For their fifth album, Bullet For My Valentine knew they had to do something different. On the heels of their most commercial album to date, the Welsh metal band had a sharp vision of where they wanted to go. Instead of heading towards mainstream rock stardom, the band pulled back and made an album that rolled back the years. Teaming up once again with Colin Richardson and bringing in Carl Bown, Venom is the band’s heaviest album in years. While on tour, we caught up with lead singer Matt Tuck, who filled us in on the making of the record.

After the success of the last album, why did you want to return to your aggressive metal roots?

We thought—on the last album especially—that it was lacking in energy, edginess and heaviness that we had on the last two albums prior. Some people were taken aback by how commercial it sounded, so we took it up a bit more and turned it back on because we figured that’s what our fans wanted that they didn’t get last time, even though it was a successful record. We want to give the fans what they want and be happy at the same time. We kept that in mind when we were writing and let the heavy stuff come back out.

What happened when a catchier or poppier song started to emanate?

We scrapped it. We were straying from what we were trying to achieve. That last one was melodic and poppy and we knew from the beginning we didn’t want to do that this time around. We wanted to make a very dark record that was very heavy and having lyrics that weren’t very nice. We didn’t want to stray from the concept of this record and the minute something became a bit too poppy, we shook ourselves out of it. We had a very clear vision of what we wanted. 

Was it difficult to turn that side of your creative brain off when something that didn’t fit the vision would pop in?

It was actually alright. When there’s a clear vision, it’s actually easier. A lot of stress was put in the bin, so to speak, but it was all because we had that vision to start with. Whenever we’ve had that, which is partially why the records have been so successful is because we have a lot of different dynamics on our records. We had a goal we wanted to achieve this time, and I think it made the album far stronger.

How long did it take to write and record? Was there any writing before you went into the studio?

We spent seven-to-eight months writing it. We kept scrapping it and starting again. Overall, it’s definitely the longest we’ve spent since we wrote our debut. We really wanted to make sure that we delivered on what we set out to do. We didn’t want to rush anything. We’re usually very closed in and don’t let anybody hear a record until it’s done, but we felt the time was right to open up a little bit and get people’s feedback. A band that’s had our career and the success as well, to listen to other people’s opinions was not something that we’ve done. This time around, it became an actual asset. Listening and taking them seriously actually helped the process.

How did everyone respond to the criticism?

It is what it is. Everyone has their opinions on everything in life. When you do something like we do, and you put yourself up there —how you look, how you sound, what you do, who you work with, what tours you go on, how you are live —is just kind of part of the job. As long as it’s done in a way that’s trying to help the band and help us think about things, it becomes extremely helpful. That’s why we took it to people we trusted and we knew that they knew what we do. It was honest criticism—it wasn’t “this sucks, this is rubbish” like it would have been done publicly—but obviously having feedback from people we trust making the record was good.

Are you surprised that even after five albums, the band continues to have sustained success and your best work is yet to come?

We all are! We’re still pinching ourselves 10 years down the line. To be in the position we’re in, it was just a childhood dream growing up. To have done what we’ve done and to have toured with the bands we have, the whole story of Bullet is that dweeb fairy tale scenario. We definitely got lucky, but we sacrificed everything into this band to make it the best it could always be. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but we had the potential and the work ethic and we all tried to do our best. That definitely had a big part of taking us where we are today.