Slaughter to Prevail guitarist Jack Simmons recently addressed the band\u2019s history of controversy in an interview with Ultimate Guitar.<\/p>\n
When asked whether the controversy surrounding the band was their own fault, Simmons took responsibility while explaining the cultural complexities involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I would say, actually, it is our own fault, of bad decisions in the past,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cAnd as far as navigating it, there\u2019s going to always be a group of people, we can\u2019t change their minds, and we\u2019re not really out here to change their minds. We just want to make music. If you actually come to our shows, there\u2019s a lot of love, there\u2019s no fights. We don\u2019t want any radical shit or people or anything to be pulled into our show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simmons emphasized that the band\u2019s focus is on bringing people together through music rather than division.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about connecting, for us music is about connecting people, that\u2019s why we\u2019re talking right now, that\u2019s why everyone\u2019s here right now,\u201d he continued. \u201cI think that can be lost when all this shit goes a bit crazy online. I\u2019m not going to speak on Alex, I know he had a different past. All I would say is that, in that part of the world, there\u2019s context. There\u2019s a lot of context about symbolism.\u201d<\/p>\n
The guitarist then shared a personal anecdote to illustrate the cultural differences in interpreting certain symbols.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a whole different culture. And just as an anecdote, for example, my girlfriend is from Ukraine, and when I visited her, I saw that symbol [the black sun] on carpets of her grandma\u2019s house,\u201d Simmons explained. \u201cAnd I would tell her, \u2018You know, that\u2019s a Nazi symbol, right? It\u2019s racist.\u2019 And she laughed at me like I\u2019m being disrespectful, she\u2019s like, \u2018Are you saying my grandma\u2019s a Nazi? She was under Nazi occupation. She\u2019s not a Nazi. This is our symbol. It means heritage and family,\u2019 but that\u2019s lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simmons concluded by noting the challenge of providing nuance in online discourse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, no, but that\u2019s what my band is having a problem with because in America it\u2019s been taken by the far right or whatever, but you know, there is context to it all, which gets lost, it\u2019s not so attractive, online, to give context to what happens in life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Simmons\u2019s comments come after years of scrutiny directed at the band, particularly regarding vocalist Alex Terrible and the use of controversial imagery.<\/p>\n
Ultimate Guitar reported that controversy first emerged in 2019 around Alex Terrible\u2019s tattoo of the Black Sun, a symbol historically appropriated by Nazi Germany. This raised questions about the band\u2019s affiliations. The vocalist also has a tattoo of the Othala rune on his left foot, another symbol used by the Nazis. Louder Sound noted that the Anti-Defamation League points out this rune was adopted during the Nazi era to signify a mythic \u201cAryan\u201d past. From 2016, a neo-Nazi group called the National Socialist Movement used it as their official logo.<\/p>\n
The symbolism controversy extended beyond tattoos. In 2023, Louder Sound revealed that Slaughter to Prevail sold merchandise featuring the Othala rune, sparking backlash online. Alex Terrible also previously promoted music from You Must Murder, a band he himself described as a \u201ccompletely Nazi band.\u201d He has not apologized for this.<\/p>\n
Louder Sound also reported that Terrible was photographed wearing a hoodie from White Rex, a clothing brand owned by Russian far-right activist Denis Kapustin. The Anti-Defamation League labeled the brand neo-Nazi. Terrible downplayed this, stating the item was just available at a Russian shopping mall. He did express remorse for holding a rifle while wearing an SS helmet.<\/p>\n
Beyond the symbolism issues, the band has faced other controversies. In mid-2023, longtime drum tech Thomas Finch publicly criticized Slaughter to Prevail\u2019s tour management, alleging unpaid wages, lack of clear contracts, and poor treatment of crew members. Metal Injection covered the band\u2019s response, in which they affirmed they always pay their crew and work to fix problems. The dispute led to public backlash and fan criticism on social media.<\/p>\n
The band continues to focus on their music and creating positive experiences at their live shows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Slaughter to Prevail guitarist Jack Simmons recently addressed the band\u2019s history of controversy in an interview with Ultimate Guitar. When asked whether the controversy surrounding … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n