BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE Guitarist: I Would Like To Leave A Deep Footprint In Metal History

Joe Matera of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Michael "Padge" Paget of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: What is the status of the writing process for the next album?

Michael: At the moment there is nothing as of yet, but we do have a couple tracks left over from the last recordings that we're looking at. When we finally get to it, I can tell you that it will, definitely going to be in a similar vein of "Fever". So we will definitely start writing it sometime this year and hopefully start recording it nearer towards the end of this year.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Is there pressure building on the band to try and top the last album's success?

Michael: I think there will be pressure, for sure, but so far we are not expecting too much of it. We just want to work hard and do the best at only what we can do. And I think that's all we can do.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: For the last album, "Fever", the process you chose for the writing and recording of it was different to all your previous efforts in that you took time off and worked with a new producer. Because it seems to have worked so well, will you be utilizing that same process?

Michael: Yeah, I really think that we will be doing that again because Don [Gilmore, producer] really changed things around for us. And he took a lot of pressure off us as musicians and as a band which really helped things breathe a lot more, both musically and obviously in the vocal sessions, which is where Matt [Tuck] and Don really shined. But that is what Don is all about really. For him it is all about the vocal melodies and crafting songs.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Last year [2010] was quite a big year for the band, the best yet and the culmination of the band's hard work ethic.

Michael: Yes, it was great and a really amazing year. To be honest, I really never thought we would ever get this far. I remember back to many years ago, before we got our deal, we had just a couple of friends and used to play in a bar back home. If Matt had said to me then that we would be playing arenas in a few years' time, I would have gone, "Yeah, yeah, sure, but I'll hold you up to it." But funnily enough, it actually happened and it is really great.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: How do you feel about the fact that many of the old school metal bands such as the SCORPIONS and JUDAS PRIEST are all planning retirement, and considering the enormous influences these bands have had on bands such as BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, what do you feel about it all?

Michael: It is obviously very sad to hear as they are all legends but they will be leaving behind a quite a legacy. It is not such a bad thing you know, as it is good for the new breeds of metal bands to come through the ranks themselves, which in turn allows each band to leave their own a legacy, too. Through this process, each time metal continues to build upon those that came before.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: So what kind of legacy would you like to leave?

Michael: One that is very similar to those bands, I would like to leave a nice, deep metal footprint in music and metal history.

Read the entire interview from Ultimate-Guitar.com.