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Lead soft-point, boat-tailed, copper-jacketed bullets

A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives,^[1] but damage the intended target by impact and penetration. The word "bullet" is sometimes repeatedly used to refer to ammunition in general, or to a cartridge, which is a combination of the bullet, case/shell, powder, and primer.

History[link]

Lead sling bullets with a winged thunderbolt engraved on one side and the inscription "Take that" on the other side. 4th century BC. From Athens.

Matchlock musket balls, alleged to have been discovered at Naseby battlefield. From the collection of Night of the Museum and Art Gallery.

The history of bullets far predates the history of firearms. Originally, bullets were metallic or stone balls used in a sling as a weapon and for hunting. Eventually as firearms were developed, these same items were placed in front of an explosive charge of gun powder at the end of a closed tube. As firearms became more technologically advanced, from 1500 to 1800, bullets changed very little. They remained simple round (spherical) lead balls, called rounds, differing only in their diameter.

The development of the hand culverin and matchlock arquebus brought about the use of cast lead balls as projectiles. "Bullet" is derived from the French word boulette which roughly means little ball. The original musket bullet was a spherical lead ball smaller than the bore, wrapped in a loosely-fitted paper patch which served to hold the bullet in the barrel firmly upon the powder. (Bullets that were not firmly upon the powder upon firing risked causing the barrel to explode, with the condition known as a short start.) The loading of muskets was, therefore, easy with the old smooth-bore Brown Bess and similar military muskets. The original muzzle-loading rifle, on the other hand, with a more closely fitting ball to take the rifling grooves, was more difficult to load, particularly when the bore of the barrel was fouled from previous firings. For this reason, early rifles were not generally used for military purposes.

The first half of the nineteenth century saw a distinct change in the shape and function of the bullet. In 1826, Delvigne, a French infantry officer, invented a breech with abrupt shoulders on which a spherical bullet was rammed down until it caught the rifling grooves. Delvigne's method, however, deformed the bullet and was inaccurate.

Square bullets, invented by James Puckle and Kyle Tunis, were briefly used in one version of the Puckle gun. The use of these was soon discontinued due to irregular and unpredictable flight patterns.

Pointed bullets[link]

Among the first pointed or "conical" bullets were those designed by Captain John Norton of the British Army in 1823. Norton's bullet had a hollow base which upon firing expanded under pressure to engage with a barrel's rifling. The British Board of Ordnance rejected it because spherical bullets had been in use for the previous 300 years.^{[citation needed]}

Renowned English gunsmith William Greener invented the Greener bullet in 1836. It was very similar to Norton's bullet except that the hollow base of the bullet was fitted with a wooden plug which more reliably forced the base of the bullet to expand and catch the rifling. Tests proved that Greener's bullet was extremely effective but it too was rejected for military use because, being two parts, it was judged as being too complicated to produce.

Minié ball ammunition

The soft lead Minié ball was first introduced in 1847 by Claude-Étienne Minié, a captain in the French Army. It was nearly identical to the Greener bullet. As designed by Minié, the bullet was conical in shape with a hollow cavity in the rear, which was fitted with a little iron cap instead of a wooden plug. When fired, the iron cap would force itself into the hollow cavity at the rear of the bullet, thereby expanding the sides of the bullet to grip and engage the rifling. In 1855, the British adopted the Minié ball for their Enfield rifles.

The small ball first saw widespread use in the American Civil War. Roughly 90% of the battlefield casualties in this war were caused by Minié balls fired from rifles.

Between 1854 and 1857, Sir Joseph Whitworth conducted a long series of rifle experiments, and proved, among other points, the advantages of a smaller bore and, in particular, of an elongated bullet. The Whitworth bullet was made to fit the grooves of the rifle mechanically. The Whitworth rifle was never adopted by the government, although it was used extensively for match purposes and target practice between 1857 and 1866, when it was gradually superseded by Metford's.

About 1862 and later, W. E. Metford carried out an exhaustive series of experiments on bullets and rifling, and invented the important system of light rifling with increasing spiral, and a hardened bullet. The combined result was that in December 1888 the Lee-Metford small-bore (0.303", 7.70 mm) rifle, Mark I, (photo of cartridge on right) was finally adopted for the British army. The Lee-Metford was the predecessor of the Lee-Enfield.

The modern bullet[link]

.270 ammunition. Left to right:
100-grain (6.5 g) – hollow point
115-grain (7.5 g) – FMJBT
130-grain (8.4 g) – soft point
150-grain (9.7 g) – round nose

.303 inch (7.7 mm) centrefire, FMJ rimmed ammunition

The next important change in the history of the rifle bullet occurred in 1882, when Major Eduard Rubin, director of the Swiss Army Laboratory at Thun, invented the copper jacketed bullet — an elongated bullet with a lead core in a copper jacket. It was also small bore (7.5mm and 8mm) and it is the precursor of the 8mm "Lebel bullet" which was adopted for the smokeless powder ammunition of the Mle 1886 Lebel rifle.

The surface of lead bullets fired at high velocity may melt due to hot gases behind and friction with the bore. Because copper has a higher melting point, and greater specific heat capacity and hardness, copper jacketed bullets allow greater muzzle velocities.

European advances in aerodynamics led to the pointed spitzer bullet. By the beginning of the twentieth century, most world armies had begun to transition to spitzer bullets. These bullets flew for greater distances more accurately and carried more energy with them. Spitzer bullets combined with machine guns greatly increased the lethality of the battlefield.

The latest advancement in bullet shape was the boat tail, a streamlined base for spitzer bullets. The vacuum created as air moves at high speed passes over the end of a bullet slows the projectile. The streamlined boat tail design reduces this form drag by allowing the air to flow along the surface of the tapering end. The resulting aerodynamic advantage is currently seen as the optimum shape for rifle technology. The first combination spitzer and boat-tail bullet, named Balle "D" from its inventor (a lieutenant-colonel Desaleux), was introduced as standard military ammunition in 1901, for the French Lebel Model 1886 rifle .

Design[link]

Bullet designs have to solve two primary problems. They must first form a seal with the gun's bore. If a strong seal is not achieved, gas from the propellant charge leaks past the bullet, reducing efficiency. The bullet must also engage the rifling without damaging the gun's bore. Bullets must have a surface which will form this seal without causing excessive friction. These interactions between bullet and bore are termed internal ballistics. Bullets must be produced to a high standard, as surface imperfections can affect firing accuracy.

The physics affecting the bullet once it leaves the barrel, is termed external ballistics. The primary factors affecting the aerodynamics of a bullet in flight are the bullet's shape and the rotation imparted by the rifling of the gun barrel. Rotational forces stabilize the bullet gyroscopically as well as aerodynamically. Any asymmetry in the bullet is largely canceled as it spins. With smooth-bore firearms, a spherical shape was optimum because no matter how it was oriented, it presented a uniform front. These unstable bullets tumbled erratically and provided only moderate accuracy, however the aerodynamic shape changed little for centuries. Generally, bullet shapes are a compromise between aerodynamics, interior ballistic necessities, and terminal ballistics requirements. Another method of stabilization is for the center of mass of the bullet to be as far forward as is practical, which is how the Minié ball and the shuttlecock are designed. This allows the bullet to fly front-forward by means of aerodynamics.

See Terminal ballistics and/or Stopping power for an overview of how bullet design affects what happens when a bullet impacts with an object. The outcome of the impact is determined by the composition and density of the target material, the angle of incidence, and the velocity and physical characteristics of the bullet itself. Bullets are generally designed to penetrate, deform, and/or break apart. For a given material and bullet, the strike velocity is the primary factor determining which outcome is achieved.

Bullet shapes are many and varied, and an array of them can be found in any reloading manual that sells bullet moulds. Mould manufacturers such as RCBS,^[2] Paul Jones Moulds, and David Mos offer many different calibers and designs. With a mould, bullets can be made at home for reloading one's own ammunition, where local laws allow. Hand-casting, however, is only time- and cost-effective for solid lead bullets. Cast and jacketed bullets are also commercially available from numerous manufacturers for hand loading and are much more convenient than casting bullets from bulk lead.

Propulsion[link]

Propulsion of the ball can happen via several methods:

• by using only gunpowder (i.e. as in flintlock weapons)
• by using a percussion cap and gunpowder (i.e. as in percussion weapons)
• by using a cartridge (which contains primer, gunpowder and ball in a single package)

Materials[link]

Expanding bullet loaded in a 6.5x55mm before and after expanding. The long base and small expanded diameter show that this is a bullet designed for deep penetration on large game. The bullet in the photo traveled more than halfway through a moose before coming to rest, performing as designed.

Bullets for black powder, or muzzle loading firearms, were classically molded from pure lead. This worked well for low speed bullets, fired at velocities of less than 450 m/s (1475 ft/s). For slightly higher speed bullets fired in modern firearms, a harder alloy of lead and tin or typesetter's lead (used to mold Linotype) works very well. For even higher speed bullet use, jacketed coated lead bullets are used. The common element in all of these, lead, is widely used because it is very dense, thereby providing a high amount of mass—and thus, kinetic energy—for a given volume. Lead is also cheap, easy to obtain, easy to work, and melts at a low temperature, which results in comparatively easy fabrication of bullets.

• Lead: Simple cast, extruded, swaged, or otherwise fabricated lead slugs are the simplest form of bullets. At speeds of greater than 300 m/s (1000 ft/s) (common in most handguns), lead is deposited in rifled bores at an ever-increasing rate. Alloying the lead with a small percentage of tin and/or antimony serves to reduce this effect, but grows less effective as velocities are increased. A cup made of harder metal, such as copper, placed at the base of the bullet and called a gas check, is often used to decrease lead deposits by protecting the rear of the bullet against melting when fired at higher pressures, but this too does not solve the problem at higher velocities.
• Jacketed lead: Bullets intended for even higher-velocity applications generally have a lead core that is jacketed or plated with gilding metal, cupronickel, copper alloys, or steel; a thin layer of harder metal protects the softer lead core when the bullet is passing through the barrel and during flight, which allows delivering the bullet intact to the target. There, the heavy lead core delivers its kinetic energy to the target. Full metal jacket or ball bullets (cartridges with ball bullets are called ball ammunition) are completely encased in the harder metal jacket, except for the base. Some bullet jackets do not extend to the front of the bullet, to aid expansion and increase lethality; these are called soft point or hollow point bullets. Steel bullets are often plated with copper or other metals for corrosion resistance during long periods of storage. Synthetic jacket materials such as nylon and Teflon have been used, with limited success.
• Blanks: Wax, paper, plastic, and other materials are used to simulate live gunfire and are intended only to hold the powder in a blank cartridge and to produce noise. The "bullet" may be captured in a purpose-designed device or it may be allowed to expend what little energy it has in the air. Some blank cartridges are crimped or closed at the end and do not contain any bullet.
• Practice: Made from lightweight materials like rubber, Wax, wood, plastic, or lightweight metal, practice bullets are intended for short-range target work, only. Because of their weight and low velocity, they have limited range.
• Less lethal, or Less than Lethal: Rubber bullets, plastic bullets, and beanbags are designed to be non-lethal, for example for use in riot control. They are generally low velocity and are fired from shotguns, grenade launchers, paint ball guns, or specially-designed firearms and air gun devices.
• Incendiary: These bullets are made with an explosive or flammable mixture in the tip that is designed to ignite on contact with a target. The intent is to ignite fuel or munitions in the target area, thereby adding to the destructive power of the bullet itself.

Lead alloy bullets as cast (left), with gas check (center) and lubricated (right).

• Exploding: Similar to the incendiary bullet, this type of projectile is designed to explode upon hitting a hard surface, preferably the bone of the intended target. Not to be mistaken for cannon shells or grenades with fuse devices, these bullets have only a cavity filled with a small amount of low explosive depending on the velocity and deformation upon impact to detonate.
• Tracer: These have a hollow back, filled with a flare material. Usually this is a mixture of magnesium metal, a perchlorate, and strontium salts to yield a bright red color, although other materials providing other colors have also sometimes been used. Tracer material burns out after a certain amount of time. Such ammunition is useful to the shooter as a means of learning how to point shoot moving targets with rifles. This type of round is also used by all branches of the United States military in combat environments as a signaling device to friendly forces. Normally it is loaded at a four to one ratio with ball ammunition and is intended to show where you are firing so friendly forces can engage the target as well. The flight characteristics of tracer rounds differ from normal bullets due to their lighter weight.
• Armor piercing: Jacketed designs where the core material is a very hard, high-density metal such as tungsten, tungsten carbide, depleted uranium, or steel. A pointed tip is often used, but a flat tip on the penetrator portion is generally more effective.^[3]
• Non toxic shot: Steel, bismuth, tungsten, and other exotic bullet alloys prevent release of toxic lead into the environment. Regulations in several countries mandate the use of non-toxic projectiles especially when hunting waterfowl. It has been found that birds swallow small lead shot for their gizzards to grind food (as they would swallow pebbles of similar size), and the effects of lead poisoning by constant grinding of lead pellets against food means lead poisoning effects are magnified. Such concerns apply primarily to shotguns, firing pellets (shot) and not bullets, but reduction of hazardous substances (RoHS) legislation has also been applied to bullets on occasion to reduce the impact of lead on the environment at shooting ranges. United States Environmental Protection Agency announced that the agency does not have the legal authority to regulate this type of product (lead bullets) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), nor is the agency seeking such authority. NRA-ILA :: EPA Denies Ammo Ban Petition
• Blended-metal: Bullets made using cores from powdered metals other than lead with binder or sometimes sintered.
• Frangible: Designed to disintegrate into tiny particles upon impact to minimize their penetration for reasons of range safety, to limit environmental impact, or to limit the shoot-through danger behind the intended target. An example is the Glaser Safety Slug.
• Solid or Monolithic Solid: mono-metal bullets intended for deep penetration in big game animals and slender shaped very-low-drag projectiles for long range shooting are produced out of metals like oxygen free copper and alloys like copper nickel, tellurium copper and brass like highly machinable UNS C36000 Free-Cutting Brass. Often these projectiles are turned on precision CNC lathes.

Treaties and prohibitions[link]

The St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868 prohibited the use of explosive projectiles weighing less than 400 grams.^[4]

The Hague Convention prohibits certain kinds of ammunition for use by uniformed military personnel against the uniformed military personnel of opposing forces. These include projectiles which explode within an individual, poisoned and expanding bullets.

Protocol III of the 1983 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, an annexe to the Geneva Conventions, prohibits the use of incendiary munitions against civilians.

Nothing in these treaties prohibits tracers or the use of prohibited bullets on military equipment.

These treaties apply even to .22 LR bullets used in pistols, rifles and machine guns. Hence, the High Standard HDM pistol, a .22 LR suppressed pistol, had special bullets developed for it during World War II that were full metal jacketed, in place of the soft-point and hollow-point bullets that are otherwise ubiquitous for .22 LR rounds.

Some jurisdictions are acting on environmental concerns and banning hunting with lead shotgun pellets. This creates issues for shooters because stainless steel pellets are considered to behave sub-optimally in flight compared to lead. The element bismuth is a safe alternative whose atomic mass is closer to lead than steel, and ammunition made from it is becoming ever more widely available.

Bullet abbreviations[link]

Figurative uses[link]

The word for the bullet, usually because of its speed, is sometimes used figuratively, e.g.:

• The Japanese Bullet Trains.
• The 350cc Royal Enfield motorcycle marketed in India is called Bullet
• The expression "bullet-headed" for a dolichocephalic shape of an animal's head.
• The term silver bullet, an extremely effective solution to a problem, comes from the modern addition to werewolf folklore that the monster is highly vulnerable to firearms using silver ammunition.
• The phrase "biting the bullet", meaning (usually mental) preparation for an unpleasant task or experience, refers to a patient biting on a lead bullet put between his back teeth to brace himself for a painful medical procedure (such as the removal of a bullet or amputation of a limb) before the advent of anesthesia. This was frequently done on or behind a battlefield, where bullets would be readily available.
• In horse racing, each track marks its fastest training session each day with a bullet in that horse's past performances.
• In motion pictures (including television, narrative film and motion pictures and gameplay within videogames), bullet time is a digitally enhanced shot in which, first, the film's speed is reduced to extreme slow motion or, sometimes, to a static frame, and then, second, the camera rotates around the scene at normal speed, providing the viewer with a glimpse of the action from many different angles. Bullet time allows the viewer to capture action s/he would not be able to see in detail at normal speeds. It also allows the viewer to see this action from many angles that would be otherwise hidden from view. Under normal filming conditions, the person shooting the scene would have to choose one angle from which to shoot the action. Camera rotations in bullet time may vary from a relatively small angle, such as 90°, to a full 360°. The bullet time technique is often used in videogames as a convention that allows the player special abilities, such as the ability to slow down time and gain the advantage from this. The term, "bullet time," was first used in reference to the film, The Matrix, that used this technique to create a slow motion shot of a series of fired bullets in which the camera circled around the bullets and their intended target.
• The expression "catching a bullet in his teeth" comes from reports of sleight-of-hand magician Benjamin Perry Covington, who was said to have caught three bullets in his teeth fired from three different guns fired by volunteers in a New York magic act in the early 1920s.
• The expression "shooting blanks" is used idiomatically to refer to male sterility. A blank round contains no projectile (and thus very little lethality), much like the semen of an infertile man contains no viable sperm.
• In no limit holdem poker, "bullets" is one of the names given to the starting hand of AA; other names include "American Airlines" and "Pocket Rockets".

See also[link]

References[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: bullets

• "Bullets by the Billion", 1946 - Story about the manufacture of small caliber ammunition during World War II
• Arizona Gun List - ammunition types
• Bullet acronyms and abbreviations with illustrations
• Bullets for Beginners
• Dangerous Game Bullets.
• European Ammunition Box Translations
• Remington Core-Lokt, Bronze Point & Power-Lokt Centerfire Ammunition

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2009)

Toby Keith
Keith in April 2010
Background information
Birth name	Toby Keith Covel
Born	(1961-07-08) July 8, 1961 (age 50)
Origin	Clinton, Oklahoma, U.S.
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, actor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Mercury Records Nashville Polydor A&M DreamWorks Nashville Show Dog-Universal (formerly of Show Dog Nashville)
Associated acts	Carter's Chord, Scotty Emerick, Lindsey Haun, Mac McAnally, Bobby Pinson, Trailer Choir, Stephen Cochran, Willie Nelson, Sting, Jewel Kilcher, Krystal Keith[1]
Website	TobyKeith.com

Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961) best known as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin', plus a Greatest Hits package for various divisions of Mercury Records before leaving Mercury in 1998. These albums all earned gold or higher certification, and produced several chart singles, including his debut "Should've Been a Cowboy", which topped the country charts and was the most played country song of the 1990s. The song has received three million spins since then, according to Broadcast Music Incorporated.^[2]

Signed to Nashville DreamWorks in 1998, Keith released his breakthrough single "How Do You Like Me Now?!" that year. This song, the title track to his 1999 album of the same name, was the Number One country song of 2000, and one of several chart-toppers during his tenure on DreamWorks Nashville. His next three albums, Pull My Chain, Unleashed, and Shock'n Y'all, produced three more Number Ones each, and all of the albums were certified multi-platinum. A second Greatest Hits package followed in 2004, and after that, he released Honkytonk University.

When Dreamworks closed in 2005, Keith founded his own label, Show Dog Nashville, which became part of Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009. He has released five studio albums on this label: 2006's White Trash with Money, 2007's Big Dog Daddy, 2008's That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy, 2009's American Ride and 2010's Bullets in the Gun as well as the compilation 35 Biggest Hits. He has also signed several other acts to the label, including Trailer Choir, Carter's Chord, Flynnville Train, Trace Adkins, Mac McAnally and Mica Roberts. Keith also made his acting debut in 2005, starring in the film Broken Bridges and co-starred with comedian Rodney Carrington in the 2008 film Beer for My Horses.

Keith has released thirteen studio albums, two Christmas albums, and multiple compilation albums. He has also charted more than forty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including nineteen Number One hits and sixteen additional Top Ten hits. His longest-lasting Number One hits are "Beer for My Horses" (a 2003 duet with Willie Nelson) and "As Good as I Once Was" (2005), at six weeks each.

Early life[link]

Keith was born in Clinton, Oklahoma, the son of Carolyn Joan (née Ross) and Hubert K. Covel Jr.^[3][4] He has a sister, Tonni, and a brother, Tracy. The family lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for a few years when Keith was in grade school, but moved to Moore, Oklahoma (a suburb of Oklahoma City) when he was still young.^[4] Before the family moved to Moore, he visited his grandmother in Fort Smith during the summers. His grandmother owned Billie Garner's Supper Club in Fort Smith,^{[citation needed]} where Keith became interested in the musicians who came there to play.^[4] He did odd jobs around the supper club and started getting up on the bandstand to play with the band. He got his first guitar at the age of eight.^[4] After the family moved to Moore, Oklahoma, Keith attended Highland West Junior High and Moore High School, where he played defensive end on the football team.^{[citation needed]}

Keith graduated from Moore High School and worked as a derrick hand in the oil fields. He worked his way up to become an operation manager. At the age of 20, he and his friends Scott Webb, Keith Cory and Danny Smith, with a few others, formed the band Easy Money, which played at local bars as he continued to work in the oil industry. At times, he would have to leave in the middle of a concert if he was paged to work in the oil field.

In 1982, the oil industry in Oklahoma began a rapid decline and Keith soon found himself unemployed. He fell back on his football training and played defensive end with the semi-pro Oklahoma City Drillers while continuing to perform with his band. (The Drillers were an unofficial farm club of the United States Football League's Oklahoma Outlaws; Keith tried out for the Outlaws but did not make the team.) He then returned to focus once again on music. His family and friends were doubtful he would succeed, but in 1984, Easy Money began playing the honky tonk circuit in Oklahoma and Texas. The band cut a single titled "Blue Moon" which received some airplay on local radio stations in Oklahoma.

Career[link]

In the early 1990s, Keith went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he hung out and busked on Music Row and at a place called Houndogs. He distributed copies of a demo tape the band had made to the many record companies in the city. There was no interest by any of the record labels, and Keith returned home feeling depressed. He had promised himself and God to have a recording contract by the time he was 30 years old or give up on music as a career, and had already passed that age without any prospects for a contract.

Fortunately for Keith, a flight attendant and fan of his gave a copy of Keith's demo tape to Harold Shedd, a Mercury Records executive, while he was traveling on a flight she was working. Shedd enjoyed what he heard, went to see Keith perform live and then signed him to a recording contract with Mercury. His debut single, "Should've Been a Cowboy" (1993), went to number 1 on the Billboard country singles chart, and his self-titled debut album was certified platinum. Other hit singles included "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action" and "Wish I Didn't Know Now".

Keith was moved to Polydor Records and released his next album, Boomtown (1994), then was moved to A & M Records Nashville, as those two labels merged and released Blue Moon (1996). The albums went gold and platinum, respectively. In 1996, Keith was also featured on the Beach Boys' now out-of-print 1996 album Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 performing a cover of their 1963 hit "Be True to Your School" with the Beach Boys themselves providing the harmonies and backing vocals.

A & M decided to fold their country division and Keith moved back to Mercury Records (now called Mercury Nashville), and released his fourth album, Dream Walkin'' (1997). The album featured a duet with Sting, "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying", which had previously been a hit for Sting himself.

Toby Keith playing guitar

The first single off How Do You Like Me Now?! failed to make the Top 40 on the country charts. However, the follow-up single, which was the album's title track, went on to spend five weeks at number one, helping boost the album's sales to double platinum.

In 2002, he released the Unleashed album which included hit singles, "Who's Your Daddy?", "Beer for My Horses", and "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue".

On November 9, 2004, Keith released a remake of James Taylor and Carly Simon's "Mockingbird", a duet with his daughter, Krystal. They performed the song on the 2004 Country Music Awards. The song reached top 25 on the charts.

Keith was the subject of the January 2005 issue of Playboy's Playboy Interview. That year, Keith toured with rock guitarist Ted Nugent, whom Keith met in Iraq while they were both performing in USO-sponsored shows for the coalition troops.

On August 31, 2005, Keith parted ways with Universal Music Group — which had since bought DreamWorks — and launched his own record label, Show Dog Nashville. Its first release was Keith's album White Trash with Money, followed by the soundtrack to Broken Bridges. Big Dog Daddy, which featured his single "High Maintenance Woman", was released on June 12, 2007. The album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 charts, his third album to reach this feat, after Unleashed and Shock'n Y'all.

He recorded a duet with Jimmy Buffett, "Piece of Work", which was featured on Buffett's album License to Chill.

In 2008, Keith completed his Biggest and Baddest Tour. On May 6, 2008, he released his 35 Biggest Hits 2CD set.^[5] The set was certified Platinum in August 2008.

In July 2008, Keith released a single, "She Never Cried in Front of Me". An album, That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy, followed on October 28, 2008.

In 2009, Keith toured the U.S. with fellow country star Trace Adkins on a tour known as America's Toughest Tour. The concert series was kicked off on June 18, 2009 at PNC Bank Performing Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey. Keith did a free show earlier in the day at Asbury Park's famous Stone Pony.

Keith's thirteenth studio album, American Ride, was released on October 6, 2009.

In 2010, Keith performed on another USO tour, this time in South Korea.

A studio album, Bullets in the Gun, was released on October 5, 2010.^[6]

A new studio album, Clancy's Tavern was released on October 23, 2011. One of its songs, "Red Solo Cup", became a viral hit and gave Keith his biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #17.

In December 2011, Keith was named "Artist of the Decade" by the American Country Awards.^[7]

Television appearances[link]

Keith performed on a series of television advertisements for Telecom USA for that company's discount long distance telephone service 10-10-220. He also starred in Ford commercials, singing original songs such as "Ford Truck Man" and "Field Trip (Look Again)" while driving Ford trucks.

Keith made an appearance at the very first Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (then NWA-TNA) weekly pay-per-view on June 19, 2002, where his playing of "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" was interrupted by Jeff Jarrett. He would later enter the Gauntlet for the Gold main event, suplexing Jarrett and eliminating him from the match. A short video of the suplex is seen in the clip package when he goes onstage. He would appear the next week, on June 26, and help Scott Hall defeat Jarrett in singles action.

Keith received the "Colbert Bump" when he appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. He holds the distinction of being the only musical artist to have received a five star rating from Stephen Colbert on iTunes. Keith furthered this connection when he appeared in Colbert's 2008 Christmas Special as a hunter. Keith also made an appearance as a musical guest on the October 27, 2011 episode of the Colbert Report. Oct. 29, 2011 Toby Keith appeared on Fox Channel's "Huckabee" with former Gov. Mike Huckabee. He played "Bullets in the Gun" and he joined with Huckabee's house band to play a song at the end of the show.

Acting[link]

In the Autumn of 2005, he filmed Broken Bridges, written by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld, and directed by Steven Goldmann. This feature film from Paramount/CMT Films was released on September 8, 2006. In this contemporary story set in small-town Tennessee, Keith plays Bo Price, a washed-up country musician. The movie also stars Kelly Preston, Burt Reynolds, Tess Harper, and Lindsey Haun.

Keith wrote and starred in the 2008 movie Beer for My Horses, which is based on the 2003 hit song of the same name recorded by Keith and Willie Nelson.^[8]

Other business ventures[link]

In 2005, Keith opened Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as well as Tulsa, Oklahoma, and now also has restaurants in Thackerville, Oklahoma; Auburn Hills, Michigan; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Mesa, Arizona; St. Louis Park, Minnesota; Foxborough, Massachusetts;Cincinnati, Ohio and Denver, Colorado. Keith does not actually own the new restaurants; the new restaurant is the first in a franchise under Scottsdale, Arizona-based Capri Restaurant Group Enterprises LLC, which purchased the master license agreement to build more Toby Keith restaurants nationwide. Capri Restaurant Group is owned by Frank Capri, who opened the restaurant in Mesa in the shopping center known as Mesa Riverview and is planning on opening multiple locations across the country.^[9]

In 2009, Capri Restaurant Group announced that it will open another I Love this Bar & Grill location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's South Side Works shopping and entertainment district.^[10]

February 2010 marked the opening of the Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill in the Winstar World Casino, exit 1 on Interstate 35 in Oklahoma. Other locations opened in 2010 by the Capri Restaurant Group included those in Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills, Michigan and in the Shops at West End in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Expected to open in late 2011 is the location at The Shops at Oyster Point in Newport News, Virginia.^[11][12]

Keith also established a line of clothing, "TK Steelman", in early 2009.^[13]

Keith also supports Ally's House, a non-profit organization in Oklahoma designed to aid children with cancer. Of the charity, Keith said:

This is a special charity to me. I saw firsthand how a child's cancer diagnosis can devastate a family. Please join me in supporting these kids through Ally's House. We're gonna make it better for the kids.^[14]

In 2011, Keith also started showing his love for the flavors of Mexico by introducing a new drink named “Wild Shot". At first it was only available in Mexico, but now is sold and served in America. It is also a featured drink in his restaurant chain "I Love this Bar and Grill".

Political beliefs[link]

Since 2002, Keith has made numerous trips to the Middle East to bring entertainment and encouragement to US men and women serving on or near the front lines. “My father was a soldier. He taught his kids to respect veterans,” said Keith. “It’s that respect and the thank-you that we have a military that’s in place and ready to defend our nation; our freedom.”^[15]

In 2004, Keith called himself "a conservative Democrat who is sometimes embarrassed for his party".^[16] He endorsed the re-election of President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election and performed at a Dallas, Texas, rally on the night before the election. Keith also endorsed Democrat Dan Boren in his successful run in Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district and is good friends with former Democratic New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. In a January 2007 interview with Newsday, Keith was asked whether he supported the Iraq War. He responded with "Never did," and said he favors setting a time limit on the campaign. He also said, "I don't apologize for being patriotic... If there is something socially incorrect about being patriotic and supporting your troops, then they can kiss my ass on that, because I'm not going to budge on that at all. And that has nothing to do with politics. Politics is what's killing America."

Keith performs for the troops at the O'Callahan's Cantina at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, on May 31, 2006.

In April 2008, Keith said that Barack Obama "looks like a great speaker and a great leader. And I think you can learn on your feet in there, so I don't hold people responsible for not having a whole bunch of political background in the House and Senate."^[17] At the same time he remarked, "I think [John] McCain is a great option too." In August 2008, he called Obama "the best Democratic candidate we've had since Bill Clinton".^[18]

In October 2008, Keith told CMT that he had left the Democratic Party and has re-registered as an independent. "My party that I've been affiliated with all these years doesn't stand for anything that I stand for anymore," he says. "They've lost any sensibility that they had, and they've allowed all the kooks in. So I'm going independent." He also told CMT that he would likely vote for the Republican ticket, partially because of his admiration for Sarah Palin.^[19]

In March 2009, Keith received the Johnny "Mike" Spann Memorial Semper Fidelis Award during a New York ceremony held by the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. The trophy is named for the CIA operative (and former Marine Corps captain) who was the first U.S. casualty in the war in Afghanistan. "Spending time with our soldiers around the world is something I've always regarded as a privilege and honor," he said. "I'm certainly happy to accept this award, but I won't forget for a second who's really doing the heavy lifting to keep this country safe. And that's why I'll keep going back and spending time with those good folks every chance I get."^[20]

In April 2009, he voiced support for Obama on Afghanistan and other decisions: "He hired one of my best friends who I think should run for president someday...Gen. James Jones as a national security adviser. He's sending troops into Afghanistan, help is on the way there. And I'm seeing some really good middle range stuff. I'm giving our commander in chief a chance before I start grabbing. So far, I'm cool with it."^[21]

Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue[link]

On March 24, 2001, Keith’s father, H.K. Covel, was killed in a car accident. That event and the September 11 attacks in 2001 prompted Keith to write the song "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue", a song about his father’s patriotism and faith in the United States. At first, Keith refused to record the song and sang it only live at his concerts for military personnel. The reaction to the song, the lyrics of which express clear nationalistic and militaristic sentiments, was strong in many quarters, even to the point that the Commandant of the Marine Corps James L. Jones told Keith it was his "duty as an American citizen" to record the song.^[22] As the lead single from the album Unleashed (2002), "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue" peaked at number one over the Fourth of July weekend.

Keith visits with fans during brief breaks in filming the music video "American Soldier" in hangar 1600 at Edwards Air Force Base on November 17, 2003.

ABC invited Keith to sing "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue" on a 2002 Fourth of July concert it was producing, then rescinded the invitation after host Peter Jennings heard the song and vetoed it. Jennings said the song "probably wouldn’t set the right tone". "I find it interesting that he's not from the U.S.", Keith said of Jennings, who was Canadian. "I bet Dan Rather'd let me do it on his special."^[23][24]

Feud with the Dixie Chicks[link]

Keith had a public feud with the Dixie Chicks over the song "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue", in 2003 as well as over comments they made about President George W. Bush on stage during a concert in London. The lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, Natalie Maines, publicly stated that Keith's song was "ignorant, and it makes country music sound ignorant".^[25] Keith responded by belittling Maines' songwriting skills, and by displaying a backdrop at his concerts showing a doctored photo of Maines with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. On May 21, 2003, Maines wore a T-shirt with the letters "FUTK" on the front at the Academy of Country Music Awards.^[26] While a spokesperson for the Dixie Chicks said that the acronym stood for "Friends United in Truth and Kindness," many, including host Vince Gill, took it to be a shot at Keith ("Fuck You Toby Keith"). In an October 2004 appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, Maines finally confessed that it was indeed a shot at Keith, and that she "thought that nobody would get it".^[27]

In August 2003, Keith's representation publicly declared he was done feuding with Maines "because he's realized there are far more important things to concentrate on". Keith was referring specifically to the terminal illness of a former bandmate's daughter, Allison Faith Webb.^[28] However, he continues to refuse to say Maines' name, and claims that the doctored photo was intended to express his opinion that Maines' criticism was an attempt to squelch Keith's free speech.^[20]

In April 2008, a commercial spot to promote Al Gore's "We Campaign", involving both Keith and the Dixie Chicks, was proposed. However, the idea was eventually abandoned due to scheduling conflicts.^[29]

Personal life[link]

On March 24, 1984, Keith married Tricia Lucus. He is the father of three children—two daughters, Shelley Covel Rowland^[30](born 1980, adopted by Keith in 1984) and Krystal "Krystal Keith" LaDawn Covel Sandubrae (born 1985), and one son (Stelen Keith Covel, born 1997). He also has one granddaughter (born 2008; mother is Shelley) and one grandson (born 2010; mother is also Shelley). Daughter Krystal Keith has been known to sing with her father on stage and is an aspiring country singer, following in the footsteps of her dad.^[31] An avid University of Oklahoma sports fan, Keith is often seen at Oklahoma Sooners games and practices. He is also a fan of professional wrestling, being seen in the front row of numerous WWE shows that take place in Oklahoma, as well as performing "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)" live at the first ever TNA Wrestling show on June 19, 2002. He is also a Free Will Baptist^[32].

On March 24, 2001, Keith's father was killed in a car accident on Interstate 35. On December 25, 2007, the Covel family was awarded $2.8 million for the wrongful death of H.K. Covel. Elias and Pedro Rodriguez, operators of Rodriguez Transportes of Tulsa, and the Republic Western Insurance Co. were found liable as they failed to properly equip the charter bus with properly working air brakes.^[33]

Keith has an honorary degree from Villanova University, which he attended for one year.

Tours[link]

• Brooks & Dunn's Neon Circus & Wild West Show 2001
• Unleashed Tour 2002
  • with Jamie O'Neal and Emerson Drive
• Big Throwdown Tour 2004
• Shock'N Y'all Tour 2005
• White Trash With Money Tour 2006
• Hookin' Up & Hangin' Out Tour 2007
  • with Miranda Lambert
• Big Dog Daddy Tour 2007
• Biggest & Baddest Tour 2008-2009
  • with Montgomery Gentry and Trailer Choir
• America's Toughest Tour 2009
  • with Trace Adkins Also Julianne Hough(Few Dates)
• Toby Keith's American Ride Tour 2010
  • with Trace Adkins & James Otto
• Locked & Loaded Tour 2011
  • with Eric Church & JT Hodges
• Live in Overdrive Tour
  • with Brantley Gilbert

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Toby Keith (1993)
• Boomtown (1994)
• Blue Moon (1996)
• Dream Walkin' (1997)
• How Do You Like Me Now?! (1999)
• Pull My Chain (2001)
• Unleashed (2002)
• Shock'n Y'all (2003)
• Honkytonk University (2005)
• White Trash with Money (2006)
• Big Dog Daddy (2007)
• That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy (2008)
• American Ride (2009)
• Bullets in the Gun (2010)
• Clancy's Tavern (2011)

Compilation albums[link]

• Greatest Hits Volume One (1998)
• 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection (2003)
• Greatest Hits 2 (2004)
• 35 Biggest Hits (2008)

Christmas albums[link]

• Christmas to Christmas (1995)
• A Classic Christmas (2007)

Number one singles[link]

• "Should've Been a Cowboy"
• "Who's That Man"
• "Me Too"
• "How Do You Like Me Now?!"
• "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This"
• "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight"
• "I Wanna Talk About Me"
• "My List"
• "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)"
• "Who's Your Daddy?"
• "Beer for My Horses" (duet with Willie Nelson)
• "I Love This Bar"
• "American Soldier"
• "Whiskey Girl"
• "As Good as I Once Was"
• "Love Me If You Can"
• "She Never Cried in Front of Me"
• "God Love Her"
• "American Ride"
• "Made in America"

Notable awards[link]

American Music Awards

• 2002 Favorite Country Album - "Unleashed"
• 2003 Favorite Country Album - "Shock'n Y'all"
• 2003 Favorite Country Male Artist
• 2005 Favorite Country Male Artist

Academy of Country Music

• 2000 Album of the Year - "How Do You Like Me Now?!"
• 2000 Top Male Vocalist
• 2002 Entertainer of the Year
• 2003 Album of the Year - "Shock'n Y'all"
• 2003 Entertainer of the Year
• 2003 Top Male Vocalist
• 2003 Video of the Year with Willie Nelson - "Beer for My Horses"

Country Music Association

• 2001 Male Vocalist of the Year

Billboard

• Country Artist Of The Decade

American Country Awards

• Visionary Artist Award at the Inagural American Country Awards, given out on Monday, December 6, 2010.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Toby Keith

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Toby Keith

• Toby Keith official website

Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine performing at the 2010 Norway Rock Festival.
Background information
Origin	Bridgend, Wales, United Kingdom
Genres	Heavy metal, metalcore, thrash metal
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Columbia, Trustkill, Gun, Sony Music, Jive, RCA
Website	bulletformyvalentine.com
Members
Matthew Tuck Michael Paget Michael Thomas Jason James
Past members
Nick Crandle

Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matthew Tuck (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason James (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Michael Thomas (drums). They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana. Jeff Killed John recorded six songs which were not released; two of these tracks were reworked later in their career as Bullet for My Valentine. Financial difficulties dictated the name change, which was followed by a change in music direction. In 2002, the band secured a five-album deal with Sony BMG. The band has stated that their music is influenced by classic heavy metal acts such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Slayer. The band is part of the Cardiff music scene.

Bullet for My Valentine's debut album, The Poison, was released on 3 October 2005 in the United Kingdom and on 14 February 2006 in the United States to coincide with Valentine's Day hence their band name. The album entered the Billboard 200 in the US at number 128. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The band made appearances at the Download Festival and Kerrang! XXV, and undertook a US tour with Rob Zombie. Bullet for My Valentine's second studio album, Scream Aim Fire, was released on 29 January 2008 and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The band's third album, Fever, was released on 26 April 2010 and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. The band has sold over one million albums in the United States and nearly 2,500,000 albums worldwide and are the most-successful act in the Kerrang! Awards category of "Best British Band" with three wins.

History[link]

Jeff Killed John and record deal (1998—2005)[link]

	"Tears Don't Fall" noicon According to Scott Alisoglu of Blabbermouth.net, "Tears Don't Fall"'s "twin lead work, thrashy romps, galloping tempos, and a hot solo launch the track out of mediocrity."[1]
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Jeff Killed John was the forerunner band to Bullet for My Valentine and was formed in 1998 by Matthew Tuck, Michael "Padge" Paget, Nick Crandle, and Michael "Moose" Thomas while studying music at Bridgend College. Playing Nirvana and Metallica cover songs, the band released a two-track EP in 2002, You/Play with Me, which was produced by Greg Haver. The EP was financed through the Pynci scheme for new Welsh musicians and the release garnered radio airplay on BBC Radio 1's broadcast at Newport's T.J.'s.^[2] Jeff Killed John's music followed the nu metal trend set by bands such as Korn and Limp Bizkit.^[2] Bassist Crandle left the band on the eve of entering the recording sessions for You/Play with Me and was replaced by Jason James.^[2] The band then changed their name to Bullet for My Valentine and reworked their musical strategy; they decided to play thrash metal songs with "harmony guitars and big angelic choruses" according to frontman Tuck.^[3]

Roadrunner Records showed interest in Bullet for My Valentine and offered the band a deal. The offer was ultimately turned down, and the band signed a five-album record deal with Sony BMG and a UK licensing deal with Visible Noise. According to Tuck, they chose Sony because, "We thought that a lot more doors would be open to us."^[3] A self-titled EP was released on 15 November 2004 in the UK. Produced by Colin Richardson, it featured five tracks and marked the band's first official release.^[2] A second EP, Hand of Blood, was released on 22 August 2005 through Trustkill Records and was only available in the US; the release contained one extra track than the self-titled EP, "4 Words (To Choke Upon)." Daniel Lukes of Decibel Magazine reviewed the EP by stating, "The worst part is that the music itself isn’t all that bad, for the genre." He went on to comment that the band should be "embarrassed" about the release.^[4] Zeromag's Josh Joyce complimented the band on "how technical they can get without confusing the kids."^[5]

[edit] The Poison (2005—2007)

Bullet for My Valentine at 2007's Earthday Birthday (depicted from left to right: Paget, James, and Tuck).

Bullet for My Valentine's debut album, The Poison, was released on 3 October 2005 in the UK and on Valentine's Day, 2006 in the US. It entered the Billboard 200 at number 128,^[6] and attained number 11 on the Independent Albums chart.^[7] On 30 January 2009, the album was certified gold by the RIAA after 500,000 copies were sold in the US.^[8] Four singles were released from The Poison: "4 Words (To Choke Upon)", "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)", "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)", and "Tears Don't Fall".^[9] Bullet for My Valentine promoted the album by touring across the world. In 2005, with increased popularity, they played on the larger Download Festival Snickers stage;^[10] in 2006, the band were moved to near the top of the main stage bill.^[11] Other tours included opening for Metallica and Guns N' Roses in the summer of 2006,^[12] the Vans Warped Tour and Earthday Birthday. The band's headline performance at Kerrang XXV, a one-off gig at Brixton Academy in London on 28 January 2006, was filmed for their first DVD, The Poison: Live at Brixton.^[13][14] During June 2007, Tuck suffered from laryngitis, which let to an emergency tonsillectomy in July.^[15] Bullet for My Valentine were forced to cancel several shows, including supporting Metallica for three dates on their Sick of the Studio '07 tour on 29 June in Bilbao, 5 July in Vienna, and 8 July at the recently completed Wembley Stadium in London.^[16] Unable to speak, Tuck wrote that as soon as doctors cleared him he would be in the studio working on the band's next album.^[17]

[edit] Scream Aim Fire (2007—2008)

Bullet for My Valentine's second studio album, Scream Aim Fire, was recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios and was produced by Colin Richardson.^[18] Tuck commented at the time, "It's a lot more up tempo, a lot more aggressive".^[19] The album was released in the US on 29 January 2008.^[20] It sold 53,000 copies in its first week and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200.^[21] Three songs were released as singles: "Scream Aim Fire", "Hearts Burst into Fire", and "Waking the Demon".

In support of the new album, the band toured North America and Australia in the spring of 2008 for the Taste of Chaos tour alongside Atreyu, Blessthefall, and Avenged Sevenfold. Bullet for My Valentine cut short the Canada portion of the tour and flew back home to support the daughter of James who was in hospital.^[22] The band performed in North America again in the summer of 2008 as part of the No Fear Tour with Bleeding Through, Cancer Bats, and Black Tide.^[23] In late 2008, the band toured Europe, supported by Lacuna Coil, Bleeding Through, and Black Tide.^[24] In December 2008, Scream Aim Fire was re-released with four bonus tracks that were recorded during the album's studio sessions, but with re-recorded vocal-lines.^[25]

[edit] Fever (2009—2011)

Michael Paget (left) and Matthew Tuck (right) at 2006's Roskilde Festival held in Denmark.

Matt Tuck spoke to Daniel Marez of Metal Hammer in March 2009 about the band's progress on writing and recording their third album. Tuck stated that there were four or five songs that were finished and that "usually we write and record 14 tracks that I then have to write vocal lines for, but this time I’m trying to write the vocals as I write the music".^[25] Bullet for My Valentine confirmed in August 2009 that they were aiming for an early 2010 release for the new album, while Tuck stated that the upcoming record is "a lot more mature-sounding, it's a lot more classic. It'll stand the test of time [more] than both the previous things we've done".^[26] In a January 2010 interview with Rock Sound, Tuck stated explained details for the album; it would be titled Fever and that the 11-track record would have a sound closer to The Poison rather than Scream Aim Fire and would be absent of ballads.^[27]

During the summer of 2009, Bullet for My Valentine toured across the United States as part of the Mayhem Festival,^[28] alongside Killswitch Engage, Slayer, and Marilyn Manson on the main stage;^[29] they also appeared on the UK leg of the Sonisphere tour at Knebworth, headlining the second stage.^[30] The band will be headlining the second stage at the Download Festival 2010 on the Friday night.^[31] The band has also been confirmed for Nova Rock,^[32] Metaltown,^[33] Rock am Ring,^[34] Rock on the Range,^[35] The Bamboozle,^[36] Bilbao Live Festival,^[37] Fortarock^[38] and Graspop.^[39] In addition, they will be playing alongside the Big Four on the Greek leg of Sonisphere.^[40] Fever was released on 27 April 2010.^[41] A free download of a new track called "Begging For Mercy" was released on the band's website on 14 February 2010 as part of a Twitter promotion.^[42] The song "Your Betrayal" was chosen as the lead single for the album and was set to release on 9 March 2010, but, unexpectedly, was released earlier on 2 March 2010 as a digital single on iTunes Store. The second single is called "The Last Fight" and was released on 19 April. The album artwork for this studio album was released on the official website on 5 March 2010.^[41] Bullet for My Valentine announced the start their US tour in support of Fever. It began on 30 April with the bands Airbourne and Chiodos as support.^[43] On 12 March the band released the music videos for "The Last Fight" and "Your Betrayal".^[44] The band revealed the track listing on their website on 15 March, as well as other various sources that include an email to all of their subscribers on the mailing list.^[45] On 26 April the band played a secret show in London to celebrate the release of Fever. This was their only UK headline show until the end of the year.^[46]

Fourth studio album (2011—present)[link]

On 28 January 2011, Michael Paget stated that the group had already drawn proportions for the next studio album and will sound a lot like Fever. He followed-along with stating that the band plans to have the songs for it written within 2011 and will begin recording the album by the end of the year. A couple tracks left from the Fever sessions might be redone, re-arranged and re-recorded for the new record.^[47] The band played at Uproar Festival 2011, after which they began writing material for a fourth studio album. The band hopes to release the album sometime in 2012.^[48]

On 7 October, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, the band (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release their future material (including their next studio album) on the RCA Records brand.^[49][50] Also in October, frontman Matt Tuck announced that he will be working on a new side project which he has described as "metal as fuck", influenced by bands such as Pantera and Slipknot.^[51] On May 1, 2012, it was revealed that the project will be called AxeWound and will feature Liam Cormier, Mike Kingswood, Joe Copcutt and Jason Bowld.

In May 2012, it was announced that Bullet For My Valentine would be playing at the South African music festival Oppikoppi. They were slated to play in the country for the Coke Zero Fest of 2009, but pulled out at the last minute to record Fever.^[52]

Musical style and influences[link]

Bullet for My Valentine are primarily deemed as a contemporary metal band. With detailed statements, their music has been described by critics as heavy metal,^[53][54] metalcore^[41][55] and thrash metal.^[56][57] The band has cited being influenced by bands such as Metallica, Annihilator, Pantera, Machine Head, Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses,^[58] Testament, Stuck Mojo, Slayer, Judas Priest, and Megadeth.^[59] These bands inspire Bullet for My Valentine's "catchy vocals, aggressive riffs, and melodies," according to Thomas.^[60] The band describe two of their albums, The Poison and Fever, as having a "super dark" tone,^[61] Tuck went on to state that "…we're a hard rock band with metal influences, and I’ve said that from Day One.”^[27] Kirk Miller of Decibel Magazine praised the band for the effort in synchronised song structures.^[62] When asked of their views on their looks, members of the band have stated that they would not change their sound or image for a commercial approach; Tuck also commented that, "Without sounding harsh, we're more interested in what our music sounds like than what our fucking hair looks like."^[63]

Band members[link]

Current members

• Michael Paget – lead guitar, backing vocals (1998–present)
• Michael Thomas – drums (1998–present)
• Matthew Tuck – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1998–present)
• Jason James – bass guitar, backing vocals (2003–present)

Former members

• Nick Crandle – bass guitar (1998–2003)

Timeline[link]

id:bass value:brightgreen legend:Bass guitar
id:bass;vocals value:purple legend:Bass, backing vocals
id:drums value:yellow legend:Drums
id:rhythm;vocals value:red legend:Rhythm guitar, lead vocals
id:guitar;vocals value:brightblue legend:Lead guitar, backing vocals
id:lines value:black legend:Studio albums

at:10/03/2005 color:black layer:back
at:01/29/2008 color:black layer:back
at:04/26/2010 color:black layer:back

bar:Hetfield text:"'Matthew Tuck"
bar:Lars text:"Michael Paget"
bar:Mustaine text:"Jason James"
bar:Kirk text:"Michael Thomas"
bar:Ron text:"Nick Crandle"

width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Hetfield from:01/01/1998 till:end color:rhythm;vocals
bar:Lars from:01/01/1998 till:end color:guitar;vocals
bar:Ron from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2003 color:bass
bar:Mustaine from:01/01/2003 till:end color:bass;vocals
bar:Kirk from:01/01/1998 till:end color:drums

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• The Poison (2005)
• Scream Aim Fire (2008)
• Fever (2010)

Awards and achievements[link]

• Welsh Music Award
  • Best Newcomer (2004)^[64]
• Metal Hammer Golden God Award
  • Best British Band (2006, 2010)^[65][66]
• Kerrang! Awards
  • Best Single for "Tears Don't Fall" (2006)^[67]
  • Best British Newcomer (2005)^[68]
  • Best British Band (2008, 2009, 2010)^[69][70]
  • Headlined Kerrang!'s 25 year anniversary tour of the UK^[71]
  • Best Live Band (2010)^[72]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

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