When Bullet for My Valentine finally hit the studio in 2005 after nearly eight years of slogging out a metalcore career (first as Jeff Killed John, then as BFMV in 2003) that was split between crappy day jobs, sporadic rehearsals and dodgy gigs at any dive they could book for themselves, the Welsh foursome was determined to make their mark. They came away with The Poison, their 2006 full-length debut, which London’s daily Sun hailed as one of the best albums of the year and “one of the finest debuts in rock history.”

Of course, opinion on The Poison was divided between supporters who found the album to be an engaging and energetic thrash statement, and detractors who found it derivative and unoriginal. Regardless of critical reaction, The Poison sold over a million copies worldwide and propelled the quartet—vocalist/guitarist Matt Tuck, guitarist Michael Paget, bassist Jason James and drummer Michael “Moose” Thomas—onto the covers of Rock Sound, Kerrang! and Metal Hammer and into plum supporting slots for the likes of Guns N’ Roses, Metallica and Iron Maiden.

After nearly two solid years of touring—the only break coming when Tuck was grounded by a virulent case of tonsillitis—BFMV finally returned to the studio to craft their sophomore full-length, Scream Aim Fire. Without a thought toward pleasing the camp that loved The Poison or catering to the criticisms of its naysayers, BFMV took the songs they had written on the road during their long touring circuit and entered Sonic Ranch outside El Paso, TX early last year with just one goal: to make the best Bullet for My Valentine record possible.

“We just went in and wrote songs which we were happy with,” says Thomas. “We knew we could write a better record than The Poison, and I think we have.”

Guitarist Paget owns up to perhaps a slight inclination toward a feeling that BFMV had something to prove with Scream Aim Fire.

“Maybe in the sense that people kept trying to knock us back on our first record,” admits Paget. “I suppose that was the only thing we were conscious about on the new record was that we wanted to put something hot out there to kind of shut people up.”

Although Scream Aim Fire still offers the brutal riffing and metalcore shred that defined The Poison, there is a greater emphasis on melody this time around. Thomas and Paget note that the move toward less screaming and more melody, both above and within the structure of Scream Aim Fire’s songs, was a deliberate focus of the band.

“We sat down with Matt and basically said, ‘I don’t think we should scream so much on this record because it will make our songs much more timeless,’” says Thomas. “If he keeps doing that, he’s going to blow his voice out, and then we don’t have a vocalist anymore.”

Still, Paget insists that BFMV weren’t consciously thinking about specifics when the songs were being written, outside of a desire to move every phase of the band—songwriting, studio work, live performance—to the next level.

“We’re still a relatively new band; although we’ve been doing this for 10 years, this is only our second record,” acknowledges Paget. “We went into it not thinking consciously about anything in particular; we just went in the way we did with the mini-albums and The Poison, with nothing too specific in mind so we didn’t stray too far from what we wanted.”

Touring was one of the biggest factors to have an impact on Scream Aim Fire, as BFMV’s relentless road dogging resulted in the band tightening up and working an increasingly common groove. BFMV took that well-oiled machine into the studio and channeled 18 months of live chemistry into their recording sessions.

“The musicianship on the new album, personally, I think, blows The Poison out of the water,” says Paget. “We’ve all come on so much as musicians since the last run. Everyone playing so much just adds to the fire.”

Once again, BFMV worked with Colin Richardson in the production chair. Given that he’s served in that capacity on nearly all of BFMV’s recordings, he has a rapport with the band that makes their working relationship comfortable for everyone.

“We like working with Colin because he listens to the songs in pre-production and won’t touch them at all,” says Thomas. “We feel like our songs are written because we like them and then he’ll make it sound great rather than trying to switch verses and choruses and stuff. That’s the overall vibe in the studio.”

Regardless of whatever critical response that may be directed at Scream Aim Fire, the album exploded after its late January release, bursting into the Top 5 of album charts around the world. Although BFMV are at least a little surprised at the reaction, they’ve been down this path with The Poison. And, of course, the road now beckons them to present Scream Aim Fire’s new songs to audiences around the world, eight weeks of it here in the U.S. including a slot on the upcoming Taste of Chaos tour.

“I think we’re out for 18 months now,” says Thomas. “It’s not a bad position to be in. I love touring.”

Pick up BFMV’s Scream Aim Fire here.

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This entry was posted by RNYK on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 3:37 pm