2025 marks the 20th anniversary of Bullet For My Valentine’s debut album, The Poison, so it seemed fitting to take the time to honor it as part of my Metalcore Masterpieces series. Looking back at this record, it still blows my mind that this was the band’s debut, later to be followed up with another excellent record (Scream, Aim, Fire) that I will eventually also feature on here, as it is one of the most impressive debut and sophomore releases from a band in recent times. The band managed to deliver a profound record that helped legitimize the Metalcore genre all while being the new kids on the block. The Poison does an outstanding job flowing through several genres like Metalcore, Thrash, (stemming from their Metallica influence), Emo, and straight-up Heavy Metal. There are no weak tracks here, as every song is just as powerful and catchy as any of the others, despite the lyrics sometimes being a bit cringey. When you consider the fact that the lyrics speak to the 24-year-old mindset of Matt Tuck and the overall angst of the generation, it makes a lot more sense and doesn’t drag the record down. Perspective is important!

The Poison is packed with iconic songs, but specifically “Tears Don’t Fall”, “All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)”, and “4 Words to Choke Upon” are the tracks you can still find in the rotation of any Metalcore playlist created by a Millennial/young Gen-Xer. A major component of the magic that can be found here is Matt Tuck. Matt’s ability to transition from screams to cleans is incredible and well-balanced. Neither suffers from the divided attention, and Matt is easily one of the better vocalists to come out of the early 2000s Metalcore scene, putting him in the company of the greats like Howard Jones/Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage, Matt Heafy of Trivium, and Phil Labonte of All That Remains (to name a few). The other secret ingredient is Matt and “Padge” effortlessly meshing together on guitar, with both trading off lead guitar duties, crafting memorable riffs, and blistering solos. Finally, this album has one of my favorite gimmicks in music: starting and ending the album with the same music motif. This is heard on “Intro” featuring Apocalyptica and with “The End”.

As far as spotlight tracks for this record, it’s hard to overlook the big hitters that got constant play-time on SiriusXM back in the day. “Tears Don’t Fall” was one of the biggest hits for the band that helped launch them into the Metalcore stratosphere. It has a catchy chorus and a simple but effective main riff with a clean drum groove throughout that doesn’t overcomplicate things. It has a fun bridge that builds into a killer solo that crashes back down into a pre-chorus and eventual chorus. Another massive hit for the band that had them focus on the softer side of things was “All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)”. The band leverages an acoustic sound to kick the song off, launching into a brash and aggressive chorus. The instrumentation is a little more subdued on this track, with no one overreaching or overplaying, but the writing serves the style of the song. “Hand of Blood” has an intro that I love, with the sharpness of the guitar piercing your ears. The overall riff is one of my favorites, and I love the drums from Moose. You can hear his ability to control the kit, from quick kicks on the bass drum to the handwork with the snare build-ups he does throughout. The song is heavy, but a balanced force of nature. “Cries In Vain” is a track I typically keep in my rotation, with a build-up in the bridge that is an all-timer for me. The rest of the song slows down a tad like “All These Things I Hate”, but it offers more moments for pure Metal to kick in, from Matt’s brutal screams to Padge’s Thrash guitar licks. Finally, the cover of “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” from Metallica is a must-listen. It’s fitting the band decided to tackle this one, considering Metallica’s influence on the band. Matt and Co. do a great job honoring and respecting the original, adding a little bit more polish. About 4 minutes in though, the band makes their mark, cranking things to 11 before blasting into the Kirk Hammett solo (which is a bit of an improvement in my opinion, just for the sheer fact I always felt Kirk overplayed his parts). Matt taps into a heavier vocal style than James Hetfield had on the original song, offering a bit of the Bullet For My Valentine sound that the track needed so it didn’t sound like a carbon copy of the original.

Bullet For My Valentine created a classic Metalcore record and made it look easy. There have been various reissues and special editions over the years that have added additional songs, but the best reissue yet has been the 20th anniversary one. The reissue offers 3 discs, with the main album, additional tracks, and live performances. It helps recapture the magic that could be found back in 2005, listening to the record for the first time. The Poison was one of the first Metal albums that got me into the genre so many years ago (you’ll see this sentiment pop up again a few times throughout my Metalcore Masterpieces series, as I was getting into the genre as Metalcore was seeing a creative boom), and I owe so much of my music taste to it. With dueling guitars, catchy choruses, and unforgettable Metal moments, The Poison is a tour-de-force for the genre that will forever be a classic and a staple for any Metalcore fans.

Score: 5/5