MATT TUCK On BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's Upcoming Eighth Album: 'I'm Excited For The Next Chapter'

In a new interview with The Break Down With Nath & Johnny, Matt Tuck, frontman of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, was asked to name the thing that he finds the hardest to nail in a song and that gives him the most grief during the songwriting process. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think the most difficult part is always lyrics. I mean, that takes up so much energy and time. Even if you're a very talented, inspirational person that likes writing — I fucking hate writing; it's crap. Because it's so hard and personal, it takes up so much time. I can write an instrumental album probably right now — if you put a gun to my head and [said], 'Write 10 songs for me.' Sit, let's go. Boom. Done. Then you've gotta do the vocals. And that's when things, for me, become really serious and really demanding. Because that's what the song is about, right? You're trying to tell a story, you're trying to be real, you're trying to be authentic. You're trying to connect with an audience. But at the same time, having done it for eight albums, you're, like, 'I've got nothing to say.' It's hard."

Referencing the fact that he and his BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE bandmates are currently working on material for their upcoming eighth album, Tuck added: "A lot's gone on. It's been nearly five years since our last album — a lot's happened, so hopefully I won't find it too hard [to come up with lyrical ideas]. Once I get my head into it, it's really enjoyable, because you start putting together just a story of just you and experiences and all this stuff, and it's really cool. But the thought of having 20 songs to write, 15 songs to write, it's, like, 'Ugh. My God.' The soul drops out of my body. But again, I wouldn't change it for the world. It just is what it is.

"I'm a guitar player before a vocalist," Matt explained. "I never wanted to be a singer in a band. I always wanted to just be up there and rock out."

Circling back to the studio sessions for BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's follow-up to its latest, self-titled album, which came out in November 2021, Tuck said: "I'm excited for the next chapter. It's been a long time since our last one; it really has. I can't believe it's been nearly five years. By the time this new one comes out, it'll be five years. So fans are hungry. We're hungry. And, yeah, as of next Friday, we're gonna be getting it on. The studio starts on Friday. And it'll be done when it's done. Yeah, it's exciting, man. We've got a little trip [to Australia this fall] to do in the meantime [for 'The Poison Australia 2025' tour]. But that'll be fun as well. It's always nice to kind of take a break from a five-, six-month studio session. It'll be well deserved and well appreciated when October rolls around."

At this year's Download festival at Leicestershire, United Kingdom's Donington Park, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE guitarist Michael "Padge" Paget spoke to Neil Jones of TotalRock about the band's decision to cut its "The Poisoned Ascendancy" tour with TRIVIUM short in order to focus on making a new album. He said: "Yeah, unfortunately, there's just not enough time. We started writing the [new BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE] album back last year, demos and stuff, which is going really, really well. To finish writing now and record by the end of the year, due to us touring what we've done so far, and then this summer run, to continue writing and finish up all the demos, then record in the studio, then process it to get new music and the album out by next year, we just don't have time. And time seems to be going so fast, so we just had to make our decision to focus on one thing or the other. And the album came first. So we chose the album, and we're gonna get stuck into that now after this festival run in June. We'll have a few weeks off to chill, and then we get straight back in the studio and then hopefully get it all recorded up by Christmas, and hopefully there'll be new music out early next year and the album in the summer sometime."

Regarding the musical direction of the new BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE material, Paget said: "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."

Also at this year's Download, Tuck, whose band has spent the first half of 2025 celebrating the 20th anniversary of its debut album, "The Poison", on tours of Europe and North America, spoke to James Wilson-Taylor of Rock Sound about BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's plans for the group's eighth album, tentatively due in 2026. Matt said: "We haven't had a lot of opportunity to get back and focus on it, 'cause since I [last] saw you, we just haven't stopped playing. It's been really intense, but a good intense."

He continued: "There's a lot of love around the world for the band, and we're just trying to kind of make the most of this opportunity, 'cause once [the 20th-anniversary celebration of 'The Poison'] is done, it's done forever. We're not gonna do it again. We're not gonna milk 25, 30, none of that shit.

"But, yeah, I listened to [the new ideas we have come up with so far] a lot when we were [touring] in the States [earlier this year], and, yeah, when I hear it, it still gives me the vibes," Tuck added. "And I think the beginning of August, we're gonna hit the studio for real. And we'll be there until it's done."

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".

In May, TRIVIUM revealed that plans were scrapped to have the two bands hit other territories around the world as part of "The Poisoned Ascendancy" tour. Details surrounding the cancelations were unclear, although TRIVIUM bassist Paolo Gregoletto said in a livestream that Tuck had pulled out of the tour early as he "didn't wanna do it." Gregoletto also claimed that Tuck made the move because he is "the sole decision maker of [BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE] and he has no respect for us or our crew."

The members of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE later shared a statement on social media saying that they were "grateful" to the fans who wanted to see them live but explained that they had decided to focus their efforts on making a new album instead.

"We're incredibly grateful to have been given the chance to look back at a pair of life-changing albums for us & TRIVIUM, who we have nothing but respect and admiration for," they said. "With that being said, the four of us collectively feel that the time is right for us to divert our full attention towards the next chapter of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE."

They added: "We can't wait to get back in the studio later this summer and finish what we promise you is our best album to date. To go along with this, we are already starting to make plans for the 2026 & 2027 touring cycles, hitting every corner. We are super excited to drop new music for you all. We value our fans above all else and are forever grateful for your support. We'll be back with all of you very soon."

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.