Slaughter to Prevail deliver brutal performance at Channel 24 in Sacramento
After a long drive over Donner Pass, trekking through rain, sleet, and snow you reach the Valley. Rain starts to bead on your windshield as you drive past the venue and search for a parking spot. Walking into the venue you pass a ton of fans wearing their favorite band tees. You walk to the doors passing the tour buses and trailers.
You get into the venue after passing through security, walking past the merch booths and entering a set of double doors, you see this huge room with red lighting outlining the stage. You walk into the center of the room and look around and realize you're one of many who will have this experience tonight.
Welcome to your first show at Channel 24!
ATTILA
The first opener to take stage is Attila, a band constantly in the rock news for their controversial lyrics, comments, and lead singer Chris “Fronz” Fronzak. The stage and red lighting outlining the stage goes dark. You watch silhouettes walk on stage and white light burns the stage. Fronz takes the stage wearing a black ski-mask and kicks the show off. After the first song, the mask comes off and in typical rockstar fashion the sunglasses go on. Their show was high energy, getting the mosh pits and a wall of death going soon into their set. You can feel the energy radiating through the fans.
WHITECHAPEL
Whitechapel is a ritual of chaos. If you have never seen them live, it's so beyond worth it. Their sound is heavy, chaotic, loud but somehow when you take a step back and take it all, they have a sense of calmness. Phil Bozeman’s vocals are something to experience, after a few songs you see him grab the cult leader’s mask off the kit and dawn it. Under yellow back lighting, the image is haunting.
I walked up to the seats upstairs and ended up running into Fronz, after a quick fistbump and a little small talk, he asked “have they played This Is Exile yet?” With a quick response of “not yet”, he responded “Dude, it's my favorite, I watch their set every night.”
Seeing someone like Fronz, like him or not, enjoying another act on the same tour his band is on was somehow really beautiful. An artist playing in front of the same crowd, then being in the crowd is always amazing to see.
SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL
You push your way up to the barricade through an ocean of fans, being pushed into the railing with even more fans packed in behind you, the stage goes dark. Fans of Slaughter To Prevail dawn their masks. You hear the opening riff to “Bonebreaker” and the crowd screams as Jack, Evgeny, Mike, Dmitriy, and Alex The Terrible take the stage.
Jack and Evgeny wear a chrome version of their signature masks, Mike and Dmitriy wear two other masks, Alex takes center stage as a spotlight hits him and he's wearing a brown-ish blood covered mask. The crowd goes beyond ecstatic for Alex and the band. During “Viking” you’ll be blown away at the sight you’ll see of Alex screaming “unsatisfied primal fear” without a microphone which echoes through you and makes you absolutely astonished by the projection in his voice.
The set has Evgeny’s chromed drums are on a riser with the Slaughter To Prevail banner just behind him. Jack and Dmitriy on slightly smaller risers, lined with chain link fencing around it. Alex and Mike rotate around the stage. When looking at the dead center of the stage, you’ll notice two grizzlies with red eyes just above the stage by the banner on each side.
Slaughter to Prevail played a short but heavy set. When looking into why the set is shorter than most other bands, I stumbled across a fan at the show who said their sets are hardon them physically so for their longevity they play a short amount of songs that engage the crowd. Although this tour, fans can expect to them to not just play five to eight songs, but a setlist of thirteen songs.
