Live Review: Soulfly – O2 Institute, Birmingham
5th September 2026
Support: Nailbomb, Dosed
Words: Cat Finch
Photos: Tim Finch
Soulfly’s return to Birmingham brought a suitably brutal package to the city, with an evening built around groove, industrial noise and outright aggression.
Dosed waste absolutely no time establishing their identity. With song titles such as ‘Chewing on the Entrails of a Dying Dickhead’ and ‘A Pitful Attempt At Life’, subtlety clearly isn’t high on the agenda. ‘Aquarius’ and ‘The Lost Art Of Gratitude’ keep the momentum building, while ‘Jaw Breaker’ and ‘Run Your Mouth’ demonstrate a raw, direct approach that translates particularly well to a live setting.
The second half of Dosed’s set becomes increasingly ferocious. ‘Soulcrusher’ and ‘Self Doubt Is For The Weak’ hit with considerable weight before ‘Knife at a Hammer Fight’ and ‘Fucked With A Pickaxe’ bring the set to an appropriately chaotic conclusion. As opening acts go, they leave the room suitably warmed up for what follows.
Nailbomb are a completely different proposition. The project, originally formed by Max Cavalera and Fudge Tunnel’s Alex Newport, has always occupied a particularly abrasive corner of the metal spectrum, combining industrial textures, hardcore aggression and a deliberately ugly sense of confrontation. There are two schools of thought for this revived run for the band. The bands original, fleeting lifespan built an aurora around the entity, making that album and show at Dynamo the pinnacle of metal folklore, and that any extension to that diminished the aura. Then there are those in the camp that this music is meant to be heard live and this run gives a generation of metal heads the chance to witness the project live for the first time.
Their appearance tonight feels less like a conventional support slot and more like an opportunity to unleash something genuinely hostile on an unsuspecting audience. ‘Wasting Away’ immediately establishes the mood, its grinding industrial attack cutting through the venue with little concern for comfort. The crowd show an intensity this venue has not seen before. This feels like 1995 Dynamo all over again!
‘Vi Toma No Cu’, ‘24 Hour Bullshit’ and ‘Guerrillas’ keep the pressure firmly applied, with the band’s stripped-back aggression making every song feel like a direct assault. There is very little polish here, Nailbomb’s appeal has always been rooted in the raw industrial attitude melded into these intense riffs.
The set continues its relentless march through ‘Blind and Lost’, ‘Sum of Your Achievements’ and ‘Cockroaches’, before ‘World of Shit’ and ‘Shit Piñata’ take things even further into the gutter. The songs retain the rawness of the original material while sounding perfectly at home in a packed Birmingham venue.
By the time ‘Religious Cancer’ and ‘Sick Life’ bring the set to a close, Nailbomb have delivered exactly what their reputation promised; abrasive, uncompromising and thoroughly pissed off. It’s a short, sharp reminder that sometimes allowing that rare, explosive outfit to relive its youth is actually a good thing.
After the chaos of Nailbomb, its time for Soulfly to follow. They take to the stage and launch straight into ‘Back to the Primitive’, immediately turning the venue into a sea of movement. Max Cavalera remains a formidable presence, commanding the stage with confidence. ‘Seek ‘n’ Strike’ and ‘No Hope = No Fear’ keep the intensity high before ‘Prophecy’ brings one of the evening’s biggest responses.
‘No Pain = No Power’ keeps the momentum going before the set takes a more tribal turn with ‘Berimbau / Tribe’. The combination highlights one of the defining characteristics of Soulfly, with Cavalera’s metal aggression sitting alongside Brazilian rhythms and percussion. ‘I and I’ and ‘Downstro’y bring the focus firmly back to the heavier side of the band’s sound, with the crowd responding to every breakdown and groove. The performance feels raw rather than overly polished, which suits the material perfectly.
The Brazilian influence becomes even more prominent during ‘Chama / Bumba’ and the fleet of drummers, then ‘Favela/Dystopia’, with the rhythmic elements adding another dimension to what is already a relentlessly physical performance.
For the finale, Soulfly unleash ‘Jumpdafuckup’ and ‘Eye for an Eye’, and the venue erupts accordingly. It’s a suitably explosive conclusion to a set that has delivered exactly what the Birmingham crowd came for… huge riffs, relentless grooves and Max Cavalera at the centre of it all.
Photo credits: Tim Finch
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