LIVE REVIEW: I Prevail @ O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

There is still a delay in live music as bands are still taking the stage up to three years beyond their originally announced run. This is the case for Michigan rockers I PREVAIL, who have finally managed to take over the UK by storm four years beyond the originally promoted record Trauma. After years of pushing, postponing, waiting, they’re here and they’re ready to rock Manchester like a hurricane. With one night in the famous O2 Victoria Warehouse, metalheads and punks come together for a night of living, loving and surviving. It’s time to heal and music is the medication of choice this evening.

Opening the night on this long-awaited adventure is Finland’s violent-pop pioneers BLIND CHANNEL. Finding themselves an international fan following after their moderate success on Eurovision Song Contest, they are more than a collective one-trick-pony trotting for one time and one time only. Bringing their unique taste of heavy chords and shreds to Manchester, it’s never felt more welcome. The north-west contains some of the most dedicated metalheads in Britain and they aren’t shy in their love and adoration for the leather-clad spike-studded lifestyle. They welcomed the European six-piece with open arms and stomping feet, and everyone felt at home in the venue during that short-lived set. Finishing on the Eurovision hit in question Dark Side, this is when the crowd began fueling for a high-energy night. Obviously one of the most well-known hits of the group – for a majority, the only known hit – this was the proper kick-off to the night’s festivities. Showing their love and gratitude to the audience with a goodbye in the form of a BACKSTREET BOYS singalong, this was gearing up to be a monster of a night. It’s time to unlock the cage and set it free.

Rating: 8/10

The second and final support have established their own name in the UK and beyond and find themselves to be a perfect companion act for the main performers of the night. Bringing their own personal political angst out of their minds and into their music, the city welcomes TRASH BOAT. Being no strangers to the O2 Victoria Warehouse, having previously taken the support slot for fellow rock outfit ENTER SHIKARI back in 2021, they show to be brave and bold in the position they have once again found themselves in. The fear appears that they will always be the support and never the headliner; a fate many bands meet as they grow but only so far. These fears are put to rest once they begin smashing out track after track from their 2021 outstanding record Don’t You Feel Amazing?, one that changed their lives and fills the majority of their sets since its release. With tracks such as Alpha Omega, Silence Is Golden and Bad Entertainment, the highlight of the set is still the closing single: the ever so empowering He’s So Good.

The British punk band have made waves with being openly and unapologetically queer-friendly, especially the band’s feisty frontperson Tobi Duncan who is known for his truthfully brutal viewpoints and earthquaking melodic shouts. Their inclusion on this tour alone opens each and every venue as a safe haven for all fans of all walks of life, but to add on playing songs with such messages just unites everyone in the closest way. Whether it’s events they’ve lived, traumas they’ve heard second-hand from loved ones, or even just the cruel stabs of empathetic consideration, it’s the facts that everyone knows and believes in and wish to change to make the world that little bit better. It takes many forces to change the world, and TRASH BOAT is one that drives that change one anthem at a time.

Rating: 9/10

Once the stage tints red and the music starts, the lightning strikes and I PREVAIL appear. After years upon years, let the True Power take over. Things kick off with a string of tracks from their latest record, starting with the scene-stealing There’s Fear in Letting Go. No better note to start with, no better song to begin the night with; with a fine line within the setlist between True Power tracks and Trauma tunes, they chose right to highlight their latest and indeed greatest record. Fans who bought tickets for the latter chose to stay for the former, and there were no regrets in staying in and holding on.

This being said, the crowd were still reacting well to the biggest Trauma hits. Records come and records go, but this was a staying fancy within the scene. Acknowledging throughout the night, all acts were pointing out how it’s taken three years for them to come together at the same time in the same place to play their hearts out. However, as they dove into ultimate fan-favourite Hurricane face-first, unprotected and unafraid, it was as if time never existed. No one had to wait. Years meant nothing. All that matters is the screams, the cheers, the dancing and the singing.

There was still some fun and games being had by the Michigan men, as they gave both ends of the performing-a-cover-live spectrum: they fascinated the audience with ILLENIUM track Feel Something, and proceeded to tease the crowd with an abridged rendition of SYSTEM OF A DOWN’s Chop Suey. Over and out in a matter of seconds it felt, and the humorous mix of laughs and groans is just one example of the entertainment that’s unrolling. There is nothing more entertaining than a night of metalcore magic, and nothing can prove that statement false.

Ending on a double-bill encore of Gasoline and Bow Down, everyone leaves with the satisfaction and fulfilment they hope for. The adrenaline in the circle pits, the catharsis in the air-punches, and the togetherness from the first chord to the last word. That’s what music is all about, and that’s what the world needed from that standstill moment in 2020. Never let the world go without live music ever again. Never let the magic fade away. Trauma is healing. I PREVAIL is the cure.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Manchester from Sarah Sidwell here: 

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