Michael Paget, guitarist for Welsh bashers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, spoke with Lithium Magazine when the Uproar Festival hi Toronto, Ontario on September 14th. An excerpt from the interview is available below:

Q: With the way metal is now with older bands making a big resurgence and on top that, new waves of bands coming from America, the UK and Canada, how do you guys manage to maintain your own place in such a big genre with so much competition?

Michael: "I think its songwriting, good musicianship, strong albums and hunger to go on and be better."

Q: Not just rest on your laurels.

Michael: "Definitely not, we’re definitely still hungry for more. We definitely want more than what we have now."

Q: How do you think having an emphasis on melody in the guitar playing and vocals really play to your band’s advantage?

Michael: "We’re definitely conscious about melodies in every part of the songs and I think that’s one thing we bring to the table that a lot of bands don’t. The infusion of melody on lead guitars is a trademark for Bullet and heavy metal in general. I’ve heard a few bands try, but they don’t quite get it, if you know what I mean. It seems that we kind of mix them both and we’re doing something right you know."

Q: What do you think is one of the biggest advantages of having most of your influences being classic old school heavy metal rather than your peers?

Michael: "A lot of people still love that old school metal vibe. It’s obvious that it’s still in our blood as well and that comes through in the music. We still love that sort of music as well."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

As previously reported, Lick Library, one of the world’s biggest suppliers of guitar tuition DVDs, has issued Jam With Bullet For My Valentine, a double DVD/CD set. This new release, featuring hours of guitar lessons, will help you learn how to achieve the signature guitar harmonics of lead guitarist Michael Paget and rhythm guitarist Matthew Tuck.

Bullet For My Valentine, described by Q magazine as "the best British metal band to emerge in years," were voted Best British Band and Best Live Band in 2010 in the Kerrang! Awards, and Best British Band 2010 by Metal Hammer. They were second to headline at the 2011 Download Festival. Their matchless sound is made distinctive by the powerful six string dexterity of Paget and the relentless thundering rhythms of Michael Moose. Padge’s lead style, which can be best described as aggressive, is full of vibrating riffs, his own unique style of bending, three string sweeps, tremolo picking and hammer pull-offs.

Jam With Bullet For My Valentine is a double DVD and CD with guitar tutorials and jam tracks by Andy James of seven favourite Bullet For My Valentine tracks, including:

'4 Words (To Choke Up On)'

'All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)'

'Scream, Aim, Fire'

'Hearts Burst Into Fire'

'Waking The Demon'

'Fever'

'One Last Fight'

Andy James is the incredible lead guitarist for UK metal band SACRED MOTHER TONGUE, whose album has just been release to widespread critical acclaim. His playing is well known for incorporating frighteningly fast alternate picking, sweeps, taps, aggressive vibrato and super precise riffs – who then, could be better placed to take you through, chord by chord, these tracks from Bullet For My Valentine. Andy takes you through each track step by step, explaining what he is doing as he goes along and you can see what each hand does because of the split screen shots. You can take your time and really learn these tracks thoroughly, practicing them as you go with the CD or backing tracks. The guitar tuition DVD is designed so you can stop and start it to go back over things until you understand and master the techniques involved.

For more information go to this location.