HOUSTON – The UK and the US come together with Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium as their representatives in the Poisoned Ascendency Tour.
“Are you ready to blow the roof off, Houston? Let’s go,” lead singer Matt Tuck yelled into the microphone to a crowd already set to broil before launching into the following song.
Houston welcomed the tour at the Bayou Music Center on Thursday. Rare fair weather was for nothing once fans stepped into the sauna that was the floor. It was a packed crowd, emphasized by the lack of walking room even at the back of the general admission area, especially after warming up with the leg up with the likes of August Burns Red and Sylosis.
However, Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine were the main attractions of the night, touring in support of 20th anniversary celebrations of their respective albums, Ascendency and The Poison.
As promised, the point of the tour was to play the album in full. But if we’re going to go nostalgia, we might as well do it all the way. The stage fell dark, illuminated only by the glowing eyes, nose and mouth of a pulsing red-outlined skill. The eyes lit up with footage from the band’s history, going as far back as when they were still lanky and fresh-faced, completely unaware of how far their band would take them, accompanied by voiceovers.
“For me, I remember the day very clearly when I knew I wanted to be in a rock band and be a musician.”
“Our whole career’s been insane… We played in 2004 as an unsigned act. You had to be good and just luck into shit.”
Soon, the video was drowned out by cheers and the band filed in, voices homogenizing into chants of ‘BULLET! BULLET! BULLET! BULLET’ before the band broke into the first song of the night, “Her Voice Resides.”
The response is immediate and unrelenting. Make no mistake, the band came out with energy, but Houston outdid them by screaming along to every word, giving barricade a run for its money, and not waiting past the first song to start aggressively crowd surfing. The band was all smiles, clearly pleased with where the bar was set.
“It is fucking good to be back, my friends,” lead singer Matt Tuck said as he looked into the blue-lit crowd. “We are here for a celebration, a birthday party, a trip in a fucking time machine, whatever you want to call it. This is a celebration of 20 years of The Poison.”
Released in 2005, The Poison was Bullet for my Valentine’s debut album, and a really solid one at that. Although reviews mere mixed, even those with the most upturned nose have come around to the fact that the album is much more than only something ‘no one outside of metalcore will enjoy. Thematically, The Poison is largely a breakup album. At times, the lyrics are truly venomous, bordering on immature, but honest and expected from a young lyricist writing from their heart and limited personal experience. Universal, timeless truth still manages to bleed through. Such is the case with “Tears Don’t Fall.”
Arguably their biggest hit, it’s usually saved for the very end of the set, so fans were extra thrilled. I’ll die on this hill when I say BFMV would not have gotten a quarter as far without compositions provided by Michael “Padge” Paget. He is the mind behind the most recognizable bits of Bullet. Paget doesn’t hold back in showing it as he shreds on the left side of the stage. He almost makes it look easy, as he smoothly interacts with the crowd while not missing a single note. Bassist Jamie Mathia is just as interactive, although admittedly has more opportunity to be. He makes it a point to make direct eye contact with the first few rows as he mouths along the lyrics.
Refreshingly, the band seems very happy to pay homage to the album that paved the way to where they are today, introducing “Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)“ with love for its Houston debut. However, it was not spoken about with nearly as much tenderness as “All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me),” the song behind the music video that really started gaining the band the mainstream traction they needed to launch them into the next level.
True to form, the band played throughout the whole album faithfully, although their growth as musicians was still clear through observation of technique. Although not the original man behind the composition, Jason Bowld keps the kit tight and prominent. It’s fortunate, as the mix had him LOUD, especially during quieter songs. If there had been a mistake. I promise the crowd would have picked up on it.
After “Cries in Vain,” the lighting switched to cooler tones for the first time in what felt like the majority of the show, with the band approaching the mic once more to simply say;
“This is our final song of the Poison, this is “The End””.
But it’s never over until the encore, is it. The band came out one last time for “The Knives” and fan favorite “Waking the Demon,” both heavily accompanied by rapidly-moving visuals.
Bullet For My Valentine is a sub genre-defining act. It’s a pleasure to see four boys from Wales grow into men, yet still express how hungry they are and how eager to get back into the studio. Hopefully, Houston’s energy was enough to entice them to come back next time they tour.
I am a multimedia journalist with a passion for guitar-based music – be that rock-n-roll, bachata, or anything in between. When not in a mosh pit, I can be found knitting, collecting CDs, thrifting, journaling, or attempting to incite chaos among feuding global powers. I hold a bachelors degree in Broadcast Journalism and a masters degree in Mass Communication from the University of Houston, making me twice the Coog you'll ever be 😉
