Bulletrain – What You Fear The Most

Bulletrain’s “What You Fear The Most” seems like a perfect case study concerning the similarities and differences between Sleaze Metal and Glam Metal. Both are very similar in respect to their music, but Sleaze Metal is obviously less about make-up and much more about its aggressive underdog attitude. And that is where Bulletrain found their musical home. It is therefore not very surprising that the album is dominated by clear vocals, guitar riffs and guitar solos, a good deal of melody and a very underdog-like attitude.

The ride begins with the first song “Memory Lane” that sets the mood for the rest of the album. Heavy Metal infused Hard Rock that gets you going down the lane right away! After that you get taste of how Bulletrain interprets Sleaze Metal’s underdog attitude with “Love Lies”. Aggressive, wild, negative in its attitude with quite a bit of self-pity thrown in. “Love” seems to be a difficult subject for the band anyway. It is always depicted as something dangerous (“Can’t Get Away”) that draws you near only to hurt and to possibly destroy you.

True solace can obviously only be found in the company of *male* friends, or should I say *wolfpack* (“Fight With Me”)? Think Fight Club gone Sleaze Metal. The next song “We Salute You” strengthens the impression that there is a certain warrior attitude, or maybe blackguard attitude about Bulletrain. Aggressive lyrics, a mean guitar, overall a rock n’roll attitude, pretty much what you would expect. Bulletrain are not alone there, of course. You can certainly find it in many Power Metal bands, but also in many other Metal sub-genres. This here is “just” the Sleaze Metal version.

And yes, that is what Bulletrain seems to be all about. Aggression, hunger for life, an underdog attitude and obviously Heavy Metal infused Hard Rock, aka Sleaze Metal! At times the band becomes a bit whiny (“Wet Tired and Lonely”), other times the band becomes the perpetrator (“What You Fear The Most”), but everything is coherent, even the seemingly contradictions. Life is tough, love is a battlefield, sometimes the female gender is out to hurt you, sometimes it you who is out to hurt the female gender and true friendship can only be found amongst your fellow (male) wolves. So no, this album is not exactly an epiphany in the fight for gender equality, but it is definitely a great Sleaze Metal album! 8 devils!

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