Bullet for My Valentine & Trivium bring electrifying show to Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An electrifying blast of metalcore rocked Charlotte on Saturday as four bands delivered a blend of melody and aggression.

Bullet for My Valentine and Trivium headlined the show with support acts August Burns Red and Bleed From Within. The event took place at the Skyla Credit Union Amphitheater.

The concert began with the sun in the air and temperatures hovering around 80 degrees, but the Charlotte crowd sweated it out for each act, headbanging, fist-pumping, and shouting every step of the way.

The headlining bands are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their biggest releases — Bullet for My Valentine with The Poison and Trivium with Ascendancy. The joint effort is dubbed The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour. Although it’s been 20 years since the release of these albums, fan dedication remains high as new and old listeners continue to fill out venues for this tour across the country. 

The Charlotte date was the penultimate show on the tour. Initial plans were for the tour to continue to Australia and South America, but Bullet for My Valentine allegedly called off those efforts. Trivium bassist Paolo Gregoletto publicly blamed Bullet for My Valentine for the situation days before the Charlotte concert. Bullet for My Valentine did not address these rumors but thanked fans on social media for attending the tour and said they are looking forward to the next chapter of the band.

The Welsh band celebrated the chart-crushing The Poison in style by playing all but one of the album’s tracks. 

Even the album’s intro played over the loudspeaker as a montage of memories from The Poison era played before the band hit the stage.

Bullet for My Valentine played the album in order, starting with “Her Voice Resides” before the singles “4 Words (To Choke Upon)” and “Tears Don’t Fall,” the latter of which is the band’s biggest song and usually saved for the end of the set on other tours.

Rhythm guitarist and vocalist Matt Tuck sounded good as ever ,singing the band’s classic tracks. He and lead guitarist Michael Paget are the only two members from The Poison era who are still in the band. Paget hit each riff and solo with the same force he’s been delivering for over two decades.

Bassist Jamie Mathias provided backing vocals and was wildly entertaining to watch with his commanding stage presence.

The band only played one song that wasn’t on the celebrated album, “Scream Aim Fire,” which appeared during the encore. The only song from The Poison to not appear in the set was “Spit You Out.”

Crowd surfing and moshing was not as prevelent during Bullet for My Valentine’s set as it was during the Trivium concert, but the Charlotte audience was just as overjoyed for the final band of the night. From the front of the pit to the back of the lawn, concertgoers clung on to every word of each song and showed an outpouring of appreciation for the legendary metalcore band.

Bullet for My Valentine has hit Charlotte on their last few North American tours, so fans should not have to wait long to see the band again.

The often forced serious demeanor of metal bands during their performances sometimes makes it hard to tell if they find any enjoyment out of their concerts — the writer says this as someone who thoroughly enjoys this music. That was not the case with Trivium on Saturday, though, as guitarist and vocalist Matt Heafy was visibly ecstatic to play in front of the Charlotte crowd.

Just like Bullet for My Valentine, Trivium played all their 2005 album in order to keep in theme with the tour. 

Heafy’s vocals were well intact for songs like “Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr” and “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation.” Guitarist Corey Beaulieu provided unclean vocals as usual, with additional backing vocals from Gregoletto. Those three members have remained with Trivium since the Ascendency album, with only drummer Alex Bent being an outlier from that 2005 lineup.

After the warm-up from the opening bands, the crowd burst for Trivium. At many double-headline shows, there is a definite split between the fandoms, but The Poison Ascendency Tour featured no such division, as the crowd was just as hyped for Trivium as Bullet for My Valentine. Heafy smiled on as crowd surfers and mosh pits developed at the typically tame amphitheatre. 

Between multiple songs, Heafy expressed his admiration for Charlotte and noted that he looks forward to dates in North and South Carolina.

Trivium’s simple choice of attire was also noteworthy. Gregoletto and Beaulieu each rocked shirts of iconic metal bands, Gregoletto with Slayer and Beaulieu with the often overlooked Savatage. Heafy, meanwhile, went shirtless, showing off his full-body tattoos.

Ascendency sounds just as powerful as a live production in 2025 as it did on the record in 2005. The band closed their set with two non-Ascendency tracks, “Strife” and “In Waves.”

Trivium hits multiple North Carolina dates on most of its North America tours, meaning the next Charlotte show should not be too far out in the future.

Many bands probably aren’t too eager for an outdoor start time of 6:30 p.m., but Bleed From the Within made the most of the opportunity with a hard-charging five-song set. The Glasgow, Scotland band gave a classic metalcore performance that brought memories of 2013. 

Led by vocalist Scott Kennedy, the band opened and closed with songs from their 2025 album Zenith. In between, the band hit their three most popular songs: “The End of All We Know,” “I Am Damnation,” and “Levitate.”

Lead guitarist Craig Cowans had an amazing stage presence during the show and hit each solo with precision. Bassist Davie Provan was also a driving force in the band’s performance. The bulk of the band’s lineup has been together since 2009, before the release of their first album.

August Burns Red followed with a solid performance well in line with what the band has done for over two decades now. 

The band opened with a cover of System of a Down’s “Chop Suey” and later played fan favorites “White Washed” and “Mariana’s Trench.” The band mixed some of its most popular songs with some newer and lesser-known work, converging it all for a nine-song set.

Vocalist Jake Luhrs gave his usual mix of screaming and microphone-swinging that he’s become known for. He called for crowd surfers midway through the set, beginning a chaotic force that continued throughout the night.

The crowd showed much appreciation for all of the bands and showed that Charlotte can be a premier destination for tours.