When a metalcore band, a genre still considered niche at the time, emerged from a small town in Wales, it was no surprise that, almost 15 years later, the group would be one of the biggest names in modern metal.
Bullet For My Valentine , whose first album , The Poison , was released in 2005, has undergone changes in its lineup and sound. But, the more time passes, the bigger the group led by Matt Tuck . Perhaps at its current peak, the band will perform in São Paulo on November 24th, and the vocalist took some time to talk to Wikimetal .
“That the band would last this long was the last thing on our minds when we started,” Matt said, when asked about the group’s longevity. “The goal was to start a band to create the opportunity for us to do what we wanted.”
Even so, the band established itself in the British metal scene and, last year, released its sixth studio album. While in Venom , from 2015, Bullet already showed hints of a more electronic turn in their sound, it was in Gravity , from 2018, that this trend was truly confirmed.
“We really like to experiment. It gives the sound a wider scope, it’s like a movie soundtrack. But, in the end, the idea is always to experiment more,” he explained. “In many songs we went too far and then came back a little. It’s easy to tell when you go too far [laughs].”
It's clear that, with a more electronic and commercial sound, the band also reached more diverse audiences and new fans. Considering that Gravity is a more personal album for Matt, it's easy to imagine that the work falls into the category of pieces that are easily identifiable with the public, who see themselves going through the same situations as the narrator of the songs.
“The album is very personal, it’s about me. The last two years of my life have been full of emotional ups and downs. I went through a breakup; I dealt with anxiety and depression. So, I was telling people about it.”
This theme, however, wasn't intentional at first. "I started showing a different side of myself, one I had never shown before. It wasn't something I intended to do, but the more I did it, the better the songs became. The more I tortured myself, the better the album got," he reflected.
While new singles like “Letting You Go” and “Over It” exploded worldwide, the band spent 2018 and 2019 traveling the globe promoting their new album. “We went to the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan, Russia… It’s been a very busy time with touring.” And now, Bullet For My Valentine is landing in São Paulo.
“We are very excited about the São Paulo show. The Brazilian audience is always great. We really want to give the fans everything they want. The setlist covers practically our entire career. It's going to be great!”
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