Crystal Lake and Miss May I on a co-headline tour of the UK is already a recipe for some magnificent Metalcore bite. Add in the carnage from Great American Ghost and Diesect, and you have a headache-inducing Thursday night – of the desirable variety.
Crystal Lake – Miss May I – Great American Ghost – Diesect
O2 Academy Islington – 19 March 2026
Words: Lucy Dunnet
Photography: Antonio Giannattasio
Diesect
All the way from Australia, Diesect bring their screamy mid-tempo Metalcore to London for the first time ever. And not just their first time in London, but their first time overseas, full stop.
They are here to warm the O2 Academy Islington up and pour a torrent of fury from down under down the crowd’s throats. The soundscapes in between tracks make you feel like you’re about to embark on an intergalactic quest, before the breakneck beats charge in with screams that scrape your eardrums against a wall of sheet metal.
Diesect are bristly, determined, and are rewarded with some mosh battles and grunts of approval from the crowd.
Great American Ghost
What is Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso doing coming out of the speakers? You would be forgiven for wondering this with more than a little confusion. As it fades to a haunting piano track, Great American Ghost take to the stage, the sight of their drummer Seb L-R already shirtless, with a sweat towel around his neck, a sure-fire sign that they mean hot, aggressive business.
The Industrial Metalcore warriors from Boston come in with a smack, led by vocalist Ethan Harrison, with the message, “This machine kills fascists,” decorating the back of his jacket. The pit needs no encouragement to open up, fuelled by Ethan’s elongated screams and piercing melodic hooks.
“Bad news. We’re your new favourite band,” reveals Ethan. “This next song is designed to make you fall in love with us.” They tear into Kerosine, and that chorus, those screams; itms like nails clawing against your eardrums, and the crowd visibly does fall a little bit in love with Great American Ghost then and there.
Beady-eyed members of the crowd may notice there is no bassist on stage. It turns out Anthony Laur is playing from backstage, trying desperately not to throw up because of how sick he is. If that’s not commitment to the music…
Ethan closes the set by commanding a “square pit” (can’t say any of the forbidden, dangerous crowd engagement terms, of course) with the power of Poseidon whirling up a deadly rip current, before jumping his godly Metalcore ass onto the hands of the waiting crowd for a final surf.
New favourite band: definitely unlocked.
Miss May I
Miss May I hit the O2 Academy Islington with a bolt of maximum energy the moment the co-headliners take to the stage. Jerod Boyd stands atop his kit, twirling out some drum stick acrobatics, before the Metalcore quartet launch into their set with big hitter Shadows Inside.
Vocalist Levi Benton darts about the stage like a highly charged atom. The frontman is a heady mix of scorching screams and warm charisma, unable to wipe the grin from his face. Bassist Ryan Neff’s clean vocals are tinged with angelic levels of emotion and melody as they soar through chorus after infectious chorus. And the crowd, while not overwhelming in its size, is splattered with super fans singing along to every word.
It is impossible not to join the emo belting of “I hate everything, I hate everyone” in I.H.E., fuelled by a rollercoaster of riffs from Elisha Mullins. But nothing sees the crowd expel so much excitement as Forgive And Forget. The drums pelt out at a murderous pace, and those crowdsurfing and moshing try their damnedest to keep up.
For twenty years, Miss May I have been bouncing around the periphery of the Metalcore inner circle, never quite exploding in size but maintaining respect and love from fans worldwide nonetheless.
Their set is a combination of filthy intros, melodic hooks and an enticing sense of camaraderie. Before the finale, Levi takes a moment to express how much touring and their fans mean to the band: “No matter where we’re at in the world, when we come on stage, it feels like we’re with family.”
Crystal Lake
Closing out tonight are Japanese powerhouse Crystal Lake. Vocalist John Robert Centorrino immediately beckons forth the crowdsurfers, as the crushing weight of their frantic Metalcore blasts through the O2 Academy Islington.
Their latest album, The Weight of Sound, released in January, is chock-full of razor-sharp riffs and savage breakdowns that translate to the inescapable need to headbang in their live show. Neversleep, Blüdgod and Everblack do not so much ease the crowd into the set as yank the venue deep into Crystal Lake’s orbit.
Founding guitarist Yudai “YD” Miyamoto spits out his backing vocals with as much vitriol as he pours into his shredding. The whole Metalcore five piece play with a feral intensity that seems to channel demonic creatures one second, and inspire legions of warriors the next.
Hail To The Fire and SIX FEET UNDER ramp up the intensity even further, with John reminding us that he “can’t fucking say it [mosh] you need to do it for me.” Thank god for the security guards who grin every time a crowdsurfer gets sent up or a hardcore kid gets particularly rowdy with their spin kicks.
“We’re all Crystal Lake,” emotes John, as they get the crowd to hold their hands up in the shape of hearts. Like with Miss May I, the sentiment tonight of gratitude and love for their fans is strong.
Crystal Lake conclude the night with the atmospheric tremors and suffocating intensity of The Weight Of Sound’s title track, and the crowd laps it up with such depths to their headbanging that there are sure to be neck braces worn tomorrow.
Crystal Lake are hungry, and their rebirth with The Weight Of Sound was just the appetiser.
