President have hit back at claims that they are an “industry plant”, and said that they actually “couldn’t have planned a harder way” to get their name out there.
The masked metal band first came onto the scene at the start of the year, when they were added to the bill for this summer’s edition of Download Festival – despite no one knowing the identity of the members and them not having released any music at that point.
With metal fans left confused by their inclusion on the line-up, President then went on to launch a cryptic countdown on their website and eventually release ‘In The Name Of The Father’ as their debut single in May.
Since then, they have gone on to drop an EP called ‘King Of Terrors’, perform to a packed out crowd at Download, head out on a headline tour, and lock in an ongoing support slot with Architects.
Given the seemingly huge overnight success of the band – which fans are convinced is fronted by Charlie Simpson – there has been some criticism from fans in recent months, with some suggesting that they could be “industry plants”. The term is used to describe an artist who appears to have emerged organically, but has actually had covert backing from avenues including wealthy or well-connected family members, or from a major record label.
Rumours have also been aided given President signing to Future History – the record label that also looks after this year’s Download headliners, Sleep Token.
Now, the anonymous frontman of President has taken part in a new interview with Metal Hammer to hit back at the claims that the band are an “industry plant”, and insist that they have taken a long road to reach this level of success.
“When you blow up really quickly, it’s assumed you’re backed by a huge corporate machine,” he told the outlet.
“People find it hard to accept that something can just explode organically. But if something’s getting a lot of attention, you’re gonna draw equal measures of hate as you are love. I’d rather people felt something than nothing at all.”
He then went on to explain that the huge Download set was a roll of the dice for them, and in fact meant that they “couldn’t have planned a harder way to introduce President to the world”.
“If it went wrong, it would have been a fucking disaster,” he added. “But it spurred me on to rise to the challenge. And hearing everyone shouting ‘President!’ made it all worth it; when I walked offstage, I was wiping tears off of my mask. It was such an emotional moment.”
The band are currently out on tour in Australia on the aforementioned tour with Architects, and will be joining them again for upcoming shows in Europe and North America in 2026. Other gigs lined up for the new year include a headline slot at Portsmouth’s Takedown Festival, and a fully sold-out European headline tour.
According to Metal Hammer, the band are also underway with writing new material and planning on dropping their debut album in 2026.
They are far from the first artist to have to bat off derogatory claims of being an “industry plant”. Over recent years, there appears to be a rise in the number of artists being accused of not having organic growth and actually being secretly aided by big names in the industry.
Last month, former NME Cover stars Picture Parlour told us what it was like to be at the brunt end of criticism and “resentment” from listeners. “ “It felt like […] ‘Why is this moment being taken away? We do deserve it’,” frontwoman Katherine Parlour said.
“Maybe back then we were scared to say, ‘Fuck you all, we deserve this.’ Because it’s such a scary, overwhelming feeling to have […] everybody telling you that you don’t deserve it, and this isn’t meant for you.”
The Last Dinner Party’s frontwoman, Abigail Morris, also hit back at long-running claims that they were an industry plant, as did Lola Young, who set the record straight after it recently came to light that she is related to the author of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson.
In September, Cardi B also responded to rumours that she is an industry plant intended to replace Nicki Minaj.
As for President, when the masked metallers played at The Garage this summer, their set was given a three-star review by NME, who described it as “triumphant debut headline show” but needing “more songs to sustain their hype”.
“After just six songs (there’s no outing for ‘Conclave’ from forthcoming debut EP ‘King Of Terrors’) and 30 minutes, some of the euphoria does fall off a cliff,” it read. “By announcing more headline dates only for 2026, President have perhaps bought themselves the time they need to flesh out their live show with more material. This assertive debut performance, nevertheless, has secured them our vote.”
