Bullet for My Valentine - Nottingham Review

While they are not a band that feature regularly on my iPod these days, Wales' Bullet for My Valentine were certainly an important band for me growing up. My first musical loves were classic rock and the more accessible end of progressive rock, but I soon grew an appreciation for heavier music - and bands like Bullet for My Valentine, who were big at the time, proved to be something of a gateway. Along with Trivium, who I am still a big fan of, Bullet for My Valentine proved that metal could be melodic as well as heavy; and The Poison and Scream Aim Fire were regularly played by me back in the day. It was not that long before I somewhat lost interest in the band however. They acted as a good gateway, but my tastes were still developing and I found that the band's angsty music something that I largely grew out of. I still kept up with the band, and occasionally listened to them, but on the whole I had moved onto other things. It never helped either that the band constantly seem to be going through something of an identity crisis. I get the impression that the band do not really know what they want their sound to be, and as such have experimented with a number of sounds over the years - some of which have worked and some of which have backfired. In the lead up to the release of their sixth album Gravity in 2018, it become clear that the band wanted to experiment with a synth-heavy nu-metal direction - and I checked out. Gravity was the first Bullet for My Valentine album released since I had started following them that I did not pick up on release - and my waning interest essentially evaporated. I have since picked up Gravity to find that it was not as bad as I had feared, but it is certainly not the band playing to their strengths. I remember the reviews of the album being pretty damning at the time however, and it seems that the band responded by returning to something more akin to their trademark sound. The band's seventh, self-titled album is due to be released later this week; and the singles that have been released over the past few months have certainly seen the band sounding more like their old selves - and even possibly with a greater thrash influence than before. Around the time that the upcoming album was announced, the band also laid out their plans for their first UK tour since the COVID-19 lockdowns. Given that I already had plans to be in the Midlands around the time of their Nottingham show, and in an effort to reacquaint myself with the band, I purchased a ticket for their Motorpoint Arena show. I had seen the band twice previously, in 2008 and 2013, so I was looking forward to seeing them again. A couple of line-up changes and three albums (including the impending one) have taken place since the 2013 show at the O2 Academy in Birmingham - so I headed to Nottingham from Wolverhampton not knowing what to expect.

Despite the back third of the venue being curtained off, there was still a good-sized crowd in the venue throughout the evening. There were certainly more in attendance than could have fit into Rock City across town, and it was the biggest gig of the year so far for me. Before Bullet for My Valentine's set, the growing crowd was treated to two support acts. The first was Scotland's Bleed From Within, a metal/deathcore band that have been going for quite a few years at this point. I remember seeing the band a number of years ago with Megadeth and not enjoying them then, and sadly my view did not change after seeing them again yesterday. Bleed From Within play the sort of modern metal that I have never been able to get into. There is so little light to go with the shade, with the vast majority of the band's songs being relentless, angsty, shout-fests with little in the way of memorable riffs, guitar leads, or vocal hooks. Despite my dislike of the band, however, large portions of the crowd seemed to be really getting into them. Down the front there were a lot of people having a good time, and a large circle pit opened during a good number of their songs. Bleed From Within are a popular band, but they just do nothing for me at all. I got off the metalcore bandwagon years ago (with the exception of a handful of old favourites) and deathcore has never done anything for me whatsoever. Bleed From Within somewhat epitomise everything that I dislike about those genres; but they are certainly good at what they do. What they do, however, is not for me - but funnily enough their closing number The End of All We Know was actually quite memorable with a strong chorus. It was the only moment of the set that stuck with me, but I get the feeling that the band only rarely deploy that kind of sound.

Up next were the five-piece progressive/tech metal act TesseracT; a band who I like and admire but I have never truly loved. I had seen the band twice live previously, but yesterday's set was probably the best of the three - with the big stage and lightshow really bringing the best out of the band's atmospheric and rhythmic music. TesseracT's sound is hard to describe, with their blend of big riffs, polyrhythms, and theatrical vocals being a mix that takes time to fully appreciate. I think it is fair to say that TesseracT's hypnotic music left large swathes of the crowd bemused, but there were pockets who were really enjoying what the band were up to. For me, the reason that TesseracT's music works so well is in part due to the vocal ability and the commanding stage presence of frontman Daniel Tompkins. The band's music is complex and impressive, but it is Tompkins that gives them their accessible edge; and he is the sort of frontman that you can never really take your eyes off. They are a band that keep audience interaction to a minimum, instead letting the music and visuals do the talking, so it is important that Tompkins is able to connect with the crowd without making use of lengthy speeches. He achieved that for me, especially considering that TesseracT were always going to be the evening's odd band out. Despite this, I would not be surprised if they did not turn a few heads. There is enough metal and aggression in the band's sound to appeal to lovers of metalcore, even if the riffing and song structures are unconventional. If any song turned heads, however, it would have been the soaring Of Mind - Nocturne - which has always been a favourite of mine thanks to its cinematic chorus and opening sledgehammer riff. It perfectly sums up TesseracT's sound in the most accessible way possible too, and it has always been a highlight of the TesseracT gigs that I have seen. The band did receive a modest reception when their set came to a close, and I hope that a few in attendance discovered the strange beauty of TesseracT. They will never be a favourite of mine, but they are an original and interesting band that deserves to be heard by a wider audience - and touring with Bullet for My Valentine might help them to reach new fans.

Half an hour after TesseracT's set came to an end, the lights went down and Bullet for My Valentine hit the stage full of venom - with the new number Parasite roaring out of the speakers. I had enjoyed the band when I saw them previously, but performance-wise yesterday's Nottingham show was probably the best. The current line-up seems to be musically superior to the classic line-up, and the band were tight throughout their 90 minutes on stage. The biggest upgrade for me is the addition of bassist Jamie Mathias. Not only is he a rock-solid bass player, but he is also a great singer. Matt Tuck (vocals/guitar) has always been a hit-and-miss live singer for me, but having Mathias there to handle a lot of the harsh vocals (as well as some clean leads too) seemed to free Tuck up nicely. The two constantly traded vocal lines throughout; and their pairing worked well together. The setlist was a mix of old and new, but it largely focused on the new. Four songs from the upcoming album were included (with two being debuted live), along with four from Gravity. The rest of the set was made up of older classics, but the band certainly did not stand on ceremony - with the focus really being on the now. This was good to see, and songs like Over It and Piece of Me came over well live - with the new cut Shatter in particular being an early highlight. The classics all received big cheers, however, with an early rendition of 4 Words (To Choke Upon) getting everyone singing - with Michael Paget (guitar/vocals) peeled off the song's shredding solo with ease. Scream Aim Fire was another big sing-a-long too, as was the anthemic You Want a Battle? (Here's a War), which was introduced with a snippet from Take it Out On Me to surprise the older fans. Despite the older songs getting the biggest receptions, there was still a lot of love shown to the newer songs. I often find that atmosphere can get a bit lost in arenas, which happened somewhat here, but there was still plenty of cheering for the synthy Under Again and the somewhat strange Rainbow Veins - which were both given their first live airings. Sandwiched between the two was the anthemic The Last Fight, which Tuck started off slowly to allow the crowd to help him out with the vocals - which was a nice moment. By this point the set was coming to an end, but there was still time for a few more strong moments. The new song Knives saw Bleed From Within's Scott Kennedy joining the band to help out vocally, before two real old-school favourites rounded the set out. Both Tears Don't Fall and Waking the Demon went down a storm, as is to be expected, and certainly allowed the set to end on a real high. The setlist was:

Parasite

Over It

Your Betrayal

Piece of Me

4 Words (To Choke Upon)

Worthless

Shatter

Scream Aim Fire

Take it Out On Me/You Want a Battle? (Here's a War)

Under Again

The Last Fight

Rainbow Veins

Don't Need You

Knives [w/ Scott Kennedy]

Tears Don't Fall

Waking the Demon

Despite some rustiness due to the lack of recent shows, which meant that the guitar changeovers etc. were not all that slick and the crowd was often left in a dark for longer than would usually be expected, Bullet for My Valentine put on a strong showing in Nottingham. It was easily the best performance that I have seen them put on, and the current line-up really seems to bring the best out of everyone involved. I hope that the rest of the tour is successful for the band, and I am looking forward to giving their upcoming album a listen when it is released later this week.