One of the fastest rising bands in the deathcore scene is Slaughter to Prevail. Hailing from Russia, Slaughter to Prevail has proven to have some of the hardest hitting moshers fans during their live shows. After the last couple of years touring as direct support on many tours, Slaughter to Prevail has embarked on their headlining North American Tour. Selling out the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, CA with support from Whitechapel and Attila. Fans sold out the venue and packed the place in on a Thursday night before the first band could even take the stage, ready to wreak havoc in Los Angeles.

Opening the night was metalcore shit stirrers Attila. Fronted by the sometimes polarizing Fronz. Regardless of how you feel about him personally, the man knows how to get the crowd moving and the heads banging. Opening with "CONCRETE THRONE," the pit started spinning up within moments of the song coming in. Fronz kept calling for the pit to go harder. Even though they were the first band of the night, Attila wanted to see the fans giving them the energy of a headlining show. Guitarist Chris Linck and bassist Kal Blehm kept the songs sounding heavy with melodies and breakdowns that wormed their way into your ears, forcing you to move in the crowd. Drummer Tyler Kruckmeyer blasted away behind the kit to give us the marching rhythm that we stomped around the Palladium to. Attila made their set count with songs like "Moshpit," "AMERICA'S REJECTS," "Bite Your Tongue," "Middle Fingers Up," "Shots for the Boys," "Proving Grounds," and ending with "About that Life." There was no resisting the energy of Attila as they got every person moving and sufficiently warmed up for what was to come.

Up next was one of the most iconic bands in the modern deathcore scene - the mighty Whitechapel. Opening with "Prisoner 666," Whitechapel wasted no time filling the Palladium with their presence. Vocalist Phil Bozeman is legendary for how deep his screams can get. Upon hearing that first scream there is a chill that runs down your spine as his voice resonates through your body - this noise feels inhuman. Bozeman interjects his singing with fry screams, false chord screams, and gutturals to create layers in his vocal lines and change the energy of the song. Whitechapel helps bring their powerful sound to wrap around Bozeman's vocal line by setting themselves up with three guitarists: Ben Savage, Alex Wade, and Zach Householder. Trading off lead and rhythm lines, having three guitarists intensifies the heaviness of the music threefold. Bassist Gabe Crisp and drummer Brandon Zackey were synced up to hold down the low end and give the songs weight. Whitechapel brought an onslaught to the fans with songs like "Hymns in Dissonance," "A Visceral Retch," "Bedlam," "Hate Cult Ritual," "The Somatic Defilement," "Devirgination Studies," "Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation," and ending with "This Is Exile." Whitechapel brought a brutality that could only be topped by our headliner next.

It was then time for Slaughter to Prevail to show Los Angeles why they have become known for the brutality of their shows. Opening with "Bonebreaker," the crowd surfers wasted no time hurling their bodies over the barricade, as the mosh pit forced its way open to be as big as it could get. Slaughter to Prevail performs wearing a demon mask, known as their "Kid of Darkness Mask." This look helps add to the presence and ominousness of their show. Along with the masks, there was a 20-foot-tall bear roaring into the heavens setup behind the drummer. With just these aspects alone, you knew you were in for one hell of a show.

Vocalist Alex Terrible sings in both English and Russian, often mixing the two in songs to create a unique flavor of vocal presence. When you speak of metal vocalists having a fierce roar, they can't compare to Alex - throughout the set he would drop the mic to his side and literally scream the lyrics out over the crowd. Even with the instrumental backing and crowd cheering, his roar cuts through to give the audience a shot of adrenaline. Guitarists Jack Simmons and Dima Mamedov performed standing on 5-foot risers on stage left and right respectively. Performing this high above the crowd gives each player the feeling of being placed on a pedestal, adding grandeur and additional flair to their riffs. Bassist Mike Petrov worked the entire stage, playing right into the fans in the front row. While drummer Evgeny Novikov created a trashy sound from his kit that gave off raw energy that filled the groove in a more controlled and chaotic way.

Slaughter to Prevail never lets the energy die down, sending the mosh pit spinning faster and faster throughout the set. Even calling for a wall of death filled with fans willing to throw their bodies into each other and throwing precaution and safety to the wind. This wasn't a show where we were here to enjoy the music. This was a show where you needed to get up and move. If you didn't leave covered in sweat (whether it's your own or someone else's), did you truly enjoy the Slaughter to Prevail show?

Now, finally seeing a Slaughter to Prevail show, I understand why they have grown so quickly over the last few years. The energy they create in the crowd feels like what I imagine the old '80s thrash metal days were like. You go to this show for an experience, not just the music. Whitechapel and Attila were the perfect fit to the bill, as from start to finish the energy was kept at a furious pace of 100MPH and never wavered once. Whether you are a deathcore fan or not, if you are a metal fan, the next time Slaughter to Prevail comes to a town near you, this is a show that cannot be missed.