I arrive at Manchester’s iconic o2Victoria Warehouse shortly before Aussie metalcore quartet Polaris are due to take to the stage and am greeted by wall-to-wall 90s/ 00s pop bangers blasting from the PA. Perhaps a nod to the origin story of tonight’s headliners, or just a little dose of nostalgia for us millennials in attendance to enjoy. Nevertheless, it seems to be doing the trick of warming up the crowd, despite jarring slightly with the soundcheck.
Polaris are a band I’m not too familiar with, and the similarities in their sound to tonight’s headliners are undeniable. Their 40-minute set is nicely balanced, interspersing big, singalong choruses with weightier offerings.
The guitar solos are reminiscent of more classic metal, whilst the chorus of Above My Head is straight A Day to Remember pop punk. They’re the perfect warm-up act for I Prevail, note-perfect without sounding clinical, although breakthrough single The Remedy is notable by it’s absence. They promise to be back in the UK “real soon” before ending on the desperate Nightmare.
There are plenty more singalongs during the next changeover, culminating in a huge one for My Chemical Romance’s Teenagers, before I Prevail’s entrance song, Gorillaz’ Clint Eastwood.
“Manchester, let’s tear this place apart”, frontman Eric Vanlerberghe roars as way of introduction. I realise pretty quickly that leaving my earplugs out past the intro of first song NWO would be a mistake and quickly ram them in my ears.
An “Oooh” from the crowd goes up with the first pyro of the evening, which we’re treated to during the first breakdown. Second song Bow Down is a clear fan favourite; the band close to being drowned out by the voices of the crowd during the choruses.
There are a few from the latest album early on in the set, but as it’s been out for just over a year now, they’re all well-received. It’s the band’s first album and first time performing in the UK since the departure of former frontman and founding member Brian Burkheiser last year, with guitarist Dylan Bowman taking over on clean vocals and doing a stellar job.
Vanlerberghe comments on how hot it is on stage; unsurprising, considering every song so far has been accompanied by no modest amount of flames. It’s clear that here is a band who take their artistry seriously, but not themselves, as we’re informed that we are all now automatically their best friends.
The album and the tour’s lead single, Violent Nature, is next. I’d expected to hear it sooner, but it works well here as a statement of intent for the rest of the night now that introductions have been attended to. Halfway through the song we’re given the choice to either “spin the room or split it”, and I go for option three; continuing to enjoy safely from the wings.
Body Bag channels the heavier side of pop punk, while Paradise sees opening band Gore.’s Haley Roughton return to the stage for a visceral duet.
There’s an outing for one that’s been absent from I Prevail sets for a while; the song that first thrust the band into the spotlight, their cover of Taylor Swift’s Blank Space. The pyro takes a break for this one, the stage instead bathed in pink light for a few minutes of relative chill compared to the rest of the set so far. Although, there is still a breakdown of course, and more crowd surfers than I’ve seen for any other song tonight.
A nu-metal-tinged Bad Things gives way to another cover- this time more standard fare with a snippet of Metallica’s Sad But True, proceeded by Gabe Helguera’s drum solo which has something of a DnB edge.
When the rest of the band rejoin the stage, they’re done messing around. They launch into God, and it’s heavy as fuck, pig squeals, blast beats and all. Choke has everyone bouncing, even those of us whose knees’ best days are behind them, and “one for the OGs”, Come and Get It, gets an enthusiastic reception as tonight’s only track from the band’s debut album.
Somehow, I Prevail have only been on stage for an hour, but they’ve crammed so much in. It’s such a well-curated set, with the mix of old and new, heavy and poppier, and the time feels like it’s flown by.
“We’re not gonna narcissistically go off and wait for you to chant for us to come back”, Vanlerberghe proclaims, and we’re asked to put our lights up for I Prevail’s magnum opus (at least if you listen to mainstream rock radio!), Hurricane.
There’s only one song that can possibly finish out the set, and that’s the furious Gasoline. If Linkin Park’s Bleed It Out was a post-hardcore song, it would sound like this. But despite the clear influence, I Prevail bring their own unadulterated, joyous energy to it.
They don’t falter once throughout the whole set, and it’s obvious they’re having a great time on stage together, seeming sincerely grateful to be sharing the experience with every one of us. “We are I Prevail, thank you so fucking much. Thank you, thank you, thank you” serve as parting words, as (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life fades up with the house lights.
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