When Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium released their breakthrough albums The Poison and Ascendancy in 2005, they were laying the foundation for the future of metal. Both bands were young, hungry and had cocksure, passionate frontmen – in Matt Tuck and Matt Heafy respectively – that ensured they became poster-boys for the next generation. In the 20 years since, they’ve ridden highs and endured lows. But with a massive co-headline UK tour in January, which will see them play some of the biggest venues of their lives, they’re still proudly waving the flag for metal. We brought The Two Matts together to take questions from some of their biggest fans.
What are your favourite songs to play (that aren’t from your own bands)? Diaryofadjentleman, Instagram
Tuck: “We haven’t done covers for a long time. I’d have to go back to when we were young boys, but for me it was always Metallica. There’s something about the simplicity of some of their riffs that makes them so fun to play, especially when you’re 14 years old and realise you can play some of it!”
Heafy: “On Twitch, people are always like, ‘Matt, can you play this song by this band?’ and it’s like... I don’t know any other songs by any other bands now. We’ve got 10 albums to learn, man! The only two I’ve got sort-of memorised are Master Of Puppets, where I might forget the odd word in a verse or whatever, and Slave New World by Sepultura. But I do love doing some acoustic songs from The Witcher – Burn Butcher Burn and Toss A Coin To Your Witcher are always great fun. I’ve been playing Peaches from The Super Mario Bros. Movie because it’s so ridiculous doing the dumb high notes Jack Black hits.”
What song was your most personal/ difficult to write?
Scarlet.Jen, Instagram
Heafy: “Ascendancy’s Departure was one of the toughest songs I’ve written. It deals with the intense depression that I’ve dealt with most of my life. As I’ve grown into adulthood, I’ve become more aware of what makes me tick and got some of these things figured out in terms of why my brain reacts in certain ways due to anxiety, OCD, ADHD... All those things that can couple up and lead to depression. Departure was me finding encouragement to tackle those things head-on, and thoughts of suicide and not wanting to exist on this planet anymore. It’s been intense going back to some of those songs, realising I’m still dealing with them, just in a different way.”
Tuck: “For me, it’s the entirety of [sixth album] Gravity. That’s the only moment in my life I’ve really struggled with mental health issues. That entire record was a battle – a battle to put out, a battle to please the fans, because I always knew it’d be divisive. But once I decided to let myself fully invest in that side of me and not give a fuck, it was a liberating experience and was a big part of my recovery.”
Who is the next next Metallica?
Amy Burns, email
Heafy: “Bullet and Trivium! Nah, it’s hard to say who the next Metallica is. But if you’re talking the bands who are the successors to what’s come before, and keeping the flag flying high on what metal is, and what modern metal can be, the bands encouraging kids to pick up guitars and create new styles, that is Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium. That’s why this tour is happening.”
Has Matt Tuck ever thought about using a seven-string guitar like Trivium have?
27d_e.corpses, Instagram
Tuck: “I’ve got one! I’ve been learning it. The first single for our next campaign, which may or may not be in January, will have the seven-string on.”
Heafy: “You’ve gotta try the nine- string now! That thing is silly. I don’t think it’d fit Trivium or Bullet but it’s so much fun to play.”
If someone set up an all-star project like Roadrunner United now, and said you could write a song for anyone, who would you pick?
Valerie Dobbs, email
Heafy: “Hans Zimmer. He’s my hero, compositionally and musically, so I’d love to write a song for him.”
Tuck: “I’d love to do a crossover Bullet/ Sleep Token track. I reckon that’d be really interesting. Bring a bit of the Bullet intensity into some of the magic that band have. If they do want to do something, by the way, I’m here.”
Heafy: “You’ve gotta dress up, though – masks and everything!”
Will you make a collab after the tour?
Citharae_, Instagram
Heafy: “We’ve got talks and plans. We figure when we actually start writing [for the next Trivium album], having Tuck on a track would be incredible. It was so much fun doing Tears Don’t Fall with those guys, so the sky’s the limit. The fact we’re looking at this as a world tour rather than just a continental one means there’s no real limit to what we can do too. We’ve got backstage rigs, time... it’s gonna be great.”
Tuck: “We hit the studio in October until Christmas, so we’re hoping to start doing stuff then, including a song from The Poison but in 2024 fashion. That’d be the perfect opportunity to get Matt and Corey [Beaulieu, Trivium guitarist] on a track. We’ve got a lot of writing to do, though, so we hope we can do it and get something together that people clearly want!”
What are your favourite foods from the other guy’s country? Manufactured_and_machined, Instagram
Heafy: “I haven’t been able to have proper, traditional Welsh food, but
I’d love to! Tuck, what are we saying?”
Tuck: “I don’t think Wales has a food. There’s cawl, a kind of stew. Lots of peasant food, really! But you can make it fucking gnarly with a bit of love and care – my mum makes an amazing lamb stew. What’s your mum’s thing?”
Heafy: “She makes all the best Japanese food. I grew up on all of that, but the Orlando food scene has blown up lately. We’re not like London where you’ll get 50 of one thing, but we’ll have one or two places that do things that are as good as anywhere else in the States.”
If you could punch anybody living or dead, who would it be?
Gav Donnet, email
Heafy: “I wouldn’t punch somebody, but I’d heel hook someone and break their MCL [medial collateral ligament] or ACL [anterior cruciate ligament]. That’s my speciality. I’m not sure who, though – there’s a lot of people!”
Tuck: “I’d go back to 2004 and punch myself in the face. Tell him to chill the fuck out and be cool.”
What advice would you give your younger selves?
Felipesainz8, Instagram
Heafy: “I wouldn’t tell myself anything. No tips or spoilers – he’s gotta go through all the same stuff.”
Tuck: “We’ve been on a parallel journey up to now, so I’m the same. Look where we are now – not only playing shows 20 years on from our breakthroughs, but some of the biggest we’ve ever played. It’s like a fucking fairy tale. This moment is an opportunity for people to reconnect with our bands.”
Heafy: “There is no better pairing of bands than Bullet and Trivium. When you hear we’re doing something together, it feels right!”
Would you rather have a nose for a dick or a dick for a nose?
666metal_beard666, Instagram
Heafy: “That’s the kind of thing one of my bandmates would ask!”
Tuck: “Is the other bit what it normally would be, or do they switch? I’d keep my nose as my nose and have a nose for the dick too. I don’t want a dick on my face!”
Heafy: “Whatever one means I get to keep my dick!”
What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Louise Broadhouse, email
Heafy: “Not naming names, but there was someone we supported in ’05 when we’d not toured Europe yet. The frontman of this American band was like, ‘You don’t wanna tour Europe. The food is inedible, you can’t do anything.’ He told us he just takes sleeping pills to sleep all day, does his show, then takes sleeping pills again. So we’re like, ‘Oh my God, Europe sounds terrible!’ Then we went over and realised it was the coolest place in the world. We went for our first proper Indian food experience, went to a pub and everybody loved us.”
Tuck: “When I was 18, I remember lots of people saying, ‘You should knock this band thing on the head and get a proper job.’ I’m fucking glad I didn’t!”
The Poisoned Ascendency tour 2025 tour dates
Jan 26: Cardiff Utilita Arena, UK
Jan 27: Cardiff Utilita Arena, UK
Jan 28: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Jan 30: Manchester Co-op Live, UK
Jan 31: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK
Feb 01: London The O2, UK
Feb 02: Düsseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Hall, Germany
Feb 04: Stuttgart Scheleyer-Hall, Germany
Feb 05: Zurich The Hall, Switzerland
Feb 07: Paris Le Zenith, France
Feb 09: Antwerp Lotto Arena, Belgium
Feb 10: Hannover Swiss Life Hall, Germany
Feb 11: Amsterdam AFAS Live, Netherlands
Feb 13: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Feb 14: Berlin Max-Schmeling-Halle, Germany
Feb 15: Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle, Germany
Feb 17: Milan Alcatraz, Italy
Feb 18: Munich Zenith, Germany
Feb 19: Vienna Stadthalle, Austria
Feb 21: Gliwice Arena, Poland
Feb 22: Prague Forum Karlin, Czechia
Feb 23: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Feb 26: Lisbon Campo Pequeno, Portugal
Feb 27: Madrid Vistalegre, Spain
Mar 30: Vancouver PNE Forum, Canada
Apr 01: Seattle Paramount Theatre, WA
Apr 03: San Francisco The Masonic, CA
Apr 04: Wheatland Hard Rock Live, CA
Apr 05: Reno Grand Sierra Resort Grand Theatre, NV
Apr 08: Denver Fillmore Auditorium, CO
Apr 10: Las Vegas The Pearl Concert Theater, NV
Apr 11: Inglewood YouTube Theater, CA
Apr 12: Phoenix Arizona Financial Theatre, AZ
Apr 15: Dallas Gilley’s South Side Ballroom, TX
Apr 16: San Antonio Boeing Center At Tech Port, TX
Apr 17: Houston Bayou Music Center, TX
Apr 19: Chesterfield The Factory, MO
Apr 20: Omaha Steelhouse Omaha, NE
Apr 22: Green Bay Epic Event Center, WI
Apr 23: Grand Rapids GLC Live at 20 Monroe, MI
Apr 26: Chicago Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, IL
Apr 27: Detroit The Fillmore Detroit, MI
Apr 29: Pittsburgh Stage AE Outdoors, PA
Apr 30: Philadelphia The Fillmore Philadelphia, PA
May 02: Boston MGM Music Hall at Fenway, MA
May 03: Laval Place Bell, Canada
May 04: Toronto Great Canadian Resort, Canada
May 06: Washington DC The Anthem
May 07: New York The Rooftop at Pier 17, NY
May 09: Bethlehem Wind Creek Event Center, PA
May 11: Nashville The Pinnacle, TN
May 13: Corbin The Corbin Arena, KY
May 14: Atlanta Coca-Cola Roxy, GA
May 17: Charlotte Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre, NC
May 18: Raleigh Red Hat Amphitheater, NC
