BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck talked to Australia's Heavy about the band's new, self-titled studio album, which will arrive on November 5. The follow-up to 2018's "Gravity" was written beginning in September 2019 with longtime producer Carl Bown, who co-produced the band's 2015 album, "Venom", and produced and mixed "Gravity".
Speaking about the first few singles which have been released from "Bullet For My Valentine", including "Knives", "Parasite", "Shatter" and "Rainbow Veins", Tuck said: "Musically, I what people have heard so far, that kind of sums up the tone of the entire record, really. It's a far more technical, angry, heavy record compared to the last few we've done. And it's good, man. It just really feels like we've hit a sweet spot in our writing and as the band. And, yeah, it's all good, man. Firing on all cylinders and we can't wait for people to hear the rest of it."
According to Tuck, the more aggressive musical direction of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's new album came about naturally and wasn't the result of a conscious effort. "It just panned out that way," he said. "We approached it as we have any other record. You just kind of get in a room together, bash some demos out, some song ideas, you put riffs down, you put grooves down and you just kind of experiment and have with it and try and find a direction. And I think it took about probably six to eight weeks of writing, on and off, to finally find where the album was heading. And as soon as we found the direction, it was kind of easy and it was all systems go. I think the hardest part about writing a record is starting the process. It's, like, where are we going here? [How] are we sounding? What's the vibe? And as soon as we found that, we scrapped everything [that we had done] for that six to eight weeks and then we continued on with the song that started it all, which was 'Knives', and just continued on that path, really."
Tuck previously told Rock Sound about the decision to make the new BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE album a self-titled affair: "Well, I think 'Knives' says why. We're kind of — not in a negative way — we're letting go of the past, and we wanted to start fresh. And we thought now's the time. Everyone feels good. Everyone's in a really good place. And we wanted to come out swinging. We just feel it's a statement record. When people hear 'Knives', they'll be, like, 'Oh, shit.' Wait till you hear the rest of the record. It's a statement record for us. And we felt like the time was right to kind of put our flag in the sand. BULLET are here, and this is who we are now, and this is where we are going."
"Bullet For My Valentine" will be released on via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy.
"Gravity" saw BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's catalog surpass one billion streams in the U.S. That accomplishment solidified BULLET's status as one of the most elite bands in the hard rock scene.
