Tag Archives: Matt Tuck

Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

The Record Vault – Bullet For My Valentine

Come here you naughty girl, you’re such a tease

“Fever” is BFMV’s hard rock/heavy metal album. It’s my favourite, just ahead of their previous effort, “Scream, Aim, Fire”. Then “Venom” and “Temper and Temper”. The Linkin Park sounding “Gravity” is up next and “The Poison” (too much screaming for me, but great riffage) is last.

The first three tracks, “Your Betrayal”, “Fever” and “The Last Fight” would fit on any 80’s album written between 1981 and 1985. To me they are metal classics especially “The Last Fight”. “A Place Where You Belong” is the ballad track, the same way Metallica has track 4 as a slower tempo ballad.

The lead breaks on the first four songs by Michael Paget are guitar hero worthy, with emotional bends, arpeggios and fast picked lines.

“Pleasure And Pain” is a fast heavy rocker with the lead break again from Paget being very Iron Maiden like. It starts off with a memorable line, which is then harmonised and then he breaks out the hard rockisms and shred.

“Alone” kicks off with an open string pull off lead which gets you to pay attention straight away. Then from about 40 seconds, it feels like a cut from the “Rust In Peace” album from Megadeth. And the lead break from Paget has tapping and fast alternate picked lines. And somehow it all works together and is memorable.

Listen to the start of “Dignity” and if it doesn’t get your head nodding and foot tapping, then you are too uptight. And it has Judas Priest and Iron Maiden all over it. Even Helloween. “Begging For Mercy” has a thrash metal riff. It’s the got some screaming vocals. But the Chorus, man, how catchy. “Pretty On The Outside” is another up-tempo thrash song, with screaming in the verses. And the Chorus again is pretty catchy.

The “Temper Temper” album further evolves the hard rock and metal tones from “Fever”.

“Breaking Point” is a fast tempo rock with a super catchy chorus and another lead break masterpiece from Paget. Plus did I mention that Michael Moose Thomas builds this intro perfectly. “Truth Hurts” feels like an evolution of “Your Betrayal”. “Temper Temper” is an sleazy but aggressive verse riff and an AC/DC style chorus.

“P.O.W” has this palm muted riff in the verses which reminds of Jake E Lee’s style riffing in tracks like “Waiting For Darkness”.

“Dirty Little Secret” has this intro that reminds me of “Back In The Village” from Iron Maiden. And the way Michael Moose Thomas builds the drumming in the intro to the next part of the song is great musicianship. And that section from about 3.20, when the drums hold like a Kashmir beat, and the guitars are playing fast down picked chords and octaves and Matt Tuck is singing “Dirty Little Secret” over and over again.

“Leech” is like a punk song, but it sounds like a song that could have come from the “Slave To The Grind” album from Skid Row. “Dead To The World” is one of those slower tempo songs

BFMV is well known for. There is always a nice intro which goes for about a minute with a lead break. Think of tracks like “Fade To Black”, “One” and “Welcome Home” and “The Unforgiven” from Metallica as examples. Then about 3.20 it picks up into a metal tune with great riffage and harmonies and a lead break from Paget which is brilliant.

“Riot” is basically a blues track with its staccato style riff in the Chorus. Think ZZ Top and “La Grange”. “Tears Don’t Fall (Pt. 2)” has this cool riff with digital delay on it, which basically makes the first note repeat when they are like on the third note of the riff.

“Livin Life (On The Edge Of A Knife)” is just a good rock song. “Not Invincible” is an 80’s classic metal song, the way I know metal.

On the deluxe edition, there is a cover of “Whole Lotta Rosie” (Live at BBC Radio 1) and I think its perfect how they do it, because you can hear that Acca Dacca was an influence on the making of this album, especially when you look at songs like “Riot” and “Temper, Temper”.

Up next Black Veil Brides.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Army Of Noise

“Army Of Noise” has got that feel of “Metal Militia” and overall the song has a “Kill Em All” vibe in the lyrics.

The intro riff morphs into the verse riff and it’s a combination of Metallica and Slayer, from their “Ride The Lightning” and “South Of Heaven” albums. It’s fast and aggressive and Matt Tuck spits out the words.

Anticipation we’re on the attack, just keep pushing forward, there’s no turning back

I lived this during the 80’s, but there is a whole new generation who needs these words and are living it right now.

Lights out, fist raised, adrenaline rushing infecting our veins

Going to the show was about the adrenaline. Now it’s about the best seat, which you pay premium for, and the selfie and the filmed footage to show the world that you went.

I’m guilty of it as well.

Now feel the heat as the temperature spikes, bodies are thrashing, the fire ignites

I’ve never been in a circle pit but goddamn they are wicked to watch.

At one of the Machine Head Sydney concerts, I saw this guy on crutches make his way into the circle pit and he just vanished like a person in a twister, only to be lifted up in the air and held up high by the circle pitters. Unbelievable, that in all of that chaos, there was a sense to protect.

Before the Chorus comes in, there is this foot stomping riff that just gets me ready to break stuff.

Once the Chorus kicks in, its arena rock all the way.

So here we are
Weapons in arms
Army of noise has come to destroy
We will not fall
Brothers in arms
We will deploy our army
An army of noise

The message and the ethos is the same as the 80s. In those times we had “Stand Up And Shout”, “I Wanna Rock”, “Cum On Feel The Noize” and “We Rock”. Judas Priest took it to another level with “Ram It Down” and “Heavy Metal”.

One thing that I’ve always liked about BFMV is the drumming from Michael “Moose” Thomas. The way he builds intro’s and riffs with metronome precision, his double kick work and tom rolls is excellent.

But he is no longer in the band, fired during the “Venom” tour. Well, he left the tour to go home, so he could be there for the birth of his child and after a few months, he contacted the band and said he was ready to return, but they didn’t offer him a return date.

And the lead break is Triple A rated. Michael Paget is an unknown in the larger field of guitarist these days, but he is a bonafide guitar hero in my book.

So feel the sound as it pounds in your chest
Eardrums exploding bodies possessed

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories

Bullet For My Valentine

I have been cranking Bullet For My Valentine lately. I started off with the new “Temper Temper” album released this year. “The Poison” album was next. I then went back to the “Hand of Blood” EP. Then “Scream Aim Fire” and “Fever”. On top of all that I have also seen the band perform live.

The music that BFMV creates is very reminiscent to the hard rock / heavy metal music created between 1981 and 1986, before Bon Jovi released Slippery When Wet and then the majority of bands started chasing the pop metal / pop rock “pot of gold”. It is the same music that I grew up on.

Metallica – CHECK
Iron Maiden – CHECK
AC/DC – CHECK
Slayer – CHECK
Megadeth – CHECK
Judas Priest – CHECK

Modern influences like Machine Head, Pantera and Metallica “Black” album period are also found in the songs. That is why I probably connected with the band.

As I have mentioned previously, all artists are a sum of their influences. No one creates art in a vacuum, waiting for that spark of super originality to come. Sometimes, a band takes all of these influences and creates something original, however in most cases, bands fall into an evolutionary category.

Bullet For My Valentine as a band have an unbelievable chemistry. The drumming is sensational. Just listen to how the drums build the intro in “Waking The Demon”. The guitar leads are very Randy Rhoads like, the riffs are melodic and the bass playing is solid.

“The Last Fight” is a classic example of the band nailing it. Listen to the rock version and then listen to the acoustic version, with the piano and violin. Dealing with addictions is difficult and this song captures it. The lead break in the rock version is classical heaven to start off with and then harmonised in the vein of Iron Maiden.

“Breaking Point” from the new album is a dead set classic opener. I don’t know why they went with “Riot” and “Temper, Temper” as the lead off tracks to promote the album. It should have been “Breaking Point” all the way.

Who can forget the punch and groove of “Your Betrayal”? Another perfect song to get the body moving into high gear.

Then you have the speed metal style of Slayer and Machine Head in “Scream, Aim, Fire” and “Waking The Demon”?

The Iron Maiden influence is heard in “Alone” while the Judas Priest influence is heard in “Eye Of The Storm”.

Add to that the slower songs like “Hearts Burst Into Fire” and you have a band that is varied and influenced by a lot of great styles.

This band still hasn’t written their “Blackening” or “Dr Feelgood” or “Back In Black” or “Black” album. They are working towards it. Great albums come from experience. Great songs come from having lived. The band (provided that they stay together) is on its way to achieving this.

They have hooked in Terry Date for the upcoming album, so it is a step in the right direction for album number 5. Matt Tuck even mentioned that the music is no holds barred metal, unlike the previous two releases.

I didn’t think I liked BFMV to start off with. Then I heard their cover of “Sanitarium” from a Kerrang tribute album to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of “Master of Puppets” from Metallica. That tribute album was also my first introduction to Trivium and their unbelievable cover of “Master Of Puppets”.

The modern paradigm of success is to create great music and reap the benefits later. “The Poison” came out in 2005 and by 2009, it had a GOLD certification in the U.S. market.

So I purchased “Scream, Aim, Fire” when it came out without hearing a song and I suddenly realised that I liked the band.

Just like Pantera had to emerge from the shadows of the inferior hard rock / power metal scene in the late Eighties, Bullet For My Valentine had to do the same. The metalcore movement has committed the same sin as hard rock and glam rock committed. Too many derivative bands are doing the rounds and there is no substance. With the release of “Scream, Aim, Fire”, BFMV showed that they are a metal band in the true sense. With “Fever” and “Temper, Temper”, they have showed that they can rock with the best of them.

The Bullet For My Valentine VEVO account shows that “Tears Don’t Fall” has been viewed 55,738,093 times.

“Your Betrayal” has been viewed 17,391,181 times.

“Waking The Demon” has been viewed 23,947,044 times.

“Hearts Burst Into Fire” has been viewed 13,500,316 times.

“The Last Fight” has been viewed 3,232,789 times.

“Temper Temper” has been viewed 2,254,641 times.

“Breaking Point” has just been released and it has been viewed 686,885 times.

“Hand Of Blood” has been viewed 12,069,227 times.

The above figures are from the official BFMV account. Those same songs have been circulated on other user accounts with high view counts as well.

Spotify has the following top 10 songs for BFMV. For some insane reason, the “Scream Aim Fire” album is not on Spotify.

“Tears Don’t Fall” is at 18,297,766 streams.

“All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)” is at 9,878,085 streams.

“Your Betrayal” is at 8,335,370 streams.

“The Last Fight” is at 5,337,727 streams.

“Fever” is at 3,696,842 streams.

“Bittersweet Memories” is at 2,673,920 streams.

“Temper, Temper” is at 1,187,795 streams.

“Tears Don’t Fall (Part 2)” is at 1,030,904 streams.

“Breaking Point” is at 884,423 streams.

“P.O.W.” is at 670,708 streams.

I am sure that if the songs from “Scream Aim Fire” could be streamed, the above list would be a touch different.

So what is this saying about the band.

They have a reach that a lot of other bands do not have in metal. Kirk Hammett said that there isn’t any new bands coming out on the scene because of the internet and social media. Tell that to BFMV and their fans. Michael Poulsen said that bands can’t live off record sales alone. He is right, they can’t, however a band can live off record sales, iTunes downloads, streaming fees, YouTube views, licensing, merchandise and live revenue. You just got to be prepared to put in the hard work.

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Music

Bullet For My Valentine – The Hi Fi – Sydney 27 February 2013

Basically if any member leaves Bullet For My Valentine I will no longer be interested.

Stories abound that the band had issues with each other during the tour of the Fever album and that they where close to breaking up.  Lets hope that they realise that they are a sum of their parts.  Does anyone remember Axewound?

The guitarist Michael Paget is a shredder in the classic Randy Rhoads sense, he was spot on all night, and a pleasure to watch.  The drummer Michael Thomas was a machine.  The whole night he was nailing his parts effortlessly.  Singer / Guitarist Matt Tuck was also in the pocket with his vocals and riffage.  

But the star of the show was the bass player Jason James.  He was the crowd instructor.  He got everyone jumping, he got the mosh pit going crazy, he got all the fists in the air going, plus he killed it in delivering high quality backing vocals and taking the lead on the screamo parts. 

If there was an issue with the show it was the small venue vs the high volumes clash and no Your Betrayel.  Ohh the betrayel…

Their latest album Temper Temper has moved 56,900 units in two weeks in the US and a quick look at The Pirate Bay shows at least 1500 seeders for this album with about 100 leechers.

This is the new world.  When the labels used to control the distribution, albums used to do a two year run via scheduled release windows.  These days with the internet, the album run is over within two to four weeks.

I still don’t know why bands spend three months or more in a studio recording a full album for it to disappear within a month.

Don’t get me wrong, good albums will stay the course like American Capitalist from Five Finger Death Punch has sold 500,000 plus units in the US and it was released in 2011.

Danish band Volbeat’s Beyond Hell/Above Heaven has just cracked the 200,00 mark in US sales, three years after it was released.  This one has been a slow riser, without all the mainstream marketing.  The fans have been spreading the word.  The fans are in control now.  The labels hate it, but if the bands are switched on, they can monetise this to the max.  Anyway i digress.  Back to the live show.

1000 plus people crammed into THE HI FI venue at Sydney’s Moore Park.  They where treated to a good show.  For $63 a ticket it was worth it.  I have no interest in Miss May I and The Cancer Bats.  They opened with Breaking Point and all i can say is they had the audience singing the song with them.  That is one thing that caught my attention, especially on the new album, the songs written are designed so that they work with the show.  All the songs worked and the energy levels where always up.  Highlights for me where Breaking Point, Pleasure and Pain, The Last Fight with it’s ballad like intro,  Scream Aim Fire, Waking the Demon and Alone.  This was a gig for the hardcore fans and BFMV didn’t disappoint.

 

 

 

 

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