Slaughter to Prevail guitarist Jack Simmons recently discussed the band’s controversial past during an interview with Ultimate Guitar.
When asked if the controversies were the band’s fault, Simmons acknowledged responsibility while also pointing to cultural nuances. “Yeah, I would say, actually, it is our own fault, of bad decisions in the past,” Simmons said. “And as far as navigating it, there’s going to always be a group of people, we can’t change their minds, and we’re not really out here to change their minds. We just want to make music. If you actually come to our shows, there’s a lot of love, there’s no fights. We don’t want any radical shit or people or anything to be pulled into our show.”
He stressed that the band’s mission is about uniting people through music rather than creating division. “It’s about connecting, for us music is about connecting people, that’s why we’re talking right now, that’s why everyone’s here right now,” he continued. “I think that can be lost when all this shit goes a bit crazy online. I’m not going to speak on Alex, I know he had a different past. All I would say is that, in that part of the world, there’s context. There’s a lot of context about symbolism.”
Simmons illustrated this cultural gap with a personal story. “It’s a whole different culture. And just as an anecdote, for example, my girlfriend is from Ukraine, and when I visited her, I saw that symbol [the black sun] on carpets of her grandma’s house,” Simmons explained. “And I would tell her, ‘You know, that’s a Nazi symbol, right? It’s racist.’ And she laughed at me like I’m being disrespectful, she’s like, ‘Are you saying my grandma’s a Nazi? She was under Nazi occupation. She’s not a Nazi. This is our symbol. It means heritage and family,’ but that’s lost.”
He concluded by reflecting on how online discourse often strips away important context. “I was like, no, but that’s what my band is having a problem with because in America it’s been taken by the far right or whatever, but you know, there is context to it all, which gets lost, it’s not so attractive, online, to give context to what happens in life,” he said.
Simmons’s remarks come amid years of scrutiny directed at the band—especially surrounding vocalist Alex Terrible and the group’s use of controversial symbols.
Ultimate Guitar noted that the backlash began in 2019 after fans noticed Terrible’s tattoo of the Black Sun, a symbol used by Nazi Germany. The tattoo sparked accusations about the band’s associations. Terrible also sports an Othala rune tattoo on his left foot—another design repurposed by the Nazis. According to Louder Sound, the Anti-Defamation League explains that the rune was adopted during the Nazi era to represent a mythical “Aryan” heritage. It was later used as the official logo of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement in 2016.
The controversy extended to the band’s merchandise. In 2023, Louder Sound reported that Slaughter to Prevail sold products featuring the Othala rune, provoking backlash online. Terrible also once promoted music from You Must Murder, a band he himself called a “completely Nazi band.” He has not apologized for this.
Louder Sound further revealed that Terrible had been photographed wearing apparel from White Rex, a clothing line run by Russian far-right figure Denis Kapustin, which the Anti-Defamation League identifies as neo-Nazi-affiliated. Terrible dismissed the incident, saying he bought the hoodie at a Russian mall, though he later expressed regret for posing with a rifle while wearing an SS helmet.
Beyond symbolism, the band faced additional controversy in mid-2023 when longtime drum tech Thomas Finch accused them of poor crew management, missing payments, and unclear contracts. Metal Injection covered the band’s reply, in which they asserted they always pay their crew and work to resolve any internal issues. The dispute triggered public criticism and online debate among fans.
Despite these challenges, Slaughter to Prevail remains focused on their music and fostering positive, inclusive experiences at their live performances.
