Live Review: Trivium with Bullet For My Valentine • Aragon Ballroom • Chicago
Trivium/Bullet For My Valentine
Aragon Ballroom
Chicago, IL
April 26, 2025
Live Review by Ashley Perez Hollingsworth
Trivium
Metal titans Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine delivered a night of chaos, nostalgia, and good fucking music to a sold-out Aragon Ballroom on Saturday night (April 26). Their co-headlining “The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour” celebrates two landmark albums, Trivium’s Ascendancy and Bullet For My Valentine’s The Poison, that ushered in a new era of metal. Both albums left their mark on the genre, and as the celebratory night proved, that impact can still be felt two decades later.
Bullet For My Valentine
Trivium absolutely slayed their set. The opening notes of “The End of Everything” had fans buzzing with anticipation even though the band wasn’t on stage yet. When Matt Heafy and crew finally appeared and launched into “Rain,” the crowd exploded into a mass of bodies colliding with one another. As they blazed through tracks like “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation,” “Dying In Your Arms,” “Like Light to the Flies,” and “The Deceived,” the crowd only got more riled up: massive circle pits, lots of moshing, and nonstop headbanging. The crowd’s chaotic energy left Heafy impressed.
“Fucking incredible, Chicago,” he enthused, standing before a sea of over 5000 fans. “No joke, this is the best crowd on the North American tour!” This praise didn’t feel like a cliched way to get the crowd to scream; the big grin plastered on Heafy’s face told you he meant every word.
Trivium’s energy on stage is infectious. Seeing Heafy shred on guitar, eyes closed, tongue sticking out, gets you pumped up. He’s every bit the showman, taking moments to ham it up on stage with his bandmates or exchange banter with the crowd. Other times, his guitar wizardry leaves you in awe. Watching him lay down fiery riffs and scream like a demon, it’s clear Heafy still loves his job 20 years later.
The night closed with Bullet For My Valentine’s The Poison, the album that started it all for the Welsh band. Their set opened with a video montage following their journey from playing small venues with dreams of making it big to selling out arenas worldwide. The anticipation grew as the band slowly walked out on stage, the crowd’s screams already deafening. The video ends with the calm before the storm. Frontman Matt Tuck walks up to the mic and unleashes a hellish scream to kick off “Her Voice Resides.” All hell breaks loose. The next hour is chaos as people scream, dance, mosh, and pump their fists in the air. Bullet ate up every minute of it.
Fans reveled in hearing lesser-played cuts like “Hit the Floor,” “Cries in Vain,” “All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me),” and “The End.” But, as you can guess, the song that got the biggest roar was “Tears Don’t Fall.” If you know one song by Bullet, it’s this one. Tuck even introduced it as the biggest song he ever wrote. Right as he screamed, “LET’S GO!” the place erupted. The crowd’s singing drowned out Tuck onstage. He looked on, amazed, as fans old and new sang every lyric back to him. He eventually stood back and let the audience take over.
Bullet For My Valentine doesn’t leave much room for banter, but they’re incredibly tight on stage. They sound amazing, even better than the record. Tuck’s can still seamlessly deliver sweet melodies and grueling screams, while Jamie Mathias’ unclean vocals sound sinister and brutal. Michael Paget’s solos still kick ass, and Jason Bowld is a beast behind the drum kit.
They served up “Knives” from their 2021 self-titled album and “Waking The Demon” from 2008’s Scream, Aim, and Fire for the encore. Once again, the audience went crazy, squeezing out every last bit of aggression and energy before the night ended. Seeing fans leaving the venue sweaty, sore, and smiling, it’s clear these albums still strike a chord decades later. Both Ascendency and The Poison hold up incredibly well twenty years later. The night was not only a celebration of these iconic albums. It celebrated fans who’ve been there since the beginning and those just joining the journey.
Category: Live Reviews
