Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium: The Poisoned Ascendency Interview 2023

When Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium released their breakthrough albums The Poison and Ascendency in 2005, they were laying the foundation for the future of metal.

When Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium released their breakthrough albums The Poison and Ascendency 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?

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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?

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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