Bullet For My Valentine
Scream Aim Fire

THE REVIEW

Highly anticipated comeback for Bullet For My Valentine, who rose to fame at the time of their successful debut "The Poison" as the European answer to the new overseas sensation named Trivium.

In light of the "nu-thrash" revival spearheaded by Heafy and friends, I was curious to see if the Welsh band would also change their sound. However, it just takes inserting the CD into the player to realize that little or nothing has changed in Tuck's realm, where the fixed menu still includes a starter of emo followed by a metalcore main course accompanied by a strictly twenty-year-old vintage wine.

The explosive title track "Scream Aim Fire" kicks things off, catapulting us into the new work, and the first impression is like finding yourself in front of Metallica playing "Master of Puppets" with endorsements signed by Guitar Hero and Fisher Price instead of ESP and Tama. Metaphors aside, it’s undeniable how powerful they sound (after all, with Colin Richardson at the mixer even my grandmother whisking egg whites would have a booming sound) and damn effective, though with an undeniable plastic aftertaste compared to their revered predecessors...

The following "Eye of the Storm" moves along the same coordinates, another intense song destined to wreak havoc live, where it's possible to also appreciate the excellent work of drummer Moose: note the presence of the "clap clap" effect in the chorus, as cheesy (even sleaze bands like Hardcore Superstar have stopped using it) as it is effective in this context.

A delicate arpeggio introduces us to the third track "Hearts Burn into Fire" which, although dangerously close to the most polished emocore, stands out as one of the most inspired of the bunch thanks to a truly effective chorus and catchy harmonies worthy of the best Silverstein: simply irresistible even in its simplicity!

We are at position number four and just when it seems the fringe has occluded their vision, the unexpected track arrives: "Waking the Demon" opens with a Machine Head style riff (see "Imperium", opener of their penultimate "Through the Ashes of Empire") and continues optimally balancing rage and melody, for one of the most successful episodes of the album.

Also notable are "Disappear" and "Deliver us from Evil", which, while not bringing substantial novelties compared to what we’ve heard so far, can be listened to in one breath thanks to the effective choruses kindly offered by the duo Matt and Jay, just as enjoyable is the ultra-catchy "Take it out on me", characterized by more melodic vocals; unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the soporific "Say Goodnight", where they play the semi-ballad card in the style of "One" and/or "The Unforgiven" and/or "Nothing Else Matters", without however having a fraction of the emotional depth of Hetfield and company.

The experiment is attempted with even worse results, if possible, on the closing "Forever and always", while in between are the customary "End of Days" and the entertaining "Last to Know", the latter acting as a true lifeline in the emo tear valley caused by the two ballads mentioned above.

In conclusion, this second work, despite some yawns too many in the second half of the tracklist, confirms BFMV, along with the aforementioned Trivium and the omnipresent Avenged Sevenfold, among the best newcomers of the "mainstream metal" scene of the third millennium: whether we will still hear about them in twenty years is a tough judgment I leave to posterity... in the meantime I’ll run to listen to "Scream Aim Fire" again, at least until the new Heaven Shall Burn arrives!!