Already rock darlings in the UK, the Welsh bred BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE aim to make waves in the US with its debut full length release The Poison. The 13-track endeavor is laden with twin guitar wailings that share as much in common with IRON MAIDEN as they do TRIVIUM, and also boast some of the finest dynamic verse-chorus shifts in today's metal realm. Just check out the contagious "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow" as proof on just how well this quarter mixes clean vocals with death growls, all while an incessant double bass drumming clinic goes on underneath. While the band loses steam ballads perfect for 15 year old girls like "All These Things I Hate", the utter despondence unleashed in tracks like "Her Voice Resides" couple with the melodic metal meandering found on "Hit The Floor" and "Spit You Out" will appease every nu-metal MySpace subscriber in spades.

Hey I’m just like you. I’m a little tired of the whole metalcore thing. It’s gone from intriguing to tiresome laugh-core in recent years. But there are still some labels and bands who in my opinion are still doing the misplaced and clichéd genre some good. Bullet For My Valentine’s newest release on Trustkill Records entitled “The Poison” is a perfect example of what we still hope for. They show off their love for all things Dimebag with an intro with clean guitar and then crazy whirling distorted solo notes. Once the intro bleeds away into a total fade we’re greeted with the traditional sounds of metalcore. There’s screams, heavy guitars, pummeling percussion, dynamic breaks, all of which are ultimately odes to what us metalheads used to love so much about the older bands. It’s just a shame that it got exploited by a bunch of makeup black fingernail polished MySpacers. Not bad, but we all know what to expect these days (translation: expect Billboard to quiver in its wake).

Along with Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine is pretty much taking over the metal world. Well, at least the UK metal scene...While the fire might not have caught on as much as the band, or Trustkill for that matter, might have hoped for on this side of the pond, there's no denying that Bullet For My Valentine has the buzz going through press, tours, and car stereos. Combining clean singing, a throaty scream, catch-tastic riffs, and top-shelf production (courtesy of the venerable Colin Richardson), Bullet For My Valentine will probably make most loyal Deadtiders cringe. Sure, it's high-gloss pop-metal, but if you've seen the review of the band's debut EP, you pretty much know where this one's going. The Poison, somehow, is the first full-length for these guys and features most of the songs from that last EP as well as a bunch of new tunes. With the current wave of harmony-happy metal and At The Gates tribute bands, Bullet For My Valentine is finally one band that features massive harmonies coupled (successfully) with catchy riffs and clean vocal hooks. They're catchy enough for your girlfriend and just might be heavy enough for you. There are no -core breakdowns, and these guys surely borrow more from Maiden and Testament than Terror or Madball. Sure, most of the songs are about heartbreak, but they've all got some killer riffs and solos to snatch that credibility factor back up. If you're not overly tired of the clean choruses and guitar harmonies, then stick with Bullet For My Valentine. They're one of the few (very few) bands that can combine double bass and competent guitar solos with clean singing while still maintaining old-school metal mentality. Get the bandwagon ready, 'cause I'm already on board, even though the American scensters (read: kids who 'dance' to breakdowns and comb their hair in front of a fan) will slag this for far too much poppiness and no breakdowns, and heavier music fans will want more brutality. But, if you're up for some melody and sappy lyrics alongside your kick drums and solos, The Poison is definitely a rewarding listen.

The music scene in Wales must be doing something right having produced notable bands such as Funeral For a Friend and Lostprophets in recent years. Also hailing from that same area, Bullet For My Valentine have crossed the Atlantic in hopes of making waves in the States. Every once in awhile a record comes along that is just plain fun to listen to. After only a few notes it has you bouncing around the room and singing along. The Poison is exactly that. When you combine one part Trivium and one part Killswitch Engage, it's one hell of a concoction. There's plenty of material to pump your fist to. Take “Hand of Blood” for instance. It is a prefect exhibit of Bullet For My Valentine's sound. Track two, “Her Voice Resides,” is also another highlight of the album. Lead vocalist Matthew Tuck can go from a swaggaring croon to strained growl flawlessly. The ballad “All the Things I Hate” teeters on the edge of 80's hair metal, but ends up on the right side of the fence. For those that are familiar with Bullet For My Valentine from their EP, you will find mostly new material to inject into your ears. Frankly, I would've liked to have seen reworked versions of “Just Another Star” and “Turn To Dispair” turn up on this album. Though they would be a sure success on a re-release.

You know that slightly numb yet satiated feeling you get after an Owen Wilson comedy or a night at the Olive Garden? (Unlimited breadsticks!) It’s comfort, man. Remember that vacantly positive vibe when you listen to Bullet for My Valentine, a melodic Welsh metal band that’s itching to make waves on these shores. There’s zero in the originality department here: if the name and look don’t give away the band’s embittered, screamoid intentions, then the music certainly will—it’s a slightly less pop take on fellow countrymen Lostprophets, with some My Chemical Romance goth-noir imagery thrown in for good measure. Thematically, the album maintains a perfect balance between self-loathing (the acoustic “All These Things I Hate [Revolve Around Me]”), violent anguish (“With bloodshot eyes, I watch you sleeping,” warns Visine-deprived singer Matt Tuck, and sexual recrimination (the you-blew-him-so-I-killed-you tirade “Room 409”). Tuck has the scream down OK, and his “singing” is actually quite good—his radio-friendly bile turns the potentially forgettable “Tears Don’t Fall” into a pretty impressive cell-phone-in-the-air ballad. But the real reason BFMV transcend cliché and move into “acceptably mainstream”? The twin guitars of Tuck and “Padge.” (Hey, I only report the names; I don’t judge). While their modern metal peers aim for discord and randomness, these guys lead a complementary, lockstep, heavily synchronized assault; because of that, the built-up energy of the songs on The Poison carry you away from the group’s rather nondescript message. And when the band tries a bit harder, like on the constantly morphing and genuinely anthemic “4 Words (To Choke Upon),” the end result is… surprising. Just don’t tell anyone.

TWO YEARS ago Jeff Killed John frontman Matt Tuck was preparing to shelve any aspirations he held of becoming a rock star. Frustrated with the seemingly unstoppable rise of his peers Lostprophets and Funeral For A Friend, and the apathetic reaction his own band were receiving, he decided it was time to get out for good. But Matt and his bandmates had invested too much blood, sweat and tears in their music to just walk away. Adopting the old adage of "what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger" and a new moniker, they decided to give it one last shot. Fast-forward to the present day and Bullet For My Valentine are being heralded as one of 2005's biggest success stories. Triumphant tours with the likes of Anthrax and Chimaira, as well as a prominent slot at this year's Download festival has not only won them legions of fans up and down the country, but they've also scored a much converted Kerrang! Best British Newcomer Award. And that's all before their debut album, 'The Poison', has even hit the shops. 'But does this band actually deserve the hype?' we hear you cry. Well, on the strength of this record, the answer to that is a resounding 'Yes'. Fusing Killswitch Engage's contemporary take on heavy metal with old school virtuoso fret board wizardry, 'The Poison' is an instant modern metal classic. Kicking in with a blood curdling scream, album opener 'Her Voice Resides' sounds like classic Metallica crossed with the pop hooks of Funeral For A Friend and guitar solos that'd make Iron Maiden proud. While 'Room 409', former single '4 Words' and the galloping riffage of 'Suffocating Under The Words Of Sorrow (What Can I Do?)' continue the onslaught with the ferocious percussional bombast of Slayer. And, like Machine Head before them, even in their softer moments (on tracks like 'All these Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)' and the epic 'Tears Don't Fall') BFMV only tug at your heartstrings one minute to smash you in the face with a hook-laden chorus the next. But, no matter who you compare them to, this record is uniquely Bullet For My Valentine. And that's the reason why this seemingly late addition to the scene will be here long after the also-rans have called it quits.

COCKY, arrogant, big-headed—however you want to phrase it, Welsh metal boys Bullet For My Valentine have gained quite a reputation over the last 10 months. With sweeping statements about being “the next Metallica” and striding forward as “pioneers of British metal”, the young quartet seemed to gain as many lovers as haters as the buzz began to grow. November 2004 saw the release of their self-titled mini-album, and as the five tracks slowly became regulars on dance floors, radio stations and fans’ iPod playlists, the band set off round the country to prove they could live up to the hype. One year one, people are holding their breath. Can Bullet actually transform into everything they claim to be? Nervously Plop ‘The Poison’ into the stereo, and only one phase springs to mind: “My my, haven’t you grown!” A comment usually reserved for patronizing grandparents at Christmas, in this instance, it is uttered with a warm glowing pride fore our boys Matt, Moose, Padge and Jay. With so much expected of them, so many ready and waiting for them to fail, the pressure seems to have paid off and the young lads have produced a stunning and mature collection of brilliant British metal compositions. You know they’re doing something right when, only on their first full-length, Bullet completely get away with starting the album on a full two minute instrumental. Slowly setting the tone for the rest of the record, it implies ‘huge,’ ‘important’ and ‘epic’ and luckily, first track ‘Her Voice Resides’ delivers on message. Hard-hitting, heavy and stodgy as fuck, it’s an exciting promise of what’s to come. There are 12 songs—of which only ‘Four Words’ and ‘Cries In Vain’ have appeared in some form before—and whilst each remains distinctly Bullet, there is a huge dynamic range from track to track. ‘Tears Don’t Fall’ and ‘All These Things I Hate’ are almost ‘power ballads’ (whilst still retaining axe-attacks), the title track ‘Hit The Floor’ are emo-friendly guitar anthems and, at the other end of the scale ‘Suffocating Under The Words Of Sorrow’ and ‘Room 409’ are packed full of dueling galloping harmonics and hair swirling riffage. The melodic hooks, the simple (singable) lyrics, the neatly-executed guitar thrashings and the photo friendly performers make Bullet and ‘The Poison’ a winning combination. We’re not gonna lie to you: this isn’t ‘British Steel,’ it’s no ‘Number Of The Beast,’ but what it is, is a relevant original collection of tracks reflecting the passion and excitement of youth and upcoming British metal in 2005. This is pop-metal, in the best possible way, and at its most exhilarating and fantastic.

Cut from the Trivium-esque cloth, Welsh four-four piece Bullet For My Valentine quietly gestated for years before spectacularly exploding into rock’s popular conscious. Crucial word in that statement? Popular. Grasp that and therein lies the key to understanding and enjoying this band’s output. It is slickly produced with clarity, compressed guitars and pleasantly thick crunch throughout, and why the heck not? Bullet For My Valentine are not from a scene, stuck in a stylistic trap or trying to maintain or induce credibility, they just want to make loud music that sounds good. From the balls balls out bombast of ‘4 Words’ through to anthem-in-waiting ‘Split You Out’, Bullet managethis by balancing the sheer brutality of metal with the palatability of melody. We all know this band are stars of the future; ‘The Poison’ is the vehicle that will take them to the destination for which they are ultimately bound.