Michael “Moose” Thomas, the original drummer of Bullet For My Valentine, recently opened up about his departure from the band and his renewed enthusiasm for his new project, Kill The Lights. In an interview with Graham Finney of V13, Thomas highlighted the differences in creative freedom between the two bands.
He mentioned how Kill The Lights brings a sense of fun without the restrictions he felt in Bullet For My Valentine: “There’s no, ‘You can’t do this. You can’t do that.’ You’re expected to act this way.” Although he didn’t want to speak negatively about his time with Bullet, he hinted at feeling constrained creatively towards the end: “But I don’t know, man. It just ran its course, I think, and it was time to go — I think on both sides of the fence.”
Thomas hinted that he wouldn’t have been comfortable with the direction Bullet For My Valentine was heading: “I definitely know I wouldn’t be enjoying playing the music they’re writing now and I would have been vocal about that.” He felt they were following trends rather than staying true to their roots: “I just thought they were just following a trend which is popular now. And, to me, I think they’ve kind of lost their way a bit.”
This feeling of being stifled creatively seems to be a common thread for Thomas. He finds a refreshing sense of freedom and enjoyment with Kill The Lights, reminiscent of Bullet’s early days: “It’s kind of like it was in the early days of Bullet. It’s just, like, there’s no pressure, there’s nothing to prove.” Reflecting on Bullet’s massive success, he noted how it became more like a machine, which wasn’t as fulfilling creatively.
Thomas drummed for Bullet For My Valentine from 1998 to 2016 before being replaced by Jason Bowld in 2017.
