I Prevail/Polaris/Gore. Gig Review - Glasgow O2 Academy 20/09/2026

 

And we're back! I've missed talking metal so hopefully I'm back for good this time. Figured a good time would be to talk about my most recent gig outing from the other night: I Prevail at the O2 Academy. 

It's a rare night when it's my first time seeing every single band on a gig night but that was the case here and it made for a more exciting evening. So how did it go?

First up was Texas based metalcore crew Gore. who are filling in for Amira Elfeky as she had to drop out of the tour for logistical reasons. I'd never heard of them before they were announced as replacements but after this showing I'm definitely a fan. 

I did feel a tad bad for them as they were looking for circle pits from the early crowd who were clearly planning on keeping their energy for the next 2 acts, but the crowd at least made sure the band were appreciated with loud cheers and applause after each track. 

A short but sweet set, giving off Spiritbox vibes without feeling like a total copy. Vocalist Haley Roughton was easily the highlight as she moved from soft to harsh vocals with ease and brought a charisma the rest of the band seemed to be missing. Tracks like Babylon, and Lead Me To The Slaughter hit like a truck whilst tracks like new single Crucified beg to sang along with once the band has more time to get their name out their. Perfect warm up opener and a band I hope to see bigger and better in future. 

Next up was Austrailia's own Polaris and going by the crowd reaction they might as well have been headlining the whole show with some of the biggest circle pits and walls of death of the entire evening. When the I Prevail tour was first announced I was always going to go, but the inclusion of Polaris  meant that I HAD to go. They've had a reputation for being one of the better modern metalcore bands around and they proved it on this night. 

Their 40-45 minute set felt like it went by in a flash from furious opener "Dissipate" all the way to my favourite track and set closer "Nightmare". Every song felt like it was specifically designed to get every single person in the room moving and they pretty much succeeded in it. Hopefully next time they're in Scotland we get a proper headline tour and with what seems to be a new album in the works, we might not be waiting long. Tonight would have already been worth the money but we still have our headliners...

Was a bit of wait between bands but finally it was time for I Prevail  to arrive on stage and in huge fashion with recent bruiser track "NWO", followed by fan favourite "Bow Down" to get the crowd's energy back up after Polaris had seemingly absorbed all of it 35 minutes earlier. I am surprised I never really got the chance to see these guys before outside a Download festival spot a few years back I missed out on, but I'm glad tonight was my night to check them out as it was set pretty much based around 2019 album Trauma onwards.

They did have a little treat for the older fans (including my gig mate Shannon) with an awesome rendition of "Come and Get It" from 2016 album "Lifelines". Really this night was mainly about their new (2025) album "Violent Nature" which brought the goods with tracks like "Into Hell" and "God". A highlight for me was "There's Fear in Letting Go" which has been stuck in my head ever since the gig ended. 

A nice surprise came in an unexpected cover of Metallica's "Sad But True" which I'm hoping they'll release on Spotify at some point as it was pretty damn good. The evening wrapped up with classics "Hurricane" and "Gasoline" to send the crowd home happy and exhausted with the all the crowd surfing going on. A brilliant end to a brilliant night. This definitely won't be the last time I see all the bands on here.

Thanks for reading!