20 Years Of Putting The Pedal To The Metal: Bullet For My Valentine Embark On Biggest Tour Of Their Career

It’s a year of reflection,” says Matt Tuck, founder and frontman of Bullet For My Valentine, “when you’re in a band, and you tour heavily, and you’ve had a career as long as we have, you kind of move on to the next thing, and time just gets washed away. So, 2025, for all of us, is a year to celebrate where we came from, how it happened, why it happened, and, ultimately, the music that connected us to the people around the world, which is why we’re still here 20 years later.”

Bullet For My Valentine’s remarkable history isn’t one of a gradual rise to global fame, but rather one of a lightning start that thrust them into the limelight right from the release of their 2005 debut album The Poison. By that point, Tuck, and the band’s original members lead guitarist Michael Paget and drummer Michael Thomas, as well as bassist Nick Crandle had already been a band for eight years, “learning our trade, grafting, playing shows, getting told to fuck off,” as Tuck remembers. “No one gave a shit. Labels didn’t give a fuck. No one wanted to put on shows. Everyone called us shit and told us to give it up, get a real job. We just used that as fuel to our fire.”

When Crandle decided he’d had enough of the grind and left, he was succeeded by Jason James. The Bridgend, Wales, band changed its name from Jeff Killed John to Bullet For My Valentine, and with this rebirth came a new sound that has shaped and influenced what hard rock with a metal core can sound like.

Says Tuck, “Metal was king for a decade, led by Korn, Limp Bizkit, and all these mega bands that exploded in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. By then, metal fans in general wanted something with a bit more fire and technicality. We were at the forefront of that movement, with a couple of other bands that were blowing up at the same time, like Avenged Sevenfold or Killswitch Engage. A younger generation just latched onto it as soon as they heard it.”

The Poison turned out to be a suitable title for Bullet For My Valentine’s debut, as the record infected the entire world. “It doesn’t really happen like that for a lot of bands on their debut. It’s quite a rare thing, especially where were from,” says Tuck, “it exploded globally for us, and we were just four young, naive boys from Wales, who were taken away by a tsunami of success from day one.”

The Poison was Bullet’s first release under a five-album deal with Sony BMG, licensed through Visible Noise in the UK, where it came out in October 2005. The album was released with Trustkill in the U.S. in February 2006, following the U.S. exclusive EP Hand Of Blood in August 2005. Trustkill founder Josh Grabelle remembers both records fondly: “The songs on Hand Of Blood and The Poison are just legendary and timeless. I could hear those records today for the first time and they still sound new and exciting. If you don’t get hyped up hearing ‘Tears Don’t Fall,’ you’re dead inside.”

According to Grabelle, “it’s rare that a new band comes along where everyone working the band – label, management, agent, distributor, retail, etc. – is all in agreement that this band will be successful and that nothing is out of reach. Needless to say, we spent a lot of money on marketing this album in the U.S., pushing tracks to radio, making insane music videos, and putting them on the right tours. The very first BFMV tour in the U.S. was an opening slot on an It Dies Today tour playing 300-capacity venues.”

Pollstar Boxoffice reports from that tour include a sold-out Rex Theater in Pittsburgh, selling 502 tickets ($6,075 gross), and 363 tickets ($4,116) at The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts, in November 2005. At that point, Bullet For My Valentine had already sold out their first UK headline tour. Their very first Pollstar Boxoffice report is from Feb. 14, 2005, at the Astoria 2, the ballroom in the basement of the legendary London Astoria, selling 1,000 tickets, grossing $17,078.

They returned to the main auditorium later that year, and moved 2,000 tickets, for $45,298. They sold out other iconic venues, like the Manchester Academy (900 tickets, $16,307 gross), or Nottingham’s Rock City (1,908, $34,571) and played festivals like Reading and Leeds in the UK, or Summer Sonic in Tokyo, Japan.

“It was their first time ever in Japan and they were on stage quite early in the morning,” recalls Layli Odamura at the festival’s promoting company Creativeman. And she recalls how this initial appearance was “followed by their first ever headline tour in 2008, performing in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya.”

There was no magic formula or strategy the band had when they started to achieve this global success, says Tuck. “We were so inexperienced, young and naive, there was no input from us, apart from the creative side of making that album. I don’t think it was down to the label, or management, but literally down to the old-school way of word-of-mouth spreading. The social media thing with MySpace and stuff just started, so there was a growing global network. We were easily accessible, more so than we would have been a couple years earlier. And we just connected with a metal community around the world, it’s as simple as that. There’s no other way to explain it, or why it happened. Right place, right time, right music: the stars aligned.”

From the moment Bullet For My Valentine got their foot in the door, they never looked back. “The beginnings were marked by a lot of self-promoting,” Tuck remembers, “knocking on doors, getting in touch with venues and local promoters. We were working in a very hands-on, back-to-basics way. The hype of the band was so natural and organic, we didn’t have to do anything beyond that. On that ‘Poison’ tour, from 2005 to 2006, we got invited on Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, and Iron Maiden tours. It was wild.”

Supporting Metallica gave Bullet For My Valentine their first whiff of stadium air, placing them in front of more than 30,000 people at the GelreDome in Arnhem, Netherlands, in June of 2006 (32,166 tickets sold, $1,915,778 grossed). With Guns N’ Roses, they played UK arenas like Manchester Arena (now AO Arena) on July 23, 2006 (13,227 tickets, $928,817 gross) and Genting Arena Birmingham (now bp pulse LIVE) on July 25, 2006 (11,211, $473,513). With Iron Maiden, they played North American arenas, like the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC, Oct. 10, 2006 (12,864, $622,723) and Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Oct. 13, 2006 (12,503, $581,169).

That year also featured a sold-out German run, topped by their first of nine appearances – if you count the upcoming one this summer – at Germany’s Rock am Ring/Rock im Park. The festivals’ promoter Matt Schwarz at DreamHaus remembers the moment well: “I saw Bullet For My Valentine at Rock am Ring almost 20 years ago in front of a packed main stage. Their raw, energetic performance and their ability to connect with the crowd was undeniable. They had the charisma and talent to not just be another festival act, but to leave a lasting impression. It was as if they were destined for something much bigger and watching them felt like being part of the beginning of a legacy. In 2025, the circle comes full as they return to our anniversary editions, 40 years of Rock am Ring and 30 years of Rock im Park, bringing back those unforgettable memories with their own jubilee: 20 years of The Poison.”

It’s “an album that has everything. Young, vibrant, edgy, and exciting,” according to Raw Power Management founder Craig Jennings, who has been working with the band since the beginning, and says, “it sounds like your young guys really finding their straps and running with it. Amazing songs and a great production job by Colin Richardson.” When Jennings first heard Bullet’s music, “I thought they were the most exciting young metal band I had heard in decades. And then I met the guys, who I loved.”

In the U.S., the band is managed by Raw Power’s Matt Ash. He explains how their lasting U.S. success comes down to the hard work they been put into the circuit from day one: “They’ve spent countless hours and days and months and years on tour here to the point where they’re an established part of U.S. hard rock and metal culture. For a band from South Wales to be able to legitimately say that, is no mean feat,” says Ash, and adds “to break out of their local scene, not only to become a national draw in the UK, but to break into America and the rest of the world – it’s pretty rare, especially at the time that they did it in the early and mid-2000s. They spent the time and made the effort to come back here again and again, and that is still paying dividends to this day.”

Since that first London Astoria show from 2005, there’s not a year in Pollstar Boxoffice history that doesn’t feature multiple reports from Bullet For My Valentine (apart from 2020 for obvious reasons). It’s hard to come up with milestone moments, when the real milestone was the release of the debut album, with not a moment to catch one’s breath since. Jennings recalls a few: the first Brixton Academy, sold out on Feb. 7, 2008 (4,870 tickets, $179,138 gross), the first Alexandra Palace, sold out on Nov. 15, 2008 (8,060, $254,317), and the first Wembley Arena, Dec. 12, 2010 (9,234, $305,885). Big festival plays include headlining the 2021 Download Festival pilot event post-COVID, myriad Rock am Ring/Rock im Park plays, and “several U.S. shows that have constantly pushed the dial.”

The band’s U.S. agents Ryan Harlacher and Kasey McKee at CAA have been working with Bullet For My Valentine since 2014. “We have been strategic about their opportunities in North America, making sure we are putting them in front of the right audiences, in the right scenarios at the right times to maximize the benefits of their time here,” explains McKee, “we don’t over-tour, which many bands in the hard rock and metal space tend to do here in the States. Their timing for coming to North America is always strategic around new music and with a great package. We give the markets plenty of time to breathe before returning. And we make sure we are in the right venues with the right ticket price and their audience here in the States has definitely grown over the years.”

McKee first saw Bullet For My Valentine play live in 2008. “They are an absolutely incredible live band. They play with such tight musicianship, practical perfection on vocals, and deliver a level of energy that sucks you in. And the quality of music that they put out is top notch. Their early albums like The Poison and Scream Aim Fire are iconic in the genre. And the way they continue to put out incredible, heavy music that stays true to their roots but also has grown and developed with them as a band. They are also a great group of guys who work hard and deserve all of the success.”

2008’s Scream Aim Fire reached number four on the U.S. Billboard albums chart, while Fever reached the third spot in 2010. It marks Bullet For My Valentine’s highest-charting album so far. Fever was followed by Temper, Temper in 2013 (top U.S. chart position: 13), Venom in 2015 (8), Gravity in 2018 (17), and the self-titled Bullet For My Valentine released in 2021 (153). Despite the lower chart position, the band and their team consider this last album to be their best work yet.

In 2016, Bullet For My Valentine signed with Spinefarm, a UMG subsidiary, which released the band’s last two albums. Label boss Jonas Nachsin says chart positions can be deceiving: “I think Gravity is an amazing album, and an incredible piece of work from a hard rock band that’s metal, but that’s also dipped into a lot of different kinds of other genres. And there was a bit of chatter about the nature of the sonics of that record. Especially in our world today of instant judgment from fans and influencers on social media, [opinions] can get fueled, and the flames fanned by that. That can be unfortunate, because I think music takes time to land. Initial reactions can change, and almost always do change. So, whatever judgments were made about that record, what remains with me is the success I personally saw in terms of increased radio play in the in the U.S. They really reinvented their radio situation here with Gravity, and the songs have very strong numbers on the streaming services. I was really impressed by the band making their own artistic decision on the next album we released, a self-titled album, and making a statement saying, ‘Well, we’re gonna peel back all those layers, and if you didn’t think Bullet could be heavy or technical, because you’ve now put us in a box, we’ll show you what we can do.’ People were blown away and perhaps surprised by that. All those dynamics, in addition to their history and the tour they’re on now, have led to a situation where the world is their oyster in terms of the next album. I think they’re going to deliver their best music yet.”

Raw Power’s Matt Ash says Bullet For My Valentine in 2025 is “the best version of Bullet they have ever been. The band has been evolving their whole career, which has meant that the players right now are at the highest level they’ve ever been.” Niall Crisp, who has been the band’s senior manager at Raw Power since 2018, adds, “as cliche as it sounds, they really do get tighter every year. Form a live perspective, it really does feel like the band’s in the best form it’s ever been in. A lot of it is down to them being incredibly ambitious and hard working. As soon as one album’s released, they’re asking, ‘what’s next?’ It’s always about looking forward. Even around this current celebration they’re about to embark on: despite this being such a monumental point in their career, it’s all about what’s next. This is really just the start, and it’s all about opening the next chapter for Bullet For My Valentine.”

The current lineup features original members Matt Tuck on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Michael “Padge” Paget on lead guitar. Jamie Mathias joined on bass and backing vocals in 2015, and drummer Jason Bowld has been on board since 2016. Speaking with Tuck, one can sense the effort it takes him to just enjoy the moment and reflect on an incredible career set in motion 20 years ago by an album that’s regarded today as one of the greatest heavy metal debuts of all time. “It’s something to be proud of, and we’re looking forward to taking a moment to celebrate that fact,” he says, but adds straight away, “once it’s done, we can move on with the next chapter.”

The next chapter comes in the form of a joint tour with Trivium, who are also celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Ascendancy. “The Poisoned Ascendancy” tour kicked off at Cardiff Arena in the Welsh capital last month, and visits arenas across the UK, mainland Europe and the U.S. through June. Lead guitarist Michael Paget feels both “super excited, and a little anxious as well, because of the scale of it, and the responsibility of doing this for 20 years. It’s some of the biggest shows we’ve ever played coming up. There’s a weight on the shoulders, but it’s exciting as well. And it’s a very good feeling that we’ve been able to do this for 20 years, and now to relive it hopefully with all original fans and their kids as well. It’s going to be a hell of a year.”

The band’s UK promoter Alan Day at KMJ Entertainment says, “we’re selling out The O2, Birmingham, Co-op Live Manchester, Glasgow’s Hydro, and Cardiff Arena twice. It’s the biggest numbers they’ve ever sold. They’re one of the few British metal bands to headline and sell out The O2. They played Wembley before, but this is the first time they played The O2, and the first time they played Manchester’s Co-op Live. Those are the biggest two arenas in the UK now, and we’re selling them out. I think a lot of people in the industry were surprised when we put this tour into the big arenas, and we’ve slammed it all home, which is amazing. It’s going to be glorious.”

Apart from the fact that the band will be performing The Poison in its entirety, and pull all the stops in terms of production, the team didn’t want to share too much about the actual show. Tour manager Paul ‘Welshie’ Chapman, says “we’ve spent a lot of time, energy and vision on trying to get the show absolutely spot-on for the fans. We’ve pushed the envelope on a lot of the production elements. Our production manager CJ Stasinos has been pretty hard at it for the last 10 months, trying to get all this together and make it work. Visually, it’s incredible, we’ve implemented some crazy technology into the show. I was already saying to the band the other day, that when we go back out in 2026, we’ve really got to step it up again, after what this tour is going to bring to everybody.”

Day adds, “it suits some bands not to have a lot [of production], but someone like Bullet, they go for it, they spend, they don’t skim anywhere, and they throw as much money as they can from their fees into production. The more they give the audience, the more they come back. It’ll be just bells and whistles on this tour. They’re using as much state-of-the-art stuff as they can. They’re not going after a standard rock show; they’re trying to make it futuristic and metal.”

In Tuck’s own words, “We’re bringing the biggest show we’ve ever done at this point, there’s going to be interactive screens, platforms, pyro, pop-up stores on show days. But what we’re most focused on is the performance, and it’s going to be business as usual for us. We’re going to be putting on a savage, clinical display of heavy metal.”

To have a 20-year career in the music industry as a Welsh metal band is incredible, and its longevity is probably what the band’s individual members are most proud of. “Having ambitions and dreams is something that’s looked down upon where we’re from,” says Tuck, “growing up in that environment, having this unachievable dream, but actually achieving it, is a feeling that I will never let go of, because of how much it meant to me to have a dream. I wanted something better for myself than working in a local shop or factory. On the route we took, nothing was ever guaranteed. We sacrificed everything for this band. So, to be given this platform at that early stage, and to achieve what we achieved is something that I can never let go. To still feel on top of the world, and still feel we’ve got so much to give, so much to prove, is what keeps us going. It is hard work being in a band, it is demanding, physically and mentally. And there are times where you feel like you don’t want to do it anymore. It’s not perfect, but we love what we do, and I feel that Bullet For My Valentine still has a lot of boxes left to tick.”

Among those, he says, is becoming “a legitimate mainland Europe and U.S. festival headliner. We’ve been fortunate enough that we have headlined festivals throughout the UK and Europe, but I’ve got my eyes and hopes set on the major festivals, like your Reading and Leeds, Rock am Ring/Rock im Park, Hellfest, that kind of stuff. I want to be a genuine behemoth festival headliner, and we’ve been more than capable of doing that for many years. We just haven’t been given that opportunity, which pisses me off, to be frank, because I think we deserve it. I think we’ve proven we can do it. This tour is proving it again. But unfortunately, there’s a lot of politics involved with music and festivals that get offered a show, we can’t compete with that, we’re not stupid. But we’ve been around over 20 years now, we’ve achieved arena level everywhere, we sold millions of records, we’ve got billions of streams everywhere, we are more than capable, ready, and deserving to take those slots. If we have to wait another couple years to do it, so be it. But it is frustrating when you’ve had a career as long as we have, and have achieved what we’ve achieved, but the call still doesn’t come. I know the metal community and the rock community would like that as well. People get fed up with the same old shit, it’s boring. You can still have a balance of new and old when it comes to headlining festivals, and I think it’s the way forward.”

Rock am Ring’s Matt Schwarz thinks it’s only a matter of time, “their continued success and ability to evolve as a live act keeps them on a trajectory that could certainly bring them closer to such opportunities in the future. They remain an integral part of the heavy music community and a band we are always excited to work with. They stand out because of their electrifying stage presence, tight musicianship, and the ability to blend raw intensity with melodic hooks. They engage the audience with passionate performances, impressive technical proficiency, and a setlist that balances their iconic hits with their newer songs. Their ability to connect with both longtime and new fans, combined with their seamless delivery of heavy riffs and soaring vocals, makes them a must-see live act.”

The other “big one” that has alluded Bullet For My Valentine so far is a number-one record.

“We’ve been super close so many times in so many territories, but we’ve never been able to get it over the line because of other things. Maybe on the next one, playing a bit, having a bit more of a strategy to try and make sure that we give ourselves the best opportunity to get that number one album, that would be a nice box to tick as well. It would be nice to have a UK or U.S. number-one album on the resume,” says Tuck.

Jonas Nachsin at Spinefarm thinks it’s possible. “Hell yes,” he says, “and now that I’ve heard how important it is to Matt, we’re going to do everything in our power to help them achieve that. It starts with having a great album, and I know we’ll have that in our holster. They deserve it and hopefully will achieve it. It’s almost like asking why incredibly celebrated, famous actors, musicians haven’t won certain awards. Sometimes when you see that, you’re like, ‘How could that be possible?’ It’s absolutely impossible that Al Pacino didn’t win an Oscar until 1993, but there were reasons for it at the time.”

The band is quite far along the process of creating new music for their next album.

“Stuff has been happening all year, because we haven’t done a live show since December 2023,” Tuck explains, “so, 2024 has been completely off touring, and there’s been a lot of time for writing, for finding the vibe. In October, I started writing again quite heavily, and, at this point, I think there’s around 13 instrumentals sounding pretty sick. There’s a vibe, there’s a direction. Who knows what’s going to happen next year, we’ve got lots of time. But we’ve been working hard. There’s lots of cool material, and, as always, with Bullet, expect the unexpected creatively. We always like to push the boundaries and piss people off.”

And he concludes, “we’ve always stayed true to ourselves creatively, and to still feel like we’ve got so much to prove, and so much to give 20 years later, is the part I’m celebrating the most, more than the debut album itself, on a personal level. What I’d like people to respect about Bullet For My Valentine more than anything, is where we’ve come from and what we’ve achieved, and that we’re still here, doing it. That’s far more impressive than a debut album that blew up globally – and way harder to achieve than writing a sick record.”

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