It looks as though Bullet for My Valentine will be approaching their next record at a more lengthy pace. The group, who had already taken some time off while singer Matt Tuck worked out his guitar chops with Axewound, ran into another complication as guitarist Michael “Padge” Paget just underwent back surgery.

Though little is known, the band did post a photo of the guitarist post-surgery and stated, “He’s doing great.” The group had been working on their forthcoming release with producer Don Gilmore, though it’s not known if Paget’s surgery was scheduled for a break in the action or if he was able to complete his work on the disc.

Tuck recently told South Africa’s Voice of Rock Radio (via Blabbermouth) that having Gilmore back for a second record was a big bonus. He explained, “For me, it’s a huge compliment that he really didn’t have much input, cause on the last record he did, and it kind of opened my eyes to write differently and to think about, not slowing things down, but … there’s no restraint on screaming and restraint on a million miles an hour. It’s not necessary, really. We’ve kind of done that. So on this record, [he] sat back and let me do it without having much input.”

Tuck feels the band “nailed it” and he’s looking forward to sharing the album with their fans. The disc is tentatively slated for an early 2013 release.

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