The under-performing and rather dated Temper Temper of 2013 suggested that the formerly globe-conquering Bullet For My Valentine had peaked.
Since then, the Bridgend quartet have shed bassist Jason “Jay” James, but without losing the conservatism which still holds them back, they sound rejuvenated: howling, super-fast, riff-laden guitars thrash it out with Matthew Tuck’s hollered vocals and his emotionally repressed lyrics. It packs a punch, although Tuck’s bizarre insistence that anything resembling melody be removed is predictably self-defeating.
When they stretch themselves, there are signs of real hope. You Want A Battle? (Here’s A War) has an appealingly huge choral chorus and they get the wind-tunnel effect right on Worthless, which takes chances and is all the better for it.
(RCA)
