It’s not often that Cambridge is subjected to a great night of metal. Other than some local shining stars, such as groove metal Akkadian, who we named as one of our ‘ones to watch’ in 2023, heavy acts have historically avoided Cambridge. It seems this is destined to change in 2023, as not only have veterans of the genre Trivium announced a barnburner tour stopping through our fair city later in the year, but 2000s metalcore stalwarts Bullet For My Valentine stopped by recently for an electrifying evening of metallic fun.
Openers Atreyu left a stronger impression than I expected going into it. While I found their live mix to be somewhat lacking, it’s undeniable that they perform their songs well. The absolute highlight of their performance, however, was a fake-out cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, which, after revealing that the cover was simply a stage gag, was met with so much disappointment from the crowd that the legacy metalcore outfit promised to play it in full the next time they stop by the UK. You better keep that promise, guys!
What followed in the main support was easily my personal highlight of the evening: Ukrainian groove metallers Jinjer. Not only was their performance incredibly tight – only bolstered by their superb sound mix – but each and every song they performed had so much energy and groove that I couldn’t help but grin like a mook watching them. While I was saddened the group didn’t pull out any of their King Of Everything classics such as “I Speak Astronomy” or “Pisces”, their performance left such a lasting impression that I’m yearning to see them again by any means necessary.
The moment everyone was waiting for, however, came as Bullet For My Valentine finally arrived on stage. While vocalist Matt Tuck made it known that the band were quite under the weather, and thus not to rag on them too hard for their performance, the metalcore legends performed almost impeccably. Playing a setlist predominantly populated by classics from The Poison and Scream Aim Fire, the group also littered in tunes from many points of their discography.
Owed to stellar performances from all, and an all-killer-no-filler headline setlist, Bullet For My Valentine provided one of the most enjoyable nights of heavy music I’ve had in Cambridge for quite some time. One can only hope their, alongside Trivium’s willingness to give the city a punt, will translate to more groups coming through Cambridge, either at the Corn Exchange, The Junction, or the brand new Six Six metal bar/venue, as this was a night on the town that I won’t forget for some time.