Location: Ljubljana / CUK Kino Šiška / Slovenia
Date: Monday, 01.04.2019
When the Bullet For My Valentine show in Slovenia was announced, plenty of people probably said to themselves: “Finally!” All we could do was hope that this time there’d be no cancellation and that the gig wouldn’t get pushed back by a couple of years again. The signs were good, tickets were running low, and in the end Bullet For My Valentine proved their popularity in Slovenia too and sold the show out. The Welsh melodic metalcore quartet stopped by Slovenia as part of their new European tour, promoting last year’s record Gravity.
Croatia’s Overpower got the support slot, and in half an hour they served up a hefty dose of grooving thrash metal. You could feel the inspiration from Pantera, Sepultura, Machine Head, Metallica and probably a few more. The band played to a small crowd, while the rest preferred to wait outside with a drink for the stars of the night.
At nine o’clock sharp, the hall started filling up more and more. By the time the band came on, it was packed to the last corner. The intro of Don’t Need You blared from the speakers, which is undoubtedly a strong enough track to open a show. Promoting the latest album Gravity was naturally front and center, so the band continued with Over It. Gravity got a mixed reception, so the crowd was clearly more eager for some older hits. They didn’t have to wait long: BFMV jumped back a few albums and hit us with Your Betrayal. The crowd was noticeably louder here. Everyone in the whole hall was singing along to the choruses. BFMV clearly didn’t sell out the big hall at Kino Šiška for nothing.
The band’s form is more than satisfying. The vocals of charismatic Matt Tuck aren’t fading, and the same goes for his playing. But as a guitarist, Micheal Paget is even more convincing, and he’s been with the band since the very beginning. His soloing stands out with a real sense of melody. The newer members deserve praise too. Bassist and vocalist Jamie Mathias, who has been earning his keep with the band since 2015, proved himself an excellent vocalist who helps Tuck out with melodic lines and a powerful screamed delivery, which makes the aggressive songs hit harder. Drummer Jason Bowld has been playing with the band since 2016. Bowld held down the rhythm through the whole show and proved himself even more with a solo spot where he showed off his skills.
After Your Betrayal, the band played 4 Words (To Choke Upon) from the debut, which again drew loud approval from the crowd. The intensity carried on with Worthless, The Last Fight and Letting You Go. The band said a brief goodbye so the drummer could take the spotlight with a drum solo. They came back with the evergreen Scream Aim Fire, one of their more aggressive tracks. Sure, Bullet For My Valentine are known for their melodic side, but on the faster stuff it’s obvious the band drew inspiration from thrash metal too. Suffocating Under the Words of Sorrow is more of a metalcore track, but longtime fans were undoubtedly happy it’s still in the set. It’s one of the songs the band shot a music video for, which was also filmed in the Postojna Cave.
Next came a return to the newer albums with Piece of Me and No Way Out. The band didn’t overdo the new material, since those songs haven’t caught on like the older ones. After an hour, the moment to say goodbye slowly arrived. The band of course decided to play another hit. No way could they skip the staple Tears Don’t Fall. It’s one of the songs that catapulted the band into the ranks of recognizable acts during the metalcore flood of the time. To wrap things up, there was Waking The Demon from the second album Scream Aim Fire. A fitting choice to close the show, but plenty of favorites were missing.
Bullet For My Valentine won us over with their performance, but we wanted a few more songs. Despite the sold-out show and the great crowd response, the band got the job done relatively quickly. Maybe they were also saving their energy for the rest of the tour, which had only just kicked off in Ljubljana.
All in all, Bullet For My Valentine won over the sold-out Kino Šiška with a tight, well-oiled show that lived up to expectations, with the exception that the whole thing was too short. The comeback is more than welcome, because their popularity clearly isn’t going anywhere.
author: Primož Novak
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist:
1. Don’t Need You
2. Over It
3. Your Betrayal
4. Words (To Choke Upon)
5. Worthless
6. The Last Fight
7. Letting You Go
8. Drum Solo
9. Scream Aim Fire
10. Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)
11. Piece of Me
12. No Way Out
13. Tears Don’t Fall
14. Waking the Demon
