'There Was Something Special': Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium on The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour
Monday, 27 January 2025
Written by Jack Butler-Terry
Photo: Ryan Chang
If there was a Mount Rushmore for modern metalcore, Welsh outfit Bullet For My Valentine and Floridian crew Trivium would be on there. These elder statesmen were at the vanguard of the scene when it exploded 20 years ago and now they’re teaming up to celebrate their seminal albums ‘The Poison’ and ‘Ascendancy’ by playing them in full on a massive co-headline tour.
The Poisoned Ascendancy trek kicks off in the UK before a lengthy trip across Europe and a US leg as both bands rewind to the moments that made them. Although they share a long standing friendship and kinship to each other, this will be the first time Bullet and Trivium have toured together, making this a dream tour for fans.
We sat down with Bullet For My Valentine guitarist Michael ‘Padge’ Paget and Trivium bassist Paolo Gregoletto to get the inside scoop on recording the albums, surviving as a band for two decades and what it means to get to do such a major tour.
How long have you been planning to celebrate 20 years?
Paolo Gregoletto: For us it’s always something we said that we would wait [for]. If it seemed like people are still into ‘Ascendancy’, we would do it. But we had no idea this whole big thing would come together with Bullet For My Valentine, so this was kind of a surprise to us to do the duelling anniversary tour.
Michael ‘Padge’ Paget: Did you celebrate 10 years?
Paolo: No, we’ve never done a full playthrough of the record, so this is gonna be the first time we’ve done it from start to finish. We’ve played all the songs through the years, but we've never done it the whole way through.
Padge: We did do something about nine years ago where we played through the album but, like Paolo said, not on this level. This is gonna be a whole different beast. So it’s exciting to bring in big production and all sorts of cool staging. It’s gonna be really exciting for us, but most of all for the fans who loved those records. To revisit that time and that buzz together is gonna be crazy. I just can't believe we made it to 20 years…that’s the craziest part!
Does it feel like it's been that long?
Padge: It feels like we blinked and here we are now. But, looking back, I’m thankful every day for it. I’m so glad that we made it 20 years. But it’s all thanks to the fans. So it’s good to give something back.
Paolo: For me, it’s a mix of both. Sometimes you get out on tour and it definitely feels like it’s been 20 years. Both of our tour cycles typically are confined to a year-and-a-half at most, and then you’re onto the next thing, so this is really special to be celebrating something 20 years later. This is a joint celebration and to see how much both records and both bands have meant to a lot of people’s lives is very special.
When did you first connect with each other?
Paolo: I don’t even remember the first time we met. I just feel like we’ve known each other for a long time, and we would also see each other at festivals or at shows.
Padge: Yeah, it’s been kind of on the same level since we both started. We’ve been like the UK version, and they've been the US version, so it just makes total sense to do this tour.
Paolo: We did two weeks in America a few years ago. There were a couple of dates on those festival tours that we did together, so that was like our test run of the tour. But this is a whole different level.
What do you each remember of writing and recording these albums, and getting them out in the world?
Paolo: I joined the band in August 2004, when a lot of the songs for ‘Ascendancy’ were basically done in their demo form. I remember learning Like Light To The Flies when we were jamming and the energy, how fun it felt to play and being with other like-minded guys. You could feel there was something special in the music.
Padge: For us, we had put our self-titled EP out, and that’s all we had music-wise. So when it came, it was like, ‘Right, you’re going in to do an album’ and it was like, ‘Well, fuck, we haven’t got any songs.’ So most of it was written in the studio and, thankfully, it worked. I can still smell the live room now. It’s crazy revisiting and flying back 20 years in your head.
Obviously, 20 years is a long time in music, and things have changed a lot. How do you guys see the whole metalcore scene now versus then?
Padge: It was an explosion years ago. It was really popular. There was Trivium, there was us, Killswitch Engage. There were so many bands doing it and there just seemed to be a buzz about that type of music, but then other genres took off and it quietened down. But I definitely think people are still hungry for it and it’s coming back.
Paolo: Both our bands came at a perfect time with these records. Now, people discover bands in new ways. Maybe it’s a TikTok, or someone opening for a band. Every time we go out to promote a new record, there are new ways for people to find good quality stuff, whether it’s metalcore, deathcore, whatever. There is always great stuff out there, and people are gonna find it. I was just listening to a bunch of new releases today and I’ll never stop being a fan of this music. That's what keeps me doing it, man, that inspiration.
Looking back on those albums is there anything that you see in a different light, knowing what you know now?
Padge: The structure of the songs on ‘The Poison’ is crazy, man. When I listen back, it’s completely night and day to how I’d approach a riff these days, but it’s cool as well, because when you do relearn a song that you haven't played for 10 years it's like, ‘Wow! What were we thinking?’
Paolo: I don’t think I would change anything about the record but in the UK Dying In Your Arms is a pretty big song and the label didn’t really wanna push it too much elsewhere on the radio. I guess if I could go back I’d probably slap the Roadrunner dude who made that decision. That’d be my only change. But, musically, we fought to make the record sound the way it came out, and it’s magic. We remastered ‘Vengeance Falls’ and normally we wouldn't touch something, but there was something we wanted to fix. But with ‘Ascendancy’ there’s no need to go back and second guess it.
Bullet For My Valentine Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Mon January 27 2025 - CARDIFF Utilita Arena Cardiff
Tue January 28 2025 - GLASGOW OVO Hydro
Thu January 30 2025 - MANCHESTER Co Op Live
Fri January 31 2025 - BIRMINGHAM Utilita Arena
Sat February 01 2025 - LONDON O2 Arena
Mon February 03 2025 - DUSSELDORF Mitsubishi Electric HALLE (Germany)
Tue February 04 2025 - STUTTGART Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle (Germany)
Wed February 05 2025 - ZURICH Hall (Switzerland)
Fri February 07 2025 - PARIS Zenith (France)
Sun February 09 2025 - ANTWERP Lotto Arena (Belgium)
Mon February 10 2025 - HANNOVER Swiss Life Hall (Germany)
Tue February 11 2025 - AMSTERDAM AFAS Live (Netherlands)
Thu February 13 2025 - HAMBURG Sporthalle (Germany)
Fri February 14 2025 - BERLIN Max Schmeling Halle (Germany)
Sat February 15 2025 - FRANKFURT Jahrhunderthalle (Germany)
Mon February 17 2025 - MILAN Alcatraz (Italy)
Tue February 18 2025 - MUNICH Zenith (Germany)
Wed February 19 2025 - VIENNA Wiener Stadthalle (Austria)
Fri February 21 2025 - GLIWICE Prezero Arena (Poland)
Sat February 22 2025 - KARLÍN Forum (Czech Republic)
Sun February 23 2025 - ESCH SUR ALZETTE ROCKHAL (Luxembourg)
Wed February 26 2025 - LISBON Campo Pequeno (Portugal)
Thu February 27 2025 - MADRID Palacio Vistalegre (Spain)
Sun March 30 2025 - VANCOUVER British Columbia - PNE Forum (Canada)
Tue April 01 2025 - SEATTLE Washington - Paramount Theatre (USA)
Thu April 03 2025 - SAN FRANCISCO California - Masonic (USA)
Fri April 04 2025 - WHEATLAND California - Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento Hard Rock Live (USA)
Sat April 05 2025 - RENO Nevada - Grand Sierra Resort (USA)
Tue April 08 2025 - DENVER Colorado - Fillmore (USA)
Thu April 10 2025 - LAS VEGAS Nevada - Pearl Concert Theater At Palms Casino Resort (USA)
Fri April 11 2025 - LOS ANGELES California - YouTube Theatre (USA)
Sat April 12 2025 - PHOENIX Arizona - Arizona Financial Theatre (USA)
Tue April 15 2025 - DALLAS Texas - Gilleys South Side Ballroom (USA)
Wed April 16 2025 - SAN ANTONIO Texas - Boeing Center at Tech Port (USA)
Thu April 17 2025 - HOUSTON Texas - Bayou Music Center (USA)
Sat April 19 2025 - ST LOUIS Missouri - Factory (USA)
Sun April 20 2025 - OMAHA Nebraska - Steelhouse (USA)
Tue April 22 2025 - ASHWAUBENON Wisconsin - EPIC Event Center (USA)
Wed April 23 2025 - GRAND RAPIDS Michigan - GLC Live at 20 Monroe (USA)
Fri April 25 2025 - PRIOR LAKE Minnesota - Mystic Lake Casino Hotel Showroom (USA)
Sat April 26 2025 - CHICAGO Illinois - Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom (USA)
Sun April 27 2025 - DETROIT Michigan - Fillmore (USA)
Tue April 29 2025 - PITTSBURGH Pennsylvania - Stage AE (USA)
Wed April 30 2025 - PHILADELPHIA Pennsylvania - Fillmore (USA)
Fri May 02 2025 - BOSTON Massachusetts - MGM Music Hall at Fenway (USA)
Sat May 03 2025 - LAVAL Quebec - Place Bell (Canada)
Sun May 04 2025 - TORONTO Ontario - Great Canadian Resort Theatre (Canada)
Tue May 06 2025 - WASHINGTON District of Columbia - Anthem (USA)
Wed May 07 2025 - NEW YORK New York - Rooftop at Pier 17 (USA)
Fri May 09 2025 - BETHLEHEM Pennsylvania - Wind Creek Bethlehem Wind Creek Event Center (USA)
Sun May 11 2025 - NASHVILLE Tennessee - Pinnacle at Symphony Place (USA)
Tue May 13 2025 - CORBIN Kentucky - Corbin Arena (USA)
Wed May 14 2025 - ATLANTA Georgia - Coca Cola Roxy Theatre (USA)
Sat May 17 2025 - CHARLOTTE North Carolina - Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre (USA)
Sun May 18 2025 - RALEIGH North Carolina - Red Hat Amphitheater (USA)
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