SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL // O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON, LONDON
A SONG OF FIRE, BEARS AND DEATHCORE
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(5/5)
SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL AT O2 BRIXTON ACADEMY, LONDON
PHOTOCREDIT: LUKE LAWLEY
Slaughter To Prevail once again brings the pure, unfiltered energy, showcasing that Deathcore definitely isn’t dead with the new Grizzly Winter Tour with supporting titans of the genre, Suicide Silence, Dying Fetus, and surprising what I can only describe as Sludgecore, Annotations Of An Autopsy. Before the house lights had a chance to settle, the pit was already churning — bodies colliding, limbs flying, and security bracing for impact. London showed up starving for violence, and this lineup was more than happy to oblige.
Annotations of an Autopsy wasted no time setting the tone. The second they hit the stage, the room snapped into chaos, a blunt-force introduction that felt more like an ambush than an opening set. Downtuned riffs came swinging like sledgehammers, triggering immediate crowd surges and a pit that refused to stay contained. Vocals were filthy and unrelenting, ripping straight through the mix with zero restraint. There was no easing the crowd in — just raw, UK-bred brutality.
The violence escalated with Dying Fetus, who turned the venue into a masterclass in controlled annihilation. From the first riff, the band locked in with machine-like precision, every blast beat and pinch harmonic landing with ruthless clarity. John Gallagher commanded the stage effortlessly, delivering his signature bark while locking in devastating rhythm work without missing a beat. The pit became a constant motion engine — circle pits folding into walls of death, then collapsing into pure survival mode as breakdowns detonated across the room. Despite the sheer technicality on display, nothing felt clinical. This was Dying Fetus at full throttle: brutal, precise, and completely unforgiving.
By the time Suicide Silence took the stage, the crowd was already battered — and still begging for more. Opening with absolute intent, they came out swinging, immediately igniting the largest pit of the night. Eddie Hermida owned the front of the stage, feeding off the crowd’s energy and throwing it straight back tenfold. Classic tracks hit like muscle memory, triggering massive sing-along moments and relentless movement across the floor. The band sounded massive — thick, punishing low end paired with razor-sharp drums that cut straight through the chaos. There was no lull, no dead air — just nonstop pressure from start to finish.
Visually, the show was stripped back but effective. Dark lighting and aggressive strobes amplified the hostility of each set, keeping the focus locked on the violence unfolding both onstage and in the pit. Sweat-soaked, bruised, and barely holding together, the crowd gave everything back, turning the venue into a pressure cooker of sound and motion.
Before the lights had even started, crowdsurfers were at the ready with about 6 coming over the barrier within the first 30 seconds (props to security). Opening with Bonebreaker, the band is silhouetted by a behemoth-sized Grizzly Bear as the crowd erupts into an adrenalinefueled battleground. This wasn’t a slow burn of a show - Slaughter To Prevail came out swinging, not once letting their foot off the throat. Frontman Alex Terrible does what he does best, commanding the stage with primal fury, letting out the dirtiest vocals that fans have come to love, and endorsing the pure size of this band. Summoning his iconic no-mic gutturals throughout without breaking a sweat. Masked of unmasked; Slaughter to Prevail, through the entirety of the performance, had the crowd in a brutal chokehold, feeding directly from the chaos happening before them. Non-stop pyrotechnics and CO2 blasts really added to the vibe that we’ve just stepped into one hell of a performance.
Musically, the band was tight as ever; despite an unfortunate early show technical difficulty, the band didn’t miss a step. Any issues were quickly brushed aside as the set powered forward with ruthless momentum; if anything, it added fuel to the fire of the crowd's energy. Slaughter To Prevail’s live sound is the perfect balance between sheer brutality and presicion delivering an energetic set yet overwhelmingly and meticulously controlled power throughout ladning each breakdown like a controlled detonation of intensity.
A high-quality setlist hitting all the highpoints of their discography, including “Russian Grizzly In America”, “Baba Yaga”, “Conflict” and the perfect choice for the encore of fan favourite “Demolisher”. The new songs sound tight and the old as tight as ever. Visually, the show's production elevated the performance into something monstrous. Fiery red washed over the stage amplifying the band's aggressive aesthetic. The Bear adding symbolism as a nod to their Russian roots and savage branding felt insanely present reinforcing that this wasnt just a performance but a statement of identity.
By the time the show had come to a close and the final notes rang out, Slaughter To Prevail left Brixton Academy battered, breathless and wanting more. The band’s Grizzly Winter Tour isn’t just a victory lap to their increasing success; the show and lineup is a statement. Deathcore is not dead - and Slaughter To Prevail will be standing on the genres podium.
REVIEW + PHOTOS BY: LUKE LAWLEY
