1. "Your Betrayal"2. "Fever"
3. "The Last Fight"
4. "A Place Where You Belong"
5. "Pleasure and Pain"
6. "Alone"
7. "Breaking Out, Breaking Down"
8. "Bittersweet Memories"
9. "Dignity"
10. "Begging for Mercy"
11. "Pretty On the Outside"
A group who have won music awards both on their arrival to the scene and for an early single, Bullet For My Valentine have played festivals across Europe and have already conquered America. They had nothing to prove when it came to writing new stuff except if they could deliver a devoted fan base something special. Having read Kerrang!’s review beforehand and even a certain amount of acclaim from BBC Music, I was expecting to praise every last inch of their third album ‘Fever.’ To be honest- having been a fan since their 2004 EP- I was a little disappointed.
Starting, logically, from the start, Fever sounds immense. The rolling military-like beats and axe layers of opening track ‘Your Betrayal’ get the double peddles tapping and pulse racing. The whole thing works immaculately, especially front man Matt Tuck’s experimental invasive whisper. The louder the midsection is, the better it gets. Despite questionable lyrics “come here you naughty girl, you’re such a tease” title track ‘Fever’ is as gripping as it needs to be, although without a growl it lacks any sort of bullet-esque punch. Lead UK single ‘The Last Fight’ is as perfect as they come and, with a hook that will imbed on first listen, it’s easy to see why it‘s a single. Basing the album on the hugely promising first three tracks – you can’t argue the quality. Unfortunately it rapidly fires downhill as the structure of galloping guitars and clichéd violence-driven lyrics tires and what follows feels awfully like a selection of b-sides.
The biggest issue for me are the vocals. Remembering Tuck recently had surgery on his throat his effort is commendable and his voice has never sounded better. But there is an obvious hole where the hard scream used to lie. It’s a new direction in its own right and, in a way, it would be wrong to criticise the new work on just this fact. But that's very difficult. The first taster you get of any bullet-esque hard vocals is the penultimate track ‘Begging For Mercy,’ but is it worth waiting 10 songs for?
The bulk of the song writing hasn’t changed and its clear Bullet For My Valentine have honed in their sound, taking the best of both of their previous efforts. As with before, penning lyrics isn’t a notable strength and tracks are often let down by cheesy crones of ‘I never said goodbye, can’t even tell you why’ (‘A Place Where You Belong’) or ‘I still want you, it’s easy to see... but guess what honey, you’re not that good for me’ (‘Bittersweet Memories.’) The latter has one of those ballad-like chorus’ that will no doubt warrant a decent lighter-worthy singalong. But remove the vaguely hard-rock guitar and obvious Bullet charm and it would resemble an S Club 7 single. A poor one, at that.
There are positives. ‘Pleasure and Pain’ and ‘Alone’ boast what are arguably amongst the finest solos Bullet have written and at the pace you’d want from modern metalcore. On a side note, I can’t get over how much the fading synths in ‘Alone’ sound like Still Remains' 'The Serpant'. The production is fantastic and, like I said before, the vocals are flawless. The first time I heard the final track ‘Pretty On The Outside,’ I hit to play it again. It’s original and gritty and provides relief that ‘Fever’ both begins and ends well.
But they’ve hailed ‘Fever’ as their best album yet and, for me, in terms of excitement and originality, it doesn’t even touch their somewhat sub-par sophomore album ‘Scream, Aim, Fire.’
It’s pure and simple critical negativity to bitch about the vocals and lyrics and it’s so easy to complain. I couldn’t write songs of the calibre they do. But it’s not my job to, it’s theirs and they’ve proved they’re capable of so much more and I loved the brutality they created before. It’s true to say that just three albums in, Bullet For My Valentine are one of those bands who write stand out beauties and simply crap fillers. You could create the perfect metal album by combining the likes of ‘4 Words’, ‘The Poison’, ‘Waking the Demon,’ and even ‘The Last Fight’ from the latest effort.
When an advert for a folk singer on Spotify interrupts you mid album and you find yourself distracted by the floating sounds of a eukalale- you know the metalcore album you’ve waited 2 years for just isn’t doing it for you. For the critical appeal of Fever it’s also awkward that a breath of fresh air comes as the final track merges into the first track of 2008’s ‘Scream, Aim, Fire.’
The lack of aggression, like an actual fever, leads to tediousness and discomfort and you may rather overdose on Lemsip and pass out than endure the entire thing. Save yourself disappointment- download: ‘Your Betrayal’, ‘Fever’, ‘The Last Fight,’ ‘Begging For Mercy’ and ‘Pretty On The Outside.’ As cynical as it is, you wouldn’t miss much if you avoided the rest.
If you’re at all interested in the band, their first and by far most impressive album ‘The Poison’ is the best way to go. Lie down with BIG headphones, immerse yourself in the guitar flow intro and then experience ‘Her Voice Resides’ in all its raw growly glory. Just don’t let anyone catch you air screaming, shredding and double-peddling.
