Metalcore band finds new sound

Welsh metalcore act Bullet for My Valentine are back and at it again, thrashing hard, but ultimately, falling short. The screaming guitar solos, melodic choruses and abrasive vocals that made the band famous find their way back in Fever, but the overall sound leaves much to be desired.

The band’s freshman and sophomore efforts, 2006’s The Poison and 2008’s Scream Aim Fire, kick Fever’s tail but, among the rough that is Fever, is a strong metal offering worthy of your ears.

The reason you’ll want to buy this album is for its classic Bullet musical tendencies; solos, choruses you can sing along to and hard-hitting guitar riffs that make you want to crank your sound system to 11 or beyond.

Lead singer and guitarist Matt Tuck does his best to reprise his aggressive vocals heard on the heavy-hitting The Poison but, more often than not, he recedes, plays it safe and sings like a normal person, not the lead singer we remember.

“Your Betrayal” is pure Bullet. A unique and drawn out opening segment, followed by fast moving guitars and punctuated by Tuck’s eerie whisper singing, make the cut an instant hit.

But the closest thing to a nostalgic sounding track is, without doubt, “Begging for Mercy.”
This tune follows the Bullet music making formula down to the most subtle nuances.
The effect of the song’s hard-hitting introduction, coupled with Tuck’s masterful growling, are felt when tension is relieved during a melodic chorus of “Please forgive me/ I don’t know what I’m doing/ Someone help me/ Stop begging for your mercy.” It’s a sequence of lyrics you’ll sing, whether you’ll admit it or not.

Lyrically speaking, Fever doesn’t do much. Admittedly, the band’s first two offerings were filled with stereotypical emo flavorings left and right (“Cries In Vain” anyone”), but Fever isn’t too great either.

“A Place Where You Belong” is probably the strongest example of this. A set of the song’s lyrics are “/I wish I died/ On that night right by your side/ So just kill me now and let the good times roll.”

What Fever boils down to is what the entire music industry is coming to: the recognition and acceptance of the iTunes era.

Fever is not a great album but it has seriously high points. Bullet’s label, Jive Records, knows this and priced the album at only $10.

With 11 songs in total, each one comes to less than a dollar, making the prospect of buying it seriously enticing over selecting individual tracks at iTunes.

In an interview with Rock Sound Magazine, Tuck expressed his love for the album, ensuring it will melt faces, buckle knees and find its way to your digital library.
“I’m not ashamed to say it: I’m proud as f***… I’m sure it can take us into new places because it’s such a huge progression.”

Tuck’s correct in speaking of “new places” and “progression,” but the places are bad and the progression is backwards.

In the same interview, Tuck said fans of The Poison, my absolute favorite Bullet offering, should look forward to Fever, as it features fewer thrash moments than what’s found on Scream Aim Fire and absolutely no ballads. But who said we wanted fewer thrash sequences? Not me.

“We’ve tried to not deliberately do something specific, but we’ve analyzed what did and didn’t work on the last two albums and tried to make the best album we can,” the 30-year-old Welsh guitarist said.

Perhaps Don Gilmore, producer of Fever, who worked side-by-side the Welsh four-pack, is the one responsible for the toned down sound.

The man lent his musical talents to Linkin Park’s two standout albums Meteora and Hybrid Theory. And with his other musical merits, which include working with such bands as Dashboard Confessional, Avril Lavigne and Scary Kids Scaring Kids, his lack of adeptness in the metal genre clearly shines through.

Bullet For My Valentine, the hot-shots from Wales, explode back onto the scene with Fever.

Sure, it’s clearly not their strongest effort, but its highs outweigh its lows, making it a more than acceptable metal offering to get you through finals.

Bullet’s “Fever Tour” comes to New England this Friday, April 30, at the legendary metal concert hall The Palladium in Worcester, Mass. They continue through the United States until the end of May, after which they’ll travel to Europe until stopping at the end of August in Madrid, Spain.

Anyone with a chance to catch these Welsh rockers at any venue, in any state, country or continent, should jump at the chance. Bullet For My Valentine strikes a heavy, resounding, powerful chord, even if their latest offering doesn’t punch you in the face like previous efforts.

Eddie Makuch can be contacted at emakuck@keeneequinox.com.