Don’t ignore Matt Tuck when he tells you to “ignore everyone”

Matt Tuck warned emerging musicians against “listening to people’s criticism and praise,” arguing: “you can’t have one without the other.”

The Bullet For My Valentine guitarist-vocalist summed up his advice as “Just ignore everyone” – although perhaps he didn’t include himself, just this one time.

He told MoreCore: “Do what you want to do, and hopefully, 20 years later, you're still here. On your first couple of albums, it's hard not to kind of listen to stuff – people's opinions and criticisms and all that stuff. If you're a young band it’s hard not to kind of take it on board.

“But as you progress through the records, you begin to understand that as long as you do things the way you want to, it doesn't really matter what people think. You just continue on your journey – do what's in your heart.”

He suggested: “Write music that you know is gonna piss people off. Do music that you know people are gonna love. Just do it for the right reasons. Do it for yourself – that's the best thing.

“If you start listening to other people's criticisms and write things stylistically for those people to try and prove a point, then you're kind of pandering to their criticism. So just ignore everyone. Do what you want.”

Tuck also discussed the band’s upcoming single, No More Tears To Cry, saying: “I think when people hear it, if they’re Bullet fans, this is the one that’s really going to get them excited more than anything they’ve heard so far.

“It’s a very unique-sounding song… all the old school fans are gonna really, really like this.”

BFMV are currently touring the European festival circuit.

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.