Bullet For My Valentine
The Poison

THE REVIEW

Among the groups that have emerged in recent years from that desolate and subservient land of Her Majesty's greatest homeland, known as Wales, Bullet For My Valentine, along with Funeral For A Friend and Lost Prophets, are certainly among the most popular names.

Nowadays, it is common to define with the emocore label albums that span from various genres such as power-pop to pop-punk ending to indie rock, which have little or nothing to do with the previously mentioned stream. Bullet falls into this discussion as they play metalcore, combining softer melodies with more violent and screaming parts, all dotted with a good amount of solos and the alternation of clean guitars to predominantly steep metallic riffs. Having said this, the album because of its eclecticism lends itself both to those looking for something powerful and aggressive, while also being good for those who nevertheless do not disdain more peaceful moments.  The concept just expressed is confirmed in the use of different vocal techniques by lead-singer Matthew Tuck, skilled in alternating the classic clean with screaming and combining them with darker and guttural passages typical of growl.

The comparison with Trivium's "Ascendancy" is not entirely wrong, although the Welsh can be considered as the slightly milder version of the latter. That said, in my opinion, it is not even erroneous to label Bullet For My Valentine as the "metal" and "core" version of Silverstein, (a punk-derived emocore band), given the similarity in alternating anger and resentment with soft and melancholic atmospheres.

The album as a whole is quite varied, alternating hard sounds where the group thrashes like a demon ("Her voice resides", "Room 409"), where particularly in the former, the strong thrash influences of other groups are felt, to mid-tempo that alternate calm and storm ("All these things I hate", "Cries in vain", "Tears don't fall"), among which one cannot fail to mention the splendid 4th track, "Tears don't fall", which has a decidedly well-crafted melody. Undoubtedly the best episode of the platter, shaking off melancholy and finding relief in the electrifying finale. The basic riff vaguely recalls that of Silverstein's "Smile in your sleep". There are also classic-style metalcore songs ("4 words to choke upon", "The poison", "10 years today") perfectly successful and undoubtedly the best episodes, as well as disappointing tracks like "Hand of blood" which apart from the nice fluid solo says nothing, and others, see under the heading "Hit the floor", certainly among the most easy listening.

The production and sounds are really excellently cared for and manage not to tire even after several listens. No particular additions are made to the arrangements except for the violins that dot the intro and the acoustic guitars used for large parts in the single/ballad "All these things I hate".  The riffs and solos scattered throughout the various songs are definitely interesting, while (a small curiosity) the bass can be heard solo for just a few seconds in the bridge of the bonus track "Spit you out".

It should be noted how the album was released in several "collateral" versions besides the classic one. That said, "The Poison" remains an excellent debut for a band with potential and will still be talked about in the future.