BMFV burst out of Bridgend, Wales (no sheep-fuc
king jokes, you at the back!) last year with their self-titled EP and have rapidly built up a huge fanbase throughout the UK, (and the US, thanks to their being the first British signing to Trustkill records), and its hardly surprising. Described by many as Britain's answer to Trivium (admittedly with more emphasis on melody), they deal in a catchy riff-driven form of modern metal with some great solos, and both screamed and melodic vocals thrown in for good measure.
"The Poison" carries on where the EP left off, with the instrumental intro crashing into "Her Voice Resides," a total thrashfest of a song, with a great chorus and tapping solo, which pretty much sets the scene for much of the album.
Next up is recent single "4 Words" which has been slightly reworked since the single release, and is all the better and heavier for it, with some manic string bending, and another addictive chorus melody and solo.
"Tears Don't Fall" slows things down a little, and tones down the screaming, until the prechorus, which is strangely reminiscent of Atreyu's "The Crimson" without resorting to plagiarism. Yet another amazing chorus and great solo... but you can never have too much of a good thing!
Latest single "Suffocating Under Words Of Sorrow" starts with a great riff, before the drums kick in and don't let up until the end. A more melodic song vocally, and an obvious choice for a single, the chorus is a little too poppy for my liking, but the song as a whole continues the standard set by the previous tracks.
"Hit The Floor" enters with a powerchord riff, before a nice little harmonised solo. This is a more midpaced song, with very little agressive vocals to be found. The chorus is THE definition of anthemic!
Things slow down a little for "All These Things I Hate" with its acoustic intro, but don't let that fool you. It may be the most "emo" track on the album, but at the same time, one of the heaviest when the distortion kicks in.
"Room 409" is to begin with, a little bit reminiscent of "Hand Of Blood" from the debut EP. The chorus features gang vocals, but isn't, it must be said, as memorable as it could be. The solo is quite short but widdly enough to get some credit!
The title track follows, and is a definite highlight. One of the most Trivium-like tracks (reminiscent of some of the more melodic tracks on Trivium's debut "Ember To Inferno"). There's so much going on, instrument-wise in this song, and the chorus is another one seemingly built out of great big shiny hooks!
Kicking in with a very "moody" sounding riff, and some vocals slightly reminiscent of fellow Welshmen Funeral For A Friend, "10 Years Today" deals with the suicide of a friend. Definitely above average, if a little wanting in the riff department.
Next up is a re-recording of "Cries In Vain" (the only track from the self-titled EP to be included here), which IMO was the best track on the EP, and deserving of a place on this album. The quiet intro lulls you into a false sense of security, before the resulting heaviness and some nice vocal work. Lacking a solo, but you'd hardly notice, as the rest of the song is so riffed-up and quite frankly, brilliant. *running out of superlatives here!*
"Spit You Out" is a heavier track, more focussed on screaming and full-throttle heaviness. Strangely there are a couple of live clips of the band shoved in, which is a nice, if unusual effect.
"The End," as you can guess, ENDs the album, and is probably the only track that I don't find particularly memorable. It seems like a slightly underwhelming attempt at an "epic" sounding track, but still well above average. You'll never treat this as the closing track though, because everytime the album finishes, you'll want to skip back and listen to your favourites again.
Overall, the whole "future of British metal" tag is quite accurate, and for a debut full-length, this is incredibly impressive. The riffs and solos, all sound great (despite some of them being a little less complex than expected). Bullet For My Valentine have struck a good balance between melody and heaviness, and "The Poison" is a solid start, which can only point to an even brighter future for the band.
Overall Score: 3.7/5
