by Slaughter to Prevail guitarist Jack Simmons recently addressed the band’s history of controversy in an interview with Ultimate Guitar.
When asked whether the controversy surrounding the band was their own fault, Simmons took responsibility while explaining the cultural complexities involved.
“Yeah, I would say, actually, it is our own fault, of bad decisions in the past,” Simmons said. “And as far as navigating it, there’s going to always be a group of people, we can’t change their minds, and we’re not really out here to change their minds. We just want to make music. If you actually come to our shows, there’s a lot of love, there’s no fights. We don’t want any radical shit or people or anything to be pulled into our show.”
Simmons emphasized that the band’s focus is on bringing people together through music rather than division.
“It’s about connecting, for us music is about connecting people, that’s why we’re talking right now, that’s why everyone’s here right now,” he continued. “I think that can be lost when all this shit goes a bit crazy online. I’m 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’s context. There’s a lot of context about symbolism.”
The guitarist then shared a personal anecdote to illustrate the cultural differences in interpreting certain symbols.
“It’s 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’s house,” Simmons explained. “And I would tell her, ‘You know, that’s a Nazi symbol, right? It’s racist.’ And she laughed at me like I’m being disrespectful, she’s like, ‘Are you saying my grandma’s a Nazi? She was under Nazi occupation. She’s not a Nazi. This is our symbol. It means heritage and family,’ but that’s lost.”
Simmons concluded by noting the challenge of providing nuance in online discourse.
“I was like, no, but that’s what my band is having a problem with because in America it’s been taken by the far right or whatever, but you know, there is context to it all, which gets lost, it’s not so attractive, online, to give context to what happens in life,” he said.
Simmons’s comments come after years of scrutiny directed at the band, particularly regarding vocalist Alex Terrible and the use of controversial imagery.
Ultimate Guitar reported that controversy first emerged in 2019 around Alex Terrible’s tattoo of the Black Sun, a symbol historically appropriated by Nazi Germany. This raised questions about the band’s 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 “Aryan” past. From 2016, a neo-Nazi group called the National Socialist Movement used it as their official logo.
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 “completely Nazi band.” He has not apologized for this.
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.
Beyond the symbolism issues, the band has faced other controversies. In mid-2023, longtime drum tech Thomas Finch publicly criticized Slaughter to Prevail’s tour management, alleging unpaid wages, lack of clear contracts, and poor treatment of crew members. Metal Injection covered the band’s 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.
The band continues to focus on their music and creating positive experiences at their live shows.
