Venom

"Unfortunately, the things that have always turned diehard metal fans off this band are still present: the hackneyed, angsty lyrics (increasingly unbefitting of a man Tuck's age) and the shamelessly generic pop-rock choruses, which consistently set off the false-metal alarm. Where Venom does succeed is in the ferocity of its heavier moments, which - while seldom straying from entry-level metalcore and thrash cliches - do at least sound like the work of a band who like metal enough to stop ruining it".

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"The Welsh metal unit's fifth studio long-player, the aptly named Venom finds Bullet for My Valentine on the defensive, offering up a meaty and aggressive 11-track set aimed squarely at diffusing some of the concerns that fans voiced upon the release of 2013's uneven Temper Temper ... The band's detractors will probably complain that the template remains firmly in place, and the band is aimlessly trekking through well-trodden terrain, but by returning to their roots, Bullet for My Valentine seem to have reignited the spark that made their early work so vital".

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