Slaughter To Prevail frontman Alex Terrible has officially broken his silence following the wave of backlash aimed at fellow deathcore and death metal bands Dying Fetus and Suicide Silence, who recently announced they will be joining Slaughter To Prevail on the group’s European/UK headlining tour slated for early 2026.
The criticism directed at the tour isn’t rooted in the music itself—fans of the genre have largely praised the heavy-hitting lineup—but rather in the controversy that continues to shadow Alex Terrible (real name: Aleksandr Shikolai). The Russian vocalist has long faced scrutiny over past associations with far-right symbolism and offensive commentary. A particular point of contention has been a black sun tattoo, a symbol that has been historically co-opted by neo-Nazi groups, as well as past comments that many have labeled as homophobic and transphobic.
In a December 2023 video, Terrible addressed the backlash directly, insisting that he does not support far-right ideology and stating that some of his earlier statements were intended as jokes—albeit, in his own words, “bad ones.” Despite this public attempt to distance himself from extremist beliefs, the criticism hasn’t subsided. And now, with the announcement of the 2026 tour, the backlash has extended to the bands agreeing to share the stage with him.
Since the tour reveal, Dying Fetus, Suicide Silence, and Annotations of an Autopsy have all experienced a flood of negative comments on social media, with some fans accusing them of tacitly condoning Terrible’s past behavior by choosing to join the tour. Critics argue that bands aligning with Slaughter To Prevail are sending the wrong message at a time when accountability and inclusivity are increasingly emphasized within the metal community.
Earlier today (June 5th), Terrible responded to the controversy via Instagram, voicing his frustration and confusion over the situation:
“I went to @suicidesilence and @dyingfetusofficial pages and read all hate comments from people. They mad about our own headline tour
“Listen I grew up with suicide silence music and never imagined they will open for my band. To be honest I still don’t know how to react for this and for me personally I prefer touring without any support bands. Just us and we did it a lot of times already and sell out big Venues wich is very very good. But people always complained it was just us and they want more. Well our team worked it out and asked sick bands to tour with us and now people complain this band touring with us coz of US in our own tour WHAT THE FFFFFF”
