Bullet for my Valentine: Scream Aim Fire
Friday, 25 Jan 2008 09:31
The Welsh rockers are back with their sophomore album.
20/20/Columbia, out January 28th.
In a nutshell...
Welsh four-piece deliver an unsatisfying metal blast
What's it all about?
There must be something they put in the water in the Welsh valleys that guarantees a regular output of slick, commercialised rock and metal. Pontypridd's Lostprophets were the first to make their mark, first in the UK and then, somewhat surprisingly, in the US.
Inevitably a gaggle of pretenders, imitators and contemporaries have followed in their wake, some (Funeral for a Friend) managing to release credible, if increasingly mainstream efforts and others (the Blackout) taking plagarism just a bit too far.
Bullet For My Valentine always seem to have sat somewhere in-between. Debut album The Poison certainly shifted a fair few copies on both sides of the Atlantic, but received a lukewarm response from critics who questioned the band's originality and longevity.
Despite their obvious commercial success, there's certainly the feeling that Scream Aim Fire represents some sort of make-or-break time for this Bridgend four-piece
Who's it by?
It's fair to say that Bullet For My Valentine's 2003 switch from the nu-metal stylings of their previous outfit outfit to today's more metalcore efforts says a lot about their obvious craving for commerical acceptance.
Late 2005 saw the release of debut album The Poison and plenty of the questioning reviews that have plagued the band's career. Not that it held Bullet For My Valentine back, with their easily accessible brand of galloping Iron Maiden-esque riffing and slick vocal harmonies finding a welcome audience among kids who thought Lostprophets were too 'soft'.
Tours playing ever-growing venues proved the band's star was in the ascendancy but frontman Matt Tuck's vocal problems threatened to put the future of the band in jeopardy. After several stops and starts, and a period when the band's thunder has arguably been stolen by a a rejunvenated Machine Head, Scream Aim Fire is finally ready to hit.
As an example...
"Limbs are flying, men are crying, such a hurtful sight/The call is made, its one for all, take no prisoners, over the top." – Scream Aim Fire
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
It's certainly slick and commercial enough to win over the US listening public, but the chances of the best metal performance not being awarded to a band from the States are pretty much zero.
What the others say
"It's not entirely the juggernaut we might have hoped for." – Kerrang!
So is it any good?
Permanently clad in black and constantly scowling, Bullet For My Valentine certainly look every inch the mean and angry metal outfit. It's surprising then just how flat and underwhelming this album is.
For every riff that threatens to bludgeon, every aggressive gang vocal, there's so much more here that fails to pack any sort of punch. Matt Tuck's vocals are curiously flat throughout, mustering from a whimper than a growl on numbers like Eye Of The Storm and Deliver Us From Evil, while their over-reliance on Maiden-aping riffing and super-shiny melodic hooks soon becomes tiresome.
Despite all that, there's enough here to suggest that, if they could just develop their own identity and stop falling somewhere between their heroes (Maiden, Metallica) and their peers (Funeral For A Friend), then there's obviously a tight, hungry band in here. It's just very well hidden.
Being all things to all men worked on their last album, and with the melodic side even more obvious on this record, there's every chance Scream Aim Fire will win the band a whole new fanbase from the mainstream. But for anyone willing to look past the slick production and generic image, this album is only likely to inspire feelings of indifference.
They may look the part, but unfortunately Bullet For My Valentine don't sound it.
5/10
Nick Mann
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