bullet For My Valentine

Gravity

Welsh wonders shoot for the charts on sixth album.

Bullet For My Valentine are one of modern British rock’s few true success stories. The Bridgend band’s last four albums have all gone Top 20 on both sides of the Atlantic, giving them bragging rights over pretty much all of their contemporaries.

The key to their success is an ability to change with the times. Having started out as a straightdown-the-line metalcore outfit, they’ve gradually stripped back their more abrasive edge, knitting electronic and even outright pop flourishes into their sound.

Gravity finds them striking a balance between the slick and the crushing. Coma’s wall of guitars are punctuated by twinkling effects, while Letting You Go sounds like Justin Bieber playing nu metal. And they can still ramp up the aggro when they need to, as on the roaring Don’t Need You.

It’s not for everyone, and you can practically hear their old-school fans sharpening their pitchforks, but you have to admire BFMV’s ambition.