Bullet For My Valentine, The Devil Wears Prada, While She Sleeps @ John Cain Arena, Melbourne 15/10/2025

Twenty years ago this month, Bullet For My Valentine debut album The Poison landed and changed the concept that metal could fast, heavy yet accessible to the masses. Matt Tuck may well say it changed their lives, yet it changed everyone’s else too.

Featuring tracks like All These Thing I Hate and of course, Tears Don’t Fall in the mid 2000’s their melodic guitar harmonies, good looks and anthemic choruses captured the world in a way few metal bands have since.

Tonight in Melbourne, the Welsh wizards start their Australian leg of honouring that album and if you think that they believe they are enough for your hard earned dollar, you’d be mistaken. They bring with them arguably the most gargantuan bill in years as fellow Brits While She Sleeps and Americans The Devil Wears Prada flank the headliners sonic attack.

It’s probably unfair for me to discuss a band I have tattooed as subjectively fair however I will. This forty minute set from While She Sleeps was arguably the finest all killer-no filler setlist I’ve even seen from the band. Opening with the incendiary Systematic and The Guilty Party it’s clear, as frontman Loz Taylor states, that they’re ’not here to fuck spiders’.

A band that always gets involved with the crowd, they make light of the distance between stage and barrier as bassist Aaron goes into the already swelling crowd of thousands during Rainbows to throw down while a circle pit forms around him and Loz himself crowd surfs while singing Four Walls. Sean’s solos are exquisite as heard during To The Flowers and Mat’s whirlwind riffing makes me question whether he’s performing on a trampoline. Final song Sleeps Society – what we are all part off now – ignites a huge pit for the breakdown as they sign off.

The Devil Wears Prada were here last year on the powerhouse Alphawolf tour and this time around have landed an arena spot. Having to follow on from the anarchy of Sleeps yet match the beauty of Bullet is no mean feat however it’s perfect for this band who combine both flawlessly.

Bursting out to Watchtower, vocalist Mike Hranica is a man possessed onstage while the the band sound imperious, every beat rumbles, every riff reverberates. Security are working overtime as surfers match the bands a-game intensity. Broken may be a ‘ballad’ however try telling that to the masses.

Jeremy Depoyster engages the crowd like a kid who can’t believe he is here, and drummer Giuseppe Capolupo lifts his cymbals up like a weight lifter while playing Sacrifice at the end. Chaotic and brilliant. Throw in a few new tracks for the brilliant new album Flowers in the storming Ritual and the emotive For You and TDWP delivered expertly.

British Rock DJ Ian Camfield’s voice is heard over the speaker, excerpts of his work from twenty years ago, explaining the rapid rise of a young bunch of men. Videos display those baby faces on the screen to loud cheers, well more screams really. The stage is bathed in red smoke and those four baby faced metal assassins collectively known as Bullet For My Valentine walk on stage, men and masters of their craft.

Her Voice Resides opens up in a face searing balls of flames – bring your sunscreen – and the energy from band and crowd is electric. 4 Words lines up next and those riffs, the sheer heaviness fills the arena. The sound guys outdid themselves, it’s huge.

It’s clear they are playing album start to finish when Matt Tuck, ripped and still looking gorgeous, starts Tears Don’t Fall on his own with the crowd illuminating the arena in camera lights. It’s quite a spectacle and to be fair, he doesn’t need to sing the words, before the band launch in.

Tuck speaks about how the album changed their lives, and keeps the crowd engaged who don’t need any further asking. Circle pits and crowd surfers are commonplace, as are the anthems like All These things I Hate and The Poison.

Sparks, flames, fist pumping, infectious lyrics, you can see why that when they dropped this in 2005 that their blend of metal, guitar harmonies, crushing breakdowns and vocals people could actually understand, made such a cultural impact.

After the album finished on The End, the band come back out and drop three belters in Knives, Scream, Aim, Fire and MTV favourite Waking The Demon to an absolutely exhausted, sore footed, stiff-necked crowd.

MTV may have gone yet the music lives on. BFMV have new music on the way, and their old stuff sounds as great as ever.

Live Review By Iain McCallum