Few people know that I was not even born when Three Days Grace first formed in 1992 under the name Groundswell. They split up in 1995 but came back in 1997 with their current name. They were a big part of my teen years, and I am so excited to witness a new era of the band as they hit the stage at the O2 Academy Brixton. This is an era for Three Days Grace that nobody really saw coming.
Three Days Grace – Badflower
O2 Academy Brixton – 13 December 2025
Words And Photography: Carol Giannattasio
After the success of Explosions in 2022, the band returned in 2024 with the comeback of Adam Gontier, back after leaving in 2013, now sharing vocals with Matt Walst. Alienation marked their first album with two singers in the band at the same time.
Some shows are just shows. This one was not. Three Days Grace at a sold-out O2 Academy Brixton, on the second-to-last date of their tour that kicked off on 29 August 2025, was an emotional overload.
Three Days Grace dug deep and pulled out versions of ourselves we had locked away with old headphones and sleepless nights.
The room is already on fire from the first note. Opening with Dominate, the hit is sharp and aggressive. No warm-up, no mercy. This is not a normal setlist. It is a trip back in time.
When Animal I Have Become kicks in, the venue explodes, screams everywhere, every voice singing along. The pace stays high with So Called Life and Break, showing how Three Days Grace still know how to move between raw power and quiet reflection.
Home lands like a punch to the chest. It does not matter how old this song is, it still hits hard. The crowd becomes one. Everyone singing at the top of their lungs, dancing, jumping, sometimes even louder than Adam and Matt themselves. Easily one of the best crowds you could ask for.
The emotional core of the night beats strong with Pain, followed by a new track, Kill Me Fast. Two songs that turn Pain into something shared, something human.
And then I Hate Everything About You is pure chaos in the best way. The band pushes the crowd to sing harder, louder. You never get bored at a Three Days Grace show. They drag you back into the past so fast it almost hurts, your chest tight from the rush they throw at you.
With Time Of Dying and another new track, Apologies, the mood shifts again. One of the strongest moments comes when Adam Gontier stands alone in the middle of the stage, lit only by a white light, guitar in hand, starting a song that clearly means everything to me.
The cover of Creep by Radiohead freezes the room. Phone lights in the air, strangers and friends hugging, lost in words that cut deep. A fragile, suspended moment where the band slows everything down and wins, because the emotion is real.
Don’t Wanna Go Home Tonight feels like a message straight to the crowd. The answer is clear. Nobody wants the night to end.
I Am Machine and The Good Life are both there, bringing back that tension between feeling less than human and wanting a normal life.
The finale hits with Painkiller, Never Too Late and Riot. A perfect release. Never Too Late is sung with almost painful emotion, while Riot shuts it all down, the only way it should, with sweat, jumps and controlled chaos.
Three Days Grace brought pure energy to O2 Academy Brixton. They reminded us why, even after all these years, these songs still work. They talk about pain without shame, anger without masks and everyday survival, and that is why they still hit home.
Badflower
Badflower hit the O2 Academy Brixton with a set that leaves no room to breathe. From the first notes of Drop Dead, they pull the crowd into their world, full of headbanging and bodies jumping left and right. Number 1 and Don’t Hate Me lock in a tight, intense mood, with the audience fully caught in the band’s emotional wave.
With Family and Move Me, the night shifts into something more personal. This is where Badflower show how strong they are at turning personal pain into something everyone can feel and share.
Heroin and Stalker also make the cut, along with The Jester and Ghost, keeping a sharp balance between darkness, sarcasm and disappointment. The set closes with 30, quiet but powerful, leaving the crowd wanting more of their raw, rough sound. Still loud, still cutting deep.
Badflower’s performance hits even those who did not know the band before. Tight, focused and fully locked in with each other, they deliver the kind of adrenaline rush you really need before the headliners take the stage.
