BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE Frontman's Anxiety And Depression Issues Inspired Lyrics For 'Gravity' Album

June 13, 2018

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck has told WhatCulture in a new interview that the lyrics for the band's upcoming album, "Gravity", are "very personal" and "all about" him. "The last two years of my life have been very up and down emotionally," he explained. "I've been through a break-up and I have a family, and all that stuff has taken its toll. That led into a bit of a downer: I had issues with anxiety and then some depression issues. So I'm just telling people all about that."

He continued: "It's showing a very different side to me that I've never shown before. It's [a] very vulnerable, tender and up-and-down version of me. It wasn't something that I intended to do, but the more I was doing it, the better the songs started to become. The more tortured I've been, the better this album has become. Such a cliché! [Laughs] But it is my favorite BULLET record."

Asked how he ultimately overcame those feelings of anxiety and depression, Tuck said: "It was more just being mentally strong enough to deal with it, unfortunately. I'm not a very outgoing person and I like to bottle things up. I don't like to speak about my emotions to people, so I think having the band and music really, really helped me. Otherwise, it would still be inside. I used it as an outlet and, as the songs started to develop, I felt like I had a purpose again. I didn't even want to write songs; I couldn't be arsed. I just kind of dealt with it. I had the outlet of songwriting, and as soon as that started, I went to a therapist. Then the break-up thing started to calm down, so it took a lot of time and a lot of things coming together at the right time."

Tuck added that the "Gravity" title was based on the idea of "the weight of the world on your shoulders constantly dragging you down. And then, having the wings on the [album's front cover] is the moment where you can just fucking take off. Having them look super vibrant was purposeful: we didn't want it to be all doom and gloom."

"Gravity" will be released on June 29 through BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's new label home, Search And Destroy, the imprint launched in 2014 by Spinefarm and international artist management company Raw Power Management. The follow-up to 2015's "Venom" marks BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's full-length recording debut with new drummer Jason Bowld (PITCHSHIFTER, AXEWOUND),who has been touring with the group for the past two years, and bassist Jamie Mathias (formerly of REVOKER),who joined the band after the last disc was completed.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE recently completed an extensive American tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BREAKING BENJAMIN.

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