| Fever | ||||
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| Studio album by Bullet for My Valentine | ||||
| Released | April 26, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | April–December 2009 | |||
| Label | Jive | |||
| Producer | Don Gilmore | |||
| Bullet for My Valentine chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fever | ||||
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Fever is the third album by heavy metal band, Bullet for My Valentine. Containing eleven tracks,[1] the album is scheduled to be released on April 26, 2010 in the UK and on April 27, 2010 in the US. The band will be touring the US this spring to support their upcoming album, starting on April 30, 2010.[citation needed]
Contents |
In early 2009, about a year after Bullet for My Valentine released their second studio album, Scream Aim Fire, the band started writing new material. In a March 2009 interview with Metal Hammer, Matthew Tuck stated that on previous albums he had written lyrics for the songs after the band had completed writing instrumental parts; but for Fever, Tuck had been writing both at the same time.[2] Bullet for My Valentine originally entered the studio in April 2009 with producer Don Gilmore (best known for his work with Linkin Park and Good Charlotte) in studios both in its native Monmouthshire, Wales and Los Angeles, California[citation needed], and cancelled tour dates in South Africa to continue recording.[3] The band took time off from recording in mid-2009 to perform on various tours including the 2009 Mayhem Festival. During the Mayhem Festival, Bullet for My Valentine included a new currently untitled song in their live setlist.[4][5] Following their tours, the band returned to studio to finish Fever. Recording was completed in December 2009, and Gilmore began tracking the album shortly thereafter in Malibu, California.[6]
In a recent interview with UK's Metal Hammer magazine, Matthew Tuck stated about the writing and recording process for the new album:
"We wanted to do something boring and exciting, but that was still us. Having Don Gilmore was a very conscious decision. We didn't want him to change us as musicians, just help with the vocals and get the best possible performances out of our asses.
It's a weird thing singing in the studio; you don't get the adrenaline, the energy, the buzz, it's you in front of a microphone looking at a guy staring at you. To get the performances out in the studio was hard, but Don was amazing. We rewrote the lyrics and melodies up to five times on some songs because he didn't think they were strong enough. We worked insanely hard to get the vocal lines different but still Bullet. The vocals took longer than everything else on the album put together. It was brutal work, but I personally thought I had a huge point to prove so that’s why I stuck at it.
Everyone's buzzing about this one. We just tried to get that energy and excitement and vibe back into the band because the Scream Aim Fire [2008] sessions just ripped our hearts out of wanting to be in a band."[7]
On February 14, 2010, The band offered a new track, "Begging for Mercy", for free download from their official website for a limited time.[1]
The first single, "Your Betrayal", was set for release on March 9, 2010, with a music video following soon after[citation needed]; but, unexpectedly, was released early as a digital single on iTunes on March 2, 2010, along with the track "Begging for Mercy". The second single, "The Last Fight", was scheduled to be released on April 19, 2010; However, the song has already been released on their MySpace page as the music video (released on March 12, 2010) has been too.
On February 24, 2010, Bullet for My Valentine were on a trip to Los Angeles to shoot a pair of videos, one clip is for their new released single "Your Betrayal" (which video hasn't been released yet), while the other is for the future single "The Last Fight" (which video was released on March 12, 2010; Even though, the song is scheduled to be released on April 19, 2010). Director P.R. Brown handled both shoots.[8]
In another interview with Metal Hammer, Matthew Tuck spoke in more depth about the brand new album and he even went as far as to reveal a brand new song title:
“[...] The song is the song as an entity, but there should always be one or two parts in a song where you’re like, ‘fuck that was cool!’ or you just want to bang your head and stick your fists in the air. There’s one song on there called ‘Alone’ – I’ll give you that, exclusive, ha ha – it has this one moment in the middle where it has this key change that turns it from this shreddy metal riff to like a dark demonic almost Scandinavian metal section – just from the key change. It’s pretty cool. It’s super dark, the darkest thing we’ve ever done.”[9]
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| Fever | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Bullet for My Valentine | ||||
| Released |
April 26, 2010 (See release history) | |||
| Recorded |
April–December 2009 The Document Room (Malibu, California) Monnow Valley Studio (Monmouth, Wales) | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal, hard rock, thrash metal, metalcore | |||
| Length |
49:33 66:22 (Japanese version) | |||
| Label | Jive | |||
| Producer | Don Gilmore | |||
| Bullet for My Valentine chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fever | ||||
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Fever is the third studio album by Welsh heavy metal band, Bullet for My Valentine. Containing eleven tracks[1], the album was released on April 26 and 27, 2010 in the UK and in the US, respectively. The band will be touring the US this spring to support their new album, starting on April 30, 2010[2]; And also, they will be headlining the second stage at this year's Download Festival, which started in June 2010.[3][4] The album sold 71,000 copies in the US and 21,965 in the UK in its first week of release to debut at position #3 on The Billboard 200 and #1 on Billboard's Rock and Alternative charts, making it the band's most successful record to date.[5][6][7]
Contents |
In early 2009, about a year after Bullet for My Valentine released their second studio album, Scream Aim Fire, the band started writing new material. In a March 2009 interview with Metal Hammer, Matthew Tuck stated that on previous albums he had written lyrics for the songs after the band had completed writing instrumental parts; but for Fever, Tuck had been writing both at the same time.[8] Bullet for My Valentine originally entered the studio in April 2009 with producer Don Gilmore (best known for his work with Linkin Park and Good Charlotte) at Monmouth, Wales, and cancelled tour dates in South Africa to continue recording.[9] The band took time off from recording in mid-2009 to perform on various tours including the 2009 Mayhem Festival. During the Mayhem Festival, Bullet for My Valentine included a new song to their live setlist.[10][11] Following their tours, the band returned to studio to finish Fever. Recording was completed in December 2009, and Gilmore began tracking the album shortly thereafter in Malibu, California.[12]
In a March 12, 2010 interview with UK's Metal Hammer magazine, Matthew Tuck stated about the writing and recording process for the new album:
| “ | We wanted to do something fresh and exciting, but that was still us. Having Don Gilmore was a very conscious decision. We didn't want him to change us as musicians, just help with the vocals and get the best possible performances out of us. [...] It's a weird thing singing in the studio; you don't get the adrenaline, the energy, the buzz, it's you in front of a microphone looking at a guy staring at you. To get the performances out in the studio was hard, but Don was amazing. We rewrote the lyrics and melodies up to five times on some songs because he didn't think they were strong enough. We worked insanely hard to get the vocal lines different but still Bullet. The vocals took longer than everything else on the album put together. It was brutal work, but I personally thought I had a huge point to prove so that’s why I stuck at it. [...] Everyone's buzzing about this one. We just tried to get that energy and excitement and vibe back into the band because the Scream Aim Fire [2008] sessions just ripped our hearts out of wanting to be in a band.[13] | ” |
Guitar Edge had an interview with some members of the band where Matthew Tuck talked about Fever:
| “ | [...] The main objective on this album was to please ourselves rather than pleasing other people and critics. We wanted to go into making this album as innocent as you do making your first record, with no expectations and no pressure. Just do what you do. That formula made our first album [The Poison] explode. So even though Scream Aim Fire was successful, we did stray away from that formula that made us who we were in the first place so we wanted to go back and recapture the moment. [...] There was a lot of experimentation in trying new techniques I'd never tried before, but ended up resulting in a better product. I always thought that I knew what was best, but I think I was internally trying to understand that I don't always know what's best and think of the better product. [...] The recording process was tough, but challenging and rewarding. The end result really speaks for itself and I adore it.[14] | ” |
On February 14, 2010, the band offered a new track, "Begging for Mercy", for free download from their official website for a limited time.[1]
The first and lead single for the US, "Your Betrayal", was set for release on March 8, 2010 to the radio[10]; And, unexpectedly, was released early as a Digital 45 on iTunes along with the track "Begging for Mercy" on March 2, 2010.[15]
The second and lead single for the UK, "The Last Fight", was released on April 19, 2010 to the radio[4] and a limited edition 7" single on April 17, 2010 with "Begging for Mercy" as a B-side[16]. The music video was released for the UK on March 12, 2010 on the band's MySpace website, where the song can be heard too.
On February 24, 2010, Bullet for My Valentine were on a trip to Los Angeles to shoot a pair of videos: One clip is for the US lead single "Your Betrayal" (released on April 12, 2010[17]), while the other is for the UK lead single "The Last Fight" (released on March 12, 2010). Director Paul R. Brown (best known for his work with Slipknot and Korn) handled both shoots.[18][19]
In September 2010 on Australian radio , Matt Tuck announced that they would make videos for Bittersweet Memories & Fever
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | (41%)[20] |
| Allmusic | [21] |
| BBC | (Positive)[22] |
| Billboard | (67%)[23] |
| The Guardian | [24] |
| Kerrang! | [25] |
| MusicOMH | [26] |
| MusicReview | [27] |
| PopMatters | [28] |
| Rock Sound | [29] |
| Sputnikmusic | [30] |
| Ultimate Guitar | [31] |
Upon its release, Fever, received positive reviews from critics, as reflected from the achieved score of 63/100 based on 11 critic reviews Metacritic[32]. Allmusic states that on this third disc, the band "consolidate their style and split the difference between their two previous discs" and describes the album as "a solid disc by a group that knows its own strengths"[21]. Fever, also, received positive reviews from Kerrang! ("The '5 K-rated' Fever"[25]) and Rock Sound ("[...] There's not a single track here that would create an unpleasant contrast"[29]). Conversely, The New Review gaved the album 2.5 out of 5; disappointed of the band's new record, commented: "[...] As a fan, I'll wait to hear what direction the band takes next, while letting this Fever pass and move on"[33]. PopMatters classifies it as a decent album, as it "[...] maintains the level of quality that Scream Aim Fire had, but doesn’t advance back to their prior level of excellence. [...] There are more good songs than bad [The Last Fight, Pleasure and Pain and Dignity], but the bad songs are very seriously flawed, and will likely stand out more than the positive aspects of the good songs".[28]
Guitar Edge, on their June 2010 magazine, described Fever as one of Bullet for My Valentine hardest hitting albums to date. "[...] It combines the infectious melodies and brute force that listeners expect, but with a new, albeit classic, feel. The album is a sonic masterpiece that showcases the band's phenomenal range of talent"[14]. Noisecreep did a brief review talking about Fever's favorable side:
| “ | The Welsh blokes have skyrocketed in recent years, thanks to adept riff displays that fall somewhere along the spectrum between Avenged Sevenfold and Trivium. BFMV and Fever are all about the shred. The choppy first single Your Betrayal rages with the heat of a thousand suns and the album boasts a crisp, clean production where every note is experienced. The Last Fight and the title track marry melody with metallic bluster in a way that never waters down either element.[34] | ” |
Along all Fever tracks, one of the most recognized songs by the critics is "Alone". BBC describes it as "[...] the brightest standout, which rocks to a rampaging riff that courses all the way to its core – it's sure to give any listener shivers, such is its magnitude".[22] Billboard fully enjoyed it, saying that "[...] [Alone] offers six minutes of epic ebb-and-flow orchestration"[23]; and among many other critics strongly recommends to listen.[35][20][28] Even critics like AbsolutePunk, who really disliked the album, recognized "Alone" as "the standout track" which its "[..] chorus is sing-along-able and the guitar solo is harmonized and completely brutal!".[20] Other impressive songs are the two first singles, the "strong opening of the album"[33], "Your Betrayal" ("[...] The military drumming of Your Betrayal opens the album with infantry intensity and then some wonderfully crisp riffing gives way to Matt Tuck whispering about insanity"[22]) and "The Last Fight", they both "[...] demonstrate as much from the outset, presenting fast-paced passages before parrying the momentum into upswings of melody"[29]; And, along with the title-track "Fever", create "a brilliant opening trio"[22]. In the other hand, "Bittersweet Memories" did not seemed to be as welcomed as the other tracks, as critics like BBC classified it as a song "[...] with lyrics of childish despair and forlorn desire, the weakest track here"[22]. Or PopMatters, who also disliked the song, thinks it "[...] is absolutely terrible, having more in common with My Chemical Romance than any other band"[28].
| Standard edition | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Your Betrayal" | 4:51 | |||||||
| 2. | "Fever" | 3:57 | |||||||
| 3. | "The Last Fight" | 4:19 | |||||||
| 4. | "A Place Where You Belong" | 5:06 | |||||||
| 5. | "Pleasure and Pain" | 3:53 | |||||||
| 6. | "Alone" | 5:56 | |||||||
| 7. | "Breaking Out, Breaking Down" | 4:04 | |||||||
| 8. | "Bittersweet Memories" | 5:09 | |||||||
| 9. | "Dignity" | 4:29 | |||||||
| 10. | "Begging for Mercy" | 3:56 | |||||||
| 11. | "Pretty on the Outside" | 3:56 | |||||||
Total length: |
49:33 | ||||||||
| iTunes pre-order bonus track | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 12. | "The Last Fight" (Acoustic Version) | 4:38 | |||||||
Total length: |
54:11 | ||||||||
| Japanese version bonus tracks[39][40] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 12. | "The Last Fight" (Acoustic Version) | 4:38 | |||||||
| 13. | "Road to Nowhere" (from Scream Aim Fire (Deluxe Edition)) | 4:19 | |||||||
| 14. | "Watching Us Die Tonight" (from Scream Aim Fire (Deluxe Edition)) | 3:53 | |||||||
| 15. | "One Good Reason Why" (from Scream Aim Fire (Deluxe Edition)) | 4:02 | |||||||
Total length: |
66:22 | ||||||||
| Japanese limited edition DVD[40] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "The Last Fight" (Music Video) | ||||||||
| 2. | "The Making of The Last Fight" (Video) | ||||||||
| 3. | "Quick Firing Random Questions & Answers" | ||||||||
| 4. | "Bullet TV" | ||||||||
| Region | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | April 21, 2010 | Jive |
| Germany | April 23, 2010 | |
| UK | April 26, 2010 | |
| US | April 27, 2010 | |
| Europe | April 28, 2010 |
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart[7] | 5 |
| Austrian Albums Chart[7] | 2 |
| Canadian Albums Chart[6] | 4 |
| German Albums Chart[7] | 3 |
| Japanese Albums Chart[7] | 1 |
| Swiss Albums Chart[7] | 7 |
| UK Albums Chart[7] | 5 |
| US Billboard 200[5] | 3 |
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