Artist: Bullet For My Valentine
Album: Scream, Aim, Fire
Label: Sony BMG
Web: Bullet for my Valentine - Scream Aim Fire


I bet these guys get all kinds of pussy. They're a rock chick's cream dream- a sweet melodic shred fest channeled through cute brooding boys with accents. OMG *puddle*

Don't think it's unintentional. Bullet for My Valentine? Guns and Roses? Obvious. Good for them though, they don't suck at all, and they are in no way a blatant rip-off. They just share the same goals. Sex, drugs, rock n roll. It's a noble pursuit. They're like Avenged Sevenfold, but with a good singer and slightly fewer visible cold sores.

I like these guys because they're in no way confined to one sound. Their influences are many and that's apparent in their music as it bounces through genres, glued together by guitar solo after guitar solo. Your hear the Metallica and the Pantera, of course, but you also hear the Motley Crue, Green Day and various other pop music high points throughout their lifespan.

There aren't a lot of 'filler' songs on this album, per se, but there are some obvious radio songs (ie: panty-droppers). Hearts Burst Into Fire is a radio-ready track. It seems to come out of nowhere if listening to the album in it's entirety, but as a stand alone track, it has all the markings of an iTunes best-seller. Say Goodnight starts as your typical monster ballad, straight off the compilation. But neither song is without it's merits, each kicking ass in it's own way. They will both be favorites on the prom mixtapes in the spring, but will also remain welcomed cool downs in the context of this otherwise fast-paced record.

The last track, Forever and Always, hints at 'high school movie soundtrack,' but as with the other songs, the excellent musicianship spares it from congealing into a cheesy blob of sappy MTV goo. It still stinks of Blink 182 ballsack, but their production is more Van Halen than Britney Spears which makes the repetition somewhat forgiveable. It could have been left off this album, honestly. But it's not horrible.

This is a record that's clearly shooting for the mainstream, but this is not a band that should be overlooked by the 'interweb elite.' Scream Aim Fire, as an album is fun, dynamic and an interesting exploration through the last 20 years of popular music through the eyes of talented young artists with an affinity for ****ing epic, dragon-slaying metal.

WAKING THE DEMON!

*exploding high fives*