Review Summary: So what happens when a band learns from their mistakes and reedems itself? Well, you can ask Bullet For My Valentine that.
2013 was a year that wasn't very kind to BFMV; not only was their fourth album full of nasally vocals, generic, uninspired, shoddy riffs & putrid lyrics ("Here comes my Temper Temper! Time to explode! Feels good when I lose control!" -
Temper Temper) ("WHOOOOOOA RIOT!! WHOOOOOOA RIOT!! Here come the sirens here comes the law WHOOOOOOA!!" -
Riot) which alienated their standard fans, it was so lackluster that it would've destroyed their career. I myself, like them, was also very disappointed and I thought all hope was lost for the band.
Come 2015, BFMV have parted ways with their long-time bassist Jason James, who was shortly afterwards replaced with Jamie Mathias. The 5th LP, Venom, marks a departure from the band's metalcore roots and features a more thrash metal sound. Not only that, but the album also features much more mature lyricism, less chaos and a bigger variety. Some of the songs also can be classified as the band heaviest songs yet, but there are also a few songs with real meanings.
The album starts off with "V", an intro to the album where you can hear Matthew say "Why can't I run and escape from myself", which obviously means that it's just a prelude to the real first song,
No Way Out. There are no parts where Matt doesn't yell unless backing vocals join him. Make no mistake -- while it's a very good choice for a first/second song, it's not really the best song off the record, though it does feature a nice short guitar solo after the line "just let me be".
After it, we go into
Worthless, a new
Your Betrayal: While it has the same theme (a song about betrayal) and the lyrics being very alike, the composition is completely different. Instead of a 1 minute guitar solo, here Matt starts by yelling "you're worthless to me" and then the band exploding into a normal-paced song. It's not a great song, but since it does have meaning, I won't put in the category of the 3 pointless songs which are coming up.
Then, we're heading into two very important songs:
You Want A Battle? (Here's A War) &
Venom. You Want A Battle? (Here's A War) starts with a great chorus until the band kicks it into high gear. But then, it goes into a soft, non berserk part before BFMV again explodes. This is one of the more interesting songs off the album, because it goes heavy-soft-heavy-soft-heavy. It's quite fascinating.
The best song off the album would have to be the obvious: The title track,
Venom. BFMV were pretty bad with ballads (remember the failed attempt also known as Prisoner Of War? Or the mediocre Bittersweet Memories?), but I would say they pretty much nailed it on this one. While You Want A Battle? (Here's A War) showcased the angrier side, this one shows a more depressive and mourning, but also mature side of the album. I would say this is where Matthew's vocals are at his very best. There's nearly no bad screaming or chaos, just a pure mainstream metal song how it's supposed to sound like - instead of mindless screaming, Matt actually screams his heart out, which makes it a great and more emotional scream.
The Harder The Heart (The Harder It Breaks) is also a cool song. Just like Venom, Matt kinda went too far with the screaming but it's not pointless, and the refrain is incredible. Also one of the better songs.
However, a Bullet For My Valentine album could not be a BFMV album with a few bad songs, or songs that just become too repetitive after a few listens. This reffers to 3 pointless songs -
Army Of Noise, Broken & Hell Or High Water.
Army Of Noise - This song starts with a very heavy guitar intro and then immediately goes into Matt uselessly screaming. After that, it's the same riffs and lyrics repeated over and over again. My guess is that the band maybe ran out of ideas and decided just to compose a song filled with action heavy-packed bass and guitars.
Broken - Similar to Army Of Noise. Despite very good guitars, this song doesn't offer anything new or intriguing.
Hell Or High Water - Good drumming from Michael Thomas and not bad guitars, but after a few minutes, the song starts to become quite boring and repetitive.
To sum up, Venom is not a perfect album, but it's a definitive step in the right direction and I'm glad Bullet For My Valentine have taken the criticism from their fans and done the right choice. If you were looking for a second Poison, then you will be disappointed. If you were a fan of the pre-Temper Temper albums, then this will be a pleasant surprise. All we can now hope is that Bullet For My Valentine take time with their next release, and who knows, maybe their next release could probably even surpass their debut, or get close to it. Only time will tell.
