Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
A force of nature that cannot be dismissed, absolved or found wanting, it is the very nature of the humanity that we strive to find a way to beat it, but in doing so the only thing we have achieved is to free ourselves of Earthly constraints but perhaps losing our soul along the way; Gravity is too strong a force, it is binding, all-consuming and for Bullet For My Valentine, it is brutally exquisite.
The Welsh Metal band have won a multitude of fans over the years and now as they release their sixth studio album, that engrossed feeling of listening to one of the premier bands of the genre in the last decade is sure to see Gravity pulse and take hold, to see it unfold as one would gently undo a delicate piece of intricate origami, and to be in awe at the complexity of the design.
Keeping your feet on the ground is always a hard and often arduous responsibility, it is not what you want to do when your natural ability takes you to places in which you soar, in which you see the peak and the trough as equals but also as part of the understanding that all you can ever do is take the listener with you and know that sometimes they dictate the speed, the approach and the lane you’re driving in.
Gravity is different though to the output that has gone before, more influenced by the electronic flow, a synth pastoral weaves its way through the album and perhaps guided by Iron Maiden’s own foray into the world beyond the Metal stable with their incredible album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Bullet For My Valentine doesn’t just tease Gravity. It finds a way to at least be seen behaving in a way that others will suggest is not natural, the close-minded will argue, even decry, but they will soon fall in line, for this is an album that requires serious contemplation and deserves respect for changing lanes without the audience being short-changed.
In songs such as Over It, Letting You Go, The Very Last Time, Coma, Don’t Need You and the album title track of Gravity, Matt Tuck, Michael Paget, Jamie Mathias and new recruit, drummer Jason Bowld, give Gravity the thoughtful significance to their sound, of what the future might hold as they kick into a stride that is most welcome and perfectly timed.
Passions come in all flavours, sometimes you just have to change the direction sometimes to make sure you still love what is being offered.
Bullet For My Valentine release Gravity on June 29th via Search and Destroy/Spinefarm Records.
Ian D. Hall