Biography

Band Members  
Matthew “Matt” Tuck – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Michael “Padge” Paget – lead guitar, backing vocals
Jason “Jay” James – bass guitar, backing vocals
Michael “Moose” Thomas – drums
Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matthew Tuck (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason James (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Michael Thomas (drums). They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana. Jeff Killed John recorded six songs which were not released; two of these tracks were reworked later in their career as Bullet for My Valentine. Financial difficulties dictated the name change, which was followed by a change in music direction. In 2002, the band secured a five-album deal with Sony BMG. The band has stated that their music is influenced by classic metal acts such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Slayer. The band is part of the Cardiff music scene.

Bullet for My Valentine’s debut album, The Poison, was released on 3 October 2005 in the United Kingdom and on 14 February 2006 in the United States to coincide with Valentine’s Day, in a nod to the band’s name. The album entered the Billboard 200 in the US at number 128. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The band made appearances at the Download Festival and Kerrang! XXV, and undertook a US tour with Rob Zombie. Bullet for My Valentine’s second studio album, Scream Aim Fire, was released on 29 January 2008 and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The band’s third album, Fever, was released on 26 April 2010 and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. On February 8, 2013, the band released their fourth studio album, Temper Temper, which peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard 200. The band has sold over one million albums in the United States and over 3,000,000 albums worldwide and are the most-successful act in the Kerrang! Awards category of “Best British Band” with three wins.

Musical Style and Influences

Bullet for My Valentine are primarily deemed as a contemporary metal band. With detailed statements, their music has been described by critics as heavy metal, metalcore and thrash metal The band has cited being influenced by bands such as Metallica, Annihilator, Pantera, Machine Head, AC/DC,Iron Maiden, Guns N’ Roses, Testament, Stuck Mojo, Korn, Slayer, Judas Priest, Megadeth, Alice In Chains, and Nirvana. According to Thomas, these are the bands that inspire Bullet for My Valentine’s “catchy vocals, aggressive riffs, and melodies,”. Matt Tuck has stated in an interview, his songwriting is highly influenced by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and Bob Dylan. He goes on to say that “these bands just are proper old school songwriters” The band describe two of their albums, The Poison and Fever, as having a “super dark” tone, Tuck went on to state that “…we’re a hard rock band with metal influences, and I’ve said that from day one.” Kirk Miller of Decibel Magazine praised the band for the effort in synchronised song structures. When asked of their views on their looks, members of the band have stated that they would not change their sound or image for a commercial approach; Tuck also commented that, “Without sounding harsh, we’re more interested in what our music sounds like than what our fucking hair looks like.”