By Jennifer Russo

The lights go down and your heart starts beating faster.  You feel the anticipation of a night that will tickle each sense and tantalize you until you are on the absolute brink of ecstasy.  Then a soft glow takes its place in the room, gradually getting brighter.  And knights in shining musical armor take the stage, the breeze flying through their hair. They know why you’ve come and they begin to serenade you, almost bringing you to tears as you reach the height of pure audio pleasure.  Not too shabby for a Tuesday school night, huh?

Bullet For My Valentine, the four piece Welsh band which came out with their first album back in 2005, has emerged into a rock and roll powerhouse, claiming the hearts of metal and alternative fans alike.  Their latest album, Fever, stays true to their classic metal influence yet brings an experimental bend in the artistic road that has led them to great success since its release.  It’s still what you’d expect to hear from BFMV, but with a little more “umph” ~ and fans spanning the globe have raised their fists in approval ofr an album that really speaks for itself.

BFMV showcased their latest and greatest tracks live for an adoring crowd of fans, with their song “Pleasure and Pain” seeming to get the majority of the energy bumping off the circle pit.  With the clean vox of angel- faced Matt Tuck and the well placed screams of bassist Jason James, Euro-rock took its place right in the middle of MA.  The fever is certainly spreading like a plague throughout a metal loving New England.

Following BFMV were Three Days Grace and headliner Avenged Sevenfold, who have made clear names for themselves in the area for quite some time and certainly brought the big guns out for their performances.

Three Days Grace toned down the rock vibe a bit with their more mellow, yet always catchy favorites and newer hits which the crowd readily sang along to.  Adam’s mic, held by a metal skeleton hand, made it easy for him to pull double duty as a guitarist as well and the band got the fans excited, touching our soft spots with their heartfelt wishes that the Boston Bruins would defeat the competition now that Canada was out of the race.  Their set seemed to move quickly from song to song and their energy was infectious.

Avenged Sevenfold pulled out all the bells and whistles, with the stage now transformed into a foggy gated graveyard complete with flames, fireworks and an unlucky stagehand that seemingly got his neck tangled in some rope as he dangled over the stage.  Their set filled the arena with a pulse that is the unmistakable heartbeat of A7X and an amazing tribute to The Rev, complete with a ceiling-to-floor image of the man that had fans waving their lighters through the mist.