Photos & Review: British Invasion Tour
Featuring: Bullet For My Valentine, Asking Alexandria & While She Sleeps
House Of Blues, San Diego CA
2/2/16
Photos and review by: Tracy Galarza
Full photo gallery HERE.
The British Invasion Tour kicked off last night at the House of Blues in San Diego without a hitch. With a lineup that featured While She Sleeps, Asking Alexandria, and Bullet For My Valentine it’s no wonder a slew of fans were lined up hours before door time. And the wait totally paid off because the sold out show was absolutely killer.
While She Sleeps hit the stage first and showed no mercy. These guys went from 0 to 100 in record time and the crowd followed suit. Within seconds the crowd was a blur and bodies began making their way to the front of the stage as While She Sleeps provided the perfect soundtrack. They’ve got it all: fast shredding riffs, intense breakdowns, big drumming, and clean and heavy vocals to match. While She Sleeps was absolutely refreshing in a scene that is often all too familiar. Give these guys a listen.
A lot of in between set time was spent discussing how Asking Alexandria would do with new vocalist Denis Stoff. Fans seemed receptive and most of the opinions heard were positive though some folks were reserving theirs until they saw him in action. I loved that as soon as the first notes of “I Won’t Give In” were heard, the crowd lost their minds and just enjoyed the show. A definite high point of the set was the live debut of “The Black.” It was RAD. Whatever else the band has got cooking for us is going to be good folks. Rest assured that this a new Asking Alexandria we are watching and Stoff definitely brings his own to the plate.
Finally the band of the night hit the stage. Bullet For My Valentine has been logging some serious miles in support of their latest record, Venom. Though they have played tons of shows within the last few months they still find time to bring something new to the table. Last night’s show saw the live debut of “Skin” that had fans so stoked that security had to call in reinforcements to handle all the crowd surfing. Even with all the action, the band sounded great. It was really cool to hear the guys pull off the vocal harmonies on the record in a live setting. Plus the addition of Jamie Mathias has really rounded the band out in a good way. Their temporary drummer, Jason Bowld is doing a phenomenal job filling in for Moose Thomas while he’s on leave waiting for his baby as well. Don’t sit on The British Invasion tour, guys. Bullet For My Valentine has a new dimension to them in a live setting and you should definitely head out to see it.