Bullet For My Valentine’s The Poison is typical
of a debut full-length release. It shows a band full of potential
but unsure how to realize it. The riffs, solos, double-bass
drumming, intense vocals – they have all the elements
a metal band needs to succeed in today’s music scene.
The problem is they have not entirely committed to being a
true metal band. I am a big fan of melody. It is essential
to almost any good song, yet it’s a four-letter word
to the majority of the metal bands to emerge in the last few
years. Bullet’s singer, Matthew Tuck, enjoys it as well,
but his voice is often so thin he sounds like he would be
more at home in some whiny emo band on MTV. I normally prefer
clean vocals to screaming, but here the screaming fits better
with the music.
In the tradition of so many classic albums, The Poison opens with an atmospheric instrumental (cleverly titled “Intro")
with cellos by Apocalyptica and some nice guitar work. It
abruptly gives way to the fast and furious beginning of “Her
Voice Resides.” The transition would be more effective
if the production had provided a thicker, fuller sound. The
entire disc lacks the bite of Trivium’s Ascendancy,
to which The Poison will likely be compared. But
all criticisms aside, there are some talented musicians in
this band. The guitar work, both on the grooving riffs and
solos, by Tuck and Michael Padget is as good as any you will
hear these days.
The album’s highlight is “Suffocating Under Words
of Sorrow (What Can I Do),” which deftly alternates
between screaming and clean vocals, and offers the most seamless
blend of melody and heaviness. Every song is listenable, but
because they all follow a similar pattern, the album becomes
a bit tiring during its second half. The low point is “Room
409,” featuring the terribly un-metal lyrics, “I
loved you, but you hurt me/I loved you, but hurt me bad!”
The Poison is an acceptable start for Bullet For
My Valentine, who hail from Wales. I’m not questioning
their talent. If they can toughen up the vocals, they could
be something special. |
