Label: Fearless Records
Out: September 19, 2025
Words by Greg Walker
Grandpa Simpson once said, “I used to be with it, but then they changed what it was. Now what I’m with isn’t it, and what’s it seems weird and scary to me, and it’ll happen to you too.”
I have to confess that to begin with, I didn’t get it when it came to I Prevail, however, after numerous rotations of their new album Violent Nature, I’m opening my eyes to this wildly popular outfit. Research exposed me to hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify, and it was instantly obvious that what it is has clearly passed me by. Until now, my only foray into I Prevail was the 2019 album Trauma’s Bow Down and 2023’s Good Things Festival, where I only hung onto their cover of SOAD’s Chop Suey. That’s not to say they were entirely forgettable; they were a decent placeholder and put commendable effort into their performance to an impressive loyal gathering.
I first checked out the three promo singles while I was waiting for the album. I was surprised at how accessible some of this material is, and not at all in the realm of what I remembered this band to have been. Most recent single Rain is a perfect example of how wrong I was to be so dismissive – I’m susceptible to an earworm of a gigantic hook, which Rain boasts in the chorus, and the rest fell into place quite quickly for me. Expressing suffrage in the breakdown through gritted teeth, frontman Eric Vanlerberghe channels King 810’s David Gunn for just a moment. The approach on Rain coalesces through fellow single Into Hell, which also flaunts a beautiful chorus melody and feels well-balanced with measured punch.
Opening the album proper is Synthetic Soul, a subtle start with a silky yet beleaguered vocal delivery more stifling than a lull. Ambushed by the storm, a crushing riff section squalls, before a verse vaunting a suitably NiN style industrial groove, as the song title might suggest. The chorus is immediately catchy, the vocal melody takes flight, and I’m taken by surprise – I didn’t expect to be hooked so suddenly. The modern production is immense, confronting, rendering Synthetic Soul an instant favourite while I’m yet to hear the majority of this collection.
There’s plenty of ultra brutality for the old school purists in the form of NWO, God, and Violent Nature; there’s a fairly even dose of heavy and clean spanning the runtime. Vocal contortions can be amazing, although it’s also amazing to listen to a singer who can actually sing when needed. Like the perilous tenderness of Crimson & Clover, Vanlerberghe’s breathy delivery is haunting and pointed while at the same time vulnerable and despairing. This is the clear highlight for me.
I Prevail are at their strongest, in my opinion, when melding their strengths in the heavy/clean yin/yang on display in the majestic Pray and Annihilate Me, the latter’s phrasing rhythm in the chorus strongly resembling the undulating chorus pattern of Audioslave’s Show Me How To Live. I do appreciate that I can still hear the influences of peers throughout, such as hints of David Gunn, like I’ve said, as well as Northlane, The Devil Wears Prada, Parkway Drive, Falling In Reverse, and even shades of Good Charlotte.
Musically, Violent Nature is a much more focused effort than previous album True Power, which to me felt like a mashup of styles that didn’t flow anywhere near as coherently in comparison. The band’s objective has obviously narrowed sharply, and this has paid off for them, trimming the fat, streamlining the material with a great balance between the punch and the caress, never knowing when either is coming yet expecting it all the same. I Prevail‘s sound can be uncompromisingly heavy, commercially abundant, and surprisingly emotionally delicate, all of which are delivered in spades on Violent Nature.
