The Welsh pretty boys of Metal, better known as BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, have produced a third full-length effort, "Fever". For a relatively young band, this four-piece has demonstrated remarkable talent and promise over their previous releases, and "Fever", while not a deviation from their signature IRON MAIDEN-meets-METALLICA modern style, is a highly entertaining and worthwhile release. The vocals continue to alternate between screaming and singing, often in correlation to the phrasing of the song, and the guitars rely heavily on melodic, riffing harmonies, neither of which detracts from its listenability.

As could be expected, the majority of the songs on "Fever" are fast-paced anthems for headbanging that feature the core components of various modern Metal subgenres; but, surprisingly, there are more moments of emotion than previously seen with BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, both within the heavier songs and the lighter, more delicate ones. "But you can die and rot alone" is a lyric, obviously related to a failed or frustrating relationship, heard on the song "Alone" that features a blistering intro, solo, and outro, but "A Place Where You Belong" opens with a few melancholy acoustic measures that fades into a melodic riff, but returns to the delicate, near depressing acoustic verse. These are the formulas that fans love, and likely why they've chosen not to stray far.

The entire album is an exciting ride, without any moments of boredom, and actually represents some musical maturation for the band: while still formulaic in their intent, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE have written songs that attempt to avoid, or at least mutate, the intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus style so often found in the arena of Metalcore. Start to finish, "Fever" is a great release for a young band that is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, touring with some of the biggest names of the moment, despite a recent vocal chord injury for vocalist and guitarist Matt Tuck that often ends musical careers.