Slaughter To Prevail

Kostolom

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Genre: Deathcore.
Released: 13/08/2021
Via Sumerian Records

Album Review: Slaughter To Prevail – Kostolom

Slaughter to Prevail are a band that have quickly become one of the most recognisable in the deathcore scene and for good reason. Releasing extremely heavy tracks that just seem to get better and better the more you hear them, the Russian band fronted by Alex Terrible will no doubt go down in history as one of the heaviest bands of this generation, which has led to the release of their album ‘Kostolom’ garnering an unreal amount of hype around it. This promises to be something quite unlike anything else so without any further delay, here is my review of Slaughter to Prevail’s ‘Kostolom’.

The album opens with the spine-tingling ‘Bonebreaker’. Right out of the gate, Slaughter To Prevail unleash their unrelenting assault of brutal metal. Cleans and demonic screams give the song a tonne of personality before the brutality is brought up to 10 with the track ‘Demolisher’. Without a doubt, the band’s biggest song to date, boasting one of the most intense breakdowns of recent memory accompanied by an absolutely brutal instrumental, Slaughter to Prevail are not holding anything back on this one.

Following that is the single ‘Baby Yaga’. A polarising release that has had fans split as it’s the first time Slaughter to Prevail had introduced clean vocals into their work. Personally I think it works fairly well and the song as a whole feels impactful and diverse enough to leave its mark. ‘Made in Russia’ turns the intensity up to 10 as Alex Terrible unleashes an all-out assault on your ears in his native tongue and English. Something about the Russian language works so well with this kind of music and I’m here for more of it!

‘Zavali Ebalo’ continues the brutality with tremolos and blast beats galore, while the track ‘Agony’ goes for a more no-nonsense approach in delivering its heavy message. Slaughter to Prevail haven’t put a foot wrong yet and their accuracy continues into the track ‘Your Only’. Machine gun-like drumming opens the track before Alex growls his head. Surprisingly this song has an extremely melodic phrase that features throughout, that will more than likely turn the elitist away from this track, however I think it works extremely well in adding a bit of contrast to the intense album.

Nearing the end of the album now and ‘I Killed A Man’ is a decent entry into the album that will give fans their brutality fix, while ‘Bratva’ shines bright with its excellent delivery of fast-paced vocals and an infectious beat that will have even the most casual of metalheads snapping their neck to it. ‘Ouroboros’ is quite eccentric in execution however it gets the job done in moving the album along to its conclusion.

The penultimate track comes in the form of ‘Head On A Plate’, a disgustingly heavy song that shows off the bands capability of completely annihilating a track whether it be insanely low tones or Alex growling like a possessed demon. The song does an amazing job of building up for an insane finale and ‘Father’ is the perfect choice to finish off the album. Opening with a chant before unleashing its final assault, the track features some of the best instrumental parts on the entire album and this track just exudes energy.

Slaughter To Prevail have made quite the name for themselves over the years and this album is an excellent addition to the band’s discography. Proving they are more than a one-trick pony, the band have delivered everything fans want and more with this release and I can’t help but wonder what these songs will be like live. Hopefully we will find out soon!