Bullet for My Valentine recently released a new self-titled album, and while they aren’t my favorite band, I still wanted to check it out. Also, I’ve seen these guys live enough times thanks to my sister that it warrants knowing their stuff so that the next concert is enjoyable.
I say that however, knowing that this album was really not enjoyable. Absolutely nothing from the 11 tracks were immediately memorable and to my ears, it just sounded like a lot of standard heavy metal. In fact, for at least three of the songs, as they were finishing, in my head I shrugged and said “meh.” So I’d say don’t waste your time with “Knives,” “Shatter,” or album ender “Death by a Thousand Cuts.” They were just very generic sounding and nothing about them really stood out as special or different.
On the other hand, there were a few songs that did have a little bit different about them. I really enjoyed how the opening track, “Parasite” opened with sort of like a radio tuning in through all of their previous hits to lead you to the pretty heavy opening of this song. “My Reveire” and “No Happy Ending” each had neat guitar riffs and an intro that really builds up to the main action. Obviously I wrote about this before, but perhaps “Rainbow Veins” is the best song off the record. I would call it the most commercial sounding song off the record, but I appreciated the mix of hardcore and clean vocals. Finally, “Bastards” stood out as the band’s most anthemic sounding song, with big drums and a soaring chorus.
All the rest of the tracks off the record didn’t have much to offer but weren’t as generic as the songs I mentioned previously. My sister was a fan of “Paralysed,” which I could agree has a catchy chorus, but “Can’t Escape the Waves” was slightly too slow for my taste. The lyrics for it though were definitely relatable. In he he talked of drowning but just wanting to be saved. I would say most of the record’s lyrics covered similar themes. But again, nothing instrumentally was very exciting to me this time around. There were two instances though where a guitar riff really reminded me of Avenged Sevenfold and has got me wanting new music from them soon!
All in all, this record wasn’t a waste of time but doesn’t have me excited to see these songs in a live setting (which I’m confident will happen next year). According to fan reviews though, Bullet for My Valentine is back in their good graces after a “softer” offering from 2018′ Gravity. Whatever, as long as the masses are pleased that’s all that really matters.