Thursday 17/02/05 Bullet For my Valentine @ Barfly, Cardiff

Rising from the ashes of the awfully named Jeff Killed John, Bullet For My Valentine are the latest in a line of Metal bands to emerge from a vibrant live scene in the South Wales Valleys. The order of merit is impressive; both Lostprophets and Funeral For A Friend learnt their trade playing a score of isolated pubs and clubs before being plucked from obscurity and dropped into the mainframe of Metal's consciousness.Through years of hard graft and resilience, Bullet For my Valentine have received a plethora of plaudits from the music press who are still salivating over the band's debut mini-album, released last year. This has resulted in a headline slot on Kerrang's! Barfly Tour, the perfect platform to deliver their metal manifesto to the masses.

The majority of the crowd were sullen faced and dressed in black, the perfect brooding atmosphere to enjoy a healthy dose of metal angst. BFMV arrived on stage knowing full well the show wouldn't be a task of converting the disillusioned and the cynical, it was a straightforward homecoming show, a thank you to those who have been there from the beginning.The opening riffs from 'No Control' had the rumbling power to knock down young boys and make grown men stagger. Lead singer Matthew Tuck blasted out vocals that were indecipherable over a musical backdrop that pinpointed one ideology; the louder the tune, the better the song.

On the rare occasion where proceedings were slowed down, BFMV crafted more melodic laments in the shape of 'Curses' and 'Just Another Star', but even these metal ballads concluded with Tuck roaring into his microphone with malevolence and distaste.Forthcoming single 'Four Words (To Choke Upon)', I'm guessing the word isn't love, had a frenzied crowd jumping in all directions in a communal bath of sweat. Guitarist Michael Padgets licks were elasticized and taut at the same time, a real highlight of the set.

When the band left the stage, there was one glaring omission from the set, 'Hand Of Blood'. The sweat-sodden crowd chanted incessantly until BFMV returned to play the opening track from their mini-album, a rollicking piece of old-skool Metal which signed off a decent, but predominantly workmanlike performance. If BFMV can add some variety to their performances and learn to put their braggadocio's claims to one side off stage, they could well be a sustained Metal force to be reckoned with.