Show Review, Photos: Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine Bring Epic Co-Headlining Tour To Sacramento
Trivium
Bullet For My Valentine
w/ August Burns Red, Sylosis
Hard Rock Live Sacramento
Wheatland, CA
Friday, April 4th, 2025
Photos and Review by Jared Stossel
It has become a popular trend in recent years for bands to do album anniversary tours, in which artists will devote an entire tour or residency to playing through an entire album that was significant in their career. I’ve loved seeing this, as it gives bands a reason to dust off older material that hasn’t exactly gotten the chance to stand out in performances over the years, and bring it to the fans front and center. On Friday night, one of the best examples of this practice was brought to Wheatland, CA near Sacramento at Hard Rock Live, where two iconic acts in modern metal, Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine, devoted their set times to playing fan-favorite albums from start to finish. Both albums were celebrating twenty years of existence, with Trivium performing their technically brutal masterwork Ascendancy, while Bullet For My Valentine brought the house down with a full playthrough of their stunning debut album, The Poison.
After opening performances from Sylosis and August Burns Red (whom, unfortunately, I did not make it in time to see), Bullet For My Valentine took the stage. While only two members on stage were in the band at the time of the recording and release of The Poison, (vocalist/guitarist Matt Tuck and guitarist Michael Paget), it was clear that the same energy and intensity from the Welsh metal act still resided in their stage show. While both bands put on excellent headlining performances, it was clear from the get-go that Bullet was the biggest draw of the night, with crowdsurfers piling over the barricade as the band pummeled through their riff-laden album. If you’ve never listened to The Poison, it begins with a dramatic, slow instrumental track that devolves into an unbridled metal onslaught with the beginning of “Her Voice Resides”, barely letting up throughout its nearly hour-long runtime. With much appreciation to the crowd, the band finished with one of their heaviest and fastest songs, “Waking The Demon”.
Trivium brought forth a set of epic proportions as they played through every song on their Asendancy record. It’s an excellent record performed by an excellent metal band. I believe I’ve seen Trivium three times now over the last several years, and I’m constantly blown away by their technical prowess and musicianship, no matter how long their set. I’ve seen them both open and headline, and they manage to stand out every time. Vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy is a natural frontman, running through song after song and making it look easy in the process.
It’s a great time to be a fan of rock and metal music. Tours like this are proof that people still want to pay the money to head out and see a great rock show. Let’s keep ‘em coming.
Trivium Set List
Ascendancy
Rain
Pull Harder on the Strings Of Your Martyr
Drowned and Torn Asunder
Ascendancy
A Gunshot To The Head of Trepidation
Like Light To The FLies
Dying In Your Arms
The Deceived
Suffocating Sight
Departure
Declaration
Encore:
In Waves
Bullet For My Valentine Set List
The Poison
Her Voice Resides
4 Words (To Choke Upon)
Tears Don’t Fall
Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow (What Can I Do)
Hit The Floor
All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me)
Hand of Blood
Room 409
The Poison
10 Years Today
Cries In Vain
The End
Encore:
Knives
Waking The Demon
