 | Written by Amina Abdelwahab AVENGED SEVENFOLD w/ Breaking Benjamin and Bullet For My Valentine @ FirstOntario Centre Hamilton, ON, Canada January 22, 2018 The FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario felt built for metal. With worn out walls, re-nailed wooden floor panels and a basement feel to the general admission section; metal-heads were ready to rock. On January 22nd, 2018, The Stage World Tour featuring Avenged Sevenfold and special guests Breaking Benjamin and Bullet For My Valentine came to FirstOntario Centre. Being a fan of all three bands, I riled with excitement and anticipation. A perfect line-up at a perfect venue: a perfect recipe for a perfect night. I took my place in the middle of the crowd, at 6:25 the stage reeled with glaring lights, and the musical build up introducing Bullet For My Valentine began. |
Bullet For My Valentine’s old school metal stage setup wrung nostalgia in our hearts. With nothing but a backdrop banner, their musicality spoke for their performance. Playing mostly their hits, their set was reminiscent of Children Of Bodom’s 20 Years Down & Dirty tour. From an enthusiastic run of “No Way Out” to dedicating “Tears Don’t Fall” to their fans, Bullet For My Valentine brought an epically nostalgic vibrancy to the concert hall – yet, they also brought mosh-pits right from the get-go. You’d think that Bullet For My Valentine would be set to play after Breaking Benjamin due to their metalcore-esque, mosh-able stylizations in contrast to Breaking Benjamin’s more alternative-metal take. However, it seems like having Bullet For My Valentine up first had the ‘lets-get-to-it’ vibe that the audience had built up due to the incredible line-up, so, they did the deed. The mosh-pits flared up, the heads banged, and metal came alive.
Next up was Breaking Benjamin. While I did have my reservations about seeing this band live due to their extended three-year hiatus from music, they did not let me down. Breaking (ironically) into the more mainstream metal vibes erred on the side of people-pleasing. From long in-between-song rants to covering “Smells Like Teen Spirit” amid a cover-medley, they had us at ‘hello’. At the end of their performance, they had Shaun Foist front-and-center on the runway section of the stage, jutting lightsabers from his drum kit during his solo while Benjamin Burley sliced through the air with his very own red lightsaber – making a mini-speech about being bold, being nerdy, and being yourself. Finally, the band closed off their set with “I Will Not Bow” and invited a teenager to stand with them on stage as they blared through “The Diary Of Jane”. While this set may not have been one for the hardcore metalheads, it surely was one for the fans, the teenagers, and the misfits.
Time for the headliner – Avenged Sevenfold. Now, I have quite a bit to say about my relationship with this band. Having grown to love them due to their ballad-like, yet punk-influenced heavy metal musicality – seeing them live for the first time with Metallica during the Worldwired Tour of 2017 disappointed me. M. Shadows seemed off his game, bringing less-than-energetic enthusiasm to ‘the stage’. However, this time, Shadows riled with energy and passion. Being favorable to the non-guitar-playing lead singer bands, I enjoyed Shadows' stage presence and his complete dominance over the space he had – interacting with fans at all way points in his usual sunglasses-and-backwards-cap-with-a-plaid-shirt-over-a-band-shirt look. That being said, Avenged Sevenfold have taken a page (or a whole chapter) out of Metallica’s book – both in their music and their performance antics. Their latest album, The Stage has taken a turn into extravagance rather than controlled experimentation, and their screen setup, stage work and visuals mirrored that of Metallica’s during the Worldwired Tour. Yet, it was during their cover of “Wish You Were Here” that I remembered why I love Avenged Sevenfold: they’re not afraid of slow. As they closed the night with “A Little Piece Of Heaven” and “Unholy Confessions”, I thought this: what metal band hasn’t been influenced by another? The intermixing of styles and genres has forever been the foundation upon which metal grows – and the deeper the foundations, the better the metal.
Next up was Breaking Benjamin. While I did have my reservations about seeing this band live due to their extended three-year hiatus from music, they did not let me down. Breaking (ironically) into the more mainstream metal vibes erred on the side of people-pleasing. From long in-between-song rants to covering “Smells Like Teen Spirit” amid a cover-medley, they had us at ‘hello’. At the end of their performance, they had Shaun Foist front-and-center on the runway section of the stage, jutting lightsabers from his drum kit during his solo while Benjamin Burley sliced through the air with his very own red lightsaber – making a mini-speech about being bold, being nerdy, and being yourself. Finally, the band closed off their set with “I Will Not Bow” and invited a teenager to stand with them on stage as they blared through “The Diary Of Jane”. While this set may not have been one for the hardcore metalheads, it surely was one for the fans, the teenagers, and the misfits.
Time for the headliner – Avenged Sevenfold. Now, I have quite a bit to say about my relationship with this band. Having grown to love them due to their ballad-like, yet punk-influenced heavy metal musicality – seeing them live for the first time with Metallica during the Worldwired Tour of 2017 disappointed me. M. Shadows seemed off his game, bringing less-than-energetic enthusiasm to ‘the stage’. However, this time, Shadows riled with energy and passion. Being favorable to the non-guitar-playing lead singer bands, I enjoyed Shadows' stage presence and his complete dominance over the space he had – interacting with fans at all way points in his usual sunglasses-and-backwards-cap-with-a-plaid-shirt-over-a-band-shirt look. That being said, Avenged Sevenfold have taken a page (or a whole chapter) out of Metallica’s book – both in their music and their performance antics. Their latest album, The Stage has taken a turn into extravagance rather than controlled experimentation, and their screen setup, stage work and visuals mirrored that of Metallica’s during the Worldwired Tour. Yet, it was during their cover of “Wish You Were Here” that I remembered why I love Avenged Sevenfold: they’re not afraid of slow. As they closed the night with “A Little Piece Of Heaven” and “Unholy Confessions”, I thought this: what metal band hasn’t been influenced by another? The intermixing of styles and genres has forever been the foundation upon which metal grows – and the deeper the foundations, the better the metal.
| AVENGED SEVENFOLD M. Shadows - Vocals Synyster Gates - Lead guitars Zacky Vengeance - Rhythm guitars Johnny Christ - Bass Brooks Wackerman - Drums Label: Capitol Records Website: www.avengedsevenfold.com | BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE Matt Tuck - Vocals & guitars Michael Paget - Guitars & vocals Jamie Mathias - Bass & vocals Jason Bowld - Drums Label: Spinefarm/Search & Destroy Records Website: www.bulletformyvalentine.com | BREAKING BENJAMIN Benjamin Burnley - Vocals & guitars Jasen Rouch - Lead guitars Keith Wallen - Guitars & backing vocals Aaron Bruch - Bass & backing vocals Shaun Foist - Drums Label: Hollywood Records Website: www.breakingbenjamin.com |
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