Bullet for My Valentine are a four-piece metalcore band from Bridgend, Wales. Originally known as 12 Pints of my Girlfriend's Blood, the band formed in 1998 and covered songs by Metallica and Nirvana. The band saw that their name was too graphic for a mainstream audience, and renamed themselves Jeff Killed John. Financial difficulties marked a change in music direction and name for the band. Bullet for My Valentine was formed in 2002, and was offered a record deal by Roadrunner Records. That offer was turned down, and the band later secured a five album deal with Sony BMG.

Bullet for My Valentine's debut album The Poison was released on October 3, 2005 in the United Kingdom and February 14, 2006 in the United States. It was dedicated to long time friend Simon Roy Denning. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 128, and the Top Heatseekers chart at number 1, and has sold 375,000 copies in the U.S. as of February 6, 2008. The band made appearances at the Download Festival, Kerrang! XXV, and a United States tour with Rob Zombie, which the band were ultimately kicked off due to vocalist Matthew Tuck's comments on the band's message board. Bullet for My Valentine's second studio album Scream Aim Fire debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 53,000.