Review Summary: All in all, very catchy album, fit for a refreshing change of pace. I'd put this on a playlist for a metalhead that's just in the mood for some easy listening. It's definitely not an album to take very seriously. Ignore the lyrics and enjoy the ride, beca
Possibly the most hated "metal" album of the year so far, but not as bad as it could be. It definitely has its place, but not as a metal album. It's definitely a hard rock album, with very catchy metal influences. The two singles are the worst songs by far, but pretty much sum up the theme of the album. Unoriginal, wacky lyrics with boring guitar riffs are placed throughout the album, but the "catchyness" makes up for most of it. The solos are completely different this time around. No more tapping, as they've switched to a more Avenged Sevenfold shredding style. It works on some songs, but not for others.
This band is turning into the type of band that relies on being catchy. It will work for a few albums, maybe one more, but will ultimately ruin their career if they continue. It's the ever-so-overdone mindset of "Eh, you'll get used to it" and it eventually grows on you, no matter how terrible the lyrics really are.
Track by track review:
The opening track, Breaking Point, opens up with an interesting riff and a roar from Matt Tuck. This song should have been the lead single in my opinion. Not that great of a song, but pretty much sums up the album in terms of style and content. Very plain riffs in the verses, but relatively interesting guitar work in the rest of the song. The chorus sounds much like something you would have found on Fever, but with less clever lyrical work. My main problem with this song is the way Matt Tuck screams "Warning". He does this "noise" 4 times throughout the song, and it just doesn't work. This song could also have been exclusively screaming vocals outside of the chorus, which would have made it significantly better. 2.5/5
Truth Hurts comes up next. The most interesting part of the album appears in this track in the very beginning. So much potential is wasted when the verse hits, however. The verses and the chorus here is awful. Just another example of terrible songwriting and a boring chorus, except this time the chorus isn't even catchy. 3/5 (For the intro and post-chorus riffs)
Temper Temper... Oh boy. This song doesn't belong anywhere. Why is this even a thing. Bullet's worst song in every way. Overwhelmingly repetitive with probably the worst lyrics I've ever heard in a metal song. 1.5/5
P.O.W. is one of the better songs on the album. The lyrics are almost good and the guitar work is beautiful. The title stands for Prisoner of War, which has a deeper meaning in the song. It's a slower, heavier song that this album desperately needs more of. This is a very refreshing moment for Bullet, a band that has never really had any meaning in any of their songs. This song is most similar to All These Things I Hate. 4.5/5
Dirty Little Secret starts off with an interesting riff... I don't necessarily mean that in a good way either. It does not belong as the introduction of a song, but it works very well later in the song. After the intro, the song starts out with much potential. It seems like it's going to be a heavier song, but then turns into a slow, whiny verse. The part before the chorus and the chorus makes up for the ***ty verses, having a very upbeat, energetic feel to it. However, the song is completely ruined by the long, incredibly boring middle section that has really nothing going on. 2.5/5
Leech is a really great sounding song, but probably the worst (outside of Temper Temper) with lyricism. I really enjoy listening to this one, but the lyrics are so damn cheesy that I can barely stand listening to it. They've created one of their catchiest songs with this one though. All things considered, this song sounds awesome, so I'm giving it a 3.5/5
If you loved Say Goodnight you will like Dead to the World. It is the same damn song... except without the epic breakdown. Oh sure it has the breakdown still, in the exact same spot with the exact same build up, but it's not heavy or interesting at all. The breakdown sounds like any riff Shinedown or Three Days Grace has used. This song could have been so much better, but it feels like they just gave up after it was somewhat decent. The "breakdown" part could have been used as a riff in its own song, and that would have been better than the 3 minutes of Tuck sobbing in the mic. 2/5
Riot is basically just like Temper Temper, except with a solo. The solo on this track is really good, but that's about all it has going for it. Even for a metalhead, I'm a fan of Bullet's "woah-oh-oh", but it certainly does not belong in this song. At all. Period. And the way he screams "RIOT" gives me aneurysms... However, in the chorus, there's this neat breakdown thing that tries to salvage the song a bit, but Tuck ruins even that with the vocals through that part. 2/5
Saints & Sinners is another awesome sounding song with no lyrical value. This track offers probably the most original part of the album though, the chorus has a much different layout than any other Bullet songs have. It almost has a post-grunge feel to it. The solo doesn't belong here as much as it does on an Avenged Sevenfold track though... 4/5
The much awaited Tears Don't Fall Part 2.... I don't wanna ruin the laughs for anybody but the first words of the song ruin anything it could have ever had going for it. Seriously what the actual !@#$. *moving on from that before I rant* The guitar riff is absolutely beautiful... definitely worthy of the song title. The screamed part of the verse could have been a little better, but no real complaints until the chorus hits. The chorus is alright I suppose, but should be completely different (both lyrically and sound). The heavy part of the song starts out as it should, but turns into the solo too quickly. The solo fits so perfectly in this song, but doesn't show much skill or shredding as it should. The solo is a bit short and turns right back into the verse. The last line of the song is good enough to give any Tears Don't Fall fan chills... All in all: Done better than I expected, but still should have been so much better. This was clearly only done as an attempt to grab peoples' attentions to pull them toward the album, but it's done better than most bands could have done with that mind set. 4/5
Livin' Life (On the Edge of a Knife) stands out the least to me compared to the rest of the songs. Just an average song with really nothing going for it, but it's not bad either. Mediocre lyrics with boring guitar work floods this song like the rest of the album. This track offers very little, and is most likely a filler track added to the end of the album for whatever reason. This belongs on a Disturbed album, not here. 2/5
