Bullet For My Valentine – The Poison
Website: Official Site
The Inside Pulse: This foursome from Wales are out to prove that they can in fact be as big as Metallica or Iron Maiden. Lofty goals indeed but with their touring and work ethic, they may have what it takes to get there. This band is as much about getting known on the road as they are about getting known in your CD player. According to their bio, “But like the classic-metal masterpieces that inspire them, Bullet for my Valentine don’t believe in re-inventing the wheel. They’ve discovered the power of the riff, and they’ve got the balls and the bravado to see that no one soon forgets it.”
Positives: Any album will a melodic intro makes for an epic feel to the album. Especially when it’s done in part by Apocalyptica. They have gone for a very clean and crisp sound on this album which makes for a great listening. There are definitely some yummy tastes of 80’s underground metal. There are enough gritty riffs and killer solos to feed a small army. The vocals are enormous and yet soothing at the same time. I just need to say that any horror movie theme music weaved into metal song is very f’ing cool. There is a lot of hard rock and even emo elements to many of the songs. I’m still not sure that’s a great thing but it sounds good. Don’t let the first single “All These Things I Hate(Revolve Around Me)” throw you for a loop. It’s one of the most melodic on the CD but I give credit to any band that can start a killer metal track with an acoustic guitar.
Negatives: The tracks do get somewhat predictable after a while. Though I love metalcore, a lot of the song writing and hardcore constructs sound a bit cliché. I should spend some more time analyzing the lyrics and I think I may be even more impressed. There is a lot of great stuff in here but sometimes you have to look hard to find it.
Cross Breed: Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, Ra, Iron Maiden, Testament, Trivium, Rise Against, Soil, Avenged Sevenfold, Funeral for a Friend.
Reason to Buy: As long as you’re not too loyal to the New American Metal Movement, everyone can really get into this disc. There is something in here for every type of metal fan. Get it and get used to it now because this is just the start of a new wave of British metal coming around the bend.
