On Saturday, February 27, 2016, Disney Springs in Walt Disney World got a true taste of some heavy metal, Welsh-style when Bullet For My Valentine moved in for the evening. Asking Alexandria has been touring with Bullet For My Valentine, but they are banned from playing on Disney grounds, so opener While She Sleeps, a metalcore band out of England, got some extra time to warm up the crowd. And they absolutely blew me away!
I hadn’t heard of While She Sleeps  before the show, but I for sure know who they are now – and I am a new fan. One of the many things that make While She Sleeps so unique is their non-stop stage presence. Lead singer, Lawrence Taylor, was still crowd surfing during the last three songs. The fact that he could do that and not lose energy or pace in the songs impressed me, as the crowd was your typical metal show crowd: passionate, loud, and absolutely feeling every moment. The guys – Lawrence Taylor on vocals, Sean Long and Mat Welsh on guitar, Aaron McKenzie on bass, and Adam Savage on drums – really knew how to get the crowd going and prepped for the amazingness that is Bullet For My Valentine.
As the lights came back up after a brief set change, the crowd went mad. Bullet For My Valentine —  Matthew Tuck on lead vocals, Michael Paget on lead guitar and backing vocals, Jamie Mathias on bass, and Michael Thomas keeping it all together on the drums — were clearly the crowd favorites. The mosh pit got a little violent, but the good kind of violent –  the kind that is rowdy enough to remind you that you’re alive while still getting lost in the music and experience of the show.
BFMV played a really good mix of both old and news songs, and I found myself screaming during some of their crowd favorites and past hits. I left without much of a voice, but with a camera full of amazing images. A special thanks goes out to the band for bringing their own set of lights and effects that covered the backdrop of the stage; those effects and lights are a photographer’s dream and really helped me get some of the best shots of them to date.
Do yourself a favor and get to their show at the city nearest you. They’ll rock you from beginning to end, and it will be an experience you’ll not soon forget!
