''Gravity'' is the sixth studio album by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine. The album was released on 29 June 2018 via

Spinefarm Records Spinefarm Records is a Finnish independent record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. History Spinefarm Records was originally founded in 1990 by Riku Pääkkönen as a mail-order distrib ...

, their first album under the label. It is the first album with former

Pitchshifter Pitchshifter are an English industrial rock band from Nottingham, formed in 1989. The band was started by lead guitarist and programmer Johnny A. Carter, and bassist and vocalist Mark Clayden. The band’s early material was characterized for ...

drummer

Jason Bowld Jason Bowld is a British drummer currently playing with the metal band Bullet for My Valentine, and formerly of Pitchshifter, This Is Menace and AxeWound. Bowld's first show with Bullet for My Valentine was at Wembley Arena in 2010, their orig ...

, who joined in 2016 to replace founding drummer Michael "Moose" Thomas. It is also the first album to feature bassist Jamie Mathias as a contributing member. ''Gravity'' represents a significant change in sound compared to the band's previous releases, moving toward the nu metal sound similar to their early years as "Jeff Killed John". On 1 April 2018, Bullet for My Valentine debuted "Over It", the first single from ''Gravity'', on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Gravity'' has received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, primarily due to the band's departure from their signature metalcore/

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

sound to a more nu metal style. Jeff Treppel of MetalSucks gave the album an extremely negative 0.5 out of 5, criticizing the sound for being a "bastard hybrid of Linkin Park-style radio rock" as well as the album's lyrical content and

Matt Tuck Matthew Tuck (born 20 January 1980) is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the metal band Bullet for My Valentine. He is also a singer and guitarist in the supergroup AxeWound, which was formed in 2012. ...

's vocals. A significantly more positive review came from Lukas Wojcicki of Exclaim!, who stated that the "newly implemented formula works as intended", and commented that the "tracks are easily digestible and regrettably catchy", although stated that "metal purists" would find the album "frustrating".

Track listing

Personnel

Bullet for My Valentine *

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Michael "Padge" Paget –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* Jamie Mathias –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

– drums Technical * Carl Bown –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, mixing, keyboards *

Colin Richardson Colin Richardson is a British record producer, mixer and recording engineer. He has worked on over 100 albums and is most frequently associated with heavy metal and its subgenres. Career Some of the bands he has worked for include: * 3 Inch ...

– production on "Don't Need You" * Alex Robinson – mixing assistant * Daniel Holub – art direction, design *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography T ...

– mastering at Sterling Sound, NYC

Charts

References

2018 albums Bullet for My Valentine albums Spinefarm Records albums Nu metal albums by British artists {{2010s-metal-album-stub