Review Summary: The Welsh quartet shows differing levels of hope for the metalcore genre. But beyond hope what else does Bullet For My Valentine display?
Bullet For My Valentine present their debut with a mix of highly metal influenced guitar riffs, layered with multiple melody lines with techniques expected in solos. The technical ability of BFMV is of a high standard but as far as the metalcore genre goes it’s not anything new. The genre already has this combination of aggression versus melody in names like Killswitch Engage, Trivium and All That Remains but if you’re looking for a different source of this then Bullet For My Valentine is the thing for you.
“The Poison” shows a lot of features commonly used in the metalcore genre today. The screamed vocal lines blended with cleanly sung lines, the distorted guitar riffs, and melody lines (somewhat over used), the at times overly cliché lyrical content, breakdowns a plenty, and the use of extended guitar solos.
While on paper Bullet For My Valentine may sound as generic as the next band there are still some solid elements that will create a loyal fan base of listeners, with the idea being mainly that some songs will get stuck in your head whether you want them to or not. This effect is usually created by the use of Matt Tuck’s sometimes cheesy and rhymed vocals for the example the track “Tears Don’t Fall” the use of the hook line in the song is repeated in places up to three times making sure it will stick in your memory bank.
The melody lines and patterns mainly come under the command of one Michael Padget whose technical abilities are on display through most of the album and while there is much talent for listeners to hear some of the melody ideas at times can find themselves being overused and grating for the metal community who’s heard it all before. Despite saying this there are at times some real attention “getters” displayed on some tracks including the use of harmonics in the instrumental introduction, some use of tapping leads in other tracks, and as usual the guitar solos gain a lot of interest in most bands. It is also noteworthy to mention that most of the rhythm section of “The Poison” contains a lot of chugged guitar riff patterns but not so much as to completely lose the listeners attention.
Most tracks on ‘The Poison’ emit a moderately fast paced tempo including songs ‘Her Voice Resides’, ‘4 Words’, ‘Suffocating Under Words Of Sorrow’ and others, with stand outs such as “Room 409” which builds into a quality track display the bands rhythmic creative talent, the use of chugged riffs with triplets and accents, sometimes reinforced by the drum work highlights the bands potential. The faster tracks will give fans a reason to jump up and down at live performances. Of the slower tracks listeners will appreciate the majority use of melody and chording in track ‘The End’. This track shows a slower more emotion filled side of Bullet For My Valentine and the guitar lead patterns should not be dismissed either.
After listening to five or six tracks straight listeners may feel that some musical ideas sound similar. This brings the attention away from the chugged riffs and the harmonised leads and the vocals are pushed towards the listener, not entirely a good thing as the cliché vocals are now at the centre of attention and listeners will find this overly grating.
Towards the end of the record things begin to pick back up with an up tempo track ‘Spit You Out’ and the last track appropriately titled ‘The End’. ‘The End’ starts off much slower than most of the other tracks and clean vocals dominate the song, this track has a more conventional rock sound showing creative diversity on the album, also ‘The End’ at times borders on the typical metalcore aggression and shows that Bullet For My Valentine displays further levels of diversity.
Overall, Bullet For My Valentine show nothing overly new for the metalcore genre but will still manage to create a solid fan base with their debut. This album is simply an alternative for listeners looking for something different yet not so different in the metalcore genre. The hope is there but the sound is not changing too much.
Highlighted Tracks Include: Tears Don’t Fall, Spit You Out, and The End.
