Live Review: I Prevail – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
22nd September 2026
Support: Polaris, Gore
Words: Oli Gonzalez
Photos: Tim Finch
A night of discovery for those like myself making their first dive into the world of I Prevail, having barely known them or the supports. But judging by the quantity of people arriving in Polaris and I Prevail tshirts, it was clear it wasn’t the first rodeo for many. This night also marked almost a full calendar year since the band’s latest opus ‘Violent Nature’ had hit the Spotify servers and the record stores. This was amongst conversation from attendees as we all navigated the usual and seemingly never ending network of rails to get into the venue that IS necessary but seems tedious. What isn’t necessary is the battle with Ticketmaster’s app and the issues this can cause if you get bad reception and create a single point of failure…ANYWAY that’s a conversation for another day.
Once inside, a very healthy turn out already despite early 6pm doors. Over an hour before the first band though? Perhaps caused by the drop out of a support act.
How do bored metalheads pass the time? Build a pyramid of cups right in the middle of the venue, of course? Anything to pass the time, ey? The lights went down and it was time for our first band. How long would the cup pyramid last?
Gore: ‘’They’ll probably be death metal’’ my dumbass thought and wrongly assumed. Especially after the lights had gone down and we were introduced to a blistering rave dance soundtrack making the air feel like a Saturday night! Assumptions, the brother of all muck ups, right? Well, it wasn’t long before chaos ensued. Despite Hayley’s clean and soaring vocals, she could flick a switch and unleash demonic growls, like that of Tatiana Shmayluk from Jinjer! Given the crushing yet sparkly clean tones blasting from the guitar and bass, that technical metal sound made that comparison complete. This was the perfect antecedent to a nice early circle pit…around the pyramid cup, which sadly fell. Maybe due to the serious air being pushed out by the band’s drummer too. ‘Paralysed’ represented a highlight of a painfully short 30 minutes, with more than you’d expect singing along. Hayley spoke of her admiration of this and also the sincere gratitude she felt whilst playing in front of what she described as the biggest crowd they had ever played to. With her day job in NASA and working with astronauts, what heights can the band she sings for reach?
The lineage of Aussie metalcore is there for all to admire. Thy Art Is Murder, Parkway Drive, Northlane, and A Night In Texas (having released a new album this month). Northlane had played the exact venue two months prior at Radar Festival, and now it was Polaris’ turn! Everything about the visual display and the polished sound made this feel like a masterclass in modern metalcore! The sound quality matched only by the energy of the band, with front man Jamie singing like his life depended on it! Still early in the tour, their energy levels were still high, but you got the feeling that they give this all out performance no matter where they play. Their infectious spark was more than matched by the crowd, with circle pits well and truly in motion and some serious heat being generated; thank god for the air con! This isn’t really one you can over analyse, just a major surprise and a genuine privilege to have seen a world class act and pioneer for the genre. Could I Prevail top that?
The place was packed out long before tonight’s headliners had even taken to the stage. There was no room to swing a cat, with most people having their elbows pinned to the sides, like a T-rex. Then the lights went down for the final time, the roars the most deafening this time. Once the first few notes of ‘NWO’ rang out, the whole arena became a battleground with several hundred people bouncing up, down, side to side or into each other. I Prevail had conquered even before their first song had finished! Though they were only just getting started.
A stream of bodies went airborne towards the barrier, with the stream of crowd surfers never slowing down. The heat was on, in more ways than one, with the mass quantities of bodies and movement, and also the pyrotechnics adding that firepower and star quality! Yeah, the crowd was pretty damn wild on this Saturda…SORRY TUESDAY NIGHT. It’s still hard to believe this was a school night. How many people would be phoning in sick to their day jobs the next day?
Inviting Hayley from Gore for guest vocals for ‘Paradise’ was a cool moment indeed, but why not also have Polaris’ Jamie join in too or for a different song? Who knows. A throw back to the early 90s with a cover of Metallica’s ‘Sad But True’ ensued…or at least the first verse and chorus of it. The crowd was naturally thinning and the survivors remained deep into their set. The final furlong.
“We won’t do the narcissistic thing and walk off then come back on, we’re gonna keep this party going!”
Well, it was one last chance. One last hurrah. ‘Gasoline’. The place erupted. This was carnage. But the kind where everybody could join in on – old, young, big, short, any gender. Isn’t that what the metal community is all about? What a moment and what a blistering set from I Prevail! I went in uninitiated and not knowing much, but came away fully respecting the band!
A solid night overall with excellent pacing, and a nice early 10.20 finish for the oldies who prefer that!
Photo credits: Tim Finch
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