The most pop metal record of 2008…
After repeated listens to Scream
Aim Fire, I cannot for the life of me work out why Bullet For
My Valentine are so popular. The riffs are good, but they’re not
great. The vocals are catchy but I’ve heard better and I thought Trivium have already snapped up the coveted Metallica cover
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band title?
Well, they must be doing something
right because their debut “The Poison” has sold a million copies
and counting, and the band don’t look like they’ll be slowing down
any time soon. Whether or not their success is off the back of a genuine
talent for song writing or a healthy dose of “right place, right time”
remains to be seen.
It’s always a shame when the
highlight of an entire record is over within the first few minutes.
The album’s title track features some impressive guitar work and an
admirable James Hetfield impression, but it’s the pre-chorus
gang vocals of “over the top, over the top” that really caught my
attention, simply because Over The Top is a cinematic classic
(if you haven’t seen it, GoogleStallone and arm wrestling)!
If BFMV had left it there then the song would be far better,
as the breakdown and poor attempts at screaming are completely unnecessary
and ruin an otherwise decent tune.
“Eye Of The Storm” is a thrash
number that maintains the album’s momentum while still retaining a
sense of melody. The various time changes throughout the song are quite
dynamic and the drum breakdown prior to the guitar solo (complete with
hand claps) sounds like it would be a lot of fun in the live setting.
Although it’s incredibly cheesy
and has more in common with Poison than Iron Maiden, “Hearts
Burst Into Fire” is one of the more impressive ballads I’ve heard
in the last twelve months. Everything from wailing lead guitars and
an acoustic breakdown is present so I can only assume this song will
pop up on a Hollywood action soundtrack in the near future.
Never has the phrase “peaking
too early” been more applicable, as the remainder of the tracks on Scream Aim Fire simply cannot compete with the opening trio. As
I mentioned earlier, there’s nothing overly bad about these songs,
but they lack a certain something that Bullet’s more popular
songs possess.
“Waking The Demon” makes a
promising start but BFMV’s reliance on over the top choruses
kills whatever punch this song may have packed. “Disappear” has
all the right ingredients for a galloping metal anthem but the lack
of diversity in the riffs and an all too familiar melody courtesy of Matt Tuck renders it ineffective.
power ballads is limited to one per album so “Deliver Us From Evil”
was already behind the eight ball, while “Take It Out On Me” kicks
off like a bull out of a gate but again degenerates into a half time
number punctuated by a nasal vocal delivery. It takes a good three minutes
for “Say Goodnight” to do anything interesting and “End Of Days”
was better as an Arnold Schwarzenegger film. By the time “Last
To Know” showcases some legitimate metal chops it’s a case of too
little, too late.
The first three tracks aside, Scream Aim Fire is a disappointing release from a band who’ve
been given the opportunities and the resources to come up with something
far more musically adventurous. The combination of Matt’s cliché
lyrics and mediocre song writing has ensured that this record is average
at best.