Somehow itâs already been almost a year and a half since Bullet For My Valentine released their self-titled seventh album. The record arrived in late 2021 and we now find ourselves in early 2023! Time has certainly flown by, but finally the band are getting to head out around the UK in support of the album.
WATCH ‘DROWNING’ FROM ATREYU ON YOUTUBE
Atreyu – ‘Drowning’
Tonight that sees the band kick off the UK leg of the tour at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge. Opening up proceedings are revamped Californian metallers Atreyu who receive a huge reception as they take to the stage.
The band of course has a long history and clearly many in the room are fully aware; soon enough though even those that werenât already familiar with the band are on board as well. Drummer turned front man Brandon Saller orchestrates the crowd superbly as the group run through the likes of âBecoming the Bullâ, âSave Usâ, ‘Drowning’ and âBlowâ. By the time they exit the stage, the reaction is even greater than when they arrived.
WATCH ‘VORTEX’ FROM JINJER ON YOUTUBE
Jinjer – ‘Vortex’
Anticipation is clearly high also for our next act, Ukraineâs much hyped Jinjer. Led by singer Tatiana Shmailyuk, the group instantly command the attention of the packed venue and show just why theyâve had so much attention in the last few years.
The time that the band spend onstage tonight feels short, which is usually a good sign; and itâs evident from the confident performance that the band feel at home and indeed belong on big stages. As far as their job tonight is concerned, by the time that they leave the stage theyâve got the crowd riled up and ready for our headliners but theyâve also left them wanting more Jinjer â which is precisely the outcome needed from their main support slot.
WATCH ‘KNIVES’ FROM BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE ON YOUTUBE
By the time Bullet For My Valentine hit the stage, the crowd have already been treated to a fantastic evening and to an extent the pressure is on for a band who have been much maligned by metal fans in recent times.
Each of their last three albums have been hailed as a return to form, but surely that actually indicates that the band have been delivering consistently good music? Their live shows have certainly continued to deliver the goods and despite being under the weather tonight is no different.
âKnivesâ, âOver Itâ and âPiece of Meâ get the audience on side from the beginning before â4 Words (to Choke Upon)â steps things up a notch. The pace of the set from here is relentless with a good mix of old and new material on offer from the band.
There is a nice surprise with the inclusion of rarity âHearts Burst Into Fireâ which does a good job of getting those phones up in the air. There is also plenty that gets the crowd moving as well with the likes of âScream Aim Fireâ and the final run of âYour Betrayalâ, âTears Donât Fallâ and âWaking the Demonâ all sounding absolutely massive tonight.
Whilst the career trajectory for the group may have slowed down, through their recent releases and shows like tonight, Bullet For My Valentine have shown that they still have plenty left in the tank!
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report, where we share the best music news from the past week. We start this week with a real smorgasbord of tour announcements.
First up, is the above special set of shows from Ash. The band will play 3 ‘Free All Angels’ 21st Anniversary Shows in Manchester, Birmingham and London this September!
Drummer Rick McMurray had the following to say: “We’re delighted to announce that we will be commemorating the 21st anniversary of the release of our 2001 classic, Free All Angels. Not least because we will be joined by the fourth member of Ash, guitarist extraordinaire, all-round Shining Light, the one and only, Charlotte Hatherley. Can. Not. Wait.”
Another band celebrating a special anniversary is Idlewild, who this week announced 20th Anniversary shows for ‘The Remote Part’ in Manchester and London.
The band also announced a reissue of the seminal album on vinyl, which is available for pre-order now.
Bullet For My Valentine also announced a huge UK Tour this week. Taking place early next year, the band will also be stopping off at the Roundhouse as well as a massive Swansea Arena show.
We move our News Report on now to festivals and we begin with Steelhouse Festival in Wales.
This week the event finalised their line-up with Europe and Von Hertzen Brothers joining the party.
They join the likes Ace Frehley, Michael Schenker, Inglorious, Graham Bonnet Band, Orange Goblin, Black Spiders, Green Lung, The Hot Damn! and many more.
Manchester’s Neighbourhood Festival has this week unveiled the line-up for this October with The Snuts, Everything Everything and Sundara Karma at the top of the bill.
Also playing are the likes of Lauran Hibberd, Louis Dunford, Ten Tonnes, The Goa Express, The Skinner Brothers, Anorak Patch, Courting and more.
We move on now to the new releases of the past week in our News Report. We start off with Skid Row who have unveiled the video for their new single ‘The Gang’s All Here’, which you can watch above.
ââThe Gang’s All Hereâ for me represents the brotherhood of this band. And with the addition on Erik our bond is more solid than ever. Our fans have always been part of the family, so when it was time to shoot a video, we handed the camera work over to them. After all, they have the best perspective to capture the excitement of a Skid Row show.â – Scotti Hill
âIâm so fâing psyched to finally release this video! This video is by the fans for the fans. A big shout out to all the fans who made this video happen. Thank you!â – Erik Grönwall
The song is the title track of their upcoming album which is released on October 14th.
October Drift release new single ‘Webcam Funerals’
October Drift – ‘Webcam Funerals’
October Drift released their latest single, ‘Webcam Funerals’, this week ahead of their new album, ‘I Don’t Belong Anywhere’ on September 23rd. You can listen to the track above, and pre-order the album here.
“I donât want to go into too much detail out of respect,â begins Kiran, âbut this song was written at the time of losing a friend during the height of the pandemic and lockdown. She passed after a long battle with cancer. Her son, a very close friend of mine, was living with me at the time of the funeral.
I watched online from my front room, while many others did the same from their homes. This song was a response to the strangeness and sadness of friends and family members not being able to be at the funeral or there for each other at that time.”
Kiran talks further about the track and album with us on The Full Pelt Music Podcast, which you can watch below.
The Full Pelt Music Podcast – Episode 10 – October Drift
TV Priest have shared new single, âIt Was Beautifulâ, taken from forthcoming album ‘My Other People’ out 17th June. You can listen to the track above.
Vocalist Charlie Drinkwater says of the single, ââIt Was Beautifulâ is a love song about the past, present, and future. A reminder that love is the most essential thing. The words came fast; it was recorded in a single emotive session, the first song we wrote together after my family had gone through a difficult experience and I think you can hear that in the kind of melancholy euphoria that plays out as the song progresses. In some ways itâs a coda to the whole album; a reminder to guard your hope fiercely.â
APHYXION have released their latest single, ‘Not Gonna Make It’, which you can check out above.
The band elaborate on the theme of the track:
“‘Not Gonna Make It’ is a song about broken love â a sad reflection of a relationship that once was – and trying to clutch at a straw while drowning in emotions. We never really touched the subject of love in our songs before. While our lyrics have constantly been circling around dystopic subjects both on a worldly and on a personal level, we simply wanted to embrace our emotions and thoughts from a new perspective.
While trying to leave a very black and white way of seeing things, we want to explore the polarity of emotions â where both love and hate co-exist because of their mutually dependent nature.â
We close this segment of our News Report with the latest single from Just Mustard. You can listen to ‘Seed’ above, and order their new album, ‘Heart Under’here.
As always we close out our News Report with the latest additions to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist! Joining this week:
The Native – ‘Changes’
The Native return with their latest single, ‘Changes’, ahead of the band’s upcoming EP.
Singer Charlie Noordewier says, â‘Changes’ is about breaking out from the mundane cycle of life that so many find themselves stuck in, and pushing back against the people that put you down for trying to do something different.â
Chappaqua Wrestling – ‘Full Round Table’
Chappaqua Wrestling have shared their first new single of 2022, and first with new label EMI, âFull Round Tableâ.
The band explains: âWe wrote Full Round Table as a reaction to the endless negativity put in our faces about our generationâs future. So much news is greeted with the response of how screwed we are – hopeless views from unhelpful people.
Negativity about youth is relative per generation but today it feels stronger. We want to ignore the cynicism, get together, appreciate what really matters, and not let people tell us what we can’t do. The Full Round Table is full of our friends, and thatâs not changing.â
Fixation – ‘More Alive’
As Fixation prepare to release their debut album, they return with new single, ‘More Alive’.
âI wanted to highlight the negative effect social media can have om human relations. It’s harrowing how we spend more time maintaining our online facades, than taking care of our real-life relationships.
With âMore Aliveâ we hope to bring attention to this topic and help our listeners make conscious decisions on how they interact with social media.â – Jonas Hansen / Vocals
