Last Monday night, Metropolis was lucky enough to welcome English metal bands, Bullet for My Valentine, Asking Alexandria and While She Sleeps on their last day of their month-long British Invasion Tour. Hours before the show started, the line in front of the venue wrapped around the block with stoked fans.
Sheffield based metalcore band While She Sleeps took the stage by storm with “Brainwashed” from their latest eponymous album released last year. Lead vocalist Lawrence Taylor kicked off the night with his energetic presence and got the crowd to follow his constant headbangs! In other news, it is known to be a tradition to prank your tour mates during the last day of tour, and While She Sleeps received a pleasant surprise! I’m still not sure who it was, but a half naked man wearing a pig’s head greeted the band mid-speech with a tray of drinks. Needless to say, their reaction was hilarious!
That definitely set up the ambiance for the night. The band’s short performance was great as they tried to get intimate with the crowd by getting out of the security’s way to the barricade. They ended their set by inviting fans to get on each other’s shoulders and jam to their biggest hit, “Four Walls”. To close their last performance of this tour, lead singer stage dived from a speaker into the crowd, setting the bar high for the rest of the night.
Setlist
Brainwashed
This is the Six
Death Toll
Trophies of Violence
New World Torture
Four Walls
Next off, the crowd went wild as soon as Asking Alexandria’s flag was hung. Judging by the amount of people wearing AA merchandise that evening, it made me wonder if most of the fans came out to see them only, despite Bullet For My Valentine being the headliner. The band’s slow and eerie entrance was a perfect way to grow excitement in the crowd. We could feel the anticipation going on at the first drum beat, and the crowd sang whole-heartedly the first few lines of “I Won’t Give In”. To be honest, I had lost interest in Asking Alexandria ever since former lead vocalist Danny Worsnop’s departure, but I have to admit Denis Stoff kept the band going strong.
During the song “Closure”, they reminded me of Of Mice & Men’s performances, when they ask the crowd to get on the floor to get everyone to jump altogether. What a sight! The crowd sang back so loudly to nearly every song, but it was particularly beautiful during “The Prophecy”. We could see the love shown during the whole set, we could tell the crowd was having a blast: non-stop moshing, crowd surfers, hats and shoes flying across the venue! Asking Alexandria ended their performance with classic “The Final Episode”, where it all started. They left the crowd dumbfounded, sweaty, and eager for the headliner!
Setlist
I Won’t Give In
Run Free
The Death of Me
Closure
To The Stage
The Black
Not The American Average
A Prophecy
The Final Episode (Let’s Change The Channel)
Finally, it was the moment the little teenage metalhead in me waited for, Bullet For My Valentine! Many of you have also seen them at Heavy Montreal last summer, but it is always a pleasure to see them perform. Kicking off with an intense intro to their newer songs “No Way Out” and “Skin” from their latest album, the crowd’s energy was still crazy high from the opening bands. They played their big hit “Your Betrayal”, and took their time to make the intro long and as anticipating as possible as the movement in the crowd was increasing.
“Four Words To Choke Upon” from their debut album, Poison, was played next and I was really excited to hear the first song that got me into them back in the days. It has brought back so many memories! If only they played “Cries In Vain” as well, I would have been living in my early teenage years again. Up next, they played “You Want A Battle” and I couldn’t believe a setlist could get any more perfect than this. The crowd sang whole-heartedly without any conduction during the intro and the end of that song, and it was a beautiful moment. The view I had from the mezzanine was phenomenal: seeing everyone jumping up and down in sync as soon as the beat dropped on top of the amazing lightning work is something I would never forget.
Midset, it was time for Michael Thomas to shine with an incredible drum solo. I feel like moments to show appreciation so important during concerts since drummers are underrated and they are the heart of the performance. Frontman Matthew Tuck took this intermission time to thank everyone for the tour, fans, bands, crew and especially their tour manager, before kicking off with the second half of their set.
Arriving at the end of the show, the band played their biggest hit “Tears Don’t Fall”. Every single individual was singing the lyrics back to them (even the fangirls who only came out to see Asking Alexandria). We could definitely hear everyone in this sold-out venue sing as loud, if not louder, than the vocalists. They closed their last show with signature song “Waking The Demon” by inviting everyone to create the biggest circle pit, as their last chance to have a blast that night. It was definitely a must-see scene! Needless to say, I hope these British lads invade us again! Catch them up on their US tour this April with Asking Alexandria and Cane Hill.
Setlist
No Way Out
Skin
Your Betrayal
Four Words To Choke Upon
You Want A Battle
The Last Fight
Drum Solo
Raising Hell
Scream Aim Fire
Venom
Poison
Alone
Broken
Hands of Blood
Tears Don’t Fall
Waking The Demon
Review – Stephanie He
Photos – Kieron Yates
