First listen: Bullet For My Valentine

Regular readers of The Sound might think all we listen to around these parts is sugar-coated pop and shoe-gazing, dull-as-ditch water indie bands. You'd be wrong. Sometimes we like to crank it up to eleven, whip out an air guitar and head-bang away with the best of 'em. That's why we were first in the queue down the Intrepid Fox pub on Monday evening for a first listen to Scream, Aim, Fire, the sophomore LP from Welsh metal upstarts Bullet For My Valentine.

If you've never heard a Bullet record, imagine Guns 'n' Roses having a brawl with Metallica down a Cardiff boozer. Not for the fainthearted or folk who dabble in Lostprophets every now and then, they make uncompromising, guitar-shredding anthems that are designed to tear up the world's biggest stadiums. We chatted to guitarist Michael Paget about the new LP and he said the band have "stepped up" their game since their debut The Poison and have a point to prove. His exact words were: "We wanted to put up the middle finger again and make a much harder record." Get him with his big guitar!

We'll bring you a full interview with the band in the New Year, but meanwhile we can promise you that Scream, Aim, Fire is going to be one of the biggest 'rawk' albums of '08. While its brutal and primal assault of guitars certainly won't be finding its way onto Jo Whiley's playlist anytime soon, there's enough hints of something approaching melody amidst the blazing riffs and bellowing vocals to entice new fans without offending metal enthusiasts. Highlights? Take your pick from the dueling riffs of 'Eye Of The Storm' (Track 2), the classic American rock of 'Deliver Us From Evil' (Track 6) and the volcanic epic 'Forever And Always' (Track 11).

Their single 'Scream, Aim, Fire' is on the top of their MySpace now. Check it and out and give us your views in the usual box below!