Released: Oct 6, 2005
Label: Visible Noise
Genres: Metalcore
Number Of Tracks: 13
This disc is a great improvement on an already brilliant EP, keeping the same style with great screams and guitars and improving melodically, lyrically and each song delivering a catchy chorus.
The Poison
Reviewed by:
WaRl0cK101, on may 14, 2007 25 of 29 people found this review helpful
Sound: This band has made a masssive leap from their EP and it was in the right direction, more of the same from these talented guys. From the beginning it hooks because of the way the intor has been crafted it sets you up on a journey of one of the greatest albums this year. after the calming intro with a backing orchestra and scorching hot guitar riffs the second song on the album 'Her Voice Resides' screams right in your face and blows you away with the killer, hear pounding guitars and fast paced drums. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Matt Tuck has vastly improved his lyrical capabilities through out the year and has come back with some heart felt and brilliantly crafted lyrics which suit the album perfectly such as '10 Years Ago' and 'The end', and with 3 people screaming/singing they really do blend all of the sounds together and give a great result. // 9
Impression: This album is one of the best ones I have heard all year and these match the sounds of Triviums 'Acendancy' and they also sound like a fusion of killswitch engage, avenged sevenfold etc. but they still seem to sound original. Some of the best songs on this album have to be:
01. Her Voice Resides - this is the one of the heaviest songs on the album but it has a great breakdown in the middle.
02. Tears Dont Fall - this has to be the Epic of the album its perfect and they show it through skill and carefully crafted lyrics.
03. the Poison - the title track of the album, this is a great song all around and should be one of their singles.
04. All The Things I Hate - this is the slow song on the album and will probably be one of their next singles and a good choice at that as it will appeal to more than just the fans.
I could go on and list them all because there all just so good, go out and buy this album if you like Trivium, Killswitch etc. It's a perfect blend of fast paced drums and melodic dual guitars! // 10
The Poison
Reviewed by:
sebhaque, on may 14, 2007 6 of 9 people found this review helpful
Sound: Bullet For My Valentine are a metalcore group from Wales. They're instantly recognisable by the familiar combination of harsh vocals (which sound amazing) and clean lines, which also sound really damn good. Musically, BFMV have a fair amount of pinch harmonics heard throughout the album, as well as a few double bass pedal fills on the drums. As with all metalcore, the bass guitar is pretty much inaudible in most of the songs (you can hear its presence but not actually what its playing), but the bass does make a small appearance in songs such as The End. The album 'The Poison' is Bullet's first full-length album, their previous release being a self-titled EP, with five tracks on (including Cries In Vain, a track on this album). It has 13 tracks (detailed later in the review), and in total spanning 53:32. If you're of the mp3 player age, this translates to roughly 43MB at 128kbps. Regardless, the release is a good solid work and I strongly recommend it to you. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Bullet For My Valentine's lyrics are seen as highly influential to both other bands and to the listeners. I honestly think that there is not a single line in a BFMV song that a fan has not used for their MySpace name or MSN screen name (etc). The lyrics' themes are pretty standard for metalcore, being centred around anger and sorrow. To be honest, when you're listening to the songs, you're not really paying attention to the meaning of the lyrics. However, when you look them up, you think to yourself, 'F--k, that's good' (especially for songs like The End). Obviously, the lyrics flow perfectly with the music. You won't find any singing about anything other than the set templates. While some people find this boring and unoriginal, I find it quite the opposite, since there's so much more work involved in writing new material that hasn't already been released. Matt Tuck is a very accomplished singer. He's also the lead guitarist of the band, and even adept guitarists would find singing and playing Bullet at the same time difficult. It's not like you can hear lapses in concentration either way - Matt's singing is flawless, being very impacting (both in heavy songs like Hit The Floor and in more mellow songs like The End). He's a bloody good guitarist too, some of his solos are on par with guitarists like Kirk Hammett from Metallica. // 10
Impression: If anything, Bullet stand head-and-shoulders above the other artists in the metalcore genre. When they played live at Kerrang! XXV in Brixton, they pretty much stole the show, being both amazing playing-wise and stage-wise (nothing beats a load of fireworks as soon as they come on and launch into Hand Of Blood). The songs from the album are as follows:
01. Intro - the intro is an instrumental, as are a fair few intros on metalcore albums. It's a pretty sombre melody with a leading guitar playing a soft solo over the top. It's got the highest note in the whole album, so high that the guy sitting beside me on the bus asked me why I was listening to such high notes (wierdo). Anyway, it's a great introduction to the album, especially as it closes nice and softly right at the end to pave the way for the next track.
02. Her Voice Resides - I love the way this starts. The first time I heard it, I jumped because it starts at full volume with Matt Tuck roaring down the mic. The breakdown is also really good (get used to this phrase, I'll probably be saying it a lot), especially due to the clean vocals used; they really emphasise the theme being portrayed. A great first 'real' track on the album, it's not one of my favourites but I can see why people like it as much as they do. The solo's quite catchy too.
03. Four Words (To Choke Upon) - I'm not sure what's up with the intro to this track, but meh, it's there, what can you do about it. I really like this track when it gets started; reminds me of Atreyu for some reason. I especially like the way the song alternates between harsh and clean vocals in the verse, it really makes the song sound good. The chorus is also pretty good to sing along to, and the solo sounds really good (and it's easy to play on guitar too). Interestingly, when you take out the silly introduction, the song's only 3:12 in length. It honestly sounds like it's about 4 minutes long, but it's a 4 minutes well spent. I also seem to recall this being the first track Bullet ever wrote. It's a beast of a song, that's for sure.
04. Tears Don't Fall - this song is a nice mix of heavy riffs and nice soft melodies too. It starts off with a clean intro, and then progresses to a heavy interlude. The verse returns to clean (I love it), and then the pre-chorus is somewhere in the middle. The chorus goes to heavy (but with clean vocals), and then repeats. When the song develops around the pre-solo, it gets pretty heavy, but after the (noticeably fast) solo, it goes back to the clean again. This song also has a coda; why, I'm not sure, but it's a pretty nice little finishing touch to the piece. In the spirit of 4 words, this song doesn't sound like it's nearly 6 minutes long. Because it develops at around 3 minutes (where you'd expect it to be getting ready to breakdown and end), it sort-of 'tricks' your mind into thinking less time has passed. As a result, I always think this song is about the same length as 4 words, and by catching me off guard I'd probably get the two song times muddled up.
05. Suffocating Under Words Of Sorrow (What Can I Do) - I like this song. I really, really do. I like the way it starts heavy and then you get a little clean bit. This song's also very sing-along-able, especially during the clean bits (I told you so). I love the bit at around 1:43, when the little solo-ey interlude comes in. The lead sounds good, and I love the way the backing guitar and drums 'chug' along in time to it. I remember this song being played live, I kid you not, the whole crowd was headbanging in time to it. It's just a really amazing song.
06. Hit The Floor - two amazing songs in a row. What more could you ask for? I really love the sort of semi-harmonic thing Bullet use in the intro, it sounds damn good. The clean verse is a breakdown in itself, and it sounds great too. The chorus mutes everything except a guitar playing in unison to the vocals, and it sounds pretty damn good. It's also a mosh-ey sort of song, and the verses are so memoreable and catchy that you may find yourself singing them randomly when you're doing something. I sort of wish this song were longer, so there would be more to enjoy.
07. All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me) - a mostly-acoustic song following up one of the heaviest tracks on the record. This song's quite mellow (apart from the chorus and development), and I like that. Interestingly, Bullet sound a little off-tone in this song. Skip to about 1:49, and you can hear a little pitch bend which shouldn't be there. Go along further to 2:42, and you can hear that the chord that is repeated is definetely off-tone to the rest of the piece (you might need to skip back a bit first to understand what I mean). This is the only track this happens on, but it's still a good piece regardless.
08. Room 409 - this piece confuses me. I like the intro/verse guitar riff, but I don't like it. There's just one part of it which I don't like, and the rest is cool. This song isn't one of my favourites, but it's alright anyway. I'm guessing it's because of the lack of clean vocals (there're significantly less in this song than in the others), and it shows - I regard this track as just filler material.
09. Poison - title track from the new album, it's pretty good as a track, but I don't think it's as impacting as tracks like Suffocating Under Words Of Sorrow or Hit The Floor. While yes, the guitar in this song has some of the most complicated riffs and fills in the whole album, I just find the track too tedious. I tend to get bored and change tracks at around 2:26. A decent track anyway, though.
10. 10 Years Today - I see what Bullet did there. Track 10 is called *Ten* Years Today. How funny. Anyway, this track's another confusing one. I like the vocals in this track, but I don't like the verse backing. It just sounds a bit sloppy. It's another thing that's too hard to put my finger on. Other than that, it's got a pretty good chorus, and development. Nothing remarkable, however, that was all achieved in the earlier tracks on the album.
11. Cries In Vain - this track's also found on the self-titled EP, released a while before The Poison. Anyway, it's a pretty good track off the record, but it blows you away when played live. It's got a lot of potential, with bits that Matt can involve the audience in. I like the breakdown where it's just Matt singing (you can feel the bass's presence but it just doesn't do anything except make the floor vibrate).
12. Spit You Out - like the previous track, Spit You Out is a track made for live playing. It even has a little interlude somewhere in it, where you can hear Matt say 'Bullet For My Valentine' to a crowd, who cheer in return. Song-wise, it's a pretty decent song, your average The Poison release. The chorus stands out from the rest of the song though, particularly because it combines harsh and clean vocals in one line of the chorus. The post-chorus is also pretty cool; you can actually hear the bass in this track! It makes an appearance at 3:09, where Matt talks to a crowd. Good song.
13. The End - I really like this piece. It's a great way to end the record. The piece is pretty mellow and depressing, but it really stands out. Since the guitar riff is simple (but goes well with the lyrics), Matt can really concentrate on putting emotion into his voice. By God, they should do this more often. You can really feel the emotion Matt sings, especially in the cleaner parts of the song. Around about halfway, the song starts to get heavier, but returns to the standard intro/verse riff again, but using it as an outro. Matt, this time, since he is not singing, is playing a soft solo over the riff, and the song fades out in this style. This is perhaps the most striking song on the record, particularly if you've had any of the experiences Matt sings about in the piece. Damn, it's a good song. My personal favourite from the album.
Personally, I find the songs Four Words, Suffocating Under Words Of Sorrow, Hit The Floor, and The End my favourite tracks. Four Words, Suffocating Under... and Hit The Floor are just really good, fast songs, and The End is really influential for me because I can relate to it. However, I find Room 409, Poison, 10 Years Today, and Spit You Out to be quite mediocre when compared to the rest of the album (they're good songs nonetheless). Honestly, I really cannot put my finger on exactly why, but I just don't listen to them as much as the rest of the album (if they come on and I'm alert, I'll skip them). However, when I'm not paying attention I can sail through them while enjoying them as much as the other tracks on the album. Overall, the album's a damn good release. I'm solidly looking forward to Bullet's next album, and I'm definetely going to pick it up on release. If the album disappeared, I'd certainly get it again, I listen to BFMV nearly every day. // 10
The Poison
Reviewed by:
BFMV_OWN, on september 29, 2007 3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Sound: Bullet For My Valentine are a hardcore metal with some insane riffs with killer drums. This album kicks off with 'Intro' a mellow song showing the softer side of BFMV, but then goes into 'Her Voice Resides' easily one of the hardest songs on this album. By now anyone will be impressed now by knowing BFMV's soft and hard side, keeping them hungry for more. In that album there are also 2 tracks from a previous CD called 'Hand Of Blood EP'. These tracks are a hard, '4 (words to choke upon)' and 'Cries In Vain'. 'The Poison', their title track for the album, is one of the best songs there with its lightning fast solo, and heavy singing/screaming. 'Hit The Floor' and 'Spit You Out' also have some insane drums in them. 'All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)' is a soft song that gets hard by the chorus. The album ends with 'The End' which is also a somewhat soft song with the same type of melody as 'Intro' almost as if it continues it. Every track has hard metal riffs, awesome drums, intense solo's, or even acoustic guitars. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are great. There is a story behind every song. As far as the singin goes, lead singer Matt Tuck has his own singing tone, and his intense screaming voice. He is amazing at singing, but a lot of people get thrown off by his screaming. If they knew the lyrics and matched it with the singing and screaming, they'd like them a lot more. For Example their song 'Room 409' is a song about finding out his girlfriend is cheating on him. The lyrics and singing matches the music great, and has the bassist, Jay, and the lead guitarist, Padget, to help with backing vocals. // 9
Impression: The Most impressive songs on this album are 'Tear's Don't Fall', 'Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)', 'Hit The Floor', 'The Poison', and '10 Years Today'. What I love about this album is the guitar and drums. When you find other bands, there drummers really don't stand out. But when you look at BFMV's drummer you are simply amazed. Their guitars are also great, with their speedy solo's and riffs. If it were stolen or lost, I would make it top priority to buy it again. // 9
The Poison
Reviewed by:
metalcoredude39, on february 28, 2011 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: While at the time the band was still fairly young and still had some maturing to do music wise, the sound on this album is strangely addictive. The combination of heavy guitar riffage and screaming during the verses and melodic choruses works really well here. With the dueling guitar riffs played by Matt Tuck and Michael Paget overtop Michael Thomas's complex double-bass drumming BFMV's music is fairly technical for a 2000's metalcore band. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: Lead vocalist Matt Tuck outdoes the average metalcore vocalist by playing guitar, singing, and screaming. He has a very good range, and his screams are well defined too. The blatantly emotional lyrics sang over the band's heavy riffs and breakdowns seems like a bad combination, but that is not the case. The lyrics mostly speak for themselves, and mostly deal with meaningless relationships, breakups, suicide, and getting cheated on. // 8
Impression: This is a great album that anyone who likes melodic hardcore/metal should buy. I mainly love this album because of its dark mood and melodic guitar riffs and amazing solos. The album's standout tracks are "Tears Don't Fall," "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow," "All These Things I Hate," and "The Poison." If it was destroyed in an atomic explosion, I would buy it again. // 9
The Poison
Reviewed by:
Kellett1, on july 27, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: At first glance, The Poison seems to be nothing more than your standard metalcore screaming nonsense (which it is, in a sense), but if you were to look deeper you would see that it is very much an original recording. The twin guitar attack is nothing new, but the way it's done here, with as much harmonisation as there is, makes for something of a generic-yet-unique sound, and I have no doubt that it is that which helped to propel the band above most other metalcore bands. However, some of the songs on this album invite a sense of deja vu, with some of the tracks sounding similar, and I can't help but think that BFMV were scraping the barrel in the ideas department towards the end of the album. Depite this, it is a solid recording and an excellent debut album. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: As you may or may not know, Matt Tuck (the vocalist) usually writes the lyrics after the rest of the song has been recorded, and there is evidence on it in this album. Some of the vocals don't quite fit in with the music, and there appears to be a reliance on screaming, which gives the album a chaotic and unrefined sound, but not in the way which can make an album excellent (such as in Linkin Park's "Meteora"). On the other hand, the vocal and lyrical talent shown on "Tears Don't Fall" goes someway to redeeming this aspect of the album slightly, and it's the kind of track that makes a good album very good, a very good album excellent, and a bad album pretentious. As it is, I'd say it makes a good album very good. // 6
Impression: I don't know a great deal about the metalcore genre, so I can't really pass much of a judgement about this, but I hear the Lostprophets and Funeral For A Friend are good competitors in the area. As for songs, the most impressive has to be "Tears Don't Fall" (for reasons explained above, and the fact that it stands out so much from the rest of the album), closely followed by "Room 409", simply for the guitar work throughout especially the catchy intro. The best part of this ablum has to be the twin guitar approach to the music, with the harmonisation taking the music to a whole new level. If I had to give a criticism, it would be of the repetitiveness of the album, especially towards the end of it. I would say that this is only a must-have if you love BFMV, and if you don't, but are interested, get Scream, AIm Fire instead, and then get this if you loved that. // 8
The Poison
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on june 24, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: This record of BFMV starts off with a cool little intro with cellos, which is kinda cool but the rest of the CD is pretty much heavy metal, with Matt Tuck and the bass player for the band doing most of the screaming on this record, they both scream good and enough that you can tell there a metal band but not to much that the screaming will get on your nerves. The guitar and drums both sound great and go good together, the bass while at times you can hear it, there are some times were you can't hear it unless you listen really close. This is like the last record with the kind of screams that Tuck does because of surgery on his throat, his screams are better on this CD and there are more of them with the heavier songs. Overall this is a good CD and... That's all there is to it. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics to the songs are pretty well written, it basically tells you the meaning to the whole song in the song itself which is a good thing if you like finding the meanings to songs. The lyrics and the music itself match up really well, when he sings usually its soft guitar or softer sounding but when either of the people scream it usually shifts into more aggressive sounding guitars or faster drums or just something that adds excitement to that moment. Like I said before the guitarist and bass player sing at parts with the guitarist singing as well as screaming, where as the bass player usually adds backing screams to the songs, both scream really good and really aggressive sounding parts to songs that would be maybe a softer song without them. So overall good hear too. // 9
Impression: This is the heaviest record by them and is done the best with there style, its heavier than Scream, Aim, Fire and that's a good thing. Some of the songs that I found most impressive were Tears Don't Fall, Room 409, Hit The Floor, and Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow, I think those are some of the best songs on an already awesome CD. What I love about it is, it's heavy while still melodic and there real good musicians, the things I hate is... Well I really have nothing I hate about this CD, it's an amazing one. I borrowed it from a friend but if I could I would buy it and if that got stolen I would kiss the ass of the person who stole it and get it back. This CD is amazing anyone who is a fan of metalcore should definately pick this one up. // 10
The Poison
Reviewed by:
IglesiasRocker1, on february 11, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: I was first introduced to Bullet for My Valentine by YouTube. I was listening to a Metallica song and saw a Bullet cover of it, so I listened. I thought it was pretty good so listened to one of their own songs and was blown away. The guitar in their songs is great, especially the solos and harmonized riffs, the drummer is fantastic, and just everything about them is great. Padge and Tuck (guitars) use a wide range of effects for their songs, the drummer definetely knows when to put in the kicks, and Tuck is probably the best singer out there. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics to this bands songs are very good. Most of them are about breakups and love but all in different ways. They use a lot of metaphors in their lyrics and just overall they are good. Matt Tuck is probably the best singer. He has a very unique voice (probably because of his accent) and he screams VERY well. He has a great range in his vocals and knows when and when not to scream, and also kudos to him for being able to sing and play the riffs that they come up with (not the easiest thing to do) // 10
Impression: Overall, I thought this album is great. I went through a phase where this was the only thing I listened to.
01.Intro: this instrumental really gets you into a mood. It's a slow, depressing sounding song with clean tone and violins for about 30-45 seconds then a distorted lead comes in. Overall a beautiful song 10/10
02.Her Voice Resides: this song is GREAT. This scared me when i first heard it because the softness of Intro doesn't lead well into the intro of this song. This song has great riffs, great lyrics, and an outstanding solo. This is probably the heaviest song on the album. 10/10
03.4 Words (To Choke Upon): this song is really good. The words are excellent, drums are great, and the solo is pretty good. 9/10
04.Tears Don't Fall: definetely the highlight of the album, and that's for a reason. This song has some very good sounding riffs in it and words are great just like the other songs. The bridge in this song is very fast and makes you wanna headbang then the solo kicks in. Best song ever 11/10
05.Suffocating Under Words Of Sorrow: just good. Can't really go in depth about it but it's good and it has a good solo 8/10
06.Hit the Floor: one of the heavier songs on the album. Has some funky natural harmonics in the riff (on the 2nd and 3rd frets) and one of the few songs that doesn't have a solo in it. 9/10
07.All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me): really good song. Another that has no solo but the song is amazing. 10/10
08.Room 409: great song. Trust me, it's really good. Hard-hitting with great lyrics, great harmonies, great solo, great breakdown, ahh I love this song 10/10 for sure
09.The Poison: I don't know how this song isn't more popular. It's the title track for one, but this song is very good. Has a good tapping riff, GREAT solo (best on the album) and a good breakdown right after the solo. 9/10
10.10 Years Today: really not the biggest fan of this song. No solo, just ok riffs, pretty slow song. I give it a 7/10 because the lyrics are very good.
11.Cries In Vain: this song is really good. The intro has phaser in it follewed by hard hitting distortion. Great song with some sort of a harmony harmonics solo at the end.
12.Spit You Out: second worst song on the album. This isn't the best song I've ever heard them play, but it's not that bad. Very catchy chorus and awesome breakdown. This one gets 7.5/10
13.The End: slowest song on the album. Still a pretty good song. Kind of like Intro except this song is 5 minutes longer. This song has no solo either but it's good enough to score a 9/10 // 10
The Poison
Reviewed by:
shane32, on may 14, 2007 1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Sound: The Poison, Bullet For My Valentine's, newest CD, is definately a must-have for anyone who enjoys listening to emo-metal. This album is very well done, with perfect placing of screaming, singing, and guitar. This is one of the better cd's to come out in 2006. One of the only negative comments that I have about this CD is that there aren't any songs that are particularly original. Also, the guitar playing isn't anything amazing. Other than that, I found that the overall sound was very good. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics of the album, weren't anything amazing. For the most part, it was the average emo lyrics; the one song that stood out lyrically was Ten Years Today, in which they talk about getting a call saying that their friend had died, and then describing of how they felt about what happened. Overall, the lyrics could've been better. // 8
Impression: Overall, I liked this CD a lot, and I would definately buy it again if it were stolen or lost. While it isn't anything amazingly different from other bands, it is still worthwhile to listin to. This CD is different from other bands, because it is heavier than a lot of other emo. bands. The songs that I like most on this CD would probably be Suffocating Under Words Of Sorrow (What Can I Do), and 4 Words (To Choke Upon). I definately recommend this CD to anyone who enjoys emo metal. // 9
The Poison
Reviewed by:
Guitarplaya27, on may 14, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: The sound on this album is very distorted. Guitars have a very Cradle Of Filth sound to them in my opinion. Styles are more around the Metalcore, Metal, and Death Metal sound to them. Songs like Her Voice Resides, Room 409, 4 Words To Choke Upon, Hit The Floor, 10 Years Today are perfect examples of how dark Bullet changed from their EP. Songs like Tears don't Fall, All These Things I Hate, Intro, The End, show some softer sounds to try and grab more fans and get more types of people into them, very smart. Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow definately has the best riff on the album. Other songs like The Posion, Spit You Out, Cries in Vain just show some modern Metalcore that they have. The harmonies on this album are great! Solos are incredible. Their clean guitar parts are great with the Phaser and reverb. Definately a big change from their EP. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Lyrics are very touching in some songs. Like Tears don't Fall, All These Things I Hate, Cries in Vain. They just have something to them that make you think, they also bring some fans along to get more people to listen. Other songs have a hateful meaning, like The End for example, great voice to fit that song. In Some parts Matts voice got really annoying, like in Suffocating, The Poison, some parts in 4 words to Choke Upon, his voice sounds kinda whiny. Jay and Michaels screaming in the back is great with Matts singing/screaming. Matt does have a voice though. Room 409 overall is my favortie, the background screaming is just beautiful, overall the best song. But overlal great! // 8
Impression: My favorites off this album would be: Tears Don't fall, Her Voice Resides, 4 Words To Choke Upon, Cries In Vain, hell every song is great. My favortie off the Song would be Room 409, the guitar playing is great, drumming shows off in this album, dark riffs and sound overall, the singing is beautiful, the back up death metal screams/growls just give this song a feeling. Beautiful. Overall a great album! // 10
The Poison
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on october 26, 2009 0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Sound: As most BFMV fans will know there are many ways of interperating thier genre some will say emo core and some will say metal core. I am not saying I think BFMV are emo core but this is definately thier lightest album and thier most melodic. The almost orchestral guitars matt tuck and mathew padget are amazingly unique and intricate in thier playing style. Each song hails another finger contorting riff and with a very minimal amount of filler power chords as some songs do. This band is obviously guitar based by the fact alot of bands will quite often have filler tracks that are just made up of power chords one after the other. This does not sound bad but it gets repetetive and uses no real skill. The drumming is up beat and fast. Music that can apeal to everyone in the metal audience. A minimal amount of screaming but in balance as to make it not sound like another crappy emo track or some twisted gothic black metal. The instrumentals on this album of all BFMV's albums is the best and most intricate of them all. Thew sound once melded together is a unique revouloutionary sound that no other band could ever quite achieve. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: The singing styles on this album are amazing. Matt Tuck's emoesque singing(I still hate emo) is amazing because it doesn't go into a rather tunless mindless voice like Jimmy eat world or fallout boy, but it doesn't go into a bizzarre bring me the horizon scream. Jason james's agressive hardcore growl scream adds the agression needed for the album. It stops songs like 'All These Things I Hate Revolve Around Me' and 'Tears Don't Fall' from being wet. He has a great voice that is very agression inspiring. His voice tells the stories of his life, Neglect, Hate, Sadness and Confused. But the lyrics are this albums let down, lyrics like this bit from suffocating under words of sorrow 'Her fingers running through my hair, But it's all just fiction, She steps out from her underwear'. What does that mean. I mean I prosume it is talking about the fact he's never managed to find love but firstly love is not a very originally topic and probably if you did have a girlfriend and you were in a famous band you would be cheating on her 24/7. Secondly who really cares can't he sing about somthing that matters. And thirdly it sounds like he's watching a porn video and mastibating that line does. Tears don't fall has marginally better lyrics but still marginally fractured. Don't get me wrong I love this band but anyone with common sense knows that these lyrics are bad. The only good thing is that in some of the songs he couldn'y really be singing about anything other than that just because of the melodic style of vocals and guitar in some songs. // 6
Impression: This band is quite obviously the leader of the metalcore industry and is one of the most chart friendly metal bands metal gets. They are relatively accessable as metal goes(excluding some nu-metal: Linkin park, SLIPKNOT, LimpBixit, Disturbed etc.). I reackon that this band will probably end up being one of the main contenders for metal supremacy probably between BFMV, SLIPKNOT, Marilyn Manson and maybe KoRn. They have a sound very similair to metallica which is no surprise because they used to be a cover band who mainly played metallica and nirvana apparently. They are a great band with a sound stronger and more powerful than Atreyu, but a less agressive thrashy sound than Trivium. My personel favourite album of all time just so you know. // 9
The Poison
Reviewed by:
jtallen0496, on may 21, 2012 0 of 2 people found this review helpful
Sound: Bullet For My Valentine is a Welsh Heavy Metal band. This is their first actual studio album. The music is absolutely awesome. The guitars are very loud and fast, and the vocals are over-energized. You can tell that they held nothing back on this record. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are exactly what Bullet Fans expect. They go very well with the music, and are what Bullet always does. Very angry, harsh, and violent. Matt and Jay are very in time with each other, and, as always, blow you away with their mind-boggling singing/screaming ability. // 10
Impression: Bullet For My Valentine is definitely one of the most impressive bands on the scene today. They are one of the few new bands that I actually listen to. I love all the songs on the album. If it were stolen, I would be very upset, and I would find whoever stole my $22 Deluxe Edition. I would still be very upset if it were lost, due to the fact that you can't really find it anywhere anymore. I love the CD, love the band, and would recommend them to pretty much anybody. // 10
"Tears Don't Fall" is an incredible song. i'm listening to it as I write this. Great cd. Only 2 or 3 tracks that were ok, everything else was great. Shreds like crazy, great vocals, what more do you need? 9.7/10
simply put, this Cd owns! this band is something different and yet strangely familiar at the same time. imo, they're exactly what metal needed at this point in time. can't wait to see what they become.
This is one of the greatest Cd's around. If you like british metal or rock music in any way buy it!!! and don't listen to anonymouse, all the songs are good, if you like one, you'll like the other
this album is amazing. however i wish they put hand of blood on there. i think that is probably there best song. oh well, itll be a hidden treasure for all the real fans of BFMV (cause at my school all the fags are little bandwagon kids. they hear all these things i hate revolve around me, which is a good song mind you, and they think there the coolest thing until a new song comes out. oh well at least there supporting bullet)
this album is amazing. however i wish they put hand of blood on there. i think that is probably there best song. oh well, itll be a hidden treasure for all the real fans of BFMV (cause at my school all the fags are little bandwagon kids. they hear all these things i hate revolve around me, which is a good song mind you, and they think there the coolest thing until a new song comes out. oh well at least there supporting bullet)
I agree, Hand of blood was my favorite songs from them, but I got the EP so it didn't really bother me. Still a great album though.
they are good but still have a lot too learn they will be huge its in their hands now they have the fans all they have too do is top that album which they could do with less screaming and i little bit more technicality and limit the songs about girls to 1 per album and without alienating fans and they are there 8/10
nope "Hand of Blood" it's not on the f* album, they should've put it though, c'mon it was an EP they're able to put it on the Full CD, but wth... the album still KICK F ASS...
well first I thought about they where emo, but later when I heard other songs of them, I changed my opinion to Metalcore.
im not a huge fan but from what i have heard they're pretty good. I love all of the pinch harmonics. They are one of the few bands that ivefound that use tapping in their solos. The only thing though is that all of the tabs that people put on here, the solos are all wrong.
The Poison is a good album for a band that I often see as a gateway into heavier music.
They are reasonably talented musicians, but not, as many people tend to label them, 'bringing old school metal back' as any discerning metalhead will tell you, good metal never went away. It just became more of an undercurrent, influencing bands like Bullet and Trivium that have made it big.
Not that I mind Bullet, as they seem like a reasnable bunch of guys, and their lyrics are heartfelt if a bit naiive sounding. I'm also a bit averse to the bassist's screaming. At least they appear to be sticking to writing what they like and not changing their sound/vocals and lyrical style like some bands *cough* Trivium *cough*.
i love this cd so much it has inspired alot as my song writing as well as my chemical romance's new cd black parade the thing i h8 about these 2 cdss is choosing which 1 to play lol
brilliant album... hand of blood, tears dont fall, her voice resides, all these things i hate, spit you out...its full of awesome tracks
do yourself a favour, get off your ass and buy it!
who does everyone think will last longer trivium or bullet by the this album is the best cd i have bought the lyrics connect so easily to me dark yet catchy
I don't know how anyone can honestly seriously rate the lyrics more than say, 2.
BFMV's music is friggen awesome, I even love all of the different vocals, but seriously, this is an actual lyric: "I loved you, you hurt me back." Give me a ****in' break...
who does everyone think will last longer trivium or bullet by the this album is the best cd i have bought the lyrics connect so easily to me dark yet catchy
Hard question, but I'm gonna have to go with Trivium, simply because I like them more ! Bad reason, I know, but trust me, I don't care.
Anywho. I'm new to Bullet For My Valentine, but have been a Trivium fan since "Ascendancy" was released - a little off-topic, but I have no problem with Trivium's "The Crusade;" in fact I like it more than "Ascendacy." Back on topic, I've downloaded (I'm a naughty boy) a few songs off of this album upon reading the review, and easily decided that BFMV is a new favorite band. BMFV's melodic singing is better than Trivium's and their riffs seem to hit harder; however, Trivium has the blazing solos (as well as the Michael Angelo Batio over-and-under technique), Travis' INSANE double-bass drumming, and Trivium, in my opinion, has better singing (aside from the melodic verses) and screaming. I didn't compare bassists because, well, I can't ever hear the bass-lines. Lol. Paolo's an above average bassist, though, and I'm sure BMFV's bassist is no slacker as well.
Who's better ? WHO CARES !? They both make great music, whether it be metalcore or heavy / thrash metal, so listen and enjoy !
Hahah. Triviumfan54 makes me laugh. At least BFMV's goal isn't to "be the exact same as Metallica". Anyways, this cd has it's moments. They're way better when they play metal then they are when they play that stupid arena rock. Tears don't fall sucks (except for that crazy thrash part), and so does every other track where Matt "tries" to sing. What's wrong with you people. If you're going to play metal, PLAY IT.
Thank you iquitmyscene13, at least somebody has the right idea. I'm fed up of kids picking up guitars and playing crappy detuned riffs, and making millions. YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS!
02. Her Voice Resides - a massive boot up the backside with pounding angry vocals and guitars the size of the sun and a mind blowing outro. Similar in ways to "Rain" by Trivium.
I have no idea how there is a connection between the two songs- though theyre both great
Triviumfan54 wrote:
Thank you iquitmyscene13, at least somebody has the right idea. I'm fed up of kids picking up guitars and playing crappy detuned riffs, and making millions. YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS!
ok dude, im sick poeple hating on detuned riffs, they create just a deeper sound, and if your saying BFMV riffs are crappy, suck a dick...
I listened to most of this Album, Whiney Emo Vocals, I hate that, When he screams it's decent, the lyrics are to ehhh sleezy/Girly. The guitars are good, But these guys kinda compare themselves to bands like... I don't know...Iron Maiden. Kinda pissed me off. Not a huge fan, But if your into this stuff, it will probably be an awesome album for ya...
i STILL cant stop listening to this album and its been well over 6 monts since i bought it. Theese songs just don't seam t wear thin, and it's all consistantly good. Go bullet \m/
Hahah. Triviumfan54 makes me laugh. At least BFMV's goal isn't to "be the exact same as Metallica". Anyways, this cd has it's moments. They're way better when they play metal then they are when they play that stupid arena rock. Tears don't fall sucks (except for that crazy thrash part), and so does every other track where Matt "tries" to sing. What's wrong with you people. If you're going to play metal, PLAY IT.
Trivium like rules man,, and emo sucks ass, trivium issn't like metallica at all, maybe the wanna be, but theyre way better,
oke dude, if Hitler still lived, would you rather ignore him then try to take his hope ever suceeding, what we do here is the same, it is called an opnion, and if i feel i have to say something negative im free to do so
Well you can't compare Bullet for my valentine with
Trivium, cause Trivium will own they're asses! But this cd owns i can't stop listening to it!If it was stolen i would kill the mother f*cker who stole it and get it back!
I'm sorry....I keep hearing people going "complicated riffs" throughout this review.....heres another opinion-
Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine...Good but not great and DEFINITELY not close to metallica.
Children of Bodom and Killswitch Engage - Kick a$$
ATTENTION BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE FANS WHO HAVE BEEN FANS FOR MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES (by this i mean you went through all the trouble of finding Hand of Blood album in stores before they were famous cause you were lucky enough to hear them somewhere and you have been fans of them for more than a year...) ENJOY BFMV WHILE YOU CAN!!!!!THEIR NEXT CD IS GONNA SUCK. SSSSSUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK! THEY ARE GETTING SOOOOO FAMOUS AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO GREAT BANDS WHEN THEY START HAVING RADIO TIME. MTV INTERVIEWS AND RINGTONES. THEY STOP ALL THE THING THAT MAKE THEM...THEM AND START SUCKING. tooo bad too. they are my fav. band right now. *SIGH*
ummm their next cd is gonna kick complete ass i have heard Scream Aim And Fire and its better than what they have done in the past soooo yah
The Poison is a good album for a band that I often see as a gateway into heavier music.
They are reasonably talented musicians, but not, as many people tend to label them, 'bringing old school metal back' as any discerning metalhead will tell you, good metal never went away. It just became more of an undercurrent, influencing bands like Bullet and Trivium that have made it big.
Not that I mind Bullet, as they seem like a reasnable bunch of guys, and their lyrics are heartfelt if a bit naiive sounding. I'm also a bit averse to the bassist's screaming. At least they appear to be sticking to writing what they like and not changing their sound/vocals and lyrical style like some bands *cough* Trivium *cough*.
6.5/10 - Good but I'm sure they'll improve.
u dikhead thats cos they hav only really released one album and trivium = 3, and if u knew about trivium u would know y matt(heafy) screamed in the first place...
I can hardly believe that people call this band metal. It's more like hard rock with those stupid poppy chorus'. Unearth was right when they said metalcore was dying- and I blame it all on those Goddamn poppy chorus'.
Getting compared to Trivium annoys me alot. They have far more class and originality than Trivium who i'm sure don't even sing in any of their songs! This is a great band and i'm not even into metal at all, really is a good buy for almost anyone who likes a good bit of guitaring.
Getting compared to Trivium annoys me alot. They have far more class and originality than Trivium who i'm sure don't even sing in any of their songs! This is a great band and i'm not even into metal at all, really is a good buy for almost anyone who likes a good bit of guitaring.
Trivium's last album has maybe one screamed verse, the rest singing.... good job.
I don't know how anyone can honestly seriously rate the lyrics more than say, 2.
BFMV's music is friggen awesome, I even love all of the different vocals, but seriously, this is an actual lyric: "I loved you, you hurt me back." Give me a ****in' break...
omg u guys.. everyone really needs to lighten up. i know how everyone needs to let their opinion be heard, and if u disagree with it, don't take it to heart. seriously, if someone thinks bullet for my valentine is shit (personally i think they're great), then who cares if they don't like them? it's their loss.
They need the Voice of Killswitch as said a bit before because the Music isn't shabby.
lukeedelston wrote:
Getting compared to Trivium annoys me alot. They have far more class and originality than Trivium who i'm sure don't even sing in any of their songs! This is a great band and i'm not even into metal at all, really is a good buy for almost anyone who likes a good bit of guitaring.
Trivium sings in virtually all of the most recent album which really ticked off fans just listen to The Rising it is a Metallica Vocal imitation.
Overall this album has a mix of melody and metal that is virtually unheard of for a band this new. This is an important album. Bullet for My Valentine, along with Trivium are bringing old fashion metal back and the future looks bright.
I SAW these guys live on the taste of chaos tour with Avenged Sevenfold and Atreyu, and let me say, I've never seen so many hot women at a concert in my life.
Atreyu went down the pooper, their old stuff is definitely better, and A7X just started whining to gain popularity. Bullet is skilled though.
The poison is easily one of the best cd's I've ever heard, they have songs that send shivers down my spine. 10 years today does it big time, so does hit the floor.
It seems like Atreyu, B4MV, Trivium, and A7X are always mentioned in the same breath. But A7X and Atreyu are not even close to Trivium and B4MV. I think that Trivium and Bullet are very similar, they've even went the same way with their new albums, which are not anywhere near as good as the Poison and Ascendancy respectively. I think Bullet is a better band. But when it comes to talent (other than vocals) trivium has much more potential, they just don't write as good of music. Bullets riffs are catchier, but I must say Pull Harder has quite the catch riff.
Great band my second favorite behind metallica. i agree that the lyrics are a bit emo, but the loud guitar and drums drowns it out. best songs are 4 words and scream aim fire
this has to be my favorite album by BFMV. The intro that apocolipta(spelling) did for them is a great one. Her Voice Resides kicks in and practicly scares you right after you hear the intro. the 4 Words is a great song. Tears Dont Fall is also a great song. Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow, great song with meaning. Hit the Floor, great tune to listen to. All These Things I Hate is a radio fan song, but i still love it. Room 409, best song on the album, by the way the lyrics are set up i think its about a blow job hahaha. The Poison is a purdy good song. 10 Years Today really makes you look back if you have had a person close to you die. Cries in Vain is a good song. Spit You Out is just awsome. The End, great ending to an album.
why is like everyone comparing BFMV to trivium? they have two different sounds. i like both of them, and i see no need to compare two completely different bands
and tuning to drop d or c isn't necessarily detuned because you can create different sounds with different tunings. it's not like they're tuning a quarter step down or something and actually not playing in tune.
so why all the fuss?
this album is amazing the lyrics hit hard and the guitar is fast and heavy but not to the point of slayer my favorite song personally is 4 words(to choke upon) its very heavy and just means alot
Hahah. Triviumfan54 makes me laugh. At least BFMV's goal isn't to "be the exact same as Metallica". Anyways, this cd has it's moments. They're way better when they play metal then they are when they play that stupid arena rock. Tears don't fall sucks (except for that crazy thrash part), and so does every other track where Matt "tries" to sing. What's wrong with you people. If you're going to play metal, PLAY IT.
Trivium like rules man,, and emo sucks ass, trivium issn't like metallica at all, maybe the wanna be, but theyre way better,
04. Tears Don't Fall - if when they released this they had left it uncut, many scenes would not want to listen to this. The reason I dislike this song is because it's a blatant radio single.
05. Suffocating Under The Words Of Sorrow (What Can I Do) - a sort of midsection song, and it's quite dull as it is very hard to listen to.
06. Hit The Floor - the opening is frankly rubbish, and there is hardly any change throughout the song. My least favourite.
07. All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me) - played too much, got bored of too quickly. Next!
Ok the guy who wrote that review is terrible. He was terrible describing the freaking songs altogether! Especially those....
I'm not really a fan of this "Metalcore" stuff. But Bullshit for my valentine does have some enjoyable stuff. And you people saying "OMG this ain't really metal" grow up already. If you're a real music lover you won't care what it's called, you just like it based on whether or not it is GOOD music.
first off, i'm so sick of emo haters. And Bullet For My Valentine seem to blend emo well with metal (i'm gonna get crucified for saying this) this is one of my fave albums of all time... the vocals sure beat the ones on Scream Aim Fire.
moonatblack :
Im sorry but did they say they were "Metal"?!?!? HAHAHAHA BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE ARE SHITTY EMO SCREAMO PPL PRETENDING TO BE METAL.
POSTED: 02/11/2009 - 04:15 pm / quote
Actually, this isn't screamo. Matt can actually sing, which I find very impressive. Also, the guitar riffs are some of the best I've heard in a long time. Heavy as F*** but they still have a good sense of melody.
i think this is a great album but i can understand why some people wouldn't like his voice it is different. i like it and the musicianship they posses is incredible at times
ATTENTION BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE FANS WHO HAVE BEEN FANS FOR MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES (by this i mean you went through all the trouble of finding Hand of Blood album in stores before they were famous cause you were lucky enough to hear them somewhere and you have been fans of them for more than a year...) ENJOY BFMV WHILE YOU CAN!!!!!THEIR NEXT CD IS GONNA SUCK. SSSSSUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK! THEY ARE GETTING SOOOOO FAMOUS AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO GREAT BANDS WHEN THEY START HAVING RADIO TIME. MTV INTERVIEWS AND RINGTONES. THEY STOP ALL THE THING THAT MAKE THEM...THEM AND START SUCKING. tooo bad too. they are my fav. band right now. *SIGH*
ummm their next cd is gonna kick complete ass i have heard Scream Aim And Fire and its better than what they have done in the past soooo yah
i'm pretty sure scream aim fire puts this disc to shame
So basically a lot of you people are stupid, to begin with, and second of all, the latest review of this album was a fuzzy turd of incoherent thoughts.
Thank you all for your time.
