Interview by: Nando Machado
We spoke with guitarist Michael Paget about the band's beginnings and their new studio album, Gravity.
The Welsh band Bullet For My Valentine started their career like many other bands. With a large repertoire of cover songs, the group performed in every pub and venue that offered them space. “Eventually we recorded a demo and people started coming to our shows,” Michael Paget Wikimetal exclusively , “Then we signed with a record label and since then it’s been a crazy journey.”
The band released their highly anticipated sixth studio album, Gravity
Paget admits that the band is still seeking to conquer a larger space in the music scene, "This album was written for the big stages," he says, "We are always looking to improve and grow with our career." With 20 years on the road, the band still dreams big and intends to continue growing, "We are very grateful for everything we have already achieved and for everything we are still going to achieve."
Optimistic, Paget believes that the future of metal is in the hands of bands like Bullet For My Valentine, “ Metallica is going strong, Guns N' Roses is back, these big bands are still around, still working, but eventually they will need to stop because unfortunately nobody stays around forever. And then bands like us will need to carry metal forward and then we'll leave it to the new bands that are coming. It will be interesting, albeit sad. The legacy that these bands leave is what inspired us to be who we are today.”
And the guitarist is right, the legacy of these bands will live on for generations, but who will carry the torch of metal when they are no longer around? The new bands. Names like Bullet For My Valentine, Godsmack , Avenged Sevenfold , Five Finger Death Punch , among many others, will be responsible for honoring and carrying forward the music created by the great bands.
“When I was growing up, we listened to heavy stuff like Pantera , Metallica , Machine Head , and now we have several subgenres that have emerged, making metal more eclectic. Metal doesn't have the same meaning for everyone. But it's here and it's still big. It's really cool to know that metal is immortal.”
Passionate about his fans and the music he makes, Paget says he cherishes good memories of the places he has visited, such as Brazil. The last time the group was in Brazil was in 2016 when they performed at the Maximus Festival alongside Halestorm , Hellyeah , Shinedown , Rammstein and Marilyn Manson . “Brazilian fans are very patient and we know they are waiting for us, but we will be back there soon. As soon as we can. The world seems small when we are on tour, but it takes time to get to all the places. But it will happen, I just don't know when.”
Gravity was released on June 29th and you can listen to the singles “Over It”, “Piece Of Me” and “Letting You Go” on our playlist below.
