Bullet For My Valentine Firing Up As The Next Metal Heavyweights

Recovering from a show in Indiana on the US Vans Warped Tour, vocalist/guitarist Matt Tuck seems in a reflective mood when conversing with The Music. Although only appearing as special guests on a handful of dates this year, it's the first time Bullet For My Valentine have played the festival in a decade.

That previous stint must seem like a lifetime ago for the Welsh metallers, but the typically laid-back frontman has fond recollections. "When we did that [tour] the band was relatively unknown in the US, our first album [The Poison] had just come out. We were a lot more rowdy and loved to party a lot more when we first started getting success and touring, but these days we've really toned it down and we run a really slick ship... We tend to stay out of trouble these days."

"My parents especially were always supportive of me, would always take me to rehearsals and come to shows."

The aforementioned grind of playing truncated sets - sometimes at 11am - eventually paid dividends, helping The Poison attain gold status in America. The band became a full-time occupation after their initial EP spawned an exhaustive touring schedule, with an ensuing multi-album major label contract offering relative security. They recently inked a new deal with Search & Destroy/Spinefarm. What did their families make of initially leaving day jobs and doubling down on a collective goal? "My parents especially were always supportive of me, would always take me to rehearsals and come to shows. They knew it was a dream of mine since I was 14 years old, and they saw how hard we'd worked for it, how much shit we got over the years by being turned down and no one coming to gigs. Experiencing everything a band needs to experience actually, to toughen them up and let them know what it's really like."

Meanwhile, 2015's Venom debuted at #1 in Australia, indicating their international longevity. "We never really dreamed that anything like that was possible," Tuck enthuses of such achievements. "We were just chasing a dream. Thankfully Sony Records gave us an opportunity to do that, and we haven't looked back really."

As for the future, ambitions remain lofty. The quartet are often name-checked during conversations regarding who will lead the next crop of metal/hard rock festival headliners once the current heavyweights retire. One wonders if Bullet For My Valentine and peers like Avenged Sevenfold could assume the mantle? "It's definitely something we've always had our eyes on since the band started blowing up. We've ticked [many of] the wish list boxes, but being a legitimate headliner at these massive festivals across the world is definitely on that list. It's something we've come near to since the [2008's] Scream Aim Fire days. We've headlined the second stage of Download twice, been one from the top of the headline slot of the main stage at Download three times I think. Rock Am Ring recently we headlined the second stage. We've definitely had experience of these festivals, of big stages and big crowds and I think should that opportunity come to us then we'll gladly grab it with both hands. I think we're definitely ready for it. It's just waiting our turn I guess."