Three Days Grace and Badflower at the O2 Academy Brixton, London 13/12/2025

Seeing a band as widely popular and influential as the giants Three Days Grace to play the O2 Academy Brixton has been a bucket-list event for many fans of the rock and emo music, and just now their wishes finally came true. Since Adam Gontier’s departure from the band in 2013, Matt Walst successfully took over the lead, and it has been an unexpected surprise, when Gontier joined the band once again last year to co-lead the vocals with Walst. Since then, the band has been on the rise even more rapidly, even releasing a brand new album ‘Alienation’, which this tour promoted. Bringing the American rockers Badflower around Europe and the UK, the band assured a night filled with good moshpits and many tears.

Badflower

The only opener of the night, Badflower, has been on the rock scene for around twelve years now, and has already won the hearts of many fans. Hailing from the city of Los Angeles in California and still featuring all the founding members – Josh Katz (vocals, guitar), Joey Morrow (lead guitar, backing vocals), Alex Espiritu (bass) and Anthony Sonetti (drums), the quartet has become a staple in rock and emo playlists almost instantly.

Taking over Brixton was a breeze for them, as the crowd started cheering the second the lights went out, excited to see the rising stars. Playing ten songs, with the majority from their older albums and only one – ‘Number 1’, from their recent release ‘No Place Like Home’, the four-piece struck immediately with their almost unlimited energy and enthusiasm, strong riffs that get stuck in the head for days after hearing them and roaring vocals, that were hitting all the right spots. At the end of Badflower’s set, it was certain that it is not going to take them long to headline the O2 Academy Brixton soon as well.

Three Days Grace

After the explosive support, the main act of the evening – Three Days Grace, started getting ready. Having the cover of their latest album as the backdrop and one screen on each side of the stage, it was obvious the sold out venue is in for a big one. Once the lights dimmed, the speakers started blasting the first song, the screens showed the words “Here we fucking go”, and every single person inside burst into applause and cheers, welcoming the Canadian five-piece, who started their set with the songs ‘Dominate’, ‘Animal I Have Become’ and ‘So Called Life’, onto the big stage.

Neil Sanderson (drums, backing vocals, keyboards), Brad Walst (bass) and Barry Stock (lead guitar) aggressively took over with sickly riffs and beats, while Gontier and Matt Walst sang together each of the songs, walking around the whole stage and interacting with the fans, who loved every second of it. Progressing further through the night with hits like ‘Break’, ‘Home’, ‘The Mountain’ ‘Mayday’ and ‘Pain’, the crowd’s singing was only intensifying and both the floor and the balcony sang each song word by word without any hesitation.

Gontier and Matt Walst spoke in between songs multiple times, often expressing gratitude for the massive support they have received over the last twenty-eight years of their career, especially with Gontier’s return, and each time they were met with even louder praise than before. After the songs ‘Kill Me Fast’, ‘I Hate Everything About You’, ‘Time Of Dying’ and ‘Apologies’, all members of the band except Gontier left the stage, as he was given space to perform an acoustic cover of the all-time favourite song ‘Creep’ by Radiohead. Needless to say, the crowd absolutely carried the song, as it was sometimes louder than Gontier with his microphone and guitar, but it was a special moment that is going to be hard to forget, as the bond between the singer and the audience grew stronger than ever before.

With the last six songs – ‘Don’t Wanna Go Home Tonight’, ‘I Am Machine’, ‘The Good Life’, and the absolute favourites since their release – ‘Painkiller’, ‘Never Too Late’ and ‘Riot’, which Gontier also had on his t-shirt the whole night, the experience transcended into a full blown musical experience, with the crowd carrying the songs without a single missed lyric. As this was the last UK stop of the tour, Three Days Grace expressed their gratitude to all the fans who came to see them, while the fans expressed their support and appreciation for the opportunity to see the band perform live.

The night was definitely a journey back to the old rebel or emo teenage years for many in attendance, and while it has been incredible twenty-eight years since Three Days Grace officially started making music under their name, it does not mean the band is losing its identity – but quite the opposite. ‘Alienation’ is the prime example that the band still has plenty to deliver and this is just a beginning of their journey with two vocalists, who shaped Three Days Grace into the band everyone loves today.