Alexisonfire and Birds in Row at O2 Academy Brixton, London 2025

Right after their headline at the beloved UK festival 2000 Trees, we were eagerly waiting for a sold-out Alexisonfire show at the O2 Academy Brixton, with support from Birds in Row opening with their heavy post-hardcore sound.

Birds in Row:

Starting in pure darkness and some backdrop light, Birds in Row came to remind us this was not going to be a quiet gig. With heavy drums, riffs and strong growls, they were just technically perfect.

Hailing from France, there was very little crowd interaction, and it wasn’t needed at all. The songs spoke for themselves, with emotionally charged lyrics and drums that we could feel hitting our hearts from the inside out. In some other concerts, you’d probably guess the sound tuning was a bit overdone, but for Birds in Row, it felt just right.

For most, it was a first time hearing them (me included), and if anything, they earned a whole new set of fans, and we’ll be hearing more and more of them around here.

Alexisonfire:

Then, after a break, it was time for Alexisonfire. The crowd, to what seemed like an uniform, wearing the famous heart logo on their shirts and vests, was waiting eagerly, with fans and loads of water, ready for something that felt like a century waiting.

As soon as the band entered, they started with a massive hit (and to be fair, almost all of their songs are just great), Young Cardinals, bringing the balance from the overall heaviness of George Pettit’s voice, balancing with the almost ethereal voice of Dallas Green.

Chris Steele never stopped on stage all night, jumping, making faces, interacting with the audience, and still managing to keep the bass completely aligned with the band, showing their years on the road.

The setlist contained songs spanning across their career, from Hey, It’s Your Funeral Mama released in 2005, to the most recently released Sans Soleil, from the album Otherness, released in 2022.

Alexisonfire also played for the first time live, Survivor’s Guilt, being widely welcomed and bringing something new to the setlist.

Right before the encore, nothing would suit better than what was one of the most awaited songs “This Could be Anywhere in the World”, hitting heavily and heaving the sold-out Academy echoing the voice of what felt everyone attending, just to be followed up and close with “Accidents” and “World Stops Turning”

We are sure many of the atendees came all the way from Trees to watch Alexisonfire again, and for the ones that didn’t, nobody left disappointed, ending up the gig in a high note and we could notice many (very sweaty) people from the crowd mentioning how great the gig was, and we have to agree, it was one of the best live performance of the band and just left us looking forward a new album.

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