The Poison

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 the UK, and on 14 February 2006 in the 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]

This article is about the Bullet for My Valentine album. For other uses, see Poison (disambiguation).

The Poison
Studio album by
Bullet for My Valentine
Released3 October 2005
RecordedMarch–June 2005
Studio
GenreMelodic metalcore[2]
Length53:26
Label
ProducerColin Richardson
Bullet for My Valentine chronology
Hand of Blood
(2005)		 The Poison
(2005)		 Scream Aim Fire
(2008)
Deluxe edition
Singles from The Poison
  1. "4 Words (To Choke Upon)"
    Released: 28 March 2005
  2. "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)"
    Released: 19 September 2005
  3. "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)"
    Released: 3 February 2006
  4. "Tears Don't Fall"
    Released: 17 June 2006

The album debuted at number 128 on the Billboard 200[4] and number 2 on the Heatseekers Chart,[4] and as of 30 January 2018, the album has sold 1,600,000 copies worldwide[5] and 500,000 copies in the US.[6] It is the band's most commercially successful effort internationally, earning a both 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
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Big Cheese
Drowned in Sound9/10[8]
Kerrang!
Metal Hammer
Q
Total Guitar
PunkNews.org[9]
Blabbermouth6/10[10]
Ultimate Guitar Archive(9.1/10)[11]
Sputnikmusic[12]

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". Apar concluded that the album "is a well-produced, solid effort – but seeing as they're now trying to take over American hearts, it would be nice to see future attempts to distinguish themselves more from the new-school pack."[7] Sputnikmusic gave the album a 3.5 out of 5 summarizing "The Welsh quartet shows differing levels of hope for the metalcore genre."[13] Music Emissions said the album contained very catchy songs, with clean and fast guitar sounds, and "an undertone of pop" which fits with the drumming. Despite its positive points, the reviewer said that the album would not attract people from outside the metalcore subgenre.[14]

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. The reviewer noted two songs that were indicative of the band's "A-game": "The Poison" and "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)".[15] Punknews.org wrote that the album was "drab", leaving the reviewer bored with the slow pace, and frustrated that the screaming loud passages were delivered without a sense of anger or attitude.[9]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Matthew Tuck; all music is composed by Bullet for My Valentine

No.TitleLength
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"4:08
13."The End"6:48
Total length:53:28
Limited digipack edition (alternate track listing)[16]
No.TitleLength
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
Limited digipack edition enhanced material
No.TitleLength
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" 
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Room 409" (live)4:00
15."Spit You Out" (live)4:03
Total length:61:31
UK deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
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
UK deluxe edition bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
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
US deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
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
US deluxe edition bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
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

Charts

Singles
Year Title Peak chart positions
US Mainstream Rock US Modern Rock
2005 "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" — —
2005 "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)" — —
2006 "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)" 13 30
2006 "Tears Don't Fall" 24 32

Album
Chart (2005–2013) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 43
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 25
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[21] 37
Scottish Albums (OCC)[22] 25
UK Albums (OCC)[23] 21
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[24] 1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[25] 3
US Billboard 200[26] 128
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[27] 2
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[28] 9

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[29] Platinum 200,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[31] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Welch, Ben (4 February 2016). "Chapter Eight: The Poison". Bullet for My Valentine: Scream Aim Conquer. Music Press Books. p. 38. ISBN 978-1784189815. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  2. Collins, Dillon (12 June 2018). "'I Just Didn't Really Want To Be In A Band Anymore' – BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's Matt Tuck on the Precursor to Gravity". Metal Injection. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  3. "The Poison by Bullet for My Valentine". iTunes. 3 October 2005.
  4. "The Poison - Charts & Awards (Billboard Albums)". Allmusic.
  5. McAlpine, Fraser (19 January 2008). "Bullet For My Valentine- 'Scream Aim Fire'". BBC. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  6. "Biography". Facebook. 14 April 2011.
  7. "The Poison - Overview". Allmusic.
  8. Rauf, Raziq (3 November 2005). "Album Review: Bullet For My Valentine - The Poison". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  9. Punknews.org. "Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison". www.punknews.org.
  10. blabbermouth
  11. "Bullet For My Valentine: The Poison - Reviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.com".
  12. "Bullet for My Valentine The Poison". Sputnikmusic. 18 March 2011.
  13. "Bullet For My Valentine - The Poison - Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com.
  14. "Bullet For My Valentine - The Poison Review from Music Emissions". Music Emissions - Indie Music.
  15. "Bullet For My Valentine - The Poison - Review - Stylus Magazine".
  16. "Digipack". SCM Soundcrave Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014.
  17. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Bullet for My Valentine - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?". YouTube.
  18. "BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE Drummer: Former Bassist JASON 'JAY' JAMES 'Never Really Contributed Anyway'". 30 July 2015.
  19. "Austriancharts.at – Bullet for My Valentine – The Poison" (in German). Hung Medien.
  20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bullet for My Valentine – The Poison" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  21. "Oricon – Bullet for My Valentine – The Poison". oricn ME inc.
  22. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  23. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  24. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  25. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
  26. "Bullet for My Valentine Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  27. "Bullet for My Valentine Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
  28. "Bullet for My Valentine Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  29. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bullet for My Valentine; 'The Poison')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  30. "British album certifications – Bullet for My Valentine – The Poison". British Phonographic Industry.
  31. "American album certifications – Bullet for My Valentine – The Poison". Recording Industry Association of America.
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