Slaughter To Prevail explodes at SOMA San Diego with Rev3rent

San Diego’s SOMA Mainstage was completely consumed by chaos on September 19th as Russian deathcore heavyweights Slaughter To Prevail brought their North American tour to with California newcomers Rev3rent in tow.

The crowd was packed in early, with crowd-surf-catching security stationed at the front.

Exploding onto the stage first, Rev3rent immediately proved worthy of their viral fame, featuring 16-year-old vocalist Josh Bailey. There was something incredibly nostalgic about watching this young band tear through their set, thrashing around the stage with an intensity that brought back memories of discovering hardcore music back in the early 2000s. The three guitarists and bassist synchronized their head-bangs in true “crab-core” fashion, while crushing guitars and breakdowns kept the room moving.

Rev3rent stands out from other up-and-coming young bands with a distinct aggression and energy that feels refreshing in a genre that can sometimes sound repetitive. Their momentum is only beginning, with their debut album She Let the World Run Rampant scheduled for October 30th through Deep Love Recordings. Later in the night, Alex Terrible would give the young band an even bigger co-sign, telling the crowd that he believes Rev3rent could eventually become bigger than Slaughter To Prevail.

After seeing this performance, I genuinely hope he’s right.

And about the main set… Slaughter To Prevail opened in near darkness, with members appearing one-by-one before Alex Terrible finally took the stage. The colorful backlights shone down as the band launched into an absolutely brutal set. I can only describe it as intense. The guitars were crushing, the drums were punishing, and Terrible’s vocals were every bit as brutal live as they are on record.

During the live rendition of “Viking”, Alex performed his infamous “no mic needed moment”, belting the breakdown line, no microphone, heard all the way to the back of the room… and I assume the entire building, to be honest. It was truly unreal. The crowd matched that energy with massive pits, crowd-surfers, and a wall of death during “Bratva”. Following their hit “Baba Yaga”, an almost three-minute drum solo gave everyone just enough time to breathe before the band launched directly into fan-favorite “Demolisher”.

There was more than just brutality, though.

Terrible took time to speak about changing the world by first changing yourself and the difficulty of shifting your mindset. With massive stage production and surprisingly dynamic lighting live, Slaughter To Prevail has built their reputation on sheer aggression and their San Diego performance made it easy to understand why. For me, one of the biggest takeaways was their created connection in such an aggressive environment. It was brutal, cathartic, hot, and the best therapy. I also loved discovering a young band that might someday be standing in that same spotlight. Rev3rent may be just getting started, but if this show was any indication, they’re going to be one hell of a band to watch. Don’t miss this tour as it continues its way through all of North America through the end of the year! 

Photography by Franny Zehler

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