Bullet For My Valentine – ‘Bullet For My Valentine’ (Search & Destroy/Spinefarm)

By Hannah Reid

Bullet For My Valentine have announced their seventh self-titled album, set to be released on the 5 November via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. Lead singer Matt Tuck began writing this album in September 2019 and then when the Coronavirus pandemic struck, everything came to a halt. It wasn’t until almost a year later in 2020 that the band and long-time producer Carl Brown were able to get down in Treehouse Studios in Chesterfield to get the rest of the album written. The actual release of this album has been pushed back a couple of times, but the band have assured their fans through a tweet, saying “It’s important for us that you all be given the opportunity to experience this album at the same time, so as disappointing as it is to have to wait a little longer, we promise you it will be worth it”.

The introduction to the first song ‘Parasite’, the second single released from this album, has little snippets coming through radio static from some of their most known and biggest hits such as ‘Your Betrayal’ and ‘Tears Don’t Fall’ before we kick off into a fast paced, hard hitting opening number. There’s definitely a heavier feel to this song which sets up the tone and feel for the rest of the album quite nicely. There’s a bit of clean vocals in the middle for the chorus which I think breaks the aggressive ones up quite nicely and allows for some nice tempo changes in the moments after. The guitar riff that comes not too long after as well I think really draws you into this song for those lyrics really to hit. After this first song, I am really impressed as to how it’s started and cannot wait to hear the rest of it.

‘Knives’ was the first official single released from the album that fans of the band will definitely be familiar with already. It’s one of those songs that you can see being played as the opening for live shows – it has the energy kick out needed to get everyone excited and ready for live music again. This song feels quite experimental in a way for Bullet but still has all the key elements that make their songs work so well. ‘My Reverie’ starts out with a slightly softer tone compared to the first two but again quickly shifts into a headbanging rhythm with punchy and strong vocals from Tuck, complimented by the rest of the band.

‘No Happy Ever After’ keeps up this fun, fast paced tone that has been building up throughout the album so far and the energy is infectious as you move and headbang along with this song. The vocals are quite aggressive throughout this song, with some clean vocal breaks coming in with the chorus’ and is another example of the band allowing themselves some more play room and experimentation with their sound.

The next song, ‘Can’t Escape The Waves’ is just as powerful as the rest. The riffs throughout this one are my favourite thing about this track along with slightly cleaner vocals from Tuck which does take you back to older Bullet songs. It’s a powerful song, both vocally and with the instruments backing it up, and it keeps you on your toes as you listen to it. The different tempo changes are really refreshing as well. ‘Bastard’ has a bit more hushed but clean vocals which break out into loud and punchy ones as we get into the chorus of the song. Once again, the guitar riffs in this song are so much fun and have you moving around as you’re listening. This is another song that I feel like is going to be really fun to see played live and both the band and the crowd are going to have a great time.

‘Rainbow Veins’ is the most recent single from the album to be released and one of the band’s favourites from the whole track list. It’s one of the more softer sounding songs compared to the rest of them but still has quite dark and moody vocals and lyrics. It once again incorporates some heavier vocals in the middle For me, this was one of my favourites from the album, I had a lot of fun listening to it and getting into the song. Third single ‘Shatter’ is another one of the band’s personal favourites and the video they released to go along with it has both cavernous and claustrophobic effects when watching. It’s one of the longer songs as well and it feels like it can just keep on going, the riffs and rhythms getting stronger the more it goes on. What I like most about ‘Paralysed’ is the slightly cleaner bits in the chorus that stand out quite a lot against the rest of the album. The verses still have that fun, aggressive take that are going on throughout all the songs on the album but this one, to me, has more layers and seems like the band had a lot of fun experimenting with sounds as they wrote it. ‘Paralysed’ is another favourite of mine on this album and I had it on repeat for a wee while.

‘Death By A Thousand Cuts’ is the final song on the album and it brings this new era of Bullet together really nicely, leaving fans wanting to hear more. The build-up in the song going into the chorus’ are really strong and I think quite striking – it’s great to hear and Tuck’s vocals are really impressive. The way everything comes together, and the different tempos and beats are strong and have a lot of impact when listening. This really is the perfect song to finalise the album and summarise all the tracks beforehand. It’s a whole new era for Bullet and they’re really going at it with everything they have. As Tuck has said in previous interviews, “This is the beginning of Bullet 2.0. It signifies where we are right now. The music is fresh, it’s aggressive, it’s more visceral and passionate than it’s ever been.”

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this album and I enjoyed getting back into the new music. I thought it was quite different to what Bullet have done in previous albums, but it really works for them; even with the heavier elements there are still some classic old school moments that they’ve managed to work into their newer sound and make it stand out.

There’s a lot more aggressive vocals compared to some of the other albums they’ve released previously and the Bullet fans that like their heavier sound, this album should be right up their street.

‘Bullet For My Valentine’ is released on 5 November. You can get your copy HERE.
BFMV play seven headline shows from this Sunday (31 October):

www.facebook.com/BulletForMyValentine