Album Review

Bullet For My Valentine – Temper Temper

• 12th Feb 2013

Welsh powerhouses Bullet For My Valentine have been lingering around the scene for years, their rapid rise to fame due to their unique sound; a fusion of tasty guitar riffs, rugged vocals and not to mention a host of beautifully sleek hair. Metal music for people that don’t like metal, if you will. The band are constantly on the go, churning out new music and tours like they’re scared of slipping off the radar, and 2013 is looking to be no different for the fearsome foursome.

The band’s newest addition to their growing back catalogue is album “Temper Temper”. Opening track “Breaking Point” is everything you would expect from a Bullet song: heavy drum beats, whiny guitars and Tuck’s angry, somewhat cheesy lyrics. The reverberant riff is almost reminiscent of old Avenged Sevenfold. The album is backed up to the rim with face melting guitar solos, even in ballad (as close to a ballad as a Bullet track can be) “Dead To The World.”

The most intriguing track on the album, “Tears Don’t Fall Part 2” picks up exactly where first part “Tears Don’t Fall” left off. Being one of the band’s biggest singles to date, the guys took a huge risk in giving it a second part. But it paid off. In an album full of mediocre metal songs, this track really stands out. Cleverly using echoing riffs and lyrics from “Tears Don’t Fall”, part two takes us right back to the early days, when Bullet For My Valentine were making hits, not misses.

“Temper Temper” as an album is almost a parody of itself, the pure cheesiness of Tuck’s lyrics is almost unbearable, and the repetitive riffs and melodies are a bore. It is proof that Bullet For My Valentine have not evolved as a band since their first rise to fame, and confirms that their sound is not timeless, and that time may just be running out for them.

Venue: Temper Temper
Support Band: RCA Records