Bullet For My Valentine - Bullet For My Valentine
Released: 15th November 2004
Label: Visible Noise
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Hang on a minute - the bittersweet, romantic-sounding emo band-name with the punchy sting in its tail, the viney, neo-classical text and packaging (dripping with crimson blood-reds and blacker-than-night-blacks), the sheer ‘credible’ EP-ness of it all…AND they’re from Wales!? Come on, guys, it’s all starting to sound conspicuously familiar…especially when you discover that Colin Richardson (Funeral for a Friend, Machine Head, etc) is on perfunctory…I mean, production duties. It’s just impossible not to be cynical!
‘Hand of Blood’ kicks off proceedings with a reasonable, workmanlike metal riff, very much in the blueprint of a cheesier Funeral for a Friend or Atreyu, but without any of the flair or imagination (‘80’s metal!), and therein lies the problem. “My heart is breaking…my life is burning” emotes singer Matt and already, the cliché lights are flashing. You can spot the Maidenized guitar harmonies coming a mile off. In their defence, a friend reliably informed me that BFMV’s live show is where it’s at. I wanted to like this band, I really did.
‘Cries in Vain’ is undoubtedly the standout track here, with decent build-ups, dynamics and a suitably cathartic chorus. However, it does drag somewhat. Unfortunately, it becomes a common thread that runs through each of the five tracks – all clocking in at around the 3 and a half/4 minute mark – but maybe I’m just being impatient.
A short, mid-review note about the (lacklustre) screams: To paraphrase Ian Mackaye (Fugazi), you should scream because you feel pissed off about something – not just because it’s in vogue right now.
Sadly, after repetitive listens, tracks 3 to 5 become old very quickly. They just feel too conceited to take seriously. ‘No Control’ adopts an old school hardcore-crew chant of “I. HAVE. NO. CONTROL.” in what comes across as the antithesis of straight-edge-preaching – it’s funnily ironic, although I don’t think that was the intention.
The lyrics in ‘Just Another Star’ are almost cringe-worthy and they leave a distinctly unwelcome Nu-metal aftertaste. At one point, even the mosh breakdown part is choreographed, with pleas for us to “jump, jump, jump, jump”…I’m not jumping.
This is a one-night stand of an EP – amazingly thrilling at the time, until you wake up the day after, in pain, with carpet-tongue, in a stranger’s bed, who’s really minging. Ultimately, it leaves you feeling empty and unsatisfied.
Please excuse the lazy second-rate Funeral for a Friend comparison above, but if you churn out lazy music, then I’m afraid that’s all you can expect to receive. Put this in the box marked ‘must do better’. |
