Bullet for my Valentine w/ Atreyu & Jinjer – Leeds O2 Academy.

This is probably the first time where I can say I am in my element for a review. Bullet For My Valentine has been in my life for many years, and one thing I’m going to say before jumping into this review is that you need to see Bullet live at some point in your life if you haven’t already; for me this is my fourth time seeing them live.

For the guys this is a smaller tour than usual, playing smaller venues keeping the connection with their fans, and this time they’re in O2 Academy Leeds, supported by legends of the genre, Atreyu and Jinjer.

When I turned up tonight, the venue was packed from the outside and I knew getting in and getting through this crowd was going to be a struggle, and oh my god was it. It was very quickly packed out throughout the venue. Scheduled up first are American Metalcore band, Atreyu.

In my eyes these guys are legends of the metalcore scene, and for me there’s no debating it if you mention to any metalcore fan the name Atreyu they get flooded with happy memories listening to them in their bedrooms or even being at some of their first shows. This is a band that loves the cameras and loves interacting with the crowd, throughout their entire performance there was not one sign of not wanting to be there, every single one of them loved being on that stage and it honestly looked like they didn’t want to leave.

Shocking not only myself but also everyone in the crowd they kicked off the night with their most popular songs, Strange Powers of Prophecy, Becoming The Bull, The Time Is Now and Ex’s and Oh’s which I was expecting to hear last, but this got everyone moving and screaming along.

Brandon Saller showed every kind of appreciation for his band mates and also members of the crowd, when he jumped off stage to see the fans at the barrier. Lead guitarist, Dan Jacobs didn’t hold back for one second with every riff and solo being played perfectly the same can be said for Rhythm Guitarist, Travis Miguel and bassist Marc McKnight, all being completed by an insane performance by the most wholesale and happy drummer I’ve ever seen, Kyle Rosa. If this stage was bigger I guarantee they would’ve gone even more nuts on this stage. Having this moment and seeing legends of the genre still dominate a show like this brought joy to everyone in that room. They started the energy that kept the crowd going throughout the night. The guys love to interact like i said and It got even better when a member of the audience passed Brandon a flask of rum that had clearly been snuck in, to which Brandon says that Leeds is his favourite place on the tour and this fan just made it even better. I can see an Atreyu tour happening in the next couple of years and you know I’ll be there to enjoy every second of it, and I expect anyone who hasn’t caught one of their shows to do so.

No one knows insane vocals better than Jinjer, I discovered the band through a Facebook video years ago of one of their festival performances, I got tickets after binge listening to them and they got an upgrade after their set at Download 2019 and rightfully so. That point still stands today with them. Coming from The Ukraine they’re ready to show this crowd how badass a woman can look with these kinds of vocals.

I have said this since discovering this band, but Tatiana Shmayluk is one of the best female metal vocalists around today by far for her age. Tonight she walks on the stage in a glow in the dark, green neon jumpsuit with makeup to match, you will not for one second be able to take your eyes off her and she makes that known.

Kicking off the set with one of their most popular songs, Who is Gonna Be The One this start shocked me but also made me insanely happy because if you’re going to show the power of those vocals as she screams out every lyric, but slows it down to a siren like beat to entrance you; this is going to be the song. This is also the song that caught my attention all those years ago in the first place.

With the lights and the jumpsuit, it did make it harder to catch an eye at any of the other members of the band, but nonetheless the entire performance was incredible, and its always amusing as someone who is a fan of Jinjer, to see the reactions of those who are new to their music when Tatiana’s vocals change so fast and so clean. The look of them being entranced like she’s a siren bringing them in. Obviously with them being a band from The Ukraine with the current issues going on that part of the world, they make a full dedication to their home and a declaration to end the hate and have their home back.

At this point in time Jinjer has exited the stage after their performance of Call Me a Symbol and with that the adrenaline has fully hit me like a tonne of bricks. The crowd has their fists in the air and are chanting for BULLET!

The lights go down and one by one the guys take to the stage. The intro kicks off, with it being the original version of their song Knives which has sections of the band’s songs throughout their career.

First being Jason Bowld the drummer, Bassist; Jamie Mathias, lead guitarist Padge and frontman Matt Tuck. Screams are through the roof as the intro comes to an end and Knives are thrown right in!

Bullet are like any metalcore band, they’ve changed their sound quite a few times over the years, but with the latest self-titled album it’s like they have jumped right back to their old roots.

Before going into Over It and Piece of Me from their more recent albums, but this is a smaller gig than usual which means we’re bound to get some special appearances from songs they haven’t done in a while. Shocking everyone in the crowd, Matt announces it was time to play a song they never do live, and they haven’t really performed it in years, when I mentioned this into my one of my group chat I got a lot of envious replies, Hearts Burst Into Fire begins and everyone knows that intro riff like the back of their hand, they can spot it from the first note. Emotions are high in O2 Academy Leeds, I’m pretty sure I can see some tears and I know you could practically hear hearts leaping at the sound of that first note. Matt’s vocals were incredible as per usual, and his stage presence has never needed much the aura of the man just radiates you, Jamie being the not as new anymore member of the band being on backing vocals, was just perfect and he nailed every scream for their older tracks, when there was more rougher vocals, he also has a solid scream face (Check the images). Padge being one of the founding members of Bullet strutted around the stage, pointing into the crowd and making sure he was watching everyone from that stage, as he gave as per usual a solid performance, I won’t lie the man looks a bit exhausted at times but this is a none stop tour that’s coming to an end, so that’s expected but the performance never faltered nonetheless.

Jason is without a doubt the perfect drummer for this band, he plays incredibly for every single song and there isn’t a dip during any of the songs. Honestly this was a solid show, it felt more personal than previous Bullet shows I’ve been too at places like Alexandra Palace in London and Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, it felt like the connection with the band and the fans was stronger than it ever has been.

Hearing songs from The Poisonalbum which is reaching close to its 20th anniversary in a couple of years, never gets old that’s an album i could hear live a billion times and never get bored of hearing it, after being reminded of how amazing it is to hear 4 Words (to choke upon) and All These Things I hate (revolve around me) again, I pray we get an anniversary tour for the 20th.

This setlist was without a doubt perfect, it had the perfect blend of old and new tracks from their career giving you some nostalgia and also reminding you how incredible the new songs can be. A lot of people can agree to disagree on the bands newer work, but I would recommend listening to the latest self-titled album. With songs about depression and heartbreak you can feel the frustration when it’s performed as if everything is being re-lived, but with a hint of happiness thrown in there as well when you see the joy on everyone’s faces and the joy on the guys faces too.. You go to a Bullet show or you even listen to them, you get all of that pent up anger and frustration out of your system as you belt out every single lyric back to them.

A Bullet For My Valentine show wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t have these final three tracks played in the encore. Ending the evening on a high we’re back to our edgy emo days, we all think our long dyed black hair is back, as we watch Your Betrayal, Tears Don’t Fall and Waking The Demon finish off the night. When that first riff begins for Tears Don’t Fall we all have a satisfied feeling inside of us, and the final bit of energy has to go on a huge mosh pit for Waking The Demon, I remember when I saw this performed at Ally Pally with four mosh pits open at the same time, here we can fit the one but it fills almost the entire standing area.

A solid night for Bullet For My Valentine, Jinjer and Atreyu. I’ll be back for another Bullet show when they next perform in the UK without a doubt, you can never miss a show because their performances never let you down.

Set List: