Bullet For My Valentine Wiki Information
Bullet for My Valentine
are a Welsh metalcore band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar), Jason James (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Michael Thomas (drums). They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John, and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana . Jeff Killed John recorded six songs which were not released; two of these tracks were later reworked in their their career as Bullet for My Valentine. Financial difficulties dictated the name change, which was followed by a change in music direction. In 2002, the band secured a five-album deal with Sony BMG. Their musical style is said to draw from such bands as Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Slayer.
Bullet for My Valentine's debut album, The Poison
, was released on 3 October 2005 in the United Kingdom and on 14 February 2006 in the United States to coincide with Valentine's Day. The album entered the Billboard
200 in the U.S. at number 128. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The band made appearances at the Download Festival and Kerrang!
XXV, and undertook a U.S. tour with Rob Zombie. Bullet for My Valentine's second studio album, Scream Aim Fire
, was released on 29 January 2008 and debuted at number four on the Billboard
200.
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BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE TICKETS
EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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Bullet For My Valentine & Trivium Tickets 1/27 | Jan 27, 2025 Mon, 5:00 PM | | Bullet For My Valentine Tickets 1/30 | Jan 30, 2025 Thu, 7:00 PM | | Bullet For My Valentine & Trivium Tickets 1/31 | Jan 31, 2025 Fri, 5:00 PM | | Bullet For My Valentine & Trivium Tickets 2/1 | Feb 01, 2025 Sat, 6:30 PM | | Bullet For My Valentine & Trivium Tickets 3/30 | Mar 30, 2025 Sun, 6:30 PM | |
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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.
[1] 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-year 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."
[2] A
self-titled EP was released on 15 November 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 22 August 2005 through
Trustkill Records and was only available in the U.S.; 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.
[3] Zeromag's Josh Joyce complimented the band on "how technical they can get without confusing the kids".
[4]
The Poison
(2005–2007)
below =
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Bullet for My Valentine's debut album,
The Poison
, was released on 3 October 2005 in the UK and on Valentine's Day, 2006 in the U.S. It entered the
Billboard
200 at number 128,
[6] and attained number 11 on the
Top Independent Albums chart.
[7] On 30 January 2009, the album was certified gold by the
RIAA after 500,000 copies were sold in the U.S..
[8] 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".
[9] 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;
[10] in 2006, the band were moved to near the top of the main stage bill.
[11] Other tours included opening for Metallica and
Guns N' Roses in the summer of 2006,
[12] 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
.
[13] [14] During June 2007, Tuck suffered from
laryngitis, which let to an emergency
tonsillectomy in July.
[15] 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 29 June in
Bilbao, 5 July in Vienna, and 8 July at the recently completed
Wembley Stadium in London.
[16] 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.
[17]
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.
[18] Tuck commented at the time, "It's a lot more up
tempo, a lot more aggressive".
[19] The album was released in the U.S. on 29 January 2008.
[20] It sold 53,000 copies in its first week and peaked at number four on the
Billboard
200.
[21] 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.
[22] 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.
[23] In late 2008, the band toured Europe, supported by
Lacuna Coil,
Bleeding Through, and
Black Tide.
[24] 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.
Third studio album (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".
[25] Bullet for My Valentine confirmed in August 2009 that they are 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".
[26] During the summer of 2009, Bullet for My Valentine toured across the United States as part of the
Rockstar Mayhem Festival,
[27] alongside
Killswitch Engage,
Trivium, and
All That Remains;
[28] they also appeared on the UK leg of the
Sonisphere tour at Knebworth, headlining the second stage.
[29]
Style and influences
Bullet for My Valentine's music has been described by critics as
metalcore,
[30] [31] heavy metal,
[32] [33] and
thrash metal.
[34] [35] The band has cited being influenced by bands such as
Metallica,
Annihilator,
Pantera,
Machine Head,
Iron Maiden,
Testament,
Stuck Mojo,
Slayer,
Judas Priest, and
Megadeth.
[36] These bands inspire Bullet for My Valentine's "catchy vocals, aggressive riffs and melodies" according to Thomas.
[37] Kirk Miller of Decibel Magazine praised the band for the effort in synchronised song structures.
[38] When asked of their views on their looks, members of the band have stated that they would not change their sound or image for a commercial approach; Tuck commented that, "Without sounding harsh, we're more interested in what our music sounds like than what our fucking hair looks like."
[39]
Awards
Bullet for My Valentine won the Welsh Music Award for Best Newcomer in 2004,
[40] and, according to
The Sun
, were 'booed' when receiving the 2006
Metal Hammer
Golden God Award for Best British Band.
[41] The band have received four awards from
Kerrang!
: Best UK Single for "
Tears Don't Fall" in 2006,
[42] Best British Newcomer in 2005,
[43] and Best British Band in 2008 and 2009.
[44] [45] As a result, they headlined
Kerrang!
's 25 year anniversary tour of the UK.
[46]
Discography
- The Poison
(2005)
- Scream Aim Fire
(2008)
Band members
;Current members
- Matthew "Matt" Tuck - lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1998 onward)
- Michael "Padge" Paget - lead guitar, backing vocals (1998 onward)
- Jason "Jay" James - bass guitar, vocals (2003 onward)
- Michael "Moose" Thomas - drums (1998 onward)
;Former members
- Nick Crandle – bass (1998–2003)
References
- Bullet for My Valentine biography
- Bullet for My Valentine Interview
- Screamocore takes a dump where it eats
- Bullet For My Valentine - Hand of Blood EP
- The Poison
- Chart Listing for the week of Mar 04 2006:
- Bullet for My Valentine - Albums
- RIAA - Gold & Platinum - August 12, 2009
- Bullet for My Valentine - Singles
- Download Festival 2005 line-up
- Download Festival 2006 line-up
- Bullet for My Valentine - Matt Tuck, Vocals/Guitars
- Bullet For My Valentine DVD Slated For December Release
- Bullet for My Valentine interview - Moose
- BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
- Machine Head Added To Metallica's Wembley Bill
- Bullet update
- Bullet for My Valentine in the thick of new album
- Bullet for My Valentine frontman says new album is 'More commercial than the last one, we're all gonna cut our hair and wear more makeup'.
- Hate Eternal Do Some Soul-Searching; Plus Shadows Fall, Blut Aus Nord & More News That Rules, In Metal File
- Keys Notches Fourth Week At No. 1
- Bullet for My Valentine Cancels Seattle, Canada Dates
- No Fear tour
- Lacuna Coil Concert Dates
- Bullet for My Valentine’s Matt Tuck on new album
- Bullet for My Valentine Drummer Interviewed By Swigged!
- Mayhem Festival
- Mayhem Festival Press Release
- Sonisphere - the inthenews.co.uk review
- Bullet For My Valentine — The Poison
- BFMV at NME
- Drowned in Sound - Bullet for My Valentine: Scream Aim Fire review
- Absolute Radio - Bullet for My Valentine pull out of Metallica Wembley show
- BBC review Scream Aim Fire
- The New Guitar Gods: Bullet for My Valentine
- Bullet for My Valentine Interview - Ultimate Guitar
- Bullet for My Valentine - Confident aiming at being the next classic metal band
- Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison
- Bullet for My Valentine Interview
- Welsh Music Awards 2004
- Bullet booed at Metal Awards
- The Best British Metal Band to Emerge in Years." - Q Magazine
- Bullet for My Valentine > Biography
- Pop review: Bullet for My Valentine, Alexandra Palace, London
- Award double for rockers Slipknot
- Bullet for My Valentine win Kerrang! award