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Back in 2014, scrolling through the usual social media scrapyard, Jack Simmons was startled by one friend’s post: a performance video by Russian vocalist Aleksandr “Alex Terrible” Shikolai. At this point, the singer hadn’t yet gone viral with his extreme cover versions, which reinvented everything from Queen’s “We Will Rock You” to Post Malone’s “Congratulations.” But Simmons was riveted — and knew he needed to pounce. “I took a look, before it was even getting the traction that he ended up getting,” he says. “It blew me away, to be honest. I just thought, ‘Fucking hell, I need to write some music with this guy. I want to hear this over my guitars. ’”The British musician was so struck by the singer’s technique — which ranges from blood-curdling death-core growls to melodic rock belting — that he reached out immediately, unbothered by the fact that they lived in different countries. More specifically, these practical concerns didn’t even occur to him.
“To be honest, it wasn’t even really like that,” he says. “At the time, we didn’t really see it going this far. It was more like, ‘Oh, sick, Let’s just write some music. This is gonna be great.’ Once we started putting out some songs, it actually started taking off. Then the thoughts came of, ‘OK, we’re gonna need to tour. How are we gonna do it? Where are we gonna do it?’ That’s when the determination kicked in: ‘We have something really good here.’ It very quickly turned from something very casual into the place where it is now.” That “now” is Kostolom, the epic second LP from the duo’s band Slaughter to Prevail. The album expands on the dynamic extremes of their 2017 debut, Misery Sermon — pairing Alex’s dark, cathartic lyrics with Simmons’ pummelling riffs and tense, cinematic solos. “We wanted to make each song for us stand out in a different way,” the guitarist says. “On some of the songs, we focused on wanting to keep it up tempo, building to a breakdown as the focal point. Other songs it was about groove or the chorus — ‘how can we make this melodic?’ The albums we love the most have those dynamics, and we want to use them to make each part hit harder.”
File-swapping between England and Russia, Alex and Simmons organically crafted the songs without much literal discussion. “We just send it back and forth,” he adds. “Honestly it’s as simple as that. I’ve played in a quite a lot of bands where we try to write together, and this is the easiest way I’ve written songs. I’ll build the track, and once I’ve got a rough draft of my vision — which could be two riffs or three minutes of music — I’ll send it over, and we say, ‘OK, this part works and this doesn’t.’ And we send it back and forth until we’re both happy.”
Even though the final product is packed with headphone-worthy details — the textural guitars on the back-end of “Bonebreaker,” the tempo changes on “Demolisher,” the funky drum breaks on "Zavali Ebalo,” the blown-out drum EQ and tremolo-style riffs on “Ouroboros” — it was never overwrought. The songs evolved over several years, the first demos constructed shortly before the release of Misery Sermon. And they finally finished the material in late 2020, with everyone (Alex, Simmons, bassist Mikhail Petrov, guitarist Dmitry Mamedov) having tracked their respective parts at home. (Evgeny Novikov recorded his drums at a nearby studio in Moscow.)
Throughout that long haul, they did have one broad creative goal: to make a whole album of “violent, pissed-off music.” “We didn’t focus on ‘Is this death-metal? Is it not death-metal?’” Simmons says. “We just went for it, like, ‘How can we make this [interesting], like our favourite albums?’ The classics like Hatebreed and Slayer and even some new stuff. We’re trying to find that sense of danger, almost like a horror movie.”
Kostolom certainly delivers the danger: Tracks like “Made in Russia” and “Head on a Plate” pile-drive their detuned riffs straight into your skull, offering a platform for Alex at his most menacing. But the frontman also stretches out across the record, adding clean choruses to anthems like “Baba Yaga” and “Your Only.”
Alex’s words — largely sung in Russian, with occasional bursts of English — are also more balanced than the bleak song titles may suggest. “The lyrics,” Simmons says, “are quite personal to anyone who listens, I think — of personal struggle, keeping a positive mental attitude and going through the shit to have a better life and achieve your goals.” Because of the long gestation period, a variety of sonic influences filtered into the project — even if they aren’t obvious on the surface. "There wasn’t necessarily one or two [inspirations], but I went through phases of listening to a lot of Bjork, a lot of New Orleans rap, a lot of nu-metal and black metal,” Simmons says. “I’ll go through phases where I’m not listening to much metal — just a lot of dark wave and moodier, more melodic stuff. It was all over the place, which the album probably showcases. It’s just whatever makes sense at the time.”
As always, Slaughter to Prevail aim to provoke you, even as they empower you.
“We want something that causes an emotion — whether it’s good or bad, disappointment or excitement or whatever,” Simmons says. “We don’t want something that’s stereotypical.”
Limited Bone w/ Black + Burgundy Splatter colour vinyl in gatefold sleeve.
*Please note - image is a mock up only, actual colours may vary on finished product*
Tracklisting
Side A:
- Banditos
- Russian Grizzly In America
- ImDead
- Babayka
- Viking
- Koschei
Side B:
- Song3 (feat. BABYMETAL)
- Lift That Shit
- Behelit
- Rodina
- Conflict
- Kid of Darkness
- 1984
Officially Licensed Products
We partner directly with a wide variety of Major Record Labels, Music & Entertainment Merchandise Distributors as well as Independent Artists and Labels, so we can bring you the very best in brand new official products at the best possible prices. Every care is taken to make sure that your purchase reaches you in perfect condition because we are not just retailers, we are fans, geeks and collectors first and foremost!
Buy in confidence that all our items are totally authentic
All of our suppliers are highly reputable, and hold the UK licenses to print and / or distribute all of the products that we have in stock. We take the integrity of our goods extremely seriously. We never have and never will sell anything that is not 100% totally authentic. Our eBay Store
We have loads of amazing products available for you! Don't forget to check out our full eBay store for many more t-shirts, hoodies, hats, vinyl, CDs, and all manner of music and entertainment-related goodness! Take a look HERE
A SITE FOR SORE EYES
Welcome to Eyesore Merch - your number one destination for music and entertainment merch!
Here at Eyesore Merch, music and entertainment is our passion. For us, it’s an attitude, an inspiration, and a way of life. We carry that passion into everything we do.
We have been working hard since 2010 to offer you the biggest and best range of music and entertainment merch possible.
We know how important it is when shopping online that you can trust that the designs you see are great quality and 100% official. At Eyesore Merch, we take the authenticity and quality of our goods extremely seriously. That’s why we only work with the UK’s leading official suppliers – and we’re pleased to offer an enormous and ever-increasing range of great quality products at sensible prices.
In addition to working with the UK’s leading clothing suppliers, we are also proud to offer an extensive music range, particularly CDs and vinyl. We love to listen to our favourite albums on vinyl: there’s no sound as thrilling as the crackle as the needle finds the groove. We’re proud to work closely with not just the UK’s leading distributors, but directly in conjunction with some of rock and metal’s most acclaimed labels and bands to offer sought-after exclusive colours and special editions available nowhere else.
This passion for what we do is underpins our customer service.
We are driven by the principle that every customer should have a good experience with Eyesore Merch.
To achieve that, our site is simple and straightforward to navigate, making it even easier to find your favourite bands, brands, movies and TV shows. Our customer service team offer fast, friendly, high-quality advice and guidance, and our warehouse team pick, pack and ship quickly and safely. You can order confident in the knowledge that your order will be priced reasonably, despatched quickly, and delivered smoothly.
Eyesore Merch: by and for the fans.
WE LOVE MUSIC – WE LOVE ENTERTAINMENT – WE LOVE MERCH!
Get It Fast!
Our handling & dispatch time is typically less than one business day.
Before & When Your Order Ships
Eyesore Merch is based in and ships from the United Kingdom.
Orders received before 2.30pm from Monday to Friday will be dispatched on the same day.
Orders received over a weekend will ship on the following Monday.
Orders received during the weekend of a UK public holiday will ship on the earliest available working day. A full list of the UK's public holidays can be found easily online.
Please note that you will receive a despatch notice on the day that the order has been prepared for shipment.
Shipping Address
Please double-check that the full, correct shipping address has been entered before completing checkout. It is the sole responsibility of the buyer to ensure that the shipping address is correct. We cannot change a shipping address once the order has been processed and despatched.
UK Postage Options
If your address is in the UK, you will be offered these shipping options at checkout:
Royal Mail Tracked 48
Our standard postage service.
- Normally delivered in 2/3 working days from shipment, up to a maximum of 10 working days.
- Fully tracked with email & SMS updates.
- Delivered Monday to Saturday.
Royal Mail Tracked 24
An enhanced shipping service.
- Normally delivered in 1/2 working days after shipment.
- Fully tracked with email & SMS updates.
- Delivered seven days a week, Monday to Sunday.
Royal Mail Special Delivery
A guaranteed premium service.
- Next working day, guaranteed before 1pm.
- Fully trackable.
- Delivered Monday to Friday.
International Shipping
Our international shipping partner is Royal Mail, the UK’s national mail carrier.
All international orders ship via a fully trackable service.
For most destinations, the service is Royal Mail International Tracked. Depending on your location, it may be Royal Mail International Signed or Royal Mail Tracked & Signed. In all cases, the level of service will be the same, and the package will be fully trackable.
When the order ships, your tracking number and tracking link will be provided in your eBay order details. Please allow up 24 hours for the tracking to activate on the site.
Once the package enters your country, the final mile delivery will be handled by your national mail carrier. For example, in Canada, it will be delivered by Canada Post.
Tracking will activate on your country’s mail carrier’s site upon its arrival in your country. The Royal Mail site normally offers a ‘continue tracking’ function, which links to said site.
Delivery Expectations
- International tracked shipments
generally take 5-14 days to arrive . - Republic of Ireland:
3-10 days . - Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Far East:
7-21 days . - Please allow up to 40 days since dispatch for final delivery.
Customs Charges
We understand that for international customers, a fee to receive your order may be charged by your local customs authority. Whether a fee is applied is entirely out of our control, and in line with eBay policy, the payment of any such fee (import tax, duty, or any similar customs fees) is the sole responsibility of the buyer.
Please be aware that we will not falsely declare the value of an order for the purpose of reducing the likelihood of your package attracting a customs fee. In order to comply with customs laws both in the UK and internationally, we are obliged to declare the true sales value of the goods.
For any packages returned to us due to a refused customs fee, we will initiate the next steps (e.g. reship or refund) upon its return.
Contact Us
If you have not received your order within the recommended limits, please do not hesitate to contact our customer service team. We offer fast, friendly, high-quality customer service.
On receiving your order, if you are not entirely happy with the item, please refer to our returns policy.
We offer a no hassle 30-day right-to-return policy.
If, for any reason, you are not 100% satisfied with your order, please contact us within 30 days of receiving it. Please contact us via eBay’s messaging service with your order number, and specify whether you require a refund or an exchange. We will provide detailed return instructions, and then issue a refund or process an exchange upon the item's safe return to us. Please note that we require all returned goods to be returned in the condition in which they were despatched.
Unfortunately, we cannot refund or exchange returned items that have clearly been worn, washed, soiled or intentionally damaged. If in our opinion any of these situations apply to a returned item, we reserve the right to refusal of refund.
Return postage costs
Eyesore Merch cannot cover return postage costs if the item is no longer desired, does not fit, or for any customer error (for example, if the wrong item was ordered).
We will cover the return postage costs if an item arrives in a defective or damaged condition, or if we sent an incorrect item.
Cancellation
If you place an order but then decide that you no longer want the item(s) then you have the right to cancel your order and request a full refund, no questions asked. However, if your order has already been processed and despatched before your order is cancelled, then please refer to our right-to-return policy.
We are happy to provide any information that you may require about our products.
We stock a huge collection of products from several different suppliers, who print on a diverse range of garments. As such, sizing and exact measurements may vary from design to design. If you would like exact measurements for any specific item, please do not hesitate to contact us via eBay messenger for more information.
Our business hours are 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). We provide fast, high-quality customer service, and aim to answer all enquiries within 24 hours.
