Bullet For My Valentine
Islington Academy, London
26/04/2010

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, then Bullet For My Valentine’s fans are rightfully besotted. Storming the stage at a ‘secret’ show to celebrate the release of new album ‘Fever’ and their first appearance since Sonisphere festival in 2009, the Welsh metallers are in fine form. Launching into ‘The Betrayal’, an enormous pit breaks out and it’s clear for all to see that BFMV have used their time off well, writing and tightening their sound (as well as a few months in the gym, clearly). ‘Fever’ has hooks that many a band would be proud of, with several girls swooning at the not-so-subtle innuendo mid-song.

Unsurprisingly, older material such as ‘Tears Don’t Fall’ garner the biggest screams, along with ‘All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)’ but the new material still has the majority singing every word; not bad for an album that’s been out for less than 24 hours. Fret shredding and machine gun drumming is the language of the night, which is good seeing as front-man Matt Tuck hardly utters a word the entire time – not that the gathered masses care, with regular sing/scream-alongs and horns being thrown left, right and centre. By the time the raucous ’4 Words’ kicks in, half of the audience are shirtless and sweaty, and the band look like they’re loving every minute. 

Playing for just over an hour, with a successfully balanced set of old and new material, Bullet For My Valentine have a promising year ahead of them judging by the dedication of their fan base and the quality of their new material. Hurrying offstage after set closer ‘Alone’, there’s no encore for the braying crowd; and they leave exactly as they came in – hero worshipping and desperate for their next shot.

Jen Thomas