About Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine, often abbreviated as BFMV, are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is currently composed of Matthew Tuck , Michael Paget , Jason Bowld and Jamie Mathias . Former members include Michael Thomas, Jason James and Nick Crandle; the latter were on bass. 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. A change of style from that of Jeff Killed John led the band to change their name. 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 in 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 U.S. Billboard 200 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 U.S. tour with Rob Zombie. Bullet for My Valentine's second studio album, Scream Aim Fire, was released in 2008 and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The band's third album, Fever, was released in 2010 and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. In 2013, the band released their fourth studio album, Temper Temper, which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200. In 2015, the band released their fifth studio album, Venom, which peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200. In 2018, the band released their sixth studio album, Gravity. Their self-titled seventh studio album was released in 2021. 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.
Jeff Killed John was the forerunner band to Bullet for My Valentine and was formed in 1998 by Matthew Tuck, Michael "Padge" Paget, Nick Crandle, and Michael "Moose" Thomas while studying music at Bridgend College. They started playing Nirvana and Metallica cover songs. In 1999, the band released their first ever EP, Better Off Alone. They released another two-track EP in 2002, You/Play with Me, which was produced by Greg Haver. The EP was financed through the Pynci scheme for new Welsh musicians and the release garnered radio airplay on BBC Radio 1's broadcast at Newport's T.J.'s. Shortly after, the band released another two-track EP titled Eye Spy. In 2003, their second EP was released titled Don't Walk Away. This was a promotional CD and was shipped to different record companies, as well as being given out locally in Bridgend. Bassist Crandle left the band on the eve of entering the recording sessions for the band's self-titled EP and was replaced by Jason James, and the band changed their name to Bullet for My Valentine shortly thereafter. In late 2003, they released their final EP before record labels actually began to notice their potential. This happened due to the sudden change in their strategy and sound, which the band claims came "directly out of their heads." Their self-titled EP consisted of five songs; most of the songs became precursors of tracks from The Poison.
Roadrunner Records showed interest in Bullet for My Valentine and offered the band a deal. The offer was ultimately turned down, and the band signed a five-album record deal with Sony BMG and a UK licensing deal with Visible Noise. According to Tuck, they chose Sony because, "We thought that a lot more doors would be open to us." A self-titled EP was released on 15 November 2004 in the UK. Produced by Colin Richardson, it featured five tracks and marked the band's first official release. A second EP, Hand of Blood, was released on 22 August 2005 through Trustkill Records and was only available in the U.S.; the release contained one extra track than the self-titled EP, "4 Words ." Daniel Lukes of Decibel Magazine reviewed the EP by stating, "The worst part is that the music itself isn't all that bad, for the genre." He went on to comment that the band should be "embarrassed" about the release. Zero Magazine's Josh Joyce complimented the band on "how technical they can get without confusing the kids."
Bullet for My Valentine's debut album, The Poison, was released on 3 October 2005 in the UK and on Valentine's Day 2006 in the US. It entered the Billboard 200 at number 128, and attained number 11 on the Independent Albums chart. On 30 January 2009, the album was certified gold by the RIAA after 500,000 copies were sold in the US. Four singles were released from The Poison: "4 Words ", "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow ", "All These Things I Hate ", and "Tears Don't Fall". Bullet for My Valentine promoted the album by touring across the world. In 2005, with increased popularity, they played on the larger Download Festival Snickers stage; in 2006, the band were moved to near the top of the main stage bill. Other tours included opening for Metallica and Guns N' Roses in the summer of 2006, the Vans Warped Tour and Earthday Birthday.
The band's headline performance at Kerrang XXV, a one-off gig at Brixton Academy in London on 28 January 2006, was filmed for their first DVD, The Poison: Live at Brixton. During June 2007, Tuck suffered from laryngitis, which led to an emergency tonsillectomy in July. Bullet for My Valentine were forced to cancel several shows, including supporting Metallica for three dates on their Sick of the Studio '07 tour on 29 June in Bilbao, 5 July in Vienna, and 8 July at the recently completed Wembley Stadium in London. Unable to speak, Tuck wrote that as soon as doctors cleared him he would be in the studio working on the band's next album.
Map & Directions To Venue
