The Poison
2005 studio album by Bullet for My Valentine
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The Poison is the debut studio album by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine. The album was released on 3 October 2005 through Visible Noise Records in UK, and on 14 February 2006 in United States through Trustkill Records. The album included 11 new songs and two previously heard songs, "Cries in Vain", which was previously heard from the band's self-titled UK EP and from their US EP, Hand of Blood, as well as from "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" was previously included on the same US release. Different editions of the album contain the song "Hand of Blood", previously heard from these EPs, replacing "Spit You Out".[3]
- Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire
- Nott in Pill Studios, Newport[1]
| The Poison | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 3 October 2005 | |||
| Recorded | October 2004–February 2005 | |||
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| Genre | Melodic metalcore[2] | |||
| Length | 53:26 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Colin Richardson | |||
| Bullet for My Valentine chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Poison | ||||
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The band played the album in its entirety for the first time in 2016.[4] For the 20th anniversary of the album, the band released a 20th anniversary edition of the album and announced 'The Poisoned Ascendancy' Tour with Trivium that took place in 2025 with Trivium celebrating the 20th anniversary of their successful album Ascendancy.[5]
Background and recording
The band drank wine while writing and recording the album.[6] Singer Matt Tuck claims he passed out while tracking vocals for "Tears Don't Fall".[7]
Music and lyrics
The Poison makes extensive use of clean vocals, and contains elements of emo and post-hardcore. The album employs shred guitar, Gothenburg-style guitar riffs, and breakdowns.[8] AllMusic compared the sound on The Poison to the likes of Atreyu, Funeral for a Friend and Alexisonfire, stating that the band utilize "the glossy, melodic metal-meets-emo aesthetic, utilizing darkly romanticized lyrics that are smoothly sung and growled side-by-side".[9] Raziq Rauf of Drowned in Sound also compared the album's sound to the early work of Atreyu.[10] The album has also drawn comparisons to My Chemical Romance and Unearth. Loudwire said: "The Poison is the connective tissue between the worlds of Ozzfest and Warped Tour, a record that can perfectly appeal to goers of both scenes."[11] Loudwire said the album "skillfully combined bleeding-heart emo, bludgeoning breakdowns and melodic, chest-beating classic metal."[12]
The band described the album's intro track as "this big, movie-style dark heavy metal intro with orchestration." Most tracks employ dual guitar leads and some tracks incorporate the tapping technique.[13]
Ultimate Guitar said the album was "lyrically and aesthetically over the top and dramatic."[14] Singer Matt Tuck has said that many of the album's lyrics are fictional, and that they "were basically stories we created that could match the soundtrack we were creating, so there’s no specific topic." Lyrical themes explored on the album include betrayal, deception, infidelity, long-distance relationships and suicide.[13]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 128 on the Billboard 200[15] and number 2 on the Heatseekers Chart,[15] and as of 30 January 2018, the album has sold 1,600,000 copies worldwide[16] and 500,000 copies in the US.[17] It is the band's most commercially successful effort internationally, earning a gold certification by both the RIAA in the United States and the band's native BPI in the United Kingdom, and a platinum certification by Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) in Germany.
Reception and legacy
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [18] |
| Big Cheese | |
| Drowned in Sound | 9/10[19] |
| Kerrang! | |
| Metal Hammer | |
| Q | |
| Total Guitar | |
| PunkNews.org |  [20] |
| Blabbermouth | 6/10[21] |
| Ultimate Guitar Archive | (9.1/10)[22] |
| Sputnikmusic | [23] |
Corey Apar of AllMusic awarded the album 3 stars out of 5, commenting that the album showed a "melodic metal-meets-emo aesthetic" peppered with "powerful riffs and classic metal".[18] Sputnikmusic gave the album a 3.5 out of 5, saying the group offers "differing levels of hope for the metalcore genre."[24] Music Emissions complimented the album's guitar work and hooks, but believed only fans of the metalcore genre would enjoy the album.[25]
Stylus Magazine gave the album a C− (below average) and said that The Poison album appeared to be "made for provincial 15-year-olds to get violent with each other", citing "The Poison" and "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)" as the album's strongest songs.[26] Punknews.org wrote that the album was "drab", criticizing the album's pace, vocal delivery, and dynamics.[20]
In 2023, Metal Hammer listed the album as among the greatest heavy metal albums of the 2000s. They wrote that "the intoxicating mix of raw emotion, sweeping riffs and undeniable hooks made Bullet feel like champions from the off, the defiant roar of 'Her Voice Resides' signalling that the US’s dominance of metalcore wouldn’t go as uncontested as it had for nu metal."[27]
It was cited as the band's best album by Bryan Rolli of Loudwire in 2025.[28] A year earlier while writing for the same publication, music journalist John Hill called it the best metalcore album of 2005.[11]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Matthew Tuck; all music is composed by Bullet for My Valentine.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" (featuring Apocalyptica) | 2:22 |
| 2. | "Her Voice Resides" | 4:17 |
| 3. | "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" | 3:43 |
| 4. | "Tears Don't Fall" | 5:48 |
| 5. | "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)" | 3:35 |
| 6. | "Hit the Floor" | 3:30 |
| 7. | "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)" | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Room 409" | 4:01 |
| 9. | "The Poison" | 3:39 |
| 10. | "10 Years Today" | 3:55 |
| 11. | "Cries in Vain" | 3:56 |
| 12. | "Spit You Out" | 4:07 |
| 13. | "The End" | 6:48 |
| Total length: | 53:26 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" (featuring Apocalyptica) | 2:22 |
| 2. | "Her Voice Resides" | 4:17 |
| 3. | "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" | 3:43 |
| 4. | "Tears Don't Fall" | 5:48 |
| 5. | "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)" | 3:35 |
| 6. | "Hit the Floor" | 3:30 |
| 7. | "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)" | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Hand of Blood" | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Room 409" | 4:01 |
| 10. | "The Poison" | 3:39 |
| 11. | "10 Years Today" | 3:55 |
| 12. | "Cries in Vain" | 3:56 |
| 13. | "Spit You Out" | 4:07 |
| 14. | "The End" | 6:48 |
| Total length: | 57:01 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hand of Blood" (music video) | 3:34 |
| 2. | "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" (music video) | 3:51 |
| 3. | "Behind the scene" (video) | |
| 4. | "Wallpaper" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Room 409" (live) | 4:00 |
| 15. | "Spit You Out" (live) | 4:03 |
| Total length: | 61:31 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "7 Days" | 3:24 |
| 15. | "My Fist, Your Mouth, Her Scars" | 3:52 |
| 16. | "Spit You Out" (live at the Brixton Academy) | 4:16 |
| 17. | "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)" (live at the Brixton Academy) | 4:03 |
| Total length: | 68:33 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hand of Blood" (music video) | 3:34 |
| 2. | "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" (music video) | 3:51 |
| 3. | "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)" (music video) | 3:26 |
| 4. | "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" (live at Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo) | 3:47 |
| 5. | "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)" (live at Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo) | 3:41 |
| 6. | "Cries in Vain" (live at Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo) | 4:17 |
| Total length: | 22:36 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "7 Days" | 3:24 |
| 15. | "My Fist, Your Mouth, Her Scars" | 3:52 |
| 16. | "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (Metallica cover) | 6:13 |
| 17. | "Tears Don't Fall" (acoustic version) | 4:37 |
| Total length: | 71:34 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" (live at Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo) | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)" (live at Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo) | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Cries in Vain" (live at Club Quattro, Shibuya, Tokyo) | 4:17 |
| 4. | "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)" (live at Brixton Academy, London, England) | 3:53 |
| 5. | "Her Voice Resides" (live at Brixton Academy, London, England) | 4:26 |
| 6. | "Hand of Blood" (music video) | 3:34 |
| 7. | "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" (music video) | 3:51 |
| 8. | "Tears Don't Fall" (music video) | 4:40 |
| 9. | "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)" (music video) | 3:58 |
| Total length: | 36:06 | |
Personnel
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Charts
Album
| Chart (2005–2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[32] | 43 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[33] | 25 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[34] | 37 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[35] | 25 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[36] | 21 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[37] | 1 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[38] | 3 |
| US Billboard 200[39] | 128 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[40] | 2 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[41] | 9 |
| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[33] | 44 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[42] | 66 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[43] | 19 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[44] | 2 |