President perform to a sold out O2 Forum Kentish Town
The band played to a packed London crowd.
Photo: Jonathan Weiner
For a band not even being two years old, you can really see early on the scope of what a band like President will achieve in the years to come. Towering over the entrance of the O2 Forum Kentish Town, a large sold-out sign in deep red on the final night of their UK tour. The 2,500-capacity venue was rammed from pillar to post, all in anticipation of what could be one of the most defining shows of this band’s existence.
The evening kicked off with support from TheBoyShadow, an act I was very intrigued by, knowing that it is the project of former Loathe guitarist Connor Sweeney. A band entrenched in the metalcore scene, with Sweeney being a large factor in this. Another act picking up the mantle of masked members — at this point, it feels like it’s becoming unoriginal — with a lot of modern heavy and alternative acts taking this route for their branding. However, once the music hits, you immediately feel TheBoyShadow’s uniqueness. The electric tones mixed in with the rap verses were at times hypnotic, only to wake up to an unrelenting wave of heavy riffs to snap you back to reality, making your skin crawl at times. I was very impressed with the complexities this group is trying to achieve, and it led to a very entertaining set.
We then moved to the main event, and I was not sure what we were going to be in for; the band only has eight songs and yet they are filling out venues. We see the synonymous podium taking centre stage with the bright pink cross behind illuminating the room, a rally cry playing in the background for the citizens in attendance — “Ike for President” — only to be hit with the emphatic opening of Fearless, and it was like hearing a starting gun as the crowd immediately were whipped into circle pits once the screams hit and now the gloves are off.
From here the show just kept rolling and it never missed a beat. Moving from Rage, with its mix of beautiful harmonies, into savage screams and the singer — who remains nameless — does this so effortlessly. Even the crowd, who were clearly so into this, were singing along to every vocal — a feat which bands who have been around for decades struggle to accomplish.
The band came under a lot of fire for being labelled as industry plants due to the fact that their first-ever show, dubbed the ‘inauguration’, took place at none other than Download Festival. At this point they had only released one song. Watching them live, you can see they do live up to the hype; each little detail is meticulous in its way, it makes people feel something and it does this because what you are experiencing is special.
President went through the songs of the late 2025 EP King of Terrors, including Conclave and Dionysus. During this, they played what I can only describe as one of the smartest choices for a band when it comes to live covers. They played the infamous Change (In the House of Flies) by Deftones, a band I can see has a large influence on the vocal style and performance of the band, and a band well known for its experimental concoctions with metal music. The crowd obviously lapped it up and the cover itself was very impressive to me, a perfect song that fits everything President is trying to display.
As the performance draws to a close after a full 45 minutes of pure euphoria, the band close it off with the highlights of the evening. After the build-up of the interlude, the band crashed into Destroy Me, with the crowd screaming “get me out of this hell” in unison at the top of their lungs with circle pits galore. With the set closing on the first song President ever released, In The Name Of the Father, this tore the roof off; from start to end, the crowd were feral and confirmed that this night belonged to President.
If I have learned one thing from that evening, it’s that there is only upwards for President. There will be longer sets, bigger venues, more production and more notoriety. The lore of this mysterious band will grow, and you will sit back and think about how far this can really go.
