A lot can happen to a band in over a decade: its sound can alter, band members can leave and fans can taper off.
But despite such possibilities, Bullet For My Valentine’s frontperson and founding member Matthew Tuck is adamant that the collective are the same men that started the band all those many years ago; they’re just a little wiser.
“Deep down we’re exactly the same people that we were when we started,” he says. “We have the same sense of humour, the same goals, we’re motivated by the same things, we still have our same group of friends back in Wales, but we’ve just grown up as men and we understand how the music industry works. We started this massive business from just four boys in Wales playing in school to having made hundreds of millions of dollars for the music industry. You know, it’s crazy.”
Fresh off the back of a slew of incredible international tour dates, including the US Warped Tour and many a European festival, the band is set to head back to Australia for a triple bill of any self-effacing metal head’s dreams, playing alongside Atreyu and Cane Hill. Only, this time the group has an added level of excitement associated with its trip Down Under: it recently scored its first ever number one album, with 2015’s Venom topping the charts right here on our soil.
“I’m absolutely blown away,” Tuck says. “It was a fantastic achievement. It was our first ever number one we’ve had on any album ever, so it just feels very special. Apparently we’re the only Welsh artist to have ever done it as well, so we’re in the history books which is great.
“We’ve always had a fantastic time in Australia. It’s like a home away from home in many ways. We’ve celebrated some big achievements there as well: I’ve got a big plaque on my wall here in my living room with an Australia Sony Music ARIA Recognition Award. I’ve got every single album gold and platinum in the big Australia plaque, so we’ve had some amazing moments there, and obviously having the number one has just surpassed that again. I can’t wait to come back. We’re just gutted that it’s taken us this long, but that’s kind of not been our fault. In any case, we’re excited its happening and we can’t wait to come down.”
Boasting the accolade of being one of the most successful UK metal bands of the 21st century, Bullet For My Valentine’s tunes continue to stand the test of time, which, in an ever-changing industry, is a truly remarkable feat in and of itself.
“I’d like to think it’s the quality of the music we make ” Tuck says. “I think [that’s] the only thing that would keep someone coming back. We’ve delivered quality album after album: people always have their favourites but from my point of view as a songwriter, from the first EP right up to Venom, I’m extremely proud of everything we’ve ever done and everything’s always up in the top five all over the world so we’re obviously doing something right.
“We’ve always had quite a diverse fan base because of the nature of our music: it’s got old school influences, but there’s obviously modern melodies in there and big anthemic songs as well, so we’ve always had a younger fan base. But the people that were like, 19 all those years ago when they first discovered us are in their thirties now and some of them have kids. So everything’s grown with us and it’d be nice to keep getting the younger fan base with each album. We’ve kept the older guys which is brilliant. So it’s everything from like 15-year-old girls to 50-year-old men at our shows. It’s a good thing.”
As the fans have grown up, so too has Tuck, namely by getting married and becoming a father. And despite the band’s incredibly hectic tour schedule, he admits that the wild partying lifestyle is very much behind them.
“I’m a normal family guy,” he says. “I like to hang out, do housework, be involved with Evann my son, take him to school and just be with him as much as possible: just everything that normal parents get to do most of the time is stuff that I don’t get to enjoy so coming home and being in the house and being a dad for a minute is kind of what I focus on when I’m back.
“We’ve been doing it a long time now, so the partying thing died a long time ago. These days it’s more of a joined experience and making sure that we go out there and do our jobs the best we can.” For a group that has cemented itself in rock music history, one would wonder what’s next for Bullet For My Valentine. Tuck answers quickly, with perhaps exactly the kind of sure-footedness that one might expect.
“I’d like to see us just where we are right now. I think everyone’s really content with what we’ve done over the last ten years. What we’ve achieved means we will become bigger and better: that’s great.
“We’re always going to strive for that and keep on trying to deliver the best album we ever can. So hopefully we’ll still be talking on the phone with people like yourself and still looking forward to upcoming tours around the world.”
Bullet For My Valentine perform, with Atreyu and Cane Hill, at the Big Top, Luna Park, Thursday October 27.
