Man is beast and superbeast; the higher man is inhuman and superhuman: these belong together. With every increase of greatness and height in man, there is also an increase in depth and terribleness & the more radically one desires the one, the more radically one achieves precisely the other Friedrich Nietzsche
In just a decade, SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL have become arguably the worlds foremost recognisable deathcore band. As synonymous for frontman Aleksandr Alex Terrible Shikolais guttural vocals and demonic face masks, as their complex multilinguistic and technical musical arrangements, in their third studio album GRIZZLY the band reach new and brutal heights; truly becoming the beast.
Beginning the onslaught, Banditos blisters courtesy of Terribles growls, flourishes of orchestral strings, and Evgeny Novikovs machine gunning double kick. The term for outlaws originating in Italy, the track is punctuated by a European interlude before breaking down again in the fourth minute.
Equally befitting a closer, the opener barrels into Russian Grizzly in America. Eponymously alluding to the bands relocation to Orlando, Florida, in opposition to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the second song announces its gonna be fucking brutal, whilst demonstrating their depth beyond deathliness.
Epitomising this is the first of two collaborations on the record, Imdead featuring FALLING IN REVERSEs Ronnie Radke. Preparing for a North American tour together, the feature artists crescendoed repetitions are married to Jack Simmons wailing guitar and hysterical pace. Later pairing with Japans BABYMETAL for the frenetic Song 3, Slaughter exhibit their penchant for camaraderie once more.
Forging a friendship with the kawaii metal group during 2025s Knotfest Australia festival, Slaughter seemingly go on to pay homage to SLIPKNOT, melting the very same Ice Cube take that motherfucker sample Sid infamously used in Eeyore into Kid of Darkness a song with intimate significance for Terrible, whose metallic mask bears its name.
Rewinding, more folklore is explored; Babayka, Slavic for night spirit, is as ominous as its moniker, with oppressive breakdowns and animalistic snarls throughout. Atmospherically seconded, the caw of ravens and a warning siren impresses the terror of the impending tsunami that is Viking. The normal rules do not apply to GRIZZLY, nor to Slaughter to Prevail.
Devolving further into demonology, Terrible announces I have found the Behelit, and now I am the master; I am your greatest nightmare! Intense string arrangements erupt into twin-flamed guitars, and the frontman displays his more newlyfounded talent for soaring clean vocals that careen seamlessly into his trademarked ways.
Rodina sung in beautiful mother tongues speak of the motherland, while guitars travel from acoustic stylings through breakdowns and into solo work. Never in Conflict, the weight and density across the album is masterfully and perfectly concluded by the Orwellian 1984.
Encapsulating the beastlike aggression Slaughter to Prevail are world-renowned for, their humane intellect is that which wins the battle. Begging Please stop the violence, please stop the bloodshed on Earth; look into the eyes of children who are scared, and remember, remember yourself.
