Live Music Review: Bullet For My Valentine & Trivium in Manchester
The most important metal tour of 2025 arrived in Manchester towards the end of January
By year’s end, it might even stand as the most significant. The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour isn’t just a masterstroke in naming—it marks a pivotal moment in metal history, bringing together two era-defining albums that shaped the genre’s trajectory over the last two decades.
On one side, there’s Trivium, the torchbearers of a new wave of American metal that spawned countless successors—many of whom still cite them as an enduring influence. On the other, Bullet For My Valentine, the band once heralded as Britain’s biggest metal export since Iron Maiden. It’s a dream pairing for anyone who lived through that golden era of mid-2000s metal.
What makes this tour all the more special is how remarkably well The Poison and Ascendancy hold up, even two decades later. Which album reigns supreme? That depends on who you ask. Nostalgia plays its part—this writer will admit to leaning towards Bullet’s side—but both records remain as vital as ever, their impact still reverberating through modern metal. Apparently, this co-headlining run has been in the works for years, but now feels like the perfect moment. Both bands have maintained their status as scene heavyweights, and despite a few inconsistencies along the way (one more so than the other, let’s be real), they still command arenas with ease. It’s a no-brainer: two legendary albums played in full, a rotating headliner slot each night—mutual respect for legacies that still loom large.
If further proof is needed, look no further than the night’s opening act. Orbit Culture may lean more towards Trivium’s sonic sphere, but their DNA is steeped in that mid-2000s ethos, and they embody it flawlessly. In any other setting, they wouldn’t feel like openers—their towering sound, their sheer presence—it’s all there.
All of this helps that the Co-Op Live’s acoustics handle their punishing grooves impressively, though it’s their own force of nature that steals the show. From the relentless chug of Descent to the seismic, machine-gun double kicks on Vultures of North, drummer Christopher Wallerstedt deserves a special mention. It’s a performance that hints at Orbit Culture’s inevitable rise to bigger stages—history repeating itself, much like Trivium and Bullet’s fabled ascent from Download Festival’s proving grounds all those years ago.
Speaking of Download, its shadow looms over Bullet For My Valentine’s set even before they hit the stage. A pre-show montage traces their rise, giving special attention to their debut appearance at the festival in 2004. It might not have the mythic status of Trivium’s breakout set a year later, but it was just as crucial in their rise to arena domination. Two decades on, Bullet remain a well-oiled machine, their stagecraft sharper than ever. Matt Tuck commands the crowd with seasoned confidence, striding down a ringed walkway like a frontman fully aware of his own legend. Meanwhile, Michael Paget’s solos soar with the kind of self-assured grandeur that only comes with years at the top. This is Bullet For My Valentine at their absolute best.
If The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour proves anything, it’s that some legacies don’t just endure—they evolve, they sharpen, and they continue to inspire new generations of metalheads. For fans, this tour isn’t just a trip down memory lane. It’s a reaffirmation of why these bands mattered then—and why they still do now.
Comments
Post a Comment