Bullet For My Valentine & Trivium bring the Poisoned Ascendency Tour to Boston

On Friday night, heavy metal bands Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium transported fans back to 2005 as they celebrated the 20th anniversaries of their respective debut albums, "The Poison" and "Ascendency".

Playing each in their entirety, the metalcore pioneers brought fans of all ages to their feet (or off their feet, in the case of countless crowd surfers) proving the timeless impact of albums that changed the course of metal in the music industry forever.

Scottish metal band Bleed From Within and American rockers August Burns Red warmed the crowd up almost immediately, with circle pits forming early on in each of their sets. This was especially impressive for Bleed From Within, who managed to rouse fans quickly despite Boston's curfew forcing the show to begin at an early 6:30 PM. August Burns Red continued the energy, and left the crowd eager for Trivium.

Trivium gave an astounding performance, opening with heavy-hitters like "Rain" and "Drowned and Torn Asunder", before showing an unexpected soft side as frontman Matt Heafy got candid with fans. Heafy thanked his fans and family for their support over the course of the band's career, and sharing excitement that this show was the first time some of his family (and children, in particular) had ever seen the band perform. He explained that 2024 had been a challenging year for him personally and when he asked who else had shared the experience, nearly everyone in the venue raised their hands. Heafy spoke about the struggles that inspired writing his early songs, and how the music helped him process the darkness he saw and felt in himself and the world around him, and the validation he felt knowing his work had helped others too. He explained it encouraged him to focus on himself and be "...the best husband, father, bandmate and performer" he could, and continued to offered gratitude throughout the set.

BFMV carried on the theme of gratitude, opening with a montage showing their younger selves being interviewed about and accepting awards for "The Poison" as it continued to rise in charts the world over. It was a moving acknowledgment of how far they'd come thanks to the success of their debut album, and the dedicated fanbase they've cultivated. Their performance didn't disappoint, as frontman Matthew Tuck and bassist/backing vocalist Jamie Matthias belted out hits like "Tears Don't Fall" and "All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)", before closing out the set with a performance of "Waking The Demon" that left fans wanting more.

Were you there? Let us know!