The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, MA

Making the way through the crowd of Red Sox fans to arrive at MGM Fenway on time was no problem for thousands of metal fans. Bleed From Within led the night off promptly at 6:30 to a packed house that was ready to start the weekend off with a bang. A powerful 5 song set led off with “God Complex”. “Levitate” had fists flying in air and the first crowd surfer appeared in a night filled with constant crowd surfers. Vocalist Scott Kennedy thanked the crowd for arriving so early and “I am Damnation” followed. Taking a quick second to mention it was drummer Ali Richardson’s birthday a birthday request was made for a wall of death which the floor happily participated in during “The End of All We Know”. Capping off the set was “ In Place of Your Halo” which saw Richardson singing out in the crowd, held up by the fans near the stage. Steven “Snev” Jones (Rhythm Guitar), Craig “Goons” Gowans (Lead Guitar) and Davie Provan ( Bass) rounded out the lineup.

August Burns Red was up next and the already wild crowd got more amped up as the System of a Down cover “Chop Suey” got things going. “ Paramount” followed and lead singer Jake Luhrs wanted the pit opened up even more. Hands where up in the air and a smoke show added to “Composure”. Luhrs let us know “Defender” is one of his personal favorites. Bassist Dustin Davidson shined with a solo during “Bloodletter”. More smoke appeared for “Vengeance” and lead guitarist John Benjamin”JB” Brubaker got his chance to shine during “Exhumed”. Luhrs let the crowd know there was 10 security guards up at the stage so let's see what you got. People were crowd surfing from every angle of the floor at this point. Lighters( Phone Lights) were out for “Marianas Trench” and Brent Rambler (Rhythm Guitar) got his solo during “White Washed” as the crowd was bouncing and the circle pit was growing. Keeping the beat all set long was Matt Greiner (Drums).

Trivium is out celebrating 20 years of The Ascendancy album and it was performed in its entirety. Appearing onstage after a recording of “The End of Everything” the fans were clapping and jumping as Matt Heafy (Lead Vocals, Guitar) burst into “Rain”. “Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr” got the pit opened up even more and it seemed like it went all the way across the spacious MGM floor. After “Drowned and Torn Asunder” Heafy mentioned how Boston has always had a great crowd for 20 years and got even more applause when it was mentioned Corey Beaulieu (Guitar) was from New England. The title track off the band’s second album and the star of this tour “Ascendancy” was next. Alex Bent showed off his stick skills during a drum solo which saw an inflatable Monte the Monster rise up behind him. Vocalist Scott Kennedy ( Bleed From Within) came out to join the guys during “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation”. “Like a Light to the Flies” and “Dying in Your Arms” followed.Heafy taunted the crowd that Chicago was the best crowd on tour so far so Boston better step it up. The floor was already crazy on this night but they took it to another level. Hats were flying, shoes, glasses, cups, bottles, people, it was mayhem. Next up was “The Decieved” and “Suffocating Sight”. Heafy said his kids were in attendance and special things like that are what keep him grounded. he then told the crowd to get their fleshlights ready for “Departure” then laughed when he realized his mistake saying wow that would be weird. Get your flashlights ready, Ha ha . Everyone got down low and jumped up on the first note of “Declaration” and by the end the crowd was crowned best of the tour. Paulo Gregoleeto (Bass) kept everything nice and tight.

Capping off the evening Bullet For My Valentine was celebrating their album The Poison and stayed pretty true to the track listing. A video from the early years led into a recording of “The Poison” and then “Her Voice Resides” led off the set followed by the crowd clapping along to “4 Words(to Choke Upon)”. Matthew “Matt” Tuck let the crowd know this was about celebrating the album that started it all. “Tears Don’t Fall” had the most phones out recording that I had seen all

night. The people upstairs in the seats were all up and everyone was clapping. Jamie Mathias (Bass) showed off his dynamic backing vocals to go along with keeping the groove. After “Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow(What Can I Do)” and “Hit The Floor” Tuck mentioned how fuckin amazing the crowd was. Mathias took the first verse of the band’s first music video play “All These Things I Hate(Revolve Around Me)” “Hand of Blood”, “Room 409” and “The Poison” saw the crowd stay wild. I will say the Boston crowd, especially at the smaller venues around, never disappoints. The who has seen us?, Whose first time is it? quiz led into “Ten Years Today”,” Cries in Vain”and appropriately ending the main set “The End”. Returning to stage the encore featured “Knives” and “Waking The Demon”. 2 minutes before curfew Tuck mentioned there was 2 minutes to go, let it all out. Almost 5 hours into the night there was no slowing this crowd down as he pit was constant motion and the crowd surfed till the lights came on. Michael “Padge” Pajet (Lead Guitar) brings out emotion through his fingers and Jason Bowld (Drums) keeps everything locked in with his timing.

Written by Joe Perusse

Photography by Holly Roy Photography