Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium Bring The ‘Poisoned Ascendancy Tour’ To Minnesota

Bullet For My Valentine & Trivium take fans back to 2005 with the ‘Poisoned Ascendancy Tour’ in celebration of each bands landmark albums. August Burn Red provided support.

 

 

 

The tour dubbed as ‘The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour’ made a stop at Mystic Lake Casino’s Showroom in Prior Lake, Minnesota. It featured the bands Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium sharing the headlining status in what was a celebration of both bands groundbreaking albums and playing them all the way through. For Bullet for My Valentine they played ‘The Poison’ in its entirety  and Trivium ripped through ‘Ascendancy.’ Both albums were released in 2005, just months from each other,  and launched both bands into the hearts and minds of thousands of fans that packed Mystic Lake. Nu Metal was at its peak in the early 2000’s and these albums led the charge for a new genre to take the metal reigns and that was metalcore. It was a  sound that found its way back to the NWOBHM, thrash and melodic death metal and stamped it with memorable hooks and melodies and these two albums were the frontrunners of the movement. August Burns Red were tapped to ignite the crowd as the support act. 

 

 

If you want to get a crowd jumping for the opening note, play a cover of System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!.” That is exactly what August Burns Red did as they began the destruction of the room. Vocalist Jake Luhrs wasn’t approaching this slot as if they were the opening band, but one of the headliners. Along with Luhrs, the band consisted of guitarists John Benjamin Brubaker and Brent Rambler, bassist Dustin Davidson and Matt Greiner on drums. The intensity of the bands set was just as lethal as the bigger bands on the bill and they didn’t let you take a break as the catapulted through a set that featured “Paramount,” “Composer,” “Defender,” and “Vengeance.” It was clear the band was a bit of their normal element by playing a room where it was all seated. Circle pits are always a part of every show they do and they said more than it few times it was a little strange to have a room full of permanent chairs. Even without the circle pits there wasn’t a wasted second as the short set came to an end with “White Washed,” This was the first time I’ve ever seen August Burns Red and they, without a doubt, left a lasting impression on me. Bands of this nature are established by what they take to the stage and this band has it all. 

 

 

Bullet For My Valentine took the stage with the crushing opening track “Her Voice Resides” and  then into the song that converted me into a full fledge fan “4 Words (To Choke Upon.)” The stage was well lit and vocalist and guitarist Matt Tuck took control of the room. He was flanked by guitarist Michael Paget and bassist Jamie Mathias. Sitting on the riser behind the band was drummer Jason Bowld. The band sounded amazing as they blazed down the tracks from the album and I was instantly reminded how great this album is and how important it was for me. In 2005 I was just finding my way through a genre that was growing rapidly with fans, metalcore. The harsh vocals were a hard pill to swallow at times and I had not been able to dive into fully into a  band or an album until ‘The Poison’ was released. It is an album loaded with heavy riffs that drew from classic metal styling with a great balance between aggressive and clean vocals. The melodies and hooks are perfectly layered in-between the aggressiveness of the music. It is an album that delivered on the heavy side of metalcore but played on such memorable choruses that it was nothing short of infectious. The biggest response from the crowd was for “Tears Don’t Fall.” If there was ever a song that defined this album, that song is it and everybody sang every word. Tuck showcased that perfected balancing act of guttural aggression with a clean vocals. The guitars trading off between melody and chaos as Paget soared through the solo. 

 

 

The energy didn’t yield as “All These I Hate (Revolve Around Me’) also generated a tremendous response and then a couple of my favorite tracks in “Hand Of Blood” and the title track “The Poison” absolutely sounded great. This album is packed with sing-along hooks and chorus that it kept the fans active all night. The final song, “The End,” starts with a haunting sense of the unknown before hitting you in the face with an unbridled emotion and erupting into a jackhammer of a song which is such a fitting end to the album. After the finishing off the album they retuned and played “Knives” which was off the latest self titled release from 2021 and then closed the night with a fan favorite from the album ‘Scream, Aim, Fire” with “Waking The Demon.” Such a brilliant set and its the best of seen this band play live. I really enjoyed every moment of it and so did the packed venue. 

 

 

Trivium formed in Orlando, Florida and released ‘Ember To Inferno’ in 2003. It was after signing with Roadrunner Records in 2004 and the release of ‘Ascendancy’ that put the band on the map. They wasted no time in getting the fans moving as they pummeled through the opening track “Rain.” A highlight for me was the “Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr.” The song is the benchmark on this album with it intensity into the chorus that sticks with you even when the chaos of the songs ignites again. As usual the band was in fine form with Matt Heafy on vocals and guitars, Corey Beaulieu on guitar, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and Alex Bent on drums. Unlike Bullet’s ‘The Poison,’ the album ‘Ascendancy’ didn’t immediately get my attention. The aggression of the album hid the hooks and melodies from me on first listens but after 2008’s ‘Shogun’ release and seeing the band open for Slipknot, I quickly found my way  back to that album and its been an all time great release for me every since. It is an album that draws from thrash but adds a modern metal spin to it. It’s a platform that showcases the band talent with intricate passages, twin leads with a heavy handed bass and galloping drum kicks. Everything they do is so tight and as they delivered each song, it was very apparent the ridiculous talent they have. At one point Heafy had given up on the screaming vocals but from the opening note he was spot on, every note executed as if it was 2005. The second highlight for me was “A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation.” It’s another track that encompasses the bands sound and delivery and leaves nothing to chance. “Deceived” was a track that jumped out from the pack with its melodic sections, harmonized guitars and hooks

 

 I can’t go much further without mentioning another favorite “Like Light To Flies’ and also the only song that had any idea of hit, “Dying In Your Arms” was really fun to hear live as I’ve never seen the band actually play it. That song was the very song first song I had ever heard from the band. Once they finished off the album they returned to the stage to play the banger “In Waves.” A nice way to cap the night of nostalgia but to also to know this band is going nowhere . A new album in 2026 is in the works and despite it being a night of looking back, this band is still firmly planted in the now and the only thing twenty years of time has done is made the quartet an extremely tight and lethal group. I look forward to the next chapter from Trivium.