Slaughter to Prevail tore through the audience like a Grizzly at Midland

1 hour ago

Jason Colvin, Bentley Mahakijkittichai,

Slaughter To Prevail. // photo by Bentley Mahakijkittichai

Slaughter to Prevail
with Attila and Whitechapel
The Midland
Monday, March 23

On Monday, March 23, Slaughter to Prevail, along with special guests Whitechapel and Attila, delivered a night of metal to the Midland Theatre in downtown Kansas City. As the venue filled with metal heads of all ages, the clock struck 7:30, the lights dimmed, as the stage was lit in a fiery red hue. A twang of country played through the sound system.

The first opener took the stage, and the country sounds abruptly transformed into a barrage of metal riffs, leaving the crowd in awe. Cheers erupted as metalcore band Attila energized the audience with their fusion of deathcore, rap, and nu metal.

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Attila kicked off the night with the title track from their latest album, Concrete Throne. Within minutes of the first song, vocalist and band founder Chris “Fonz” Fronzak called for Kansas City to open the mosh pit, and the fans obliged without hesitation.

Attila. // photo by Bentley Mahakijkittichai

Their live show was a whirlwind of deep bass drops, howling guitars, and vocals that seamlessly transitioned from clean singing, high-pitched screams, rapid-fire rap licks, and deep growls. Attila was the perfect opener for this tour, keeping the crowd engaged with calls to mosh, clap hands, sing along, and jump to the beats. Fonz even made a special request for a mosh pit exclusively for women, a rare occurrence for a longtime metal concert goer like myself. In the thirty minutes they had to deliver their set, the band showcased a diverse range of songs from their nine full-length albums.

Before closing out with their final song of the night, Fronzak addressed the fans, saying, “We are here to have some fun … There is a lot of bullshit going on in the world … and music is our escape.” It was the perfect message to remind us that we are all here together, regardless of our differences, and to leave everything else behind and fully immerse ourselves in the show that was just beginning.

Whitechapel. // photo by Bentley Mahakijkittichai

After a twenty-minute stage change, the ‘Parental Advisory Explicit Content’ banner behind Attila was replaced with a banner of five masked and antler-horned cloaked figures. It was time for Whitechapel to deliver, and they did so swiftly, emerging with drums blaring and guitars blazing. As vocalist Phil Bozeman stepped onto the stage, he launched into his epic screaming vocals without hesitation. The Knoxville band presents a distinctive deathcore sound, characterized by a triple-guitar onslaught from Ben Savage, Alex Wade, and Zach Householder. Gabe Crisp provided grinding bass lines, while Brandon Zackey unleashed aggressive blast beats on drums.

Opening their set with “Prisoner 666” from their latest album, Hymns in Dissonance, the band unleashed a musical assault that sent headbangers’ hair flying and moshers into a frenzy. Moshing, crowd surfing, and hands raised with horns became the norm as the band unleashed their full-throttle energy. It was a good twenty minutes before the band took a brief pause, allowing everyone at Midland to finally catch their breath. The moment was quickly over as Bozeman called on the audience to give him their own screams.

Throughout the set, Bozeman’s screams and gutter growls drew you deeper into the dark narrative of the evil, fanatic cult leader gathering his followers. This story makes up the concept for the album Hymns in Dissonance. The songs are meant to be hymns sung by the cult members as they attempt to open a portal for their leader’s unholy ascent. Out of the ten songs performed, six were from this 2025 album. The die-hard Whitechapel fans erupted in screams and applause as Bozeman announced the return to their first album, The Somatic Defilement, before playing the title track.

Their set was non-stop metal mayhem, with rare moments of pause while ripping through each song. Visually, the seven sets of vertical LCD lights behind them changed colors rapidly to match the blasting beats. During one song, the lights turned orange and moved swiftly like flames, setting the stage ablaze with their brutal death metal. Several stage lights shot up from behind them, illuminating the smoky air of the Midland. Since their inception in 2006, the band has experimented with various metal subgenres, but tonight, like their most recent album, was dedicated to pounding out their heavy death metal roots.

As if summoned from the masked cult leader and his followers, bearing their antlers from behind Whitechapel, the stage transformed into a new spectacle. A giant inflatable raging grizzly bear roared with its mouth wide open and clawed paws outstretched, reaching around the drum set for Slaughter to Prevail. The night’s headliner was about to take the stage.

Slaughter To Prevail. // photo by Bentley Mahakijkittichai

Lights dimmed, and drummer Evgeny Novikov emerged behind his massive drum kit. Moments later, guitarists Jack Simmons and Dmitry Mamedov joined the stage, accompanied by bassist Mike Petrov. From behind their shiny silver demonic masks, they launched into their song, Bonebreaker. Suddenly, standing front and center, the massive Alex Terrible donned his Kid of Darkness mask and unleashed his powerful deathcore vocals.

Ripping guitars, deep bass drops, speed drumming and blast beats pounded every inch of the Midland Theater. Fans, many wearing their own Kid of Darkness masks, roared in approval.

Alex flawlessly delivered his deep, grizzly bear-like false chord mid-roars, guttural lows, and high-volume shrieks. He certainly lived up to the reputation of being one of the genre’s gnarliest howlers. This was evident when he took the mic away from his mouth and belted growls that I could still clearly hear standing back by the sound booth. It truly gave me chills of amazement.

Slaughter To Prevail. // photo by Bentley Mahakijkittichai

The members of Slaughter to Prevail, with the exception of British musician Simmons, hail from Russia but seemed to feel right at home in Kansas City. Alex’s audience interaction was incredibly energetic. He encouraged the crowd to clap, jump, mosh, crowd surf, get horns up, and of course called for a wall of death. At one point, he told the audience to sit for a few seconds to take a break, but the next song kicked in, and he told everyone to jump up as high as they could.

At times between songs, Alex took moments to address the crowd. He expressed his gratitude for the fans and their support, recalling how he used to be in the crowd just like them. He emphasized that the support from fans had allowed him and the band to live their best lives. Alex continued to thank the audience for their wonderful hospitality and energy. In another moment, Alex addressed the audience and spoke about the importance of personal change in making a difference in the world.

“This place is difficult place to live, a tough place, sometimes it’s very hard. You know many people want to change something … it starts with yourself … small steps inside of me and I see the world will change with me,” Alex said as he addressed the audience.

Then there was that drum solo. Novikov speedily pounded the sticks on the snares and symbols as his double-kicking blasts left all of our jaws on the floor. Like the grizzly bear behind him he was a beast to be reckoned with. When he was through I was amazed that the drum kit had survived the slaughter and prevailed to be played for the remainder of the show.

After twelve songs, the lights went up, but the show was far from over. With one last song for the night, the band returned, and if one thought the night couldn’t get any heavier, they proved us wrong with a brutal playthrough of “Demolisher” from their 2021 album Kostolom.

The set lived up to the name of their newest album, Grizzly, as the music tore through the audience like a grizzly bear feasting on prey.

All photos by Bentley Mahakijkittichai

Slaughter to Prevail

Slaughter to Prevail setlist
Bonebreaker
Banditos
Viking
Russian Grizzly in America
Koschei
Bratva
Imdead
Babayka
Baba Yaga
Behelit
—
Demolisher

Whitechapel

Whitechapel setlist
Prisoner 666
Hymns in Dissonance
A Visceral Retch
Bedlam
Hate Cult Ritual
The Somatic Defilement
Devirgination Studies
Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation
This Is Exile

Attila