Live Review: Poisoned Ascendency Tour @ Boeing Center at Tech Port, San Antonio
Updated: Apr 19, 2025
Two decades later, The Poison and Ascendancy still hit like a freight train. The Poisoned Ascendency Tour rolled into San Antonio tonight with a lineup stacked with metal royalty. The Boeing Center at Tech Port pulsed with the kind of energy only forged from nostalgia, whiplash riffs, and a sea of black band tees.
Sylosis opened the night with a brutal tone setter. "Poison for the Lost" ripped the air open with precision, while “Pariahs” and “Worship Decay” unleashed a relentless barrage of riffs that had the pit in full motion and heads banging in unison. Their set was short but left a crater; Josh Middleton’s guitar work remains criminally underrated.
August Burns Red followed with a curveball, jumping straight into "Chop Suey!", their cover hit harder live, the second the crowd caught on, the room detonated and the energy spiked instantly. "Paramount" and "Composure" followed, each packing the technical aggression and melodic chaos that makes ABR one of the best live bands in metalcore. Jake Luhrs didn’t hold back for a second, full-throttle intensity and nothing but raw passion.
Then it was time for Trivium, and the room shifted. The ominous build of "The End of Everything" into "Rain" was pure theater, erupting into an avalanche of crowd surfers and circle pits. "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr" and "Drowned and Torn Asunder" reminded everyone exactly why Ascendancy was a game changer. Even 20 years later, the emotion bleeds through every note. Matt Heafy’s presence? Commanding as ever, while guitarist Corey Beaulieu shredded through solos with the precision of a seasoned pro, keeping the energy razor sharp. Trivium proved once again why they’ve stood the test of time, their technical mastery and sheer intensity were unmatched.
Bullet for My Valentine ended the night with a nostalgia-fueled punch to the gut, bringing every fan back to the early days. The intro built slowly, tension rising as a video played on the big screens, a montage of their evolution over the years, from eyeliner and studded belts to arena ready veterans. It wasn’t just a walk down memory lane; it was a reminder of how far they’ve come and how much they’ve meant to fans along the way. By the time "Her Voice Resides" exploded into life, the crowd was already on fire. "4 Words (To Choke Upon)" hit with that same youthful venom it always had, sparking chaos in the pit. And when "Tears Don’t Fall" started, the energy didn’t drop, it transformed. Phones lit the room like a starfield, voices soared and for a few minutes the entire venue was united in one massive emotional purge. It was loud, cathartic, and beautifully raw, a reminder that even a metalcore ballad can feel like an earthquake when it hits the right nerve.
Whether you were reliving your Myspace metalcore phase or discovering these albums live for the first time, The Poisoned Ascendency Tour proved one thing: these records still rip, these bands are still dominating the stage, and metalcore is not just alive, it’s thriving.
Comments