Manchester is one of my favourite cities for gigs. Tonight brings Slaughter To Prevail’s ‘Grizzly Winter Tour’ to this city. With only three UK shows and the only date north of Birmingham, it is no surprise that the O2 Victoria Warehouse is completely sold out.
Opening things this evening are Suffolk-based deathcore stalwarts Annotations of an Autopsy (AOAA). Delivering a short, brutal set, these guys bring an opening ferocity to the sold-out crowd, with classic gutturals, pig squeals and breakdowns that the genre is known for. Playing for the first time since 2019, they slam through their four-song set with “World of Sludge” settling the tone early. Closing out with “Gore Gore Gadget” and “Welcome To Sludge City” from their debut EP, it shows to everyone here that the world is ready for more AOAA.
Surprisingly Suicide Silence are up next. Considering Slaughter To Prevail cite Suicide Silence as a major influence, I would have thought they would be the main support. This, however, does not seem to bother them. There was a stark contrast between a huge crowd sing-along to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Suicide Silence entering the stage. Ripping straight into “Unanswered”, these Riverside locals come out swinging, setting the tone as they lay waste to the Victoria Warehouse. Security will earn their pay cheque tonight! There is no let up from our American brothers ripping into “Fuck Everything”, getting the packed-out crowd fully engaged. We also get the first wall of death, maybe just a quick warm up for things to come. “You Only Live Once” goes hard as hell and the finisher, “No Pity for a Coward”, has me feeling like the speaker stack is going to jump off the rigging. Suicide Silence bring a ruthlessness and intensity which is hard to match, showing that they are a band on top of their game.
Underground legends Dying Fetus join in on the fun. Creating a perfect juxtaposition with “YMCA” blaring and the crowd dancing out the famous moves, the band duly devour the Village People with “In The Trenches”. This is classic death metal at its best. With a setlist comprising seven songs from seven different albums, stretching almost the entirety of their career, there is something for everyone (unless you don’t like Dying Fetus, then tough). This trio put on an absolute clinic, lighting a fire under the arse of the crowd, whipping them into a rabid frenzy and keeping security on their toes. “Unbridling Fury” and “Into the Cesspool” have some killer grooves and “Grotesque Impalement” has some unbelievable blast beats. Having John Gallagher and Sean Beasley sharing vocal parts gives Dying Fetus a diverse and different sound to each song, setting them apart from the usual single vocalist often found in death metal.
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The atmosphere suddenly changes to a subdued but excited anticipation of what is about to happen. The stage has been transformed; a huge drum riser is flanked by two grizzly bear heads. Platforms to the left and right. Slaughter To Prevail masks throughout the crowd. The buzz is building… Like a powder keg ready to explode… The lights dip… “Voron” plays… the band enter the stage… “Bonebreaker” starts… All hell breaks loose.
The whole crowd is now moving, front to back, side to side. I don’t think there is anyone standing still. Alex Terrible is centre stage, front. An unbelievable presence. All the band are in their masks that act as their mascots. Famous even. Rolling through into “Banditos” and “Russian Grizzly in America”, everything is bigger: the voice, the stage, the production, the personality. Terrible commands the stage, his muscles flexing like the music. The voice, so loud, so powerful, so deep. To uninitiated ears he could be summoning demons. This is a spectacle.
After pounding through the first half of their set, with the band about to lead into “Babayka” and a wall of death, the music drops out. The band look confused and so do the crowd. A few boos ring out. Considering there were technical difficulties last night in Brixton could it be the same here? After five or so minutes of confusion, it seems like the stop could be the venue not wanting a huge wall of death. I’m still uncertain. As Terrible reminds the crowd and the venue, “it doesn’t matter what happens, the crowd is still going to go crazy”. So, he splits the crowd down the middle for a huge wall of death that has become synonymous with the band’s live show.
With no further disruptions, the band continues to show how, in a relatively short space of time, they are becoming one of the bigger names out there. Songs like “Baba Yaga” and “Conflict” switch between English and Russian lyrics which brings a whole new heaviness. “Behelit” incorporates vocal harmonies and strings together for an epic closing song.
Say what you will about Slaughter To Prevail and Alex Terrible. There is one thing you cannot deny. They are turning into a behemoth of a live band. I feel it won’t be long until we see them selling out arenas. Bloodstock already has them as headliners this year and now I understand why.
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Photos by James Hadley
