adolescent nu-metal crew Jeff Killed John into
the hard-riffing Bullet, the self-taught guitarist
steered the band from the pub circuit of
their hometown to the arena and festival-
conquering heights of a world-class metal
force. Over six albums, his iron will and sense
of determination has been unswerving.
Yet in person, Matt shows no sign of
arrogance or ego. The soft-spoken frontman
is a diffident and occasionally withdrawn
conversationalist, more given to emphasising
his dedication to his band and family than
making grandstanding statements. Despite
his image as the muscle-bound, undisputed
leader of one of the millennium’s most
recognisable metal bands, he rejects any
notion that he is an alpha male.
“I don’t like attention,” he insists. “I’ve
always been the leader of the gang, but in
regular life I’m not really that guy.”What was your childhood like?
“I guess it was the same as growing up
in any small town in the UK. There was a
small community of people, and I grew
up in a loving and happy household. My
parents were good parents and I knew
right from wrong. It was a really normal,
humble upbringing.”What turned you on to the dark side?
“Seeing Metallica’s Enter Sandman video
was huge. I grew up around a lot of
music because my dad was well into rock,
but when I was 13 we had satellite TV
installed with MTV – which at that point
was still a dedicated music channel – and
when that video came on I instantly fell in
love with the band and the genre. It was
a way more aggressive, gnarlier sound.
From that point on, I didn’t have any
dreams other than wanting to play guitar
and be a musician.”Was there anything around you to suggest
that rock stardom was attainable?
“No, absolutely not. I think the closest
thing we had to a Welsh rock star was
probably Tom Jones or Shirley Bassey!
We weren’t renowned for Welsh rock or
metal at that point. In the mid ‘90s I don’t
think it even existed. The Manic Street
Preachers had some success around that
time, but the music I was into was far less
accessible to the masses than what they
were writing. But I didn’t care. I fell in love
with metal and that’s what I wanted to do,
so I went off to try to make it happen.”What kind of kid were you at school? Were
you well behaved?
“I was quite academic and I always knuckled
down, but I think we were slightly let down by
everything and everyone. No-one was pushed
in a positive way and there didn’t seem to be
any nurturing of talent or ambition with the
students. The only thing I wanted to do was
music, so I picked that as one of my options
when I could. I had already taught myself
guitar and I was really focused on developing
my musical skills, but I was apparently the
only one who picked it in my whole year,
so they said I had to choose something
else. That made my blood boil. I had a
genuine passion and talent for something
and I was turned around and told, ‘You can’t
do it because we can’t accommodate you.’
I thought that was a really shitty attitude to
have at such an influential age.”Did that give you a chip on your shoulder?
“Nah, I’m not like that, but it did make me
more determined to go, ‘Well, I’ve done it
this far without them. I’ll go all the way and
I’ll show them what I can do. One day they’ll
regret this.’”Is it true you were also an accomplished
athlete at school?
“Well, if I set my mind on something I always
give it my best. I was playing rugby at county
level at that time. I also played basketball at
national level. I still like to keep fit and push
myself mentally and physically. It’s a good way
to keep a balance in my life.”Where do you think that sense of discipline
comes from?
“I don’t know. I think it was the fact that
where I grew up no-one gives you anything.You’ve got to make it happen for yourself and
I think if you’re going to do something, do it
properly. It’s something I’ve always had in me.
I’m very competitive and enjoy a challenge.”Have you always been a natural leader?
“I can’t really remember that ever being a
thing until the band started to gain a little
bit of traction. It just felt like I was never in
a position to be a leader, or had the need
to be. But when it started to look like things
were happening for us, I felt it was important
that someone took charge of the situation
and I slotted into that role somehow. I feel
like I’ve been there ever since, really, which
I don’t mind. I enjoy it, for the most part.”In 1998 you formed the band that would
eventually become Bullet under the name Jeff
Killed John, which was more of a nu-metal
outfit. How do you regard that period now?
“Well, when we were starting to be a serious
band it was still in the thick of the nu-metal
phenomenon, so being young and it being
so influential, that was what we thought we
should do if we were going to have a chanceof making it. Obviously, that didn’t happen,
so we put the brakes on and decided, ‘Okay,
let’s do what we always wanted to do and
not worry about the trends.’ So that’s what
we did– we embraced the thrashier, heavier
side of our musical influences. I do remember
that as soon as I started writing [in that style]
that it became clear it was a far more fitting
and natural place for us, and everyone was
enjoying it a lot more.”At that point there was a clutch of bands
coming up in Bridgend who were finding
success. Was it an exciting time?
“That was a big turning point for us where
we knew that it could happen, because there
were a few bands popping up that were
getting record deals, getting on the cover of
Kerrang! and doing all these things that we
were dreaming of doing ourselves someday.
It was pretty frustrating and a bit
disheartening at times, because we
knew that we were equally capable
of doing what they were doing, but
it was obviously not up to us whether
we would get that opportunity.”Were there any moments where you
felt it might not happen?
“Yeah, especially when I was
getting into my 20s and it was like,
‘Fuck! I’ve been in a band for six
years and there’s still no real reward
at all.’ It was scary. I was doing
everything from factory work to
temping, trying to get by day-to-
day. My family were supportive, but
even some of them were starting
to go, ‘So, is this it?’ Thankfully, by
the time I was 24 we were up and
running, but I would be in a very
different situation now if it hadn’t
happened for us. Looking back on
it all, it was a bit stupid to put all
my eggs in one basket, but I was
pretty stubborn.”How did it feel, then, when both
2005 debut album The Poison and
its 2008 follow-up Scream Aim
Fire had such an impact on album
charts worldwide?
“It was life-changing. To achieve
things like that was never really on the wish list.
Those two albums set the tone for when [2010
album] Fever came out, which hit number
three on the U.S. Billboard. It was just a crazy
time, going from being massively in debt and
working shitty jobs to being able to buy a
decent car or put the deposit down on your
first apartment. We were just doing what we
wanted to do and for all the right reasons, so it
felt good that we had done things our way, on
our terms and we were getting success.”It made you the biggest metal band to emerge
from Britain in years. Did you feel the need to
be bigger and louder than everyone else?
“No, I’ve just always been open about where
I think we could go with hard work and I think
we proved that a lot then, when we got to
an arena level. A lot of people don’t see the
blood, the sweat and the tears that go into
achieving that kind of dream, and it was never
given to us. We worked our arses off and tried
to be the best band we could. I think it was an
amazing accomplishment to get to that point,
especially considering who we were and
where we were from.”KERRANG! 51Matt takes some time out
on the naughty step to
think about what he’s doneGETTY