Woah, I am seriously slacking on this review! It’s been almost two weeks now since I’ve seen Bullet For My Valentine for the sixth time. It’s the second time this year!
This is probably one of the only 100 percent hardcore shows I’ve been to this year, and honestly, I’m not mad about it. I like hardcore, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know that I like it for four hours straight. The show started off with Vended, who I also saw earlier this year at Sonic Temple. These guys have three Slipknot offspring in their lineup, and according to my sister, sound just like their fathers’ band. It’s no surprise that my sister has become a quick fan. For all of the posturing they did on stage, they were very, very appreciative of everyone there early to give them a listen. That gratitude will take them a long way, especially combined with their talent.
Next to the stage was Of Mice & Men. This is another band I’m sure I’ve seen a handful of times, but their music has never really appealed to me. Thanks to Octane, my sister’s almost permanent station, I was actually familiar with two of their songs, but she told me they sounded exactly like their recordings. In looking up facts about this band, evidently their bass player has taken up lead vocals for them since 2016, and I didn’t see a bass in his hands during the set, so they’ve obviously filled the slot with a touring member that was not present on stage. Similar to Vended, these guys were super appreciative of the support over the years and they were always checking in with the crowd. I saw a very drunk man fight the security guards, but that was about it.
Finally, Bullet took the stage to expected uproarious applause, myself included. While these guys certainly aren’t my favorite, I’ve grown familiar with a lot of their stuff over the years thanks to my sister. So with that, at least half the set I recognized and could sing along to. I don’t believe they skipped out on any major hits, and I was very happy to hear “All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me),” which lead singer, Matt Tuck acknowledge was the song that really kicked things off for them. There were even songs from the not too loved album, Gravity, and I still saw most of the crowd belting along with the band. They, too, were thankful to all the fans sticking with them throughout the years and promised that 2024 was going to be focused on making a killer new album.
Overall, it was a good show that maybe lasted a little too long for my taste. More specifically, it was a show that was too hardcore for too long. Just not for me, but there’s no denying it was a great show!