It’s my first time reviewing at Victoria Warehouse, although I’ve seen plenty of stuff here as a punter, and as I join the long queue there’s plenty of anticipation for the great night of varied metal ahead. I catch our photographer Ryan before he’s able to use his photo pass to duck the queue (damn him!), but actually everyone is chatty and in high spirits for the night ahead despite having to stand around in the cold with COVID passports at the ready. 

Finally in, and just as I’m getting my first pints of the night, Bleed From Within take to the stage. With red lights flashing and a dull thudding bass sound for entrance music the Glaswegian powerhouse set their stall out perfectly. I grab my refreshments and dart down the front. Already a moshpit is forming, and as Scott Kennedy takes to the stage and starts coordinating proceedings the crowd is obviously up for the task ahead. BFW immediately hit us with a cohesive and forceful wall of sound. They mix mainstream anthems with thrashy verses and core elements of djenty brutality. Tonight it’s more a soundscape with some of the definition lost, the vocals a little low, but as a fan I can still pick out all the elements that make them one of the most exciting live bands currently climbing the metal ladder in the UK. There’s great rapport with the crowd and circles pits bracket a notable wall of death. It’s the tightness and ultra-professionality of the band that is most impressive though, with intricate technical guitar work laying across stomping drums and thundering bass. Actually, I tell a lie, Scott coming out into the crowd on a guy’s shoulders to perform set closer ‘The End of All We Know’ is the most impressive part. They’re back in Manchester headlining Rebellion in a couple of weeks and I can’t wait to see them again then.

Tesseract take the technicality and professionalism to another level. They are in full prog-metal mode tonight, not letting up from a continuous swirl of mesmerising syncopated riffs, rhythms and beats by drifting from one song straight into the next. Daniel Tompkins delivers at every gig I’ve ever seen him perform, and his vocals seem more velvety and sublime than ever. The light shows for gigs at Victoria Warehouse are always fantastic (see footage from the Architects gig a couple of years ago for an example) and Tesseract have giant glow sticks upright on stands punctuating the stage to dynamic effect. You feel those lights are both figuratively and literally made for them. They power through newer material as well as their finest tunes, plugging them all into a nonstop extravaganza. But unfortunately it’s lost on this crowd. I don’t know if it’s too difficult or they simply can’t comprehend what they’re witnessing, but at one point I have to put my hood up to shield away mindless chatter and insults being thrown about the band. Apparently right on the front barrier Bullet fans were giving the band stick, and quite frankly that’s disgusting - especially after what we’ve all been through in the past 18 months as an industry and world. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed what I perceive to be one of the most unique and intriguing tech-metal bands in the UK.

After chuckling at young people’s inability to queue for a bar (and taking advantage of this fact) I take up a more subdued position with my pints at the back of the venue. The great thing about Victoria Warehouse is that you can easily take in a different gig experience depending on where you stand – the more intense and intimate front section, large venue crowd atmosphere in the mid-range or a relaxed festival vibe towards the back. Headliners Bullet For My Valentine open with ‘Parasite’ and it promises to be a storming gig. I’ll admit that having seen BFMV on and off since they first started-up as a band I’ve never been a fan…but I’m always willing to give a band another chance and their success seems to indicate that I should do too. Unfortunately, they still don’t tick any boxes for me. To be honest the songs all start with grit and snarl…and then end up in a pop-punk whimper. It’s almost like they take the key successful elements from Metallica, Maiden, Trivium, Killswitch Engage, etc. and almost make them work, and then fall short. So annoyingly they end up just sounding generically worse. I’m sorry, but frontman Matt Tuck still has those evil wicked witch of the West vocals too. I saw them support everyone when they first started and I hoped they'd progressed. Hmmm, well maybe. But maybe not. I think they've always wanted to be Metallica and Trivium mashed together, but get caught up with AFI sensibilities. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s got to be done effectively, progressively and well…well. And I don’t think that’s the case.

Also, and no offence to some friends, it appears tonight that lots of BFMV fans are just style over substance - looking at them l think they think it's cool to be at a gig rather than wanting to actually be at a gig. Ironically, the lightshow is actually like the music - one tone and one trick. It’s mainly the same graphics in different colours. I guess when I tune-out from it all it’s simply pleasant and inoffensive music and the main set finale of ‘You Want a Battle? (Here's a War)’ is actually really good, both the graphics and the performance, with the crowd finally giving us a show as well. ‘Shatter’ leads the encore and is fantastic to be fair, but then again it's their attempt at a half-decent Parkway Drive song really…and I think that’s my point isn't it.