Review

Bullet For My Valentine - Scream Aim Fire

06.02.2008 | Cam | 6 Comments

Genre: Metal/Rock
For Fans Of: Trivium – Metallica – Atreyu
Favourite Songs: Scream Aim Fire – Eye Of The Storm - Hearts Burst Into Fir
Running Time: 52:31
Year: 2008
Website Link: http://www.bulletformyvalentine1.com
Myspace Link: http://www.myspace.com/bulletformyvalentine

Score: 68

The most pop metal record of 2008…

REVIEW.

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 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.

Unfortunately my tolerance for 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.

CONCLUSION.

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.

TRACKLISTING.

Scream Aim Fire
Eye Of The Storm
Hearts Burst Into Fire
Waking The Demon
Disappear
Deliver Us From Evil
Take It Out On Me
Say Goodnight

COMMENTS.

1. silv83

07.02.2008 03:45:57

good review. this band is so shithouse. cliche lyrics, cliche song titles, cliche album name makes you shudder

2. KYS-Josh

20.02.2008 06:34:08

did you see they were #4 on billboard usa charts and #3 in australia. crazy. shitty alb but. song 3 is a cracker.

3. logdog

21.09.2008 10:55:20

scream aim and fire this trash somewhere else the poison destroyed this

4. Spenca

05.11.2008 08:46:59

agreed. music is massive predictable including their signature pinch harmonics. would need to be under 15 years old to appreciate this album

5. FireEscape

27.11.2008 11:33:56

Ok, so i didnt like this album either, but seriously Cam, throw a Boomtown sticker on it and you'd be all over it. You'v given much better reviews to the most mediocre acts like In Fiction. Bit of consistancy buddy. You should prob re-review BMTH Count Your Blessings. Now you've found out they're not bad dudes you can actually focus on the music like you should have and not let rumours of the band write you review for you.

6. aloffeld

07.01.2009 12:08:44

Disappointing. This album was nowhere near as solid as The Poison. Sure, they're fairly good musicians, but their setup just doesn't work for me. Its a bit tryhard in my eyes. Doesn't stop me from listening to the album from time to time, I must say.

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