for the song’s creation from the viewpoint of lead singer Andy “Black” Biersack, and lead guitarist Jake Pitts.
Biersack said he was inspied by the story of Sweeney Todd via a CD copy of the Broadway cast recording of the 1979 Broadway production with Len Cariou portraying Todd and Angela Lansbury portraying his accomplice Mrs. Lovett. Biersack said his usage of darker themes and imagery in the band’s sound was first started by Sweeney Todd, and later other musicals like Phantom Of The Opera and eventually comic book characters like Batman, and bands like KISS and Misfits. Biersack said he wanted the song to not be solely about the character of Sweeney Todd, but to be “directly connected to me.”
Jake Pitts said he created the main breakdown riff for the song during the band’s downtime between the 2023 UK tour and their 2023 world tour. He would spend time in his home studio and working on any material that came to him, trying to find a sound that is different from the “typical Black Veil” song as he puts it.