PRESIDENT: LONDON, UK
PRESIDENT
at O2 Forum Kentish Town in London, UK on 21/04/2026
words by Nikki Elmer
Credit: Zak Pinchin
Barely a year on from their cryptic unveiling, PRESIDENT have already turned early curiosity into something more substantial. Emerging in early 2025 as an anonymous, masked project with no music released, the band built hype through teasers before their debut single “In The Name of the Father” in May and making their first-ever live appearance at Download Festival 2025.
Fast forward to April 21st 2026 at the O2 Forum Kentish Town, the final date of a sold-out Europe and UK tour, where this initial mysterious concept now feels like a fully realised movement. With a growing catalogue and solid live reputation, PRESIDENT arrived in London as one of the most talked-about new names in UK heavy music.
Opening the night was The Boy Shadow, fronted by former Loathe guitarist Connor Sweeney. His new project evoked echoes of Loathe’s signature sound while expanding on it, pushing beyond genre boundaries. Despite the unconventional setup of three vocalists and a drummer, the crowd responded warmly, with ripples of approval and bursts of applause as the set unfolded. The drums hit with tight, surgical precision, while the three-vocalist approach shifted seamlessly between aggressive, gut-wrenching gutterals and psychedelic harmonies, each executed with striking clarity even in a live setting. The band carried themselves with confidence throughout, delivering a performance that held the room’s attention from start to finish.
Still relatively unknown in the same way PRESIDENT once were, The Boy Shadow delivered a set that felt formative and forward-looking. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, they’re likely to follow a similar path of growth and recognition, and proved a fitting prelude to PRESIDENT’s headline show.
PRESIDENT’s set opened with an ominous low rumble and distorted, retro TV audio, prompting a sea of phones to lift in anticipation. The band filed onstage slowly, lit only by the pink insignia glowing from the central podium, before bursting into their opener ‘Fearless’. A clear favourite with the crowd, the song had the room shouting “Fearless” in unison with every surge of gang backing vocals. PRESIDENT relies heavily on tracked synths to underpin their sound, but these blended well with the live instrumentation; even from the front, where the mix can often turn muddy, the balance held up impressively well.
Bathed predominantly in pink and purple lighting, an unconventional palette for a genre often defined by darker tones, the visuals echoed their EP artwork and complemented the band’s identity.
Without losing momentum, ‘Dionysus’ and ‘RAGE’ from their King of Terrors EP carried the set forward before delving into their newer track ‘Angel Wings’. A highlight from the set, this song shifts away from aggression, focusing instead on atmosphere, with controlled vocals and layered instrumentation giving it a more measured, emotional impact.
A surprise cover of Deftones’ ‘Change (In the House of Flies)’ slotted in seamlessly, reworked just enough to feel like their own without losing the original’s moody weight.
‘Conclave’ followed, easing the set into a more melodic space with synth-led textures and a piano-driven alt-pop edge. The breakdown was recycled at the end of the song to extend its closing section, serving as a final surge of intensity before the encore.
The encore was introduced by a spoken-word retelling of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, casting the set in a broader meditation on perception, reality and illusion. The President made his way back to the podium when they kicked off the encore with their latest release “Mercy”. With dark tones describing the relationship between faith and loss, the song is a brooding addition to the catalogue yet well received by the audience. It was followed up with “Destroy Me”, another track that drew strong crowd participation.
With the President at his podium, a recorded interlude addressed the crowd, echoing the band’s premonitions: “Citizens of London, let it be known - this is merely the opening chapter. We did not come to whisper; we came to build a movement, a sound, a future. Remain alert. Stay united. And above all, stay loud. We’ll be seeing you soon. Godspeed.”
With that, the band closed on their origin point and source of their EP’s title, ‘In the Name of the Father’. The crowd sang every word, and as the breakdown hit, the live instruments dropped out, leaving a bass-heavy synth pulsing beneath it as the President urged the room to open up. The crowd obliged instantly, the floor breaking into a mosh pit that carried the song to its final, chaotic close.
Despite anonymity limiting direct interaction, the President still found ways to engage the crowd, relying on gestures and physical cues to maintain a strong connection throughout. Vocally, he remained consistently strong across the set, delivering a controlled and assured performance; even while performing behind a mask.
Reactions to PRESIDENT have been mixed since their debut last year. Their masked presentation and fusion of atmosphere with heavy music inevitably invite comparisons to a now-familiar blueprint within modern UK heavy music. Regardless of opinion, their live execution remains assured, even within the constraints of anonymity, and have already built a fiercely loyal fanbase. Given their rapid growth so far, their momentum looks set to continue.
Nikki Elmer
★★★★☆
