Bullet
For My Valentine certainly are a band of two halves. On the one hand, they’re a
hugely successful band, flying the flag for modern British metal. Their talent
and determination seeing them sell millions of albums and playing to arenas all
over the world.
On
the other hand, they’re a frustrating band and it becomes increasingly obvious
that they aren’t reaching their full potential.
Their
fourth album, ‘Temper Temper’ only highlights these points. It’s an album of
both promise and disappointment.
The
first songs released from the album, the title track ‘Temper Temper’ and
‘Riot’, while catchy, are surely among the weakest songs ever produced by the
Welsh metallers. Both are typical rock songs, with obvious pop hooks, which,
while not a far cry from Bullet’s previous efforts, are mediocre at best.
‘Leech’
falls perfectly into this category as well; it’s repetitive and immature nature
thwarting any efforts the band has to reach new heights, with its lacklustre lyrics,
which has often been the story for Bullet Throughout their career, they’ve
certainly been held back by their inability to write lyrics that contain any
real passion or creativity. Juvenile at times, it’s difficult to take ‘Leech’
and indeed, a lot of the album seriously. And it shows us that, while a
successful band, Bullet is still musically and lyrically inferior to most of
their peers.
It’s
not all bad though, ‘P.O.W.’ and ‘Dirty Little Secret’ remind us of Bullet’s
abilities musically, even if the lyrics still aren’t quite there.
The
first slows down the pace, with a haunting melody throughout; the song delivers
on every level and brings a little more excitement and passion to the album,
making it one of the band’s brighter moments, while the latter song is arguably
the best one on the entire album. Its inventive vocals, emotive guitars and
layered riffs all combine to create a truly memorable and catchy track.
‘Dead
To The World’ is typical but poignant Bullet ballad, guitars intertwining throughout
and emotion clearly evident. The pace builds, as this turns into a great track
with a dark guitar solo to see it out.
While
‘Livin’ Life (On The Edge Of A Knife)’ packs a great punch and with its energy
and great riffs, it is clearly a song destined for the mosh pit.
Many
may have questioned the band’s decision to create a sequel to their best-loved
song, ‘Tear’s Don’t Fall’, which saw them take off in 2005. While some may have
cringed at the thought, the good news is that they handle this task very well.
Of course, it’s got nothing on the original (sequels rarely do), but the song
itself is a brilliant one, taking all the intensity and drive of the original
and mixing it up with new ideas, to create a great sequel that most fans will
be happy with.
In
short, if you wanted to show someone who doesn’t understand Bullet’s success,
the reason why they are so successful, then this probably wouldn’t be the album
you would turn to.
The
lack of imagination and evolution holds them back and with other British bands
looking to follow in their footsteps, Bullet really to step things up from here
on out, if they wish to remain the kings of modern metal.
Overall: 3/5
-
Amy
Parker
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