BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's MATT TUCK Doesn't Have Problem With 'Metalcore' Tag: 'I Don't Think It's A Dirty Word At All'

In a new interview with Duane James of Australia's Wall Of Sound, Matt Tuck of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE was asked if looks back on the early 2000s "metalcore" scene "like a proud dad" or he views "metalcore" as a "dirty word" now. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, I love metalcore. You can't tar us with that brush solely. But I think if you had to put us under an umbrella or a genre or something, I think metalcore is something that, that's what we would class ourselves as, especially back in the day. I mean, I think we've evolved a lot more and we got more diverse since then, but, yeah, I don't think it's a dirty word at all. It was so cool to be part of this new thing. Nu metal was kind of dying out. We were part of something like AVENGED SEVENFOLD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and PARKWAY [DRIVE] and all these bands. It was just like a new movement of metal. And it was not just about kind of low riffs… That's all cool — it has its place — but I think showmanship and technicality and showing off just hadn't been there."

Matt added: "We grew up on bands like MEGADETH and TESTAMENT, METALLICA and SLAYER, and all this stuff, and we wanted to kind of do our version of that. And, obviously, BULLET is very different to all of those bands, but the DNA, we extracted that and we wanted to make it ours, which is what we did."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE is currently working on material for the band's eighth album, tentatively due in early 2026.

Regarding the musical direction of the new BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE material, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE guitarist Michael "Padge" Paget told TotalRock: "It's gonna be super heavy. We mess around with some crazy tuning on this one, something we haven't done before. So it's gonna be really interesting and fresh for the fans — and us. I think [we have a song in] drop G [tuning]. But, yeah, all of the usual BULLET trademarks are there. It's in our DNA, so hooks, the vocal melodies, the huge choruses, big guitars, all the standard stuff's gonna be there, but definitely different to what we've ever done before."

Michael went on to say that he and his BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE bandmates want to break some new ground on their upcoming eighth album. "We've always said we never wanna make the same album twice," he explained. "One, I think it's cop-out because we've already done it. We'll never do what 'The Poison' did for a debut album. And we like to keep it fresh for ourselves and challenge ourselves, make it interesting for the fans.

"Music changes over time, and there's classic metal, there's metalcore, there's modern metal, there's contemporary metal, this new wave of modern metal as well now coming out," he added. "So we've gotta keep up with the curve and do our thing, but our way. So, so it's gonna be interesting, but I think people are really gonna love it. It's gonna be awesome."

Released in 2005, "The Poison" propelled BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE to unimaginable heights. That year saw the Welsh metallers graduate from supporting FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND on their U.K. run in the summer, to ending the year headlining the very same venues just months later. Dropping in October 2005, "The Poison" hit number 21 in the U.K. album charts, becoming a late contender in end of year polls, placing at number seven on Kerrang!'s "Albums Of The Year" list, and since achieving gold status.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and TRIVIUM were on the road together earlier this year to celebrate the joint 20th anniversaries of their respective albums "The Poison" and "Ascendancy".

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE released the deluxe version of its latest, self-titled album in August 2022 via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. This extended release featured four brand new tracks, plus "Stitches", a song previously only available as a Japanese exclusive. Following the CD and digital releases, a vinyl pressing launched in November 2022.