I Prevail “Annihilate Me” Single Review

Detroit, metal-core, band, I Prevail, has been annihilating the scene among streaming, festivals, and social media. Between their last two albums, True Power (2022) and TRAUMA (2019), the band has since had quite the collection of popular singles such as, “Hurricane”, “Gasoline”, “Bow Down”, “There’s Fear In Letting Go”, and of course, the most iconic cover of the Taylor Swift song, “Blank Space”. 

With their upcoming album, Violent Nature, release date fast approaching , I Prevail has been giving their audience hints of what’s to come. From May 23 to August 15, they have released a total of four singles out of the ten song album: Violent Nature, Into Hell, Rain, and finally, Annihilate Me. Within the past year, the band has gone through the major transition of harsh vocalist, Eric Vanlerberghe, now taking the lead on both clean and  harsh vocals. 

”Annihilate Me” is the latest single drop and likely the last until Violent Nature’s September 19 release date. The message of this song is about the struggle of being vulnerable and sometimes the need for self-destruction in order to become a better version of yourself. The metal-core genre has had the reputation of containing songs with emotionally heavy subject matter, highlighting more negatives than positives at times, which can sometimes be difficult to listen to on the regular. Despite Annihilate Me’s shocking title, the song illustrates the violent flow of emotions, a very human experience we all go through, but it emphasizes the importance of persevering in the end.

“Annihilate Me” emphasizes the versatility of Eric’s voice, flowing effortlessly from clean to harsh, while maintaining his usual high, theatrical, energy that’s seen on stage. The single would be a great candidate for introducing someone new to the genre, with Eric’s vocals paying an homage to 2000s metal core, and the band’s perfectly matched powerful sound. “Annihilate Me” proves that Eric’s new role as lead vocalist will guarantee a cinematic listening experience both in the studio and live, and based on social media, the anticipation of this album is quite intense. September 19 can’t get here fast enough!

Written by Mercede Marcolongo