Metalcore/Heavy Metal
ABOUT :
When it came time to record its third album, Bullet for My Valentine wasn’t content to rest on its already impressive laurels. While its second album, 2008’s “Scream Aim Fire,” debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and sold more than a million copies worldwide, went gold in the UK and Canada, the Welsh metal band mates had a fire in their collective belly to push themselves beyond what they’d ever accomplished.
Declaring themselves “hungry” to create again, the band set about to create “a hard rock, dark album with metal flashes,” says lead singer/guitarist Matthew Tuck. “We really wanted it to excel beyond anything we’ve done musically before.”
If the ferocious results on the group’s third Jive album, “Fever,” out April 27, are any indication, the band has far exceeded its own rigorous expectations. Bullet for My Valentine, which also includes drummer Michael “Moose” Thomas, guitaristPadge and bassist Jason “Jay” James, has simultaneously made its most melodic yet raucous, relentless collection yet.
Indeed, “Fever’s” muscular riffs threaten to overpower the listener with their sheer unending intensity. Tuck’s lacerating vocals, once compromised by debilitating; possibly career-ending throat problems are stronger than ever.
For “Fever” the idea was “to keep it simple,” says drummer Thomas, and focus on the steak, not the sizzle. “It’s really tempting to kind of push your limits and try to play a thousand miles an hour. But there’s really no need for it. This album is powerful, more than just speedy.”
The group, named by metal magazine Kerrang! as Best British Band in both 2008 and 2009, formed 10 years ago in their Welsh hometown of Bridgend. After gigging around and honing their considerable live chops for years, the band signed with Sony in 2004; in the U.S., the band's music is released by Sony label Jive. “The Poison,” released, appropriately enough on Valentine’s Day in the U.S. in 2006, has been certified gold in the U.S., United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. The band quickly became a major draw known for its ceaselessly frenetic live shows.
While still on tour supporting "Scream,” Bullet for My Valentine began writing music for “Fever” in early 2009 in Wales. So great was their desire to create something beyond their previous efforts that the foursome retreated to a studio in Lincolnshire, England to get away from everything—home, family and friends--and concentrate solely on writing. “We just needed to be in our own space so we had no distractions,” Thomas recalls. “It was Bullet for My Valentine 24 hours a day.”
For “Fever,” the band recruited producer Don Gilmore, best known for his work with Linkin Park and Good Charlotte. “He was confident that he could take us to the next level,” Tuck says. “He identified the strong points and the weak points. Because we kind of knew we were on the right track, we just needed him to keep us on the right track and push us hard and make it work.”
After the initial music was written, Tuck and Gilmore holed up in the studio to craft the lyrics and melodies, locking out everyone including the rest of the band.
The separation was hard for Tuck’s band mates, but all was understood once they started hearing the amazing results. “We just left them alone,” Thomas says. “When there’s lot of people in the room, it just gets messy. If there are just two people in the room, they can just bounce off each other rather than everyone shouting opinions. It just made life a lot easier for those two.”
The separation was hard for Tuck’s band mates, but all was understood once they started hearing the amazing results. “We just left them alone,” Thomas says. “When there’s lot of people in the room, it just gets messy. If there are just two people in the room, they can just bounce off each other rather than everyone shouting opinions. It just made life a lot easier for those two.”
The lyric writing sessions took place during an immensely intense period that left Tuck feeling exhilarated, but just as often battered and bruised. “Every day, I’d get up out bed and go into the studio and it was like, ‘Fuck, here we go again’,” he recalls. “I walked out a couple of times, I had to go and disappear for a few days to clear my head. It was all for the good of the cause. I got it about half way through the vocal sessions. Don and I clicked and bonded.”
Gilmore shoved Tuck harder than he’d ever been pushed before. “Previously, I’d just write lyrics and melody and if it sounds good and feels good, it stays,” Tuck says, “but he made me write it again and change melodies until it was fucking amazing. And that was a difference. I was just settling in the past. “
Every drop of sweat is captured on “Fever.” Blistering first single “Your Betrayal” scorches the earth with its searing instrumental opening and bitter words of mistrust. “The song is about being betrayed and then obsessing about it and wanting revenge and payback for what’s happened to that person,” Tuck says, noting the lyrics mark a return to the “super dark” tone of “The Poison.”
The group also tackles drug addiction and how those around the addict often suffer just as much on “The Last Fight.” “People think the person who has the addiction is the victim; no one ever thinks about the people who are helping them and trying to get them out and then are being pushed aside,” Tuck says. “So ‘The Last Fight is about how it’s your last chance, I keep trying to help you and you keep trying to push me away. Fuck you. This is the last fight I’m going to do for you.”
The band isn’t afraid to turn tender on the sobering “A Place Where You Belong,” a sad, sorrowful tale about unresolved issues. “You don’t get a chance to make amends before someone passes away, you don’t see someone again and you have to live with that,” Tuck says. “It’s kind of taken from me and my girlfriend; we split up a year ago and shit happened.” He clarifies that his girlfriend did not die. “None of the stuff we do is that biographical,” Tuck says. “I’ll take certain things and turn them into something else just because I think it’s more interesting.”
Things lighten up on the saucy title track which tackles the time-honored tradition of hot girl meets boy, or boys, in the band and, well, you know the rest of the story. “It’s the kind of song we’ve never done,” Tuck says. “The song is just party rock and roll. It’s such a boy’s song. The boys are back on the road. Since the dawn of time, men just want to see naked chicks and fuck them; that’s it.”
Speaking of the road, Bullet for My Valentine, renowned for its energetic live shows, can’t wait to bring “Fever’s” music alive on tour. “I love the buzz and energy of the crowd,” Tuck says. “It’s such a mad feeling.”
For Bullet for my Valentine, they want fans to feel about “Fever” the way the music from their musical heroes made them feel.
“Fever” sounds like something that if I were 16 and getting into rock music, I would just be going nuts and wanting to be in a band, just like Metallica did for me,” Tuck says. “It’s just so timeless and real. There’s nothing fake about what we do.”
HISTORY :
Jeff Killed John and record deal (1998–2005)
Jeff Killed John was the forerunner band to Bullet for My Valentine and was formed in 1998 by Matthew "Matt" Tuck, Michael "Padge" Paget, Nick Crandle, and Michael "Moose" Thomas while studying music at Bridgend College. Playing Nirvana and Metallica cover songs, the band released a two-track EP in 2002, You/Play with Me, which was produced by Greg Haver. The EP was financed through the Pynci scheme for new Welsh musicians and the release garnered radio airplay on BBC Radio 1's broadcast at Newport's T.J.'s. Jeff Killed John's music followed the nu metal trend set by bands such as Korn and Limp Bizkit. Bassist Crandle left the band on the eve of entering the recording sessions for You/Play with Me and was replaced by Jason James. The band then changed their name to Bullet for My Valentine and reworked their musical strategy; they decided to play thrash metal songs with "harmony guitars and big angelic choruses" according to frontman Tuck.
Roadrunner Records showed interest in Bullet for My Valentine and offered the band a deal. The offer was ultimately turned down, and the band signed a five-album record deal with Sony BMG and a UK licensing deal with Visible Noise. According to Tuck, they chose Sony because, "We thought that a lot more doors would be open to us." A self-titled EP was released on November 15, 2004 in the UK. Produced by Colin Richardson, it featured five tracks and marked the band's first official release. A second EP, Hand of Blood, was released on August 22, 2005 through Trustkill Records and was only available in the US; the release contained one extra track than the self-titled EP, "4 Words (To Choke Upon)". Daniel Lukes of Decibel Magazine reviewed the EP by stating, "The worst part is that the music itself isn’t all that bad, for the genre." He went on to comment that the band should be "embarrassed" about the release. Zeromag's Josh Joyce complimented the band on "how technical they can get without confusing the kids".
The Poison (2005–2007)
Bullet for My Valentine's debut album, The Poison, was released on October 3, 2005 in the UK and on Valentine's Day, 2006 in the US. It entered the Billboard 200 at number 128, and attained number 11 on the Independent Albums chart. On January 30, 2009, the album was certified gold by the RIAA after 500,000 copies were sold in the US. Four singles were released from The Poison: "4 Words (To Choke Upon)", "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)", "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)", and "Tears Don't Fall". Bullet for My Valentine promoted the album by touring across the world. In 2005, with increased popularity, they played on the larger Download Festival Snickers stage; in 2006, the band were moved to near the top of the main stage bill. Other tours included opening for Metallica and Guns N' Roses in the summer of 2006, the Vans Warped Tour, Kerrang!tour, and Earthday Birthday.
The band's performance at the Brixton Academy in London on January 28, 2006, was filmed for their first DVD, The Poison: Live at Brixton. During June 2007, Tuck suffered from laryngitis, which let to an emergency tonsillectomy in July. Bullet for My Valentine were forced to cancel several shows, including supporting Metallica for three dates on their Sick of the Studio '07 tour on June 29 in Bilbao, July 5 in Vienna, and July 8 at the recently completed Wembley Stadium in London. Unable to speak, Tuck wrote that as soon as doctors cleared him he would be in the studio working on the band's next album.
Scream Aim Fire (2007–2008)
Bullet for My Valentine's second studio album, Scream Aim Fire, was recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios and was produced by Colin Richardson. Tuck commented at the time, "It's a lot more up tempo, a lot more aggressive". The album was released in the US on January 29, 2008. It sold 53,000 copies in its first week and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. Three songs were released as singles: "Scream Aim Fire", "Hearts Burst into Fire", and "Waking the Demon".
In support of the new album, the band toured North America and Australia in the spring of 2008 for the Taste of Chaos tour alongside Atreyu, Blessthefall, and Avenged Sevenfold. Bullet for My Valentine cut short the Canada portion of the tour and flew back home to support the daughter of James who was in hospital The band performed in North America again in the summer of 2008 as part of the No Fear Tour with Bleeding Through, Cancer Bats, and Black Tide. In late 2008, the band toured Europe, supported by Lacuna Coil, Bleeding Through, and Black Tide. In December 2008, Scream Aim Fire was re-released with four bonus tracks that were recorded during the album's studio sessions, but with re-recorded vocal-lines.
Fever (2009 onward)
Matt Tuck spoke to Daniel Marez of Metal Hammer in March 2009 about the band's progress on writing and recording their third album. He stated that there were four or five songs that were finished and that "usually we write and record 14 tracks that I then have to write vocal lines for, but this time I’m trying to write the vocals as I write the music". Bullet for My Valentine confirmed in August 2009 that they were aiming for an early 2010 release for the new album, while Tuck stated that the upcoming record is "a lot more mature-sounding, it's a lot more classic. It'll stand the test of time [more] than both the previous things we've done". In a January 2010 interview with Rock Sound, frontman Matt Tuck said the planned release date for Fever, the 11-track album is in late April 2010. He also said the album would sound more like The Poison than Scream Aim Fire and would contain no ballads.
During the summer of 2009, Bullet for My Valentine toured across the United States as part of the Mayhem Festival, alongside Killswitch Engage, Slayer, and Marilyn Manson on the main stage;they also appeared on the UK leg of the Sonisphere tour at Knebworth, headlining the second stage. The band will be headlining the second stage at the Download Festival 2010 on the Friday night. The band has also been confirmed for Nova Rock, Metaltown, Rock am Ring, Rock on the Range, The Bamboozle, Bilbao Live Festival, Fortarock and Graspop. In addition, they will be playing alongside the Big Four on the Greek leg of Sonisphere.
The album will be available on April 26, 2010 in the UK and on April 27, 2010 in the US and will be titled Fever. A free download of a new track called "Begging For Mercy" was released on the band's website on February 14, 2010 as part of a Twitter promotion. The song "Your Betrayal" was chosen as US the lead single for the album and was set to release on March 9, 2010; But, unexpectedly, was released earlier on March 2, 2010 as a Digital 45 on iTunes Store. The second and lead single for the UK is called "The Last Fight" and will be released on April 19. The album artwork for this studio album was revealed on the official website on March 5, 2010.
Bullet for My Valentine have announced the start their US tour in support of Fever will begin on April 30 with the bands Airbourne and Chiodos as support.
On 12 March the band released the music video for "The Last Fight".
On 15 March, 2010, the band revealed the track listing on their website as well as other various sources that include an email to all of their subscribers on the mailing list.
On 12, April, 2010, the music video for Your Betrayal was released.
On 26 April 2010, the band will play a secret show in London to celebrate the release of Fever. This will be their only UK headline show until the end of the year.
MEMBERS :
Matthew Tuck : Lead Vocals, RhythmGuitar (1998 - Present)
Jason James : Bass, Vocals (2003 - Present)
Michael Paget : Lead Guitar , Backing Vocals (1998 - Present)
Michael Thomas : Drums, Percussions (1998 - Present)
FORMER MEMBER :
Nick Crandle : Bass (1998 - 2003)
