Matthew âMattâ Tuck â vocals, guitars
Michael âPadgeâ Paget â guitars
Michael âMooseâ Thomas â drums
Jason âJayâ James - bass
"The best British metal band to emerge in years." - Q Magazine
The Welsh metal-core band Bullet For My Valentine has spent most of the past two years taking over the world with massive U.K., European, U.S. and worldwide tours, sharing the stage with Guns N Roses, Metallica and Iron Maiden, playing the Main Stage at just about every rock festival on the planet, and seeing their 2006 debut album The Poison - an album London's daily The Sun called "One of the finest debut albums in rock history" - sell more than one-million copies worldwide â 350,000 in the U.S. alone â a very rare achievement for an emerging band.
Back home, Bullet For My Valentine has graced the covers of the UKâs Kerrang!, Rock Sound, and Metal Hammer. They won Metal Hammerâs 2006 âGolden God Awardâ for Best British Band, and the 2006 Kerrang! Award for âBest UK Singleâ for their track âTears Donât Fall.â Here in America, Revolver magazine heralded the band âBritish Import of the Year,â and The Poison generated the hit singles âTears Donât Fallâ and âAll These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me),â with the video for âAll These Things I Hateâ going to the #1 spot on MTV2. The band has toured North America three times, and in early 2007, they sold out their first headline trek.
On January 29, 2008, Bullet For My Valentine is set to return with Scream Aim Fire (20-20/Jive/SonyBMG), the bandâs highly anticipated sophomore release. The 11-track assault was produced by Colin Richardson (Machine Head, Funeral For A Friend) and recorded at Sonic Ranch just outside of El Paso, TX in early 2007, and is, according to front man Matthew âMattâ Tuck, âreally melodic heavy metalâ¦catchy, hooky choruses and full-on vocals with the music being very in-your-face and heavyâ¦itâs a lot more up-tempo than The Poison, a lot more aggressive.âÂ
Scream Aim Fire, featuring the distinctive and powerful six-string dexterity of Michael âPadgeâ Padget, the unwavering instrumental groove of bassist Jason âJayâ James and the relentless thundering rhythms of Michael âMooseâ Thomas, the musical backbone of Bullet is an intimidating force. With a lifetime of classic metal inspiration behind him, vocalist/guitarist Tuck is a formidable and powerful voice for the ever energetic, young metal generation.
âWe have stepped it up a gear,â says the front-man. âThis album is chock full of classic Bullet ingredients. Metal riffs, pounding rhythms, shredding solos and great melodies. We took everything that we learnt from âThe Poison,â and took up tenfold. Better, fresher, harder, sadder and more real.â
Opening with the aural assault of the title track and first single -âScream Aim Fireâ â to the hard-hitting riff slammer of âWaking The Demon,â and the arena-ballad epic âHearts Burst Into Fire,â this album will definitely catapult Bullet into a world-wide spotlight.
â(The track) âScream Aim Fireâ set the benchmark for the rest of the album,â says Tuck. âIt was the moment we realized the direction of where we wanted the record to go. Lyrically, itâs not a saying that anyone can relate anything else to. Itâs ours and the meaning is ours alone. Kill or be killed â thatâs what this game is like. Youâre either on top of the game, or you are out, and we are very much still in. Our quality of song writing, our structures, our timing â the songs are intense and accessible, whilst still keeping our metal roots.â
Tuck believes that the bandâs unique accessibility lies in the fact that fans â regardless of age, gender or nationality â can relate to the subjects and issues tackled within their tracks.
âItâs important to us that fans can make a connection with our songs,â says the front-man. âFor example, âWaking The Demonâ is about being bullied at school â which is something that me and most of the boys went though. The track is about one day, just turning round, and deciding to not take it anymore. Iâd hope that our fans can relate to that.â
And despite the fact that these four musicians are now considered prominent players in the UK/European metal world, as well as serious up-and-comers here in the U.S. â the lads remain grounded (all still living in their native Welsh homeland) â and eternally grateful for the position that they now find themselves in.
âIf it wasnât for the fans, we would never even have been able to make this second album,â says Tuck. âWe are so thankful to them, and we will always try to deliver the goods. I know we had to cancel a load of shows last year (Tuck was hospitalized in the winter of 2006 and forced to undergo surgery on his tonsils), but it hurt us so much to do so. We really hated to let anyone down, but it was an unavoidable evil, and now I am confident that this record â and this band â are stronger than ever.â
To support the release of Scream Aim Fire, Bullet for My Valentine will set off on what will be more than two years of solid, worldwide touring, starting in the UK and Europe in January, 2008, and then coming to America beginning in late February.
âWe are still so hungry for this,â states Tuck. âWe are motivated and ambitious. We know where we want to be. We have played with legends and if we get to that level, it would be amazing. But you know what? If it ended tomorrow, we would still be happy. We are amazingly proud of what we have achieved and what we have done. We are having the time of our lives. The world is our oysterâ¦â
Scream, Aim, Fire â the bullets are launched. You have been warned!