Slaughter To Prevail frontman Alex Terrible has denied having neo-Nazi and transphobic beliefs.
On the new episode of the Downbeat podcast, hosted by Stray From The Path drummer Craig Reynolds, the Russian-born/Florida-based deathcore vocalist claims he is not racist, transphobic or homophobic in response to allegations against him stemming from past statements, photographs and tattoos.
He also explains why he got a now-covered tattoo depicting the Black Sun, an image that was used by the Nazis in the 1930s and later adopted by neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, claiming that the tattoo was not politically motivated.
A large portion of the conversation is dedicated to Terrible’s (real name Aleksandr Shikolai) concealed tattoo, which was on his right elbow and led to allegations of the singer having neo-Nazi sympathies.
When asked why he got the tattoo, he answers, “It was very popular [during Terrible’s teenage years in Russia] to join right-wing guys, which were very strong physically, smart, don’t drink.”
He adds that he was 19 at the time and continues: “Before that, I was actually hanging out with [members of decentralised anti-fascist movement] Antifa, and we were just fucking drink[ing], using drugs and shit, and I almost died because of that, but not because I was hanging out with Antifa and Antifa are bad guys. Just because I was in bad company, you know?
“After that, I found myself alone at home and fucking completely lost. I started to ask myself, ‘Who the fuck am I?’ and what I’m living for. I started to read about esoterica, about energy and stuff. But, I’m not stupid. Of course I understand that it was used by the Third Reich, Nazis.”
Terrible then states his belief that right-wing people who use imagery appropriated by the Nazis aren’t necessarily neo-Nazis: “A lot of people in Russia, right-wing guys, they use these symbols like the Black Sun and runes and all this shit, but they’ve never been Nazi or racist or some shit like that.”
The Anti-Defamation League says that the Black Sun, or sonnenrad, is “one of a number of ancient European symbols appropriated by the Nazis in their attempt to invent an idealised ‘Aryan/Norse’ heritage”. However, the organisation argues that the symbol is not a surefire sign of white supremacist beliefs, because “sonnenrad imagery is used by many cultures around the world”.
Terrible goes on to say that he got his Black Sun tattoo covered after outrage over it led to the cancellation of a 2015 Slaughter To Prevail European tour. He admits that he covered the image for the sake of his musical career, and that he did not appreciate the tattoo’s offensiveness until “three or four” years later.
The interview does not broach the subject of Terrible’s other tattoo of an image once appropriated by the Nazi regime: an Othala rune on his left foot, which he revealed during a 2020 YouTube video. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the Othala rune dates back to pre-Roman Europe but was adopted by the Nazis “as part of their attempt to reconstruct a mythic ‘Aryan’ past”.
In 2016, the US’s National Socialist Movement made the rune its official logo in place of the swastika, with commander Jeff Schoep saying the symbol would help the group “reach more of the public”. Slaughter To Prevail sold a mask featuring the Othala rune as merchandise in 2023, resulting in online backlash.
In the Downbeat interview, Terrible also admits to having previously used his presence on Russian social media platform VK to promote the music of You Must Murder, whom the singer characterises as a “completely Nazi band”, but does not apologise.
He then talks about a controversial photo of him wearing a hoodie from White Rex – a clothing brand owned by Russian fighter and far-right activist Denis Kapustin, whom the Anti-Defamation League have labelled a neo-Nazi – but again stops short of apologising, saying the hoodie was simply available at a shopping mall in Russia. He does, however, express remorse for posting a photo of himself holding a rifle while wearing a helmet once worn by a member of the SS.
“I put it on my fucking social media!” he says. “Stupid and silly. I was not a boy – I was, like, around 20 or fucking 19 – but it doesn’t matter, it’s just excuses. I was stupid and I have to take this responsibility, because I wasn’t a boy. I wasn’t like 13 years old or fucking 14 years old; I was a grown man already. I understand, I’m paying the price right now.”
Reynolds outright asks Terrible if he is racist, homophobic and/or “LGBT-phobic”, and the singer says no to all three. As well as the Black Sun tattoo, Reynolds’ question alludes to accusations of transphobia and homophobia against Terrible, inspired by some of the singer’s past social media posts.
In 2023, Terrible published a video called 4 Rules Of Real Man to Instagram, where he claimed a ‘real man’, among other things, “eats woman pussy, he likes”.
After the post was said to be transphobic and homophobic by some observers, the singer put out a follow-up statement, saying: “If you don’t like that I’m a straight man and have traditional family values, please unfollow me! I don’t give a shit who are you and if you suck dicks, balls, ass or pussy, it’s not my fucking deal I don’t want to know that. That’s your personal fucking stuff.”
After saying no to Reynolds’ question about prejudices, Terrible elaborates, “I hate myself!” When the host replies, “The only person you hate is yourself?”, the singer confirms, “Yeah! Literally!”
Slaughter To Prevail released their latest album, Grizzly, in July via Sumerian Records. The band will play across Europe in January and February.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
