Bullet for My Valentine's 'Bullet for My Valentine' - Album Review

Wales' Bullet for My Valentine are one of those bands that I have had a bit of an on-and-off relationship with over the years. In my teenage years I was quite a big fan. They were never a true favourite, but I listened to both 2005's The Poison and 2008's Scream Aim Fire quite a lot when I was around 16/17. Both of those albums were big deals at the time, and as I was into the more alternative side of things they were hard to ignore. While I was much more into classic/progressive rock/metal at the time, I did flirt with the burgeoning metalcore scene of the 2000s. I stopped keeping up with the development of metalcore after a few years, and it now seems to have morphed into something almost unrecognisable from the In Flames-inspired bands that I listened to back in the day, but for a while it was probably the heaviest music that I enjoyed. My tastes soon broadened however, and I had little need for metalcore. I kept following those bands that outgrew the genre, like Trivium, but I largely stopped paying attention to the genre as a whole. That being said, however, Bullet for My Valentine remained an occasional fixture on my iPod. I enjoyed 2010's Fever quite a bit, even if I had moved away from the genre by that point - and I even thought that 2013's Temper Temper (which I reviewed here) was decent, even though it is generally considered to be a weak effort. It was not long after, though, that I really fell off the wagon. My limited interest in metalcore by this point had truly waned, and Bullet for My Valentine in particular never seemed to mature. Their songs were still as angst-fuelled and 'teen' sounding as their early work, but they also seemed to be constantly in the middle of a bit of an identity crisis. I finally checked out properly after hearing 2015's Venom (which I also reviewed here), which felt at the time like a poor response to the negative press of Temper Temper and an attempt to forcibly sound like their old selves. I actually listened to the album again recently and found myself enjoying it for what it is, but at the time I thought it was poor. I skipped 2018's Gravity when I heard that the band were going to be incorporating elements of nu metal and synth-heavy sounds into its songs - which was almost certainly thanks to the band's ongoing identity crisis. I finally picked it up cheaply earlier this year, and it was not as bad as I expected it to be - but it does sound rather tame and actually quite dated. Fast forward three years, however, and it seems that Bullet for My Valentine have decided that they want to be a proper metal band again. Their newly-released self-titled seventh album is their heaviest album to date, but it does not just sound like a throwback to their old sound - as it sounds modern and much thrashier than anything they have done before. It feels genuine too, unlike Venom and Gravity - and it does seem like the band is trying to present themselves anew with Bullet for My Valentine, perhaps finally free of any worries over how to present themselves both visually and musically.

The band's re-discovered heaviness is apparent from the off, with the album's opening track Parasite being a relentless thrasher that shows the band in something of a new light. There are a lot of harsh vocals featured throughout the album (it is possibly the album with the most harsh vocals of the band's seven full-length releases so far) and frontman Matt Tuck turns in a great vocal performance throughout. As if to reinforce that the Bullet for My Valentine of 2021 are something of a reborn band, Parasite actually opens with snippets of a few of the band's older songs against a static backdrop - before Tuck's snarling vocals start the song proper. The band turn up the heaviness from the off, and the song is a fast-paced number with thrashy riffing from Tuck and fellow guitarist Michael Paget - and some of the most potent drumming on a Bullet for My Valentine album thanks to Jason Bowld (on his second outing with the band). No disrespect to the band's earlier incarnations, but the current Bullet for My Valentine is easily the tightest of all of their line-ups (as a recent live show I attended attested to) - and that is on full display throughout the heaviest sections of the album. Parasite shows this off perfectly, and the riffing throughout is sharp. Tuck screams his way through the verses with real power, but a poppy chorus injects some of that old-school metalcore sound into the song - even if the chorus melodies are more Glamour of the Kill than classic Bullet for My Valentine. A shredded solo from Paget is the icing on the cake, and the song shows that the band mean business once more. Knives is similar, but the pace has been reined in slightly. The introduction sounds like a souped up version of Your Betrayal, before the main riff kicks in to inject a lot of groove into the song. The slower pace of the track in comparison to Parasite allows the riffs to take on more of a snaking pattern - which allows the song to really focus on creating a strong groove. The stop-start nature of the verses emphasises this too, with Bowld's drum interludes creating a percussive backdrop to Tuck's barks. The chorus stays in the heavier realm this time too, with bassist Jamie Mathias' throatier screams contrasting well with Tuck's thrashier delivery. The song might not be as catchy as Parasite, but the grooves throughout Knives are massive - and give the song a much more modern sound than is typical for the band. My Reverie slows things down further, and opens with another groovy riff - which this time is topped by a mournful guitar lead. Not every song on the album is relentlessly heavy, and My Reverie certainly takes a more dynamic approach. The verses are quite low key, with Mathias' bass taking on a prominent role - but the song gets heavier as it moves towards the chorus. A call-and-response pre-chorus adds harsh vocals to the atmospheric verses; while the choruses up the heaviness again with more riffing and old-school metalcore vocal melodies. The song is a good mix of old and new, and it has nicely fused a number of different sounds together - representing a number of the band's eras in one go.

No Happy Ever After ups the pace again, and the song is an upbeat, heavy track that turns the clock back to the band's early work. While many of the songs here sound quite modern, there are still traces of the band's older sound to be found - and No Happy Ever After sounds like it could have sat on The Poison. All of the old-school metalcore tropes are represented here in a big way, from the In Flames-esque bouncing riff to the soaring chorus that is infused with a number of pop hooks. That being said, the production helps the song to sound massive. Carl Bown, who also produced Gravity and co-produced Venom, has managed to get the band sounding huge here. Tuck and Paget's guitar tones are rich and heavy; and the drum sound throughout has just the right amount of punch to stop the faster sections turning to mush. This sound combined with an old-school sounding song is a good mix, and the song is a great addition to the band's canon. Can't Escape the Waves sees the return to the synths from Gravity, but given the heavier overall sound of the album they are much less prominent. Gravity generally felt quite forced, but Can't Escape the Waves sees the synths and Bullet for My Valentine's trademark metal feeling like natural bedfellows. The aforementioned big production certainly helps, but also the focus is on the guitars rather than the synths. Like My Reverie too, the verses are quite low key - with Mathias' bass once again taking on a prominent role. His busy playing really keeps the verses moving; while the choruses take on a heavier, semi-power ballad vibe with atmospheric synths nicely backing up Tuck's gentler clean vocals. Bastards is not as heavy as its title suggests, and in some ways it sounds like a bit of a throwback to the sound forged on the Scream Aim Fire album. That album featured much less screaming, and Bastards is largely sung clean - but there is still a heavy and oppressive vibe that is not commonly found in the band's sound. The verses are almost whispered, as some industrial-esque drum grooves and cold synths form a dense backing, while the song ramps up for its chorus which is heavier - although still full of hooks. The song gets progressively heavier as it moves along too, and perhaps its strongest moment is when a groove-based riff kicks in which then leads into a harsh vocal-led section that sounds more like the album's opening few cuts. It is another song that mixes a lot of vibes together, but it works well. Rainbow Veins is a bit like Can't Escape the Waves, and again sounds like a better version of the sound forged on Gravity. There are plenty of synths used throughout, but they are generally mixed into the background. It is Bowld's drums that lead the charge, however - and they are almost the lead instrument during the sparse choruses. His kick drum patterns are very prominent and hypnotic, and this allows the heavier choruses and other more riff-based sections to sound massive in comparison. Throw in an infectious, wordless chorus hook, and the song is a somewhat strange sounding, but enjoyable, track that showcases the band's poppier side.

Shatter returns to the heaviness of the early parts of the album. It is not as fast-paced, but instead goes for the groove metal sound that has been featured periodically throughout the album in a big way. The song's main riff has something of a Slipknot vibe, but the melodies are very much classic Bullet for My Valentine. There is some brief respite during the verses, which see Tuck singing against a murky backdrop made up of atmospheric synths and effects-heavy guitar lines - but this is relatively short lived. Much of the song is heavy, and based around the aforementioned Slipknot-esque riff. The chorus hangs off this riff, and the barked vocal refrain that accompanies it is extremely hooky - and it is one of the parts of the album that really sticks in the brain. The song contains a great Paget guitar solo too, and he has plenty of time to show off his melodic playing style. Sometimes I wondered if he even turned up during the recording of Gravity, and the album's writing credits show that he was not involved that much in the creative process of the 2018 release. He is back here in a big way, however - and his riffing and soloing throughout is a big part of what the makes the band sound so powerful again. Paralysed is another heavy track, and it is another throwback to their old sound - but again played through a modern filter. The verses are very thrashy, with both Tuck and Mathias handling the vocals, while the choruses are poppy - with big vocal hooks and lead guitar squeals. There are plenty of metalcore tropes on display here, but the sound has really been dialled up to eleven. Bowld's drums are fast and furious, and the riffing has a lot more character than is typical of metalcore in general. While a lot of the other songs here are more interesting arrangement-wise, Paralysed is a song that largely just does the simple things well. It is a song that could have sat on one of the band's early albums, but Bullet for My Valentine feel so much more assured and powerful here - thanks to the great production and the unashamedly heavy riffing. The album comes to a close with Death by a Thousand Cuts, another heavy track that allows the album to go out in the manner that it introduced itself. In fact, the song is quite similar to Parasite in a number of ways. Some of the thrashy riffing is quite similar, but the song overall is a bit more dynamic. There are more clean vocal sections than in Parasite, and it is a more melodic song overall - despite there still being plenty of heaviness within. Another excellent Paget solo brings some virtuosity to the piece, and the groovy chorus is packed with plenty of memorable hooks - which will certainly be stuck in the brain long after the album finishes. Having lived with this album for a month or so now, it is clear to me that it is easily the band's best thing since Fever, and maybe even Scream Aim Fire. The band sound reborn here, and they have finally just made a proper heavy metal album without worrying about how it is going to sound or be received. It is the band unfiltered, and that is why it sounds as powerful and as assured as it does.

The album was released on 5th November 2021 via Search and Destroy/Spinefarm Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Parasite.