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Final night of The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour in Raleigh

Until the dust settles or the wall of death implodes

Photos by: Luke Jamroz
Tonight, we witnessed the end to the tour marred with bad blood out in the press between the bands Bullet for my Valentine and Trivium. It culminated tonight in Raleigh, foregoing the Australian, Japanese, and Latin America legs of the tour that have been completely called off. To say tensions were high among staffers getting prepped for the show was an understatement. Also, we had the openers August Burns Red and Bleed from Within to look forward to. Either way we were hopping in a circle pit and shaking off any bad juju.

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The energy was palpable as we entered Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh on this holy day. But when it comes down to brass tactics we were there to see a show from bands we have seen numerous times and never once have we left disappointed. If you are team Trivium or team BFMV or even just there to see openers and could care less about the feud, you were geared for one hell of a night. Looking through the sea of faces I knew even for a Sunday night it would be thick with familiar metalheads all rearing to get their fix. 

Round up the crowd surfers – because here we go!

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Openers of the night Bleed From Within (Nuclear Blast), a Scottish metal band on the scene for the past 20 years fitting as this tour was about the co-headliners’ albums turning 20 to cause this tour to even exist.

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Their seasoned stage presence and fun approach to shows lend to give their best performances when we get to see them. Personal happy time with me is the clean high and unclean lows. Their sound is magnanimous within the metal community and what a time to see them shine tonight providing such an emotive ritual of headbanging and vibing at a concert.

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Anyone not wanting a good blast beat was in the wrong building. The 25 minute setlist round housed thru a few greatest hits and opened and closed with singles from their new album Zenith that dropped in April.

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You can catch them out in the UK & Europe with After the Burial and Great American Ghosts in September and October for their headlining The Zenith Tour.

August Burns Red (Sharptone Records), hit the stage like they have for the past 22 years, with the fire of the gods in their loins.

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One thing I have really loved about this band is lead vocalist Jake Luhrs’ take on vocals as well as what he stands for. He is the founder and president of HeartSupport, a non-profit mental health organization that offers resources and peer support to individuals within the music community dealing with addiction, anxiety, depression, and self-harm. Being May is Mental Health Awareness Month I really wanted to spotlight this.

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Back to the stage the band ran through a small set of hits and gave thanks to the fans for sticking around over the years.

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Drummer Matt Greiner schools us in rhythm and the fans absolutely lost their mind. The thrills of crowd surfing overtook the sea of fans and ducking became mandatory. What a great way to get all amped for the co-headliners, catch them on tour, soon! 

August Burns Red Setlist Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC, USA 2025

Bullet for my Valentine (Spinefarm Records) “The Poison”

The stage was set by the openers to bring the noise and the circle pits. BFMV always bring the heat, and the fans are absolutely rabid for their sound. Before this tour had a chance to go global the band made the decision to cut the strings.

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Official Statement:

“Hey guys, Bullet here,

As we head into the final shows of The Poisoned Ascendancy tour, we want to thank everyone who’s come out to celebrate with us. The shows have been phenomenal and we’ve loved connecting with every single one of you.

Being in this band is the most important thing to the four of us. We’re incredibly grateful to have been given the chance to look back at a pair of life-changing albums for us and Trivium, who we have nothing but respect and admiration for. To have a career spanning over 20+ years is an incredible achievement, and we understand all the dedication and sacrifice that comes with that. The celebration of both these albums has been a career highlight for us, there’s 5 shows left out here in the US and then we embark upon a full month of summer festivals in June which we’re really looking forward to.

With that being said, the four of us collectively feel that the time is right for us to divert our full attention towards the next chapter of Bullet For My Valentine. We can’t wait to get back in the studio later this summer and finish what we promise you is our best album to date. To go along with this, we are already starting to make plans for the 2026 & 2027 touring cycles, hitting every corner. We are super excited to drop new music for you all. We value our fans above all else and are forever grateful for your support. We’ll be back with all of you very soon.”

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Bullet for My Valentine announced that they are in the studio to record their eighth studio album, with hopes to get the album out by the end of 2025, so we have this to look forward to! Also, they put in their statement they are looking forward to the 2026-2027 touring seasons. \m/

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Bullet for My Valentine Setlist Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC, USA 2025, The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour

Upcoming Tour Dates: 

18/05/2025 Welcome to Rockville 2025 Daytona Beach, FL, United States

05/06/2025 Mystic Festival 2025 Gdańsk, Poland

15/06/2025 Download Festival 2025 Castle Donington, United Kingdom

19/06/2025 Graspop Metal Meeting 2025 Dessel, Belgium

26/06/2025 Jera On Air 2025 Ysselsteyn, Netherlands

27/06/2025 Vainstream Rockfest 2025 Münster, Germany

Trivium (Roadrunner Records) “Ascendancy”

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Trivium closed out the night, with their chaotic energy. They flew through the setlist with a vengeance. It was one of the best Raleigh sets they have ever performed, and we’ve been at most of them (if not all.)

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The lawn dwellers down to the actual pit had several pits going from beginning to end of their set. If you know anything about BFMV and Trivium they have a thick dedicated fan following and their sound gels well as a good percentage of them are fans of both bands.

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Which is a phenomenal crossover show to attend. We’ve all been there when the opener or co-headliner isn’t our cup of tea and while we stand sardine squished next to music fans we’re seething and uncomfortable in the space until our band plays their first note.

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Not this night, we were ready for ascension from the first bass kick and frankly I came to dance not just chill like some dead fish. And as we flailed our way through an immense setlist the rush of the music took over.

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There were no more statements about the tour not continuing. There was no pause when slight tech difficulties happened in tuning through the night. There was nothing but what they came to give, the crisp sound of our youth still bleeding strong, bright and hard on the pit floor amongst the hundreds of us giving our all to the pit and our fave bands. They closed the night with “In Waves,’ fitting for this moment.

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Do I end this all for the world to see – in waves?

Do I take everybody else down – in waves?

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Trivium Setlist Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC, USA 2025, The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour

Upcoming Tour Dates: 

Aug. 7 – 10, 2025  Bloodstock Open Air 2025  Walton-on-trent, United Kingdom

Aug. 14 – 16, 2025  Reload Festival 2025  Sulingen, Germany

Aug. 14 – 17, 2025  Motocultor Festival 2025  Carhaix-plouguer, France

Sat, SEP 20  Louder Than Life 2025  Louisville, KY

Sat, OCT 4 Aftershock 2025  Sacramento, CA

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See the Full Gallery of the Night Here!

If you captured any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see. 

bulletformyvalentine.com
trivium.org
augustburnsred.com
bleedfromwithin.com

The leader of the pack, shutter16.fam, head photographer and brain schemer has been a Charlotte based concert photographer since early 2002. Her passion for photography was cultivated by her grandfather, a very well known and decorated war photographer who put the first camera in her very small hands at the age of three.

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