On
Temper Temper
, the fourth studio album from
Bullet for My Valentine
, the Welsh thrashers return with a looser, more organic sound that feels more focused on intensity than technicality. Taking a cue from the less rigid writing process
Matthew Tuck
used while working on his side project
AxeWound
, the bandmembers wrote more in the moment, getting their ideas out without having time to overthink them. This more instinctual writing process really comes through on the album, providing
with the immediacy that classic thrash albums had, a feeling particularly evident on straight-ahead rockers like "Riot" and "Not Invincible," two songs that rumble right along at a satisfying, take-no-prisoners gallop. While the album also has its more plaintive moments, like the emotional "Tears Don't Fall, Pt. 2," even that song erupts into a frenzy of harmonized soloing, showing that even when they're trying their hands at something approaching a ballad,
have classic metal running through their veins. Though
still have just enough post-hardcore and screamo in their sound to keep metal purists from coming completely around to their way of thinking,
feels like a gateway album into thrash, showing the influence that chugging riff-masters like
Metallica
,
Megadeth
, and
Overkill
have had on the current metal landscape, and will hopefully get some of their fans to look backwards to see the foundation those bands laid down back in the '80s. ~ Gregory Heaney