Trivium’s Matt Heafy has shed light on why Bullet For My Valentine abruptly pulled out of their co-headline tour.
The two bands were on the road together to celebrate the joint 20th anniversaries of their respective albums ‘The Poison’ and ‘Ascendancy’. As they were about to conclude the North American leg of their tour, before jetting off to Australia and South America, a number of shows were unexpectedly scrapped, with BFMV set to leave once the North American leg is done.
Details around the cancellations were unclear, although Trivium bassist Paolo Gregoletto soon said in a livestream that BFMV frontman Matt Tuck had pulled out of the tour early as he “didn’t want to do it”.
He also shared that the move was made as he is “the sole decision maker of the band and he has no respect for us or our crew”.
Now, BFMV have shared their own statement, saying that while they are “grateful” to the fans who wanted to see them live, the decision came as they wanted to focus their efforts on a new album instead.
“We’re incredibly grateful to have been given the chance to look back at a pair of life-changing albums for us & Trivium, who we have nothing but respect and admiration for,” they said. “With that being said, the four of us collectively feel that the time is right for us to divert our full attention towards the next chapter of Bullet For My Valentine.”
They added: “We can’t wait to get back in the studio later this summer and finish what we promise you is our best album to date. To go along with this, we are already starting to make plans for the 2026 & 2027 touring cycles, hitting every corner. We are super excited to drop new music for you all. We value our fans above all else and are forever grateful for your support. We’ll be back with all of you very soon.”
Trivium frontman Heafy also shared an update with fans, explaining that the decision was unexpected, but has not soured the relationship between the two bands.
“The tour has been amazing… You’ve seen in our faces, you’ve seen the photos, you’ve seen the videos,” he shared. “There was an initial plan and [that] plan has changed. You know us, we’ll happily play anywhere, any time, any place, [but] they’ve got other plans to do a record, so I respect that.
“I think we definitely need, all of us, to pull back on the negative stuff. Sometimes plans change and sometimes that causes headaches and disagreements. It’s like with anything in life, it’s like a relationship [or] with your family [or] with co-workers. Let’s pull back on all that stuff and let’s keep it classy. Keep it friendly.”
He continued, thanking the crews for Trivium, BFMV and all the supporting acts for their work on the tour, and added that he will “always protect” the Trivium team, and “think about their well-being and their income”.
Heafy then went on to reiterate that he has no hard feelings towards Tuck and co, saying: “This was the best co-headlining pair that I’ve ever seen in my life… It still can be a magical thing. That magic is not gone.
“Thank you so much to the Bullet band. I’ve been a fan of them since I was 18… Let’s not drag any [negativity] back up, let’s end this on a positive note. I wish them all the best in the world and I can’t wait to buy their new record when it comes out.”
Details about the new Bullet For My Valentine album remain vague, although it will mark the follow-up to the band’s self-titled seventh album, which arrived back in 2021.
As for Trivium, last summer Heafy confirmed last summer that the band have no plans to work on new music, and were apparently ready to take a hiatus after a huge run of live shows in 2023.
Ahead of the co-headline shows, NME spoke to both Heafy and Tuck about the collaboration, and the latter called the dates a “well-deserved victory lap”, as they both “deserved” the chance to celebrate their legacies.
“We never had the chance to really take in what was happening at the time. This tour almost didn’t happen because we were so focused on making a new album and touring that. That’s how we’re wired, that’s what we’ve always done,” he said.
“But after talking about it, we realised that if we didn’t take this opportunity, we’d always regret it. 20 years is a long time to be making an impact. A 20th anniversary is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but to celebrate that alongside Trivium just makes it more special.”
English (US) · 