Fever

Bullet For My Valentine’s intentions are quite serious

The Welsh team Bullet For My Valentine headed by the vocalist Matt Tuck has been an object to some discussions concerning the style from the very beginning of its creative work. The point is that after the release of its 2005’s debut album Poison the band was at once called a metalcore representative. Yet most probable the musicians naming Metallica, Iron Maiden and Slayer among the performers who have influenced them most of all are not quite happy with the way they’ve been labeled. Therefore Bullet For My Valentine’s entire following creative work is one big attempt to prove that the guys play and are eager to play only real metal. Thus the album Scream Aim Fire was released in 2007 to turn out quite a peasant argument in favor of the Welsh collective. The metal fans were not taking the band so derisively any more and it was a right choice. This spring the guys release the record Fever, confirming once again that Bullet For My Valentine’s intentions are quite serious and the band is not one of those who allows oneself be led by the public opinion.

Fever earns the highest point in all parameters

For every self-respecting metal band only a few of music components are important, i.e. guitars, drums and vocals. In all these parameters Fever rather earns the highest point, especially it concerns the vocals. The album general body consists of heavy, impetuous, vigorous compositions telling about solitude, the seamy side of human relations, the bitterness of life – all the genre’s classic themes. Take for instance the opener Your Betrayal, bringing down a volley of drums and unrestrained guitars on you at once, listen to the title composition with its insistent memorable chorus, the first single The Last Fight with very serious lyrics – all these tracks speak better than words how the guys of Bullet For My Valentine are grown. It is an interesting fact that the musicians were going to record and album with no ballads but the exception of this is a slow song A Place Where You Belong, definitely one of the best on the disc, with melodious acoustic guitars, yet not devoid of pain and despair both in the lyrics and the music. One should also note that this song and a number of other compositions are refined with brilliant guitar solos which are also one of Bullet For My Valentine’s strong sides. To estimate the guitarist Michael Paget’s mastery as it deserves turn to tracks Alone, a great example of faultless technique, and Bittersweet Memories with a vivid, memorable tune. The album’s finale, a dark composition Pretty On The Outside, also does not disappoint and leaves the strongest impressions.

A grand step forward

The absolute majority of tracks on Fever prove to be exactly as they should for a band to be considered metal. If the previous works made somebody doubt then Fever is the metal the fans have been expecting as they believed in guys and have felt Bullet For My Valentine’s potentials at once. The vocals sound definitely stronger and angrier on the album. As Matt has confessed himself, this is the merit of the producer Don Gilmore (Linkin’ Park and Good Charlotte). The guys have been working with double output in the studio and Don has got everything he could out of them. They have paid most attention to the vocal parts. These songs are even more unique due to Matt’s nice Welsh accent, and the lyrics have been also led to perfection. The band members had to rewrite some songs several times until Gilmore was satisfied. Thus the new album Fever is definitely a grand step forward for Bullet For My Valentine and one can be sure that the guys will only make their level higher until everyone talks about them as of one of the best XXI century’s metallic bands.