A View From The Back Of The Room: I Prevail (Heather Louise Ash)

I Prevail, Polaris and Gore, Depot Cardiff, 23.09.26

A sold-out Depot welcomed I Prevail, Polaris and Gore. to Cardiff for a night of heavy music, sweaty bodies and a crowd that seemed to get more lively with every set. The music got heavier, the pits got bigger and by the end of the night things had got very, very sweaty.

Flashing lights surrounding the floor drew everyone's attention to the stage as Gore (8) opened with haunting vocals and strong screams, their darker atmospheric sound getting a sea of heads bopping almost in unison before the heavier moments got more bodies moving. 

The pit was still more of a gentle jostle at this point, people lightly pushing each other, arms going over shoulders and smiles all round, with someone's lost shoe eventually appearing above the crowd, being held in the air like a beacon. There was loads of energy on stage and phone torches appeared across the crowd during the slower moments, swaying above people's heads before disappearing again when things picked back up.

Between sets the pits disappeared and everyone gathered in little groups chatting and sharing stories. It's one of my favourite things about live music, one minute you're being shoved around by a complete stranger and five minutes later you're chatting away to them like you've known each other for years.

Polaris (9) came on noticeably heavier, but with enough melodic moments for people to sing along before it all got heavy again. The pits got bigger pretty quickly, circle pits opening up with more and more people piling in and the first beads of sweat starting to form on faces as The Depot got noticeably hotter.

Crowdsurfers also started to spawn above everyone's heads and I somehow kept finding myself directly in the spawning points, taking the occasional foot in passing before watching another person disappear over the crowd towards the barrier. Arms were up, bodies were bouncing and even those staying around the edges of the pits were no longer standing still.

Another break meant a chance for a drink, some air and more chatting before I Prevail (9) came out heavy and hard and things got very sweaty, very quickly with their set in support of A Violent Nature. The crowd were singing along to favourites one minute and throwing themselves around again the next, and those beads of sweat from earlier were basically puddles by this point.

After spending most of the night around the edges I decided it was finally time to brave my first pit. Lots of pushing, kicking, arms and legs everywhere and at some point I inevitably ended up on the floor in a game of human dominoes. I barely had time to register I'd face-planted the concrete before several hands appeared and pulled me straight back up. I came away with a grazed knee, carried on and then went back in because apparently once wasn't enough.

Walls of death started forming too, the crowd splitting before both sides ran at each other and collided in the middle, with bodies still flying overhead. As always though, the second somebody hit the floor there were hands reaching in to get them back up to safety. 

Things slowed down later for a cover of Taylor Swift's Blank Space, phone torches came back out and everyone got a much-needed chance to catch their breath before things picked up again.

That sense of community carried through the whole night. People spent the sets pushing each other around, catching strangers above their heads and picking each other up off the floor, then the music stopped and everyone went straight back to chatting and sharing stories.

I left The Depot sweaty, slightly battered, with a grazed knee and feeling it in pretty much every limb for the remainder of the week. It was worth every second.