Bullet For My Valentine's Matt Tuck: Success Since 'The Poison' Has Been Fantastic, 'But Nothing Has Ever Felt The Same'

Twenty years ago today, the lives of four men from Bridgend, Wales, were changed forever, and Matt Tuck continues to tell the tale.

On 3 October 2005, Welsh metalcore band Bullet For My Valentine released their debut album, The Poison, in the UK, and Valentine’s Day 2006 in the US.

Upon its release, the album debuted at #128 on the Billboard 200 and #11 on the Independent Albums Chart. In the UK, the album hit #21 on the Albums Chart and debuted at #1 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart. The Poison has since been certified Gold in the US and the UK, and Platinum in Germany.

Preceded by the strength of its singles, 4 Words (To Choke Upon), Suffocating Under Words Of Sorrow (What Can I Do), All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me), and Tears Don’t Fall, Bullet For My Valentine grew in popularity, receiving huge slots at the UK’s largest heavy music festival, Download, and subsequently opening for Metallica and Guns N’ Roses in 2006.

The album’s success was indescribable for Bullet For My Valentine. For young metal fans and aspiring musicians, it showcased a fresh brand of heavy music that blended radio-ready choruses with breakdowns, Iron Maiden-meets-Metallica chugging riffs, and guitar solos, all accompanied by sang and screamed vocals.

“A lot of metal bands wouldn’t touch the style of song that Bullet For My Valentine have created,” frontman Matt Tuck states, pulling from Bruce Springsteen, Status Quo, and Nirvana as much as the aforementioned metal legends in his songwriting.

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“They’d be too scared, because there’s always boundaries, like ‘You can’t do that.’ But I was like, ‘Fuck that, I’ll do what I want.’ We were never afraid to do that, and I think that’s what stood us out from the rest of the crowd.

“There's been no other songs like Tears Don’t Fall; there’s been no other songs like All These Things. They’re purely ours, and a lot of bands wouldn’t have dared go down that road creatively, especially in the metal genre, but we were brave. We were fearless. We’re not writing music for anyone else other than ourselves, ultimately.”

Bullet For My Valentine have released six more albums since The Poison, with their eighth album on the way. Scream Aim Fire followed in 2008, Fever in 2010, Temper Temper in 2013, Venom in 2015, Gravity in 2018, and their self-titled LP in 2021.

The band made their Australian debut in 2007 and have returned numerous times, touring with the likes of Avenged Sevenfold, Atreyu, and Bring Me The Horizon, as well as festival slots at Big Day Out, Soundwave, and Good Things.

Next month, Bullet For My Valentine return to Australia for the first time since performing at Good Things Festival in 2023; the tour also marks their first headline shows Down Under since 2016. For the upcoming dates, the band will be celebrating 20 years of The Poison along with special guests While She Sleeps and The Devil Wears Prada.

“It’s been nine years since a proper headline show [in Australia],” Tuck shares with The Music ahead of the tour. “We’ve been there for Good Things a couple of times, which is incredible; we’ve always had great experiences. But I think what this tour represents is what is making it special in general.”

He adds, “Twenty years of The Poison, being able to bring it over to Australia, is something we’ve always wanted to do. We never thought it was going to be possible because of timelines with album stuff… We managed to put it together [at the] very last minute, and it’s going to be sick.

“You know, Australia is always one of our favourite places to come. We feel very much connected to the country and the people, and we’re really stoked we could make it happen, because we didn’t think it was going to be possible.”

Of course, their last-minute return to Australia hasn’t been easy to organise. Before their Australian tour announcement in July, the band had wrapped up the North American leg of The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour, a co-headlining tour with Trivium.

In May, following the end of the North American dates, Bullet For My Valentine pulled out of any additional shows with Trivium, which were also set to take place in South America and Australia.

Now, Bullet For My Valentine are coming to Australia, minus Trivium, and had a “two-month window” to secure venues in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane—a challenge that could have been insurmountable.

“I’m pumped that we can make it happen, because all the cards were against us, but here we are,” Tuck says. “It’s good to go, and it’s going to be amazing, and it’s going to be the last time we’re going to be doing it [performing The Poison in Australia].”

Upon The Poison’s release in 2005, Tuck certainly didn’t expect the band’s debut album to open so many doors for them, nor that they’d be around 20 years later, discussing the life-changing record.

“If I’m honest, we weren’t thinking too far into the future at that point,” Tuck admits. “This was our debut album. All we were really focused on was getting it out and seeing how people liked it. And, you know, fortunately for us, everyone seemed to love it. And, yeah, it just exploded.”

But having the world fall in love with your debut album as a group of young 20-somethings doesn’t come without its hurdles. For Bullet For My Valentine, that meant not having the opportunity to gradually ease themselves into the touring life.

“We were thrown straight in the deep end as soon as it came out, you know, [and] it wasn’t just in the UK, but it kind of blew up… it went into Europe very quickly, North America, Australia, you know, it just went boom,” Tuck reflects, adding that he and his bandmates Michael “Padge” Paget, Jason “Jay” James, and Michael “Moose” Thomas—the latter two no longer in the band—were “holding on for dear life.”

That isn’t to say that the band weren’t enjoying the ride. “We were having the best time of our lives,” Tuck recalls, noting that the band had achieved something they’d “worked very hard and dreamed of.”

He adds, “We were just in such a fortunate position, and off we went. That period of Bullet was very special. You know, all the accolades and success that have come since The Poison have been fantastic, but nothing has ever felt the same.

“Every dream that we ever had as kids was ticked off on that two-year album cycle, like supporting Metallica, playing sold-out shows across the world. You know, it’s just a dream come true, man. So, it was a very special moment, and we’re very happy that 20 years later, it’s still having an impact on a lot of people around the world.”

What fueled Tuck during that incredible period for the band was his undeniable confidence, combined with the band’s resilience.

Before signing with Sony and releasing The Poison, the band were a “relentless self-promoting machine” who never took no for an answer. They got in record label spaces, dropped cassettes through letterboxes, into envelopes, into backpacks, and self-funded tours until people paid attention and saw their potential.

“I always believed deep down that I could do something if I was given the opportunity,” Tuck shares. “Being in a band and writing music, you can be the best in the world, but it doesn’t mean you’re ever going to get the opportunity to do it. If the timing isn’t right and people don’t believe in you, and they don’t see potential or a future, then you aren’t going to get the opportunity to do it. That’s how it works.

“But I always believed I had the potential to do it. I always believed the boys and our band had the potential to do it, and we were just a relentless, self-promoting machine; we made it happen.

“We self-funded tours. We self-funded everything we possibly could—to our own detriment—to make it happen. But it paid off, you know. I was really confident, really kind of naive, but I think being naive actually is quite a positive thing when you’re thrown in the deep end.

“I think if you overthought it and people told you about the craziness that you’re about to embark on, then it probably would have been quite daunting. But, for a 23–24-year-old bunch of dudes who didn’t give a fuck, we were just excited and were ambitious and motivated and hungry for success and wanted to prove a point and be the biggest band in the world. We thrived on it.”

Luckily for Australian fans, playing The Poison night after night hasn’t gotten old yet, with Tuck thrilled by the reaction from fans.

“Seeing how multi-generational the band has become and what these songs mean to people, it’s a very different experience from a normal show,” he reflects. “There’s a lot of love, a lot of emotion, a lot of nostalgia, and people are 100% reliving something in their heads while they’re in the crowd and listening.

“It’s a very different dynamic energy in the room, all positive and amazing, but very different to your normal kind of metal performance,” Tuck adds, recalling lots of crying and hugging in the audience.

“It’s like, ‘Fuck, this is so cool!’ We’re providing that soundtrack for them to mentally be taken on a journey back in time, to relive something which is clearly something very special for them, you know? So, it’s fucking incredible.”

Tuck feels pride when he looks out at an openly emotional audience. “It’s not something you think about when you write music in your bedroom with your mates,” he says, “You just don’t comprehend the impact it’s going to have on people’s lives, emotionally, and what those songs provide for them.”

Celebrating The Poison means that everyone in the room is back in their memories, connecting with fellow punters and the band. And for Tuck, he’s gone from writing songs in his bedroom to twenty years later, where fans still care so deeply about the band’s debut album.

“You never really go back, especially this far,” he notes, as Bullet For My Valentine are usually totally focused on the present. “So, to go back and actually take stock of how important it was, not just for us, our lives and our career, but for the people that discovered and were part of the explosion, is amazing.

“I just feel so proud and honoured that we’ve had a career this long, and our fans have always been so loyal and dedicated and given us a career back.

“We’ve been doing it for 20 years, but we’re still getting those moments of like, ‘This is mad.’ I’m just super proud of myself, super proud of the boys, and super proud of our fans for being there for us and with us.”

Bullet For My Valentine will tour across Australia this October. You can find tickets here.

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