Bullet For My Valentine @ Camden Roundhouse with Halestorm and Miss May I

After disappearing for what seemed a life time, Bullet For My Valentine came back to London with more energy than ever. Despite the lethargic reaction to the release of their new album Temper Temper, the crowd STILL gave it everything they had.

Miss May I welcomed the crowds in at the Roundhouse with their popular track Relentless Chaos. Fist pumping accompanied by ‘Hey! Hey!,’ along with front man Levi Benton showed that the Californian boys have gathered a solid fan base that they deserve. They are satisfyingly tight and managed to whip up some great mosh pits. Although it does sound slightly like they’ve played the same song for half an hour – but I’m not complaining!

The main support for tonight, Halestorm didn’t quite cook up a storm with the audience tonight. A small cluster of fans gathered at the front whilst most of the roundhouse seemed rather lethargic at the performance. When Front woman Lzzy Hale asks the audience ‘how you doing tonight’, she was met by a sizable tumble weed. However, her vocal performance is strong and on point, with some impressive screams. Whilst she struts around in her impressive red stilettos and her main accessory (guitar), it seems the rest of the band is just about getting through with a few chords. But the crowd is wowed when drummer Arejay Hale plays an impressive solo - a pleasant change in the bands performance. To the ears it sounds very generic - which Lzzy Hale's voice is wasted on.

There is absolutely no doubt that tonight was all about the return of Bullet For My Valentine, who give you the perfect amount of metal you need for the night. With ‘Delilah’ by Tom Jones echoing around the venue, the crowd sing in unison, awaiting the Welsh lads. Opening with the new track Breaking Point, dedicated fans get stuck in, screaming every word. Transforming the floor into an impressive circle pit, Waking The Demon excites everyone, except Hand of Blood enraptures the whole audience. But it all slows down – with a sweet acoustic rendition of The Last Fight by Matt Tuck, which to everyone’s delight, blasts back into the original of the song.

Bullet has a well balanced set list tonight consisting of new and old. Evidently, they are nowhere near as solid as their old material, but their new tracks do provoke a better reaction when live. Riot – it’s simple, the crowd did what they were told and the pits started moving again. Temper Temper injects a lot of energy into the room, whilst Breaking Point didn’t quite cut it for everyone. It is a pleasant surprise when Lzzy Hale appears on stage to spice up Dirty Little Secret with the band, adding a bit of excitement to the track.

Even without the new songs, Bullet could have played an even more solid performance. However, they played a tight set, giving their new album Temper Temper a lot more coverage – and indeed it sounds a lot better live! This definitely gives everyone an incentive to head over to Download Festival this year to check them out!

The playlist consisted of:

Breaking Point

Your Betrayal

Waking The Demon

Riot

4 words

Temper Temper

Last Fight

Take It Out On Me - Solo

POW

Poison Intro

Dirty Little Secret w/ Lzzy

Scream Aim Fire

Encore:

Alone

Hand Of Blood

Tears Don't Fall