Stuart interviews...Bullet For My Valentine

The metal scene is one which cautiously adopts new icons. Despite many bands coming through over the years, few have been able to compete with the big names of the 80s. Bullet For My Valentine are looking to shatter that illusion when they release their third studio album, Fever, this month. After building up a large, dedicated fan base over the last few years with relentless touring and promotion, Bullet are back. Stuart Edwards finds out what fans can expect this year and whether Fever could be the first great metal album of the decade.

1)So you’re just about to release a new record and hit the road again, what does it feel like to finally finish recording and get back out there again?

It’s a great feeling to finish a big project and it’s going to be fun to get out there to do what we like doing best, it’s refreshing. We can’t wait to play for all kinds of audiences this year.

2) There’s endless tweaking which can be done on a new album – when do you know when it’s time to stop and just go with what you have?

I don’t really think it’s something you consciously decide, we just went through and ironed out all the bits we wanted to improve. When it’s finished and release doesn’t really have much bearing to us, it’s just getting the best quality record out there as soon as possible.

3) The metal genre has taken on many new dimensions over the last few years, do you feel your music fits in with the current generation better than if Bullet had existed twenty years ago?

Yeah I think we fit into both eras of it pretty well, a lot of old school metal fans listen to us and find what they are after which is cool, but we’ve managed to create our own audience too. There’s a nice mix and I think our sound would have worked back then too.

4) What can we expect to hear from the new album that we haven’t heard from Bullet before? Would you say it’s closer musically to The Poison or Scream, Aim & Fire?

Musically it’s much closer to The Poison than the last album, but it’s a bigger record, the songs are bigger and more mature. Over the recording we wrote a good seventeen songs so had some flexibility with what went on. We wrote this crazy metal ballad which isn’t on it, maybe we’ll bring it out when we’re ‘past it’.

5) You’ve a huge amount of tour dates coming up over the next few months – what are you most looking forward to?

Download, definitely. It’s the first UK date of this tour so it’s going to be special.

6) How are you aiming to overcome the AC/DC clash at Download Festival? Are you worried about going up against possibly the biggest name in rock music?

I think from the timings, we clash with Them Crooked Vultures instead which is better, finishing 20 minutes before AC/DC come on (we’re gonna try and catch them). You don’t go up against AC/DC, that’s suicide.

7) Aside from festival dates, when can Bullet fans here in England expect to hear these new songs live? Are you looking at a Newcastle date?

We can’t say anything yet really, but we’re definitely going to be touring the UK this winter. Maybe some arena shows, we’ll see how the new album fairs first.

8) You’ve supported a number of extremely high profile bands in your career – do you feel you’ve learnt from this and are more prepared should this record be even more successful than expected?

That’s our goal, we want to become the Iron Maiden or Metallica for this generation. We’ve learnt quite a bit off them and they’ve always taken us under their wing and not been up themselves.

9) Do you feel the metal genre is one which is more difficult to experiment with and create your own sound?

Not sure really, metal is more of a life style than just a musical genre and there’s certain ways of doing things. On the second album we tried to make a record that would please more traditional fans but if they didn’t like then fuck them, this is who we are.

10) Do you feel your songs have an extra dimension to the genre that may appeal to others who don’t like their Metallicas and Iron Maidens?

Yeah I think we can definitely offer something new, maybe people who didn’t like those bands can find something fresh in our music. We take influences from them but we know who we are.

11) What are your thoughts on the industry’s shape at the moment? Are you in favour of labels continuing to exist in their traditional sense or does the ‘free music’ idea appeal, both ethically and economically?

I don’t know, I like the record company that’s helped us and done this for us and don’t think we would have got where we are. The biggest and smallest bands can get by without them but if you want to make a break then you still need label backing or else you just can’t keep up.

12) Is there a lyrical theme or concept to Fever? What sort of mindset did you as a band have whilst recording?

Nope it’s quite a traditional record, the songs are all pretty natural. We just wanted to pick out the bad points from the last album and learn from experience.

13) Finally how are you going to be promoting the new record, do you find it more challenging being the type of act who gets little commercial radio play?

We’ve had our new single just put on the B-list for Radio 1 actually which is pretty cool but it’s simply a case of getting out there and playing really. I guess the more dedicate stations help a bit though.

Stuart Edwards was speaking to Michael Padget. Bullet For My Valentine’s new record, Fever is out April 26^th.