The Poison (20th Anniversary Edition) vinyl

Seven years after Bullet For My Valentine first formed under the name Jeff Killed John, they finally dropped a debut album. Gone were the Nirvana and Metallica covers that had defined the band's first incarnation, and in was a more melodic and poppier take on thrash and heavy metal. Going on to sell in excess of 1.6million copies between its initial release in 2005 and 2018, it remains BFMV's most commercially successful outing, earning them gold certification by the US RIAA and UK BPI, and platinum in the eyes of Germany's BVMI. If all this is news to you, perhaps we should start with some references. One for fans of Funeral For A Friend, Alexisonfire and more glossy emo-hued metal groups, it doesn't take long to realise why praise was heaped on The Poison, and the musicians, for their powerhouse riffs and unapologetically loud aesthetic.