After celebrating 20 years of their sensational debut album ‘The Poison’ last year with an international arena tour, welsh metalcore giants Bullet For My Valentine are revisiting the EP that first got their name out there to the world. In a post on their official Instagram account, they revealed they had been in the studio recording new music, as well as announcing the reissue of 2005 extended play ‘Hand Of Blood’.
Their first EP in the UK, 2004’s ‘Bullet For My Valentine’ featured 5 tracks including title track ‘Hand Of Blood’ and ‘Cries In Vain’, which went on to be used on ‘The Poison’. However they then mixed the track order around and bolted on the hugely popular single ‘4 Words (To Choke Upon)’ when repackaging it as ‘Hand Of Blood’ to the US market.
‘Hand Of Blood’ was met with mixed reviews by journalists overseas in 2005, but Bullet For My Valentine (BFMV) took the metal industry by storm when ‘The Poison’ came out in October of that year. While they had been criticised in the past for copying American bands like Avenged Sevenfold or Atreyu, this album became an instant classic and a defining moment for the metalcore subgenre, a fusion of heavy metal and hardcore punk. What they lacked in originality, they made up for in songwriting and raw quality, with the album still being regarded as one of the best metal releases of all time.
All four singles from the album broke into the UK Official Top 40 Chart, an incredible feat for a heavy metal band, let alone on their first try. ‘All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)’ peaked at 29 on the main chart, second on the UK Rock list, and 13 on the US Mainstream Rock standings.
The impact of the three releases were immediate for the band. In 2005 they were bumped up in priority at Download Festival, before being moved to a prime main stage set for the 2006 edition. The year also saw them support Guns ‘N’ Roses and Metallica on tours, as well as being invited on the US’s prestigious Warped Tour.
For the 20th anniversary of their rise to prominence, they embarked on a 2025 world tour with scene-compatriots Trivium, who also released their breakthrough album ‘Ascendancy’ in 2005, which the two bands named the ‘Poisoned Ascendancy’ tour. Initially planned to travel to the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and South America, BFMV resigned from the tour upon completing the North American leg. In a statement frontman Matt Tuck, who is recognised as the band’s leader, announced that they were withdrawing to return to the studio, with further touring to be unveiled for 2026 and 2027. They made amends with fans in South America and Australia with solo headlining shows before the end of last year, but since finishing these dates there has been no news on their social media channels.
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The drought for information ended this morning, with the Instagram post starting with “HAND OF BLOOD”, going on to reveal the relaunch. The collection releases on CD and in various vinyl designs, using the artwork from their debut EP ‘Bullet For My Valentine’. Their announcement says “we realised that we never really got to take you back to where it all started. So with that in mind, we’re incredibly happy to be able to share our reissue of the Hand Of Blood EP, releasing March 13th.”
Also in the post, they comment on progress on their latest project, a follow up to their seventh album conveniently also named ‘Bullet For My Valentine’, which released in 2021. They simply state “We’ve started 2026 incredibly strong, working away in the studio. We can’t wait to share with you all that we’ve been working on.” After a 5 year wait, there’s no telling what this will lead to or when we’ll hear it. For now at least, the ‘Hand Of Blood’ reissue can be pre-ordered through this link or enjoyed again on streaming platforms.
