deathcore
Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore Breakdown (music)#Heavy metal and punk rock, breakdowns. While there are some precursors ...
band formed in 2014 in
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...
and currently based in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. The band has had numerous line-up changes over the years, with Russian musician Alex Terrible (lead vocals) and British musician Jack Simmons (lead guitar) as the only constant members. The current line-up features Russian musicians Dmitry Mamedov (rhythm guitar), Mike Petrov (bass), and Evgeny Novikov (drums).
The band debuted with the EP ''Chapters of Misery'' in 2015, followed by the full-length album ''Misery Sermon'' in 2017. Their second album, ''Kostolom'', was released in 2021. They are signed to
Sumerian Records
Sumerian Records is an American record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.
Jack Simmons was a member of
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-based deathcore act Acrania, while Alex Terrible (Aleksandr Shikolay) had gained a cult following online for his vocal covers on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. Terrible was also a member of the Russian deathcore act We Are Obscurity, which disbanded after failing to find a record label. Former We Are Obscurity members Maxim Zadorin (guitar) and Anton Poddyachy (drums) later became part of the initial lineup of Slaughter to Prevail, along with Slava Antonenko (guitar) and Filipp Kucheryavyh (bass). Zadorin left the band very early on and was replaced by his former We Are Obscurity bandmate Dimmitry Mamedov.
Slaughter to Prevail released an EP titled ''Chapters of Misery'' in 2015. The EP's underground success led to them being signed to
Sumerian Records
Sumerian Records is an American record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1988, now based in Tampa, Florida.
The band has released sixteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radio ...
for Summer Slaughter 2016. Dimitry Mamedov left the band before Sumerian Records signed them, and was replaced by Simmons' former bandmate in Acrania Sam Baker. Baker only stayed in the band for a year, however, and after his departure the band scaled down to only having two guitar players. Original bassist Filipp Kucheryavyh also left the band a year later and was replaced by former My Autumn bassist Mikhail Petrov.
The band released their first full-length album, ''Misery Sermon'', in 2017. According to the band, ''Misery Sermon'' was inspired by the hate and misery within themselves and around them.
Slaughter to Prevail was once again invited to perform at Summer Slaughter 2017 alongside bands such as The Black Dahlia Murder and
Dying Fetus
Dying Fetus is an American death metal band from Greater Upper Marlboro, Maryland, formed in 1991. Various lineup changes throughout the years have left John Gallagher as the sole remaining original member, as well as the band's driving force. ...
but was ultimately unable to make the tour due to visa issues. Slaughter to Prevail was also invited to join
Suicide Silence
Suicide Silence is an American deathcore band from Riverside, California, Riverside, California. The band was established in 2002, and has released seven studio albums, three EPs, and nineteen music videos. They were awarded the ''Revolver (ma ...
on their 10th anniversary tour of their album The Cleansing and was set to perform in the USA and Canada in November and December 2017. However, the band encountered visa issues due to the American visa freeze for Russians.
During the ''Misery Sermon'' cycle, Jack Simmons began a hiatus from touring with the band. He would carry on as a studio-only member, with The Hopewell Furnace guitarist Jared Delgado taking his place on stage.
2018–2021: ''Kostolom''
In 2018,
Whitechapel
Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
invited Slaughter to Prevail to join their Ten Years of Exile tour alongside
Chelsea Grin
Chelsea Grin is an American deathcore band from Salt Lake City, Utah. Formed in 2007, the group have released two EPs and seven full-length albums. Since 2018, no founding members remain in the band. Despite not being in the original line-up, ...
and Oceano. Jared Delgado stopped working with the band during this period, being replaced by So This Is Suffering guitarist Robert Brown. Original drummer Anton Poddyachy also decided to leave the band in 2018, being replaced by Katalepsy drummer Evgeny Novikov.
The band released the singles "Agony" and "Demolisher" in 2019 and 2020 respectively to widespread popularity, with Metal Injection stating "The release of 'Demolisher' was an event in the deathcore community. Countless Youtube reaction videos lauded the impossibly deep growls and brutal instrumentation." Jack Simmons also decided to come out of his hiatus, taking part in the public-facing activities of the band for the first time since 2017.
In 2021, the band released another single, "Baba Yaga", named after a being from Slavic folklore. The song was elected by ''
Loudwire
''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...
'' as the third best metal song of 2021. The band released another single, "Zavali Ebalo". Their second full-length album, ''Kostolom'' (English: "Bonebreaker"), was released on 13 August 2021, and included the four singles. Former guitarist Dimitry Mamedov also returned to the band during this time.
In an interview on 30 November 2021, Terrible expressed dissatisfaction with the band's deal with Sumerian Records, attributing it to being "in a fool's paradise" when they started, and to signing without legal advisors. He said the band would likely sue to terminate their contract and continue independently, but "the issue is pending right now". Ultimately, the band decided to stay with Sumerian Records.
2022–present: ''Grizzly''
On 26 February 2022, the band released a statement on Facebook condemning the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
which began two days earlier. Terrible issued another statement on behalf of the band via
Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
and YouTube on 1 March, also urging viewers to "not make the whole Russian people an accomplice". In May, due to the sanctions, as well as an interest in the American metal scene, the band temporarily moved to
Orlando, Florida
Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. On August 9, they released the song "1984", inspired by the
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
novel of the same name, in protest of the government and the war.
On 28 July 2023, the band released the single "Viking", which was followed another single, "Conflict", released on 28 February 2024. On 24 May 2024, the band released the single "Kid of Darkness", and on 15 October, they released "Behelit", with these songs set to appear on the band's upcoming third studio album ''
Grizzly
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
''.
In January 2025, Terrible stated that he didn't relocate to the United States, tries to come to Russia regularly, and highlighted his plans for future concerts in Russia – as well as in the U.S. and Europe.
On 23 April 2025, the band released the single "Russian Grizzly in America" and revealed that their new album would be released on 18 July. On 28 May, they released "Song 3" and its accompanying music video in collaboration with Japanese band
Babymetal
(stylized in all caps as BABYMETAL) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal", Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse Inc., Amuse talent a ...
.
Style and influences
Slaughter to Prevail has been described mainly as
deathcore
Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore Breakdown (music)#Heavy metal and punk rock, breakdowns. While there are some precursors ...
, with a major focus on Terrible's extremely deep
guttural
Guttural Phone (phonetics), speech sounds are those with a primary place of articulation near the back of the oral cavity, where it is difficult to distinguish a sound's place of articulation and its phonation. In popular usage it is an imprecise t ...
vocals. Terrible has mentioned that the band has been influenced by other prominent deathcore bands such as
Suicide Silence
Suicide Silence is an American deathcore band from Riverside, California, Riverside, California. The band was established in 2002, and has released seven studio albums, three EPs, and nineteen music videos. They were awarded the ''Revolver (ma ...
,
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon are a British Rock music, rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean (musician), Matt Kean. T ...
, and Carnifex. ''Kostolom'' marked a stylistic shift, with reviewers noting influence from
nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...
Iowa
Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
''. Terrible also started varying his vocal style more on ''Kostolom'', incorporating pitched screams and occasional clean vocals alongside the growls and gutturals he was known for.
Slaughter to Prevail has lyrics written in both Russian and English, with both languages often appearing in the same song.
Band members
Current
* Aleksandr "Alex Terrible" Shikolai (''Александр Шиколай'') – lead vocals (ex-We Are Obscurity) (2014–present)
* Jack Simmons – lead guitar (Acrania, Hollow Prophet) (2014–present, studio only from 2017–2020)
* Dmitry "Dima" Mamedov (''Дмитрий Мамедов'') – rhythm guitar (We Are Obscurity) (2015, 2021–present)
* Mikhail "Mike" Petrov (''Михаил Петров'') – bass guitar (My Autumn) (2016–present)
* Evgeny Novikov (''Евгений Новиков'') – drums ( Katalepsy) (2018–present)
Former
* Anton Poddyachy – drums (played in Lost in Alaska & We Are Obscurity) (2014–2018)
* Maxim Zadorin – rhythm guitar (ex-We Are Obscurity) (2014)
* Slava Antonenko – guitars (played in Lost in Alaska & With Ink Instead of Blood) (2014–2016)
* Filipp Kucheryavyh – bass (2014–2016)
* Sam Baker (Acrania) – guitars (2015)
* Justin Czubas – guitars (played in Lunaform & Shelia) (2018)
* Jared Delgado – guitars (played in The Hopewell Furnace) (2017–2018)
* Robert Brown – guitars (played in So This Is Suffering, Entheos) (2018–2020)
Grizzly
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
'' (2025)
EPs
* ''Chapters of Misery'' (2015)
Live albums
* ''Live in Moscow'' (2023)
Singles
* "Crowned & Conquered" (feat. Lucas Mann of
Rings of Saturn
Saturn has the most extensive and complex ring system of any planet in the Solar System. The rings consist of particles in orbit around the planet made almost entirely of water ice, with a trace component of Rock (geology), rocky material. Parti ...
Babymetal
(stylized in all caps as BABYMETAL) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal", Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse Inc., Amuse talent a ...