Live Review : Slaughter To Prevail + Dying Fetus + Suicide Silence + Annotations Of An Autopsy @ O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester on January 17th 2026

Rock 'n' roll is founded on controversy. From Elvis swinging his hips in a sexualised manner, through the Beatles declaring themselves to be bigger than Jesus, the Sex Pistols dropping the F-bomb on prime-time telly and onto Ozzy urinating on the Alamo while wearing one of Sharon's dresses. One of its fundamental tenets is to cause the generation before it to look at their children and say, “don’t grow up like that”. The latest in a long line of controversial acts to shake the moral fibre of the nation are Russian/British deathcore agitators Slaughter to Prevail.

Frontman Alex Terrible is accused of links with ultra-right-wing gangs and using Nazi-associated imagery. The band's defence is that it is a case of bad decisions in the past and misspent youth. Whether you believe that or not is ultimately up to you, but the truth of the matter is that their ultra-heavy and flagrantly aggressive brand of deathcore has chimed with the disenfranchised masses in a way that we haven't seen since Slipknot broke through in the very early noughties. 

Like any developing imperialistic power with an eye firmly set on world domination, Slaughter to Prevail are learning. Last time they mounted a UK campaign they made a point by going out on their own without an undercard. Given the brevity of the set offered, it led to plenty of questions about value for money. This time around, they are taking no chances and have pulled together an impressively diverse supporting cast of the bands that inspired them. As Alex the Terrible will intone later, Annotations of an Autopsy, Suicide Silence and Dying Fetus were the bands he was listening to as a lost and directionless 14-year-old.

The first on the list are the personification of the term "could have been a contender". This is Annotations of a Autopsy’s third attempt to return to the fray since they went on hiatus in 2013, and they resurface to a world where their “Welcome to the Sludge” EP is viewed both as a blueprint and a manifesto. Leaning into their ridiculously short stage time, they just play their thirteen-minute debut release in its entirety and bugger off. Most of the audience sadly miss their illustrious return to grace as they are still filing in the building, but for the diehards upfront, this is indeed the second coming. Now let's hope they stick around this time and build on the goodwill for their brutal incarnation of deathcore.

By the time that Suicide Silence’s arrival is heralded by a rendition of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, the room has filled to capacity and an air of expectation fills the venue. Suicide Silence have leant into their role as godfathers of the deathcore scene and are met with a level of vocal reverence that is usually reserved for headliners. In fact Hermida deals upfront with the elephant in the room of why Deathcore pioneers and trendsetters such as themselves are the opening act for young whippersnappers Slaughter To Prevail. His answer is both pragmatic and heartfelt. After two decades of toil, these are the biggest rooms they have ever played in, and Slaughter To Prevail are opening deathcore up to an audience that Suicide Silence could only dream of. They seem truly proud to be part of this revolution, even if it is just in a 35-minute opening slot. 

Suicide Silence are incendiary tonight. They burn off the stage in a cacophony of shunted guitar riffs, majestic blast beats and corrosive breakdowns. For a venue that usually struggles with sound, it is pristine this evening, and you can hear every ounce of brutal technicality. There is a real connection with the audience and Hermida understands the feelings of alienation and disconnection. As they slam into the nihilistic wonder of ‘Fuck Everything’, he demands that everyone stick their middle fingers in the air and scream the song's poignant title. It takes four attempts for us to get it to the right level of bile and wonton disregard. In fact, drummer Erine Iniguez has to threaten to go on strike before it is at a volume they are content with. Deathcore isn’t deathcore without a wall of death, and an impressive attempt is unleashed during ‘Disengage’, whilst ‘You Only Live Once’ sees the pit cavort around in a spiral of malicious mayhem. It is a magical spectacle, a band who have played such a part in the development of this music finally getting their deserved recognition. They depart with a dedication to the departed Mitch Lucker and a promise to return. A phenomenal performance.

In a sea of riotous deathcore, Dying Fetus are the square peg. For thirty-five years, they have single-mindedly traded in route 101 death metal. As their name suggests, they have no problem with being offensive and repugnant. With (fittingly) only thirty-five minutes to play with, we get one track apiece from six of their nine releases, as well as the towering ‘Into the Cesspool’ from their forthcoming new album. There is something dependably nasty about Dying Fetus, whilst the proceeding and succeeding acts rely on musical pyrotechnics and an anthemic in-your-face nature, they are much more grounded and primal at play here. This is music taken to the limits of listenability, metal designed to challenge the very essence and existence of melody. It is organic, stripped back and elementally powerful. An incident upfront during the first track ‘In the Trenches’ seems to take the wind out the crowd's sails and the opulent violence of the pit struggles to match what was achieved for Suicide Silence. This is a shame as Dying Fetus are, as ever, extraordinary. Straightforward nihilistic noise with no attempt to be house-trained or to appeal to the masses. ‘Praise the Lord (Opium of the Masses)’ brings the set to a fittingly disruptive and strident close. An absolute masterclass by the masters of old-school death metal.

For all the perceived controversy about Slaughter to Prevail, there is only really one controversial moment during their all-conquering set. Whilst trying to marshal a room-wide wall of death to welcome in ‘Bratva’, they find the sound inexplicably cut. Each time Alex tries to ready his troops, the mic is cut and the guitars muted. His brother-in-arms, Jack Simmons, seems agitated and annoyed, and there is a short onstage discussion about whether they should play ‘Bratva’ at all. With all mentions of walls of death sidelined, they do in the end strike into the strident number from their second album, and the crowd do them proud by still careering into each other, even though there are forces that definitely don’t want it to happen. “See”, says Alex to his detractors, “Nobody got hurt” 

Aside from this, it is actually a rather traditional big concept and high-production metal show. The staging is incredibly impressive and works better for those standing further back or on the balcony. Three massive, raised platforms tower over the front rows. The middle one runs along the lip of the stage, allowing Alex (and occasionally bassist Mikhail Petrov) to loom over their disciples. On either side of that, at inverting angles, are two more colossal structures that, for the duration of the show, house respectively guitarists Jack Simmons (stage right) and Dmitry Mamedov (stage left). It is a formidable spectacle, and by literally putting the musician onto pedestals, it feels grand and theatrical. 

It is an astoundingly demonstrative and expressive show. It is heavy and blisteringly brutal, but it isn’t cold or impassive. Instead, it is full of passion and emotive wraith. Every track feels like a rite of passage, an emotional declaration of self-worth. Like all good protest music, it is the sound of the disenfranchised finding their voice, even if that voice is guttural and full of squeals. It feels lavish and luxurious but also grounded and connected. Good frontmen find a way of unifying with their audience, and despite Alex’s self-confessed poor English, he bonds with the assembled thong in a way that hasn’t been seen for a long time. In fact, the whole crowd reaction is simply astonishing. The entire room bounces in unison, and every corner of this disused warehouse is pulled into the fray.

Tonight, every dissenting voice about their forthcoming Bloodstock headline berth is answered. They put on a show that is imperious and majestic, and most importantly, they invigorate an audience in a way that only the best performers can. The call and responses are breathtaking, with the hordes screaming the words back at them. It is a full force experience full of fire, frenzied interaction and precision musicianship. And that is what has been lost in all the controversy. Yes, things have been said in the past that many of us find unsavoury but beyond that, this is a band that has reinvented deathcore as a force of hope and redemption. Within the four walls of this building this evening, there is a discernible feeling of unity, aspiration and rebirth. This deathcore as a euphoric call to action and for once all the hype and the build-up is true. Roll on the 8th of August.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Slaughter To Prevail + Dying Fetus + Suicide Silence + Annotations Of An Autopsy