Bullet for My Valentine - Venom (2015)^{Release ID: 9488}

I know that the only Bullet for My Valentine album many metalheads actually enjoy is The Poison, and every subsequent album show their downfall of sound from metalcore to alt-metal... Except Venom! This album actually interrupts that transition right before its nu metal destination, the next album Gravity. Venom marks one more return to the thrash-metalcore sound of The Poison and Scream Aim Fire. They still have their original sound for this album!

Those Welsh metallers' 5th album adds more of the band's defense, offering venomous aggression to last 11 tracks. However, they still have some of the concerning elements diffused from their less even previous album Temper Temper, but I will put those aside.

The short ambient intro "V" starts the album, similarly to The Poison's "Intro". But once you reach the end of the intro and start the next track, there's... "NO WAY OUT!!" Matt Tuck screams his way into the first actual track "No Way Out", as the instrumentation storms through, like a pack of lions knocking down a gazelle and devouring its limbs. It's a venomous old-school-like thrash mix of dueling guitars and burrowing choruses. A perfect opening for the heaviness that follows! "Army of Noise" continues the thrash influence similar to Scream Aim Fire. "Worthless" is kinda aptly titled because while it stays true to the mainstream metalcore revival, it gets a little too clumsy.

The stadium-ready gang-singing "You Want a Battle? (Here's a War)" really shows the band's higher strengths, having some potential as a theme for a WWE wrestling montage. "Broken" is an unbroken flashback to their earlier material from The Poison and Scream Aim Fire. The title track is a slow brooding ballad that isn't really suitable for a title track but still an OK song nonetheless.

"The Harder the Heart (The Harder It Breaks)" is in some ways similar to another ballad, "Bittersweet Memories". It keeps the mid-tempo pace, well-written chords, emotional lyrical subject, and guitar leads, though much heavier with more screams. "Skin" is slower and shows the band's melodic side from earlier albums. Same with "Hell or High Water", the longest song of this album at only 4 and a half minutes. "Pariah" once again shows that even their hooks aren't so...hooky, they really pump you up for a menacing closer to the album. Well done, guys!

Complain about the band's aimlessly trekking template if you want, but they really know how to bring back their earlier roots. With Venom, BFMV have ignited the last of the vital sparks of their early material. They still got their heavy venom!

Favorites: "No Way Out", "Army of Noise", "You Want a Battle? (Here's a War)", "Broken", "The Harder the Heart (The Harder It Breaks)", "Pariah"