Since Bullet For My
Valentine’s first studio album The
Poison, released in 2005, their sound has adapted to a changing metal
scene. Through this, they have maintained their reign as the most successful British metal
band of this generation, picking up the Kerrang!
Awards “Best British Band” prize three times in total (more than any other band or artist has claimed the title!).
That said, their latest album, Temper
Temper, fails to impress me. The album opens with a beautifully typical BFMV
opening: hearty drums, guitar and raw screaming vocals set the scene for a
fast-paced, old-school anthem, until the melodic vocals start. What follows,
sadly, is a continuation of musical choices that I simply cannot understand; on
one hand there is the musical talent and technicality that BFMV excel in
producing, but this is juxtaposed with the songs themselves, that boast an
uncertainty in defining themselves. The album continues in this fashion, with
fast paced, high-energy guitar solos suddenly exploding out of your speakers that were merely seconds ago preceded by a slow-paced, melodic hard rock song.
Temper Temper has a lot of potential but ultimately it just fails to take off,
leaving the listener somewhat intrigued, but ultimately disappointed. The songs
build up and promise what every BFMV fan anticipates: a brutal breakdown complimented by
a face melting solo, coming together for one final anthemic chorus. Sadly, this
is never reached, even in Tears Don’t
Fall (Part 2), which comes closest to old school BFMV,
yet falls at the last hurdle. For a band that predominantly pride themselves on
being the poster boys for British metal, the music just doesn't fit the image.
That said, I have not
lost hope for the band! Riot,
in my opinion, would be the logical choice for a first single, as it boasts a catchy
chorus and demonstrates that there is still some bad-ass music to come from
them. After all, they possess technical excellence in every album they have
released, and still demonstrate the passion they have for the music they love
to create.
Temper Temper by Bullet
For My Valentine is out on 11th February via Sony Music.
TB
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