Bullet For My Valentine - The Poison [Album Review]

The Poison by Bullet for My Valentine

Genre - Metal / Thrash Metal / Hard Rock

Music Staff:

Introduction: Another nostalgic album for me. This is the album that got me into metal. I heard one of the songs "Tears Don't Fall" off an animated music video (AMV) quite a while ago, and i loved it. However when I listened to the full album, I noticed several major flaws. Let's go into a track by track review.


Track 1: Intro:
Starts off with cellos, great guitar and some effects, then leads into a guitar solo. Surprisingly this is one of the stand out tracks on the album, simply due to the amazing atmosphere that it gives off. The rain effects were a very nice touch, and bringing in Apocalyptica for the cellos is one of the best choices musically I have heard in a while, as Apocalyptica is one of the most talented bands out there.
Track Rating: 9.0/10 (Amazing)

Track 2: Her Voice Resides:
Great instruments, not much else though. This wasn't one of my favorite songs on the album, this is where a bit of BFMV's thrash side comes out, a side that i'm not particularly a fan of. They could have done better.
Track Rating: 7.1/10 (Good)

Track 3: 4 Words (To Choke Upon):
Matthew's vocals and the drums are the two major stand outs in this song, the guitars are pretty good as well. They use a particular type of build up in this song which makes it rather appealing, considering that sometimes the build ups in this genre aren't really that good or are non existent. This song is great for headbanging.
Track Rating: 8.4/10 (Very Good)

Track 4: Tears Don't Fall:
As I said in my introduction, I heard this song in an animated music video (AMV) and it instantly became one of my favorites. This is by far the best track on the album, great guitars, great vocals, great drums. Amazing solos, amazing feeling. The lyrics are powerful in this song as well. Matt's screams pierce through your ears while the message tears at you as well. This song could have been improved with the inclusion of violins as well, but the way it is, it's still a damn good song. (NOTE, DO NOT WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR THIS SONG, THE SONG IS SHORTENED AND THEY TAKE OUT SOME OF THE BEST PARTS IN THE MUSIC VIDEO)
Track Rating: 9.5/10 (Absolutely Amazing)

Track 5: Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do):
Boring song is boring. Everything lags behind in this song, not recommended, nothing really much else to say about this song.
Track Rating: 4.7/10 (Below Average)

Track 6: Hit The Floor:
This song... is one of the best blood pumpers on the album, right behind Tears Don't Fall. Great guitars and screams are what stand out in this track. Also, the chorus is great, the solos are great. However what I like the best about this song oddly is the last 25 seconds. Where it gets much harder and the guitars harmonize brutally. Great song, highly recommended.
Track Rating: 9.2/10 (Amazing)

Track 7: All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me):
Starts off with some slow acoustic work but then goes into some blood pumping guitar riffs. One of the higher quality tracks on the album, the solo stands out from the rest as well.
Track Rating: 9.2/10 (Amazing)

Track 8: Room 409:
See Review for Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (However Room 409 has better guitars and the vocals are slightly better).
Track Rating: 5.2/10 (Average)

Track 9: The Poison:
Interesting guitar intro, catchy chorus and some nice riffs. This is another stand out track, however it isn't one of the best on the album despite being the title track.
Track Rating: 8.7/10 (Very Good)

Track 10: 10 Years Today:
Another interesting song, harmonizing guitars is what stands out on this song. However not much else stands out. They could have done more with this song.
Track Rating: 8.3/10 (Very Good)

Track 11: Cries in Vain:
This song was really nice, I like the acoustic addition in the middle of the song, it adds a pretty good touch to the song, the chorus is really nice as well. Damn though, this song has some unique and interesting guitar solos. Both in the acoustic and electric department.
Track Rating: 9.0/10 (Amazing)

Track 12: Spit You Out:
No... this song shouldn't have been made, starts off good, ends up generic as hell. HIGHLY not recommended. Choose another song on the album, it's like they stitched parts from the rest of the album to make the abomination that is this song. Not only that, but it has a horrible chorus to top it off. This song needs to go crawl in a corner and die.
Track Rating: 2.6/10 (Bad)

Track 13: The End:
This song has one of the most emotional feelings on the album. It starts off slow, and alternates between fast and slow chugs, but then it starts to slowly build up. However I felt that the solo in the song could have been a bit better, if that was the case, this song would have gotten a higher rating.
Track Rating: 9.1/10 (Amazing)