Last week, Welsh rockers Bullet For My Valentine returned to the scene with their latest album, Venom. A lot of fans were disappointed with their 2013 record, Temper Temper, so I was interested to see whether the band have redeemed themselves.
Lead single No Way Out was typical BFMV for me – lyrically the track bored me, as it was pretty boring, unimaginative and predictable. Matt Tuck’s lyrics have always been on the boring side, and haven’t really evolved since their debut LP The Poison. If you want to listen to tracks with moody lyrics that hark back to heavy rock of the early noughties, then BFMV are probably the band for you.
Leading up to the release of Venom, the band said in an interview with Kerrang! that the record would be their heaviest yet. Whilst I agree with that, I would argue that heavier doesn’t always necessarily mean better.
Now, I thought there were a few redeeming tracks on BFMV’s previous album that made it worth purchasing for me, but overall I’d argue that the band have been on a downward curve following their brilliant first three albums. There are a few redeeming tracks on Venom too – take a look at my highlights list at the end of this post – but I think I may have outgrown the kind of music that they create. Some of the tracks on Venom sound like they belonged on Temper Temper, which is never a good thing.
If you enjoyed Temper Temper then I’m certain you’ll enjoy Venom, but if you were less than impressed, like me, then I wouldn’t bother picking it up. With the deluxe version of the record being 15 tracks long, I honestly struggled to find the motivation to listen to the entire thing, but I managed it so that you, my lovely altrocklife readers, wouldn’t have to suffer the same fate.
What’s your verdict on Venom? Let me know on Facebook or Twitter.
Highlights: Worthless, Venom, Skin, In Loving Memory (Demo)
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