Slaughter To Prevail vocalist Alex Terrible has found himself weathering a new wave of divisive commentary online after waving a Russian flag while opening his band’s set yesterday, June 14th at the first of this year’s 3 ‘Vans Warped Tour‘ 30th anniversary events . While Terrible‘s past associations and allegations have made him a controversial figure in the deathcore scene for sometime now, his band’s success has continued to explode, affording them the opportunity to be introduced to new audiences.
Yesterday’s set took place at the RFK Stadium Grounds in Washington, D.C., and given that city being the heart of the U.S. government, not too mention the frayed relationship much of the Western world has with Russia in the wake of the latter’s ongoing war with Ukraine, the move to wave the Russian flag was inflammatory to some.
Despite the change in optics regarding his home country, Terrible has remained proudly patriotic of Russia and his heritage. However, it should be noted that he has taken a public stance against the ongoing war. Back in 2022 he condemned the aforementioned Russian invasion of Ukraine, and in March of this year, while elaborating on the pride he has for his homeland, the bear wrestling, bare-knuckle brawler described himself as “man of peace.”
While Terrible‘s values have become a bit more well known in the metal scene it’s likely that the band’s appearance at yesterday’s ‘Vans Warped Tour‘ was their first exposure to many of the pop-punk, etc. loving fans in attendance. Speaking yesterday, June 14th, Terrible shared the footage of himself taking to the stage with the flag, offering:
“Im grateful to represent my country worldwide I really want to make this legacy of the Russian heavy metal band smashing the stages everywhere and spreading a good message. Motivate people with our music to not to give up on yourself and do more than you think you can do
@vanswarpedtour we appreciate your hospitality ! Crowd was insane”
Seemingly in response to this latest round of criticism to make it his way following that post, Terrible issued the following statement this morning:
“Over the years of being in the spotlight, I’ve come to clearly understand just how selfish people can be. No matter what you do, it’s never enough for them. If you don’t do what people expect or want from you — you’re bad. If you do? It’s still not enough. You need to do more. If you do something, but it goes against their opinion? You become the enemy. You should be canceled, thrown in jail, even killed.
People start saying things about you that you never said or did. They wish you harm. And then, in the same breath, they talk about freedom of speech and democracy. It’s all double standards and hypocrisy.
I especially like the type of people who are “for everything good and against everything bad.” I consider them to be some kind of genius saints burdened with holy morality and the right to decide for everyone how they should live and who they should be.
With the rise of the internet, you see just how many of these people there actually are — and you start to understand why the world is the way it is.
We are still light-years away from being a civilized, tolerant, and highly educated society. Many people still live in black-and-white thinking, unable to grasp how complex and ambiguous this world truly is.
We live in a society, and whether we like it or not, the opinion of others matters. What people say or think about us affects us. But with each passing year, I realize that I care less and less about what others think of me. I don’t even care anymore what my close ones think.
No matter what, I’m going to act the way I want to — the way that benefits me. And at the same time, I will still love my loved ones and try to love all people on this planet.
It’s hard work! But I believe it’s the most interesting work in life”
He captioned that post as follows:
“Internet life is a sickness. It’s sad but it’s true. I’m learning to only be a “poster”. I post and leave. Because when I read the comment section it makes me sad and feel like I’ll never be good enough for them.
Just make your stuff, post and leave.”