Scream Aim Fire is the second studio album by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine. The album was released on 28 January 2008 in the United Kingdom and the preceding day in the United States through Jive Records. Since its release, Scream Aim Fire has sold over 1,400,000 copies worldwide.[7] It is the band's most commercially successful effort in Australia, earning a gold certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in addition to a gold certification from both the band's native British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the United Kingdom and the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) in Germany.
In contrast to Bullet for My Valentine's debut, The Poison (2005), Scream Aim Fire explores a thrash metal style in addition to the band's melodic metalcore sound.
Music style and background
With a style different from that of Bullet for My Valentine's previous album The Poison, Scream Aim Fire has less screaming but much more aggressive instrumentation. The album features a thrash metal style[3][2] in addition to their previously established metalcore sound.[8][9][10]
Writing and recording
Recording of the album was complete in November 2007 with vocalist/guitarist Matthew Tuck telling Kerrang! magazine he was looking forward to be working with guest producer Alec Cartio again.[citation needed]
Release and promotion
At midnight on 28 January, Bullet for My Valentine were present in Cardiff to do an album signing to go with the release of the album. At 18:00 the same day, they did a 20-minute performance at HMV in Oxford Circus with 300 present to get their album signed.[citation needed]
A 15-minute album commentary was released on the US digital single for "Scream Aim Fire", released on 18 December 2007, along with the track "Eye of the Storm",[citation needed] which was also released on a free Kerrang! CD and as a free download for signing up to the Sony BMG mailing list.[citation needed]
The second single from the album, "Hearts Burst into Fire", was announced by the band during their UK tour. Matt Tuck said that the band recorded the song live for the music video.[citation needed]
Scream Aim Fire was generally well received by critics upon its release.
Katherine Fulton of AllMusic awarded the album 4 stars out of 5, commenting that the band "maintains a blistering pace throughout most of Scream Aim Fire, not even slowing down for "Hearts Burst Into Fire," the first of two love songs featured on the album." Fulton concluded that the album is "definitely harder and more aggressive than the band's debut album, The Poison, which had a sound evenly divided between emo and metal."[17]
Mike Sterry of NME also awarded the album 4 stars out of 5, stating that it "might have pretensions about the current political climate but to us it sounds like the soundtrack to the zombie holocaust: the heartbreak of unloading a 12-gauge into your eldest child, rebuilding a ruined world one grain at a time and putting down millions of dead."[18]
Ultimate Guitar scored the album a 7/10, stating that "each song features beautifully executed riffs and there are solos galore. The opening title track Scream Aim Fire is solid example, with everything from a driving intro to some killer pinch harmonics midway through." The reviewer, however, added that "the most aggressive tracks aren't what make the biggest impression on Scream Aim Fire. Say Goodnight could easily be the best tune on the album, with a clean, stripped-down intro and unaffected vocals delivered by Tuck."[19]
Some reviews of the album were less enthusiastic. Chris Nettleton of Drowned in Sound scored the album a 6/10, writing that "where you would have liked them to open a few new doors in the search to find a sound that was distinctly their own, they appear to have just piled on more Maiden, more Metallica, more Slayer, and a dash of Slipknot drumming. It’s unlikely to estrange anyone who likes them already, but I’m not sure Scream Aim Fire is going to win too many new acolytes."[20] Andrew Blackie of PopMatters panned the album, commenting, "The lyrics are on a parallel with the music’s one-dimensionality and tonelessness, the choruses are even more samey and interchangeable than they were on The Poison. There is also a greater distance than ever between dreary pedal to the metal numb-rock and equally insipid mushy power ballads, swinging the album’s core into sudden highs and lows throughout like a diabetic."[21]
Commercial
The album went straight to number 5 in the UK album Charts and number 4 in the Australian album charts. Additionally, it hit No. 4 on the Billboard 200, with first week sales of about 53,000. Since its release, Scream Aim Fire has sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide.
Bullet for My Valentine have also released the album on a metal bullet-shaped Flash Drive with the band's symbol engraved into it.[22] The bullet-shaped Flash Drive has the same properties as the Special Edition CD, with the inclusion of a 15-minute track-by-track video commentary, 4 wallpapers, and the booklet/insert in PDF format.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the CD liner notes.
Bullet for My Valentine
Matthew Tuck – vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar solo intro on "Say Goodnight" and "Hearts Burst into Fire", guitar solo on "Take It Out on Me", bass (uncredited)
Michael "Moose" Thomas – drums
Michael "Padge" Paget – lead guitar
Jay James – bass (credited but doesn't perform),[23][24] vocals
Additional musician
Benji Webbe – additional vocals/lyrics on "Take It Out on Me"
Production
Colin Richardson – producer, mixing at Strongroom Studios, London
