Chaos, pulverising breakdowns and one of modern deathcore’s most intimidating live reputations arrived at SWG3 Galvanizers as Slaughter To Prevail brought their European Summer Tour 2026 to a sold-out Glasgow, Scotland. Fresh from laying waste to Bloodstock Open Air just two days earlier, Slaughter To Prevail were joined by Brazilian Death Metal quartet Crypta and new kids on the block Chained Saint.
Slaughter To Prevail – Crypta – Chained Saint
SWG3 Glasgow – 10 August 2026
Words: Matty Hunter
Photography: thedailyddt at Vision Impact Photography
The near month-long tour run began in Warsaw, Poland, on 17 July and concludes at Dynamo Metalfest in Eindhoven, Netherlands, in two days’ time, combining major festival appearances with a select number of intimate headline club shows. Having only returned home on the Saturday after spending a couple of days covering Bloodstock Festival 2026 myself, I was back on the road again on Monday for the trip north to Scotland for this show.
Located in Glasgow’s revitalised west end, SWG3 Galvanizers has become one of Scotland’s leading live music venues. Its industrial surroundings and intimate layout around two miles from the city centre create an atmosphere that keeps fans close to the stage while still accommodating a sizeable crowd, making it an ideal setting for a show of this intensity.
There was already a huge queue of waiting fans long before the doors opened, which stretched all the way back in anticipation for the show.
Chained Saint
Opening the show were South Florida thrashers Chained Saint, who had the unenviable task of getting the crowd moving early. But judging by the reception they received, they had absolutely no trouble doing so.
Formed in 2022 by four teenagers who started out playing together in a garage, Chained Saint have already made an impressive amount of ground in just a few years. Ethan Kahn on guitar, Sebastian De Avila on bass, vocalist Sean Sterling and drummer Cameron Cottrell bring a youthful but mature approach to Thrash Metal, incorporating elements of Groove and Hardcore crossover into their sound. Their music has plenty of bite.
With their 2024 debut album Blindside and several singles already under their belts, Chained Saint have made a name for themselves. They have shared stages with some seriously established names and appeared at major festivals including Welcome To Rockville, Sick New World, Leyendas del Rock and Bloodstock Open Air.
This Glasgow show was particularly significant, however, being only their second-ever performance outside the United States following their Bloodstock appearance just days earlier and their first-ever show in Scotland.
A healthy crowd had already gathered in anticipation for the new kids on the block, and the crowd response was immediate as they took to the stage, with the classic Scottish chant of “Here we fucking go” ringing around the venue.
Chained Saint instantly had the room in their grasp. The sound felt floor-shaking, and Sterling wasted absolutely no time putting the audience to work, inciting a circle pit during the very first song. Their set showed exactly why this young band is generating so much attention.
1000 Tons was an early highlight, while an unreleased track brought a lot of movement. There was a genuine cheer and appreciation after every song, which is particularly impressive for a band that, to the masses, was fairly unknown.
Another new track, Snakeskin, proved equally effective, with the first crowd surfers of the evening beginning to emerge and quickly turning into tens of them. For an opening act playing a half-hour set, Chained Saint demonstrated excellent crowd control and an ability to create an atmosphere far beyond what might normally be expected this early in the evening.
Before the final song, Animosity, Sterling introduced his bandmates and reflected on the incredible energy coming back from the room.
Chained Saint were naturally excellent openers. There is an infectious quality to what this young band are doing, and seeing them command a rowdy crowd with such confidence on only their second overseas performance was hugely impressive.
It was also nice to meet Sterling and Kahn after the show, and I can genuinely see Chained Saint getting bigger and bigger. Their appeal is easy to understand: youthful energy, fast riffs, plenty of attitude and the ability to make a room move.
If this is where Chained Saint are already at, their future looks seriously exciting.
Crypta
Next up were Brazilian Death Metal force Crypta, a quartet formed in São Paulo in 2019, and have become a prominent rising act in modern Death Metal.
The band are currently working on a third record, which will reportedly be a fully conceptual album based around the theme of madness, with two great studio albums already.
While waiting between Chained Saint and Crypta, fans in the centre of the room had constructed an enormous tower of plastic cups, which somehow remained standing as the pit developed around it.
For much of Crypta’s set, the crowd continued to mosh and circle pit around this increasingly ridiculous monument, creating one of those wonderfully chaotic moments that only seem to happen at Metal shows.
When Crypta hit the stage, they immediately demonstrated why they have developed such a strong reputation as a live act. Frontwoman Fernanda Lira was particularly expressive, commanding the stage with her body language and facial expressions while armed with her bass.
There was something in her stage presence that reminded me of Cronos of Venom. Between songs, Lira took the opportunity to swig her beer before getting straight back into the carnage. Her vocals were equally impressive, cutting through the instrumentation with genuine ferocity, high and low in the register.
The musicianship throughout was excellent. The guitarists threw themselves into the performance, windmilling their hair as the riffs came crashing down, while touring drummer Cierra White, also of Emasculator, relentlessly battered the kit from behind the drum riser.
From The Ashes was a particular highlight, delivering a crushing Death Metal assault. The crowd responded accordingly, with the pit continuing to churn beneath the stage.
There was a slight technical issue right at the end of their set, with the vocals and instruments cutting out around 30 seconds before the conclusion of the set. Fortunately, it came during the final song anyway, so it did little to take away from what had been an extremely strong performance.
Crypta’s combination of musicianship, brutality and commanding stage presence demonstrated exactly why they have become regulars at major festivals, while their growing reputation is thoroughly deserved.
By the time the band departed, that cup tower from earlier had evolved into an absolutely enormous tower of balanced cups, and I wondered what would be left of it as Slaughter To Prevail’s set loomed.
Crypta finished their 25-minute set, leaving the Glasgow crowd suitably warmed up for what was still to come.
It was also a pleasure to meet Cierra White after the show, and with a third Crypta album on the horizon, the future looks particularly exciting for this band.
Slaughter To Prevail
Founded in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2014 and now based in Orlando, Florida, Slaughter To Prevail have undergone a meteoric rise to become one of the biggest names in modern Deathcore.
With Alex Terrible and British guitarist Jack Simmons the only constants through the band’s various line-up changes, the current five-piece have built an enormous international following through crushing Deathcore, social media virality and one of the most recognisable frontmen in Extreme Metal. Their three albums, Misery Sermon (2017), Kostolom (2021) and 2026’s Grizzly, chart a progression in their sound.
The band’s journey has not been without controversy, something that has followed Slaughter To Prevail at various points throughout their career, particularly surrounding their origins, imagery and Alex Terrible himself.
Yet despite that controversy, their ascent has continued at remarkable speed. Their identity remains closely connected to both their Russian heritage and modern Deathcore, with lyrics written in both Russian and English. That bilingual identity is an important part of what makes Slaughter To Prevail distinctive, allowing them to carry elements of their heritage into a sound that has now reached audiences across the globe.
Their enormous streaming numbers and Alex Terrible’s huge social media presence have undoubtedly helped introduce them to listeners far beyond the traditional Extreme Metal scene.
By the time Slaughter To Prevail were due to take the stage, it was abundantly clear just how enormous this band have become. A trip to the merch stand beforehand had already provided an indication of the scale of the operation, with prices including a staggering £180 for one of the band’s masks and an eye-watering £500 for a signed drum head by one band member.
Returning to the room, the floor was absolutely packed, with barely a gap to be found as fans squeezed forward in anticipation. The now-familiar tower of plastic cups was given space and remained in the centre of the floor, while everywhere you looked, fans were wearing the distinctive masks that have become synonymous with the Slaughter To Prevail aesthetic.
The question was how many had just spent £180 to wear one that night.
The anticipation inside the Glasgow venue reached boiling point before the first note, with flashing lights and the Blade theme building the tension before the iconic Scottish chant of “Here we fucking go” erupted from the crowd once more.
Then the masks appeared, and the carnage began. Crowd surfers were coming over the barrier in abundance from the outset, pits erupted across the floor, and the sheer physical force of the performance was floor-shaking. Alex Terrible and the band delivered a relentless set from Bonebreaker through to Conflict.
While I would not consider myself a Slaughter To Prevail fan, I appreciate what they have achieved. In fact, seeing this show made it impossible not to respect it. The sheer crushing power, intensity and stage presence they bring live is remarkable, and the passion their fans have for this band is clear.
Alex repeatedly thanked the crowd throughout the night, while later reflecting on his journey from being a 13-year-old who wanted to become a rock star to now touring the world and living that dream. During Kid Of Darkness, he instructed the entire room to jump up akin to Slipknot during Spit It Out, creating a moment of absolute carnage as everybody moved in unison.
Alex’s voice is an experience in itself. His exceptionally deep gutturals have become a defining feature of the band, but hearing that primal sound delivered live is something else entirely. The incredibly low, off-mic scream during Viking was one of the standout moments of the night and demonstrated just how impressive his vocal ability is in a live environment.
Behelit brought another dimension, incorporating operatic theatrics into the performance, while elsewhere the band’s combination of crushing breakdowns, groove-heavy riffs and huge production showed why their sound has reached far beyond the traditional Deathcore audience.
Near the end of the set, Alex delivered a more personal speech about taking responsibility for changing your own circumstances, recalling how he battled drug addiction around a decade ago before turning his life around.
His message was simple. If you want to change something, you have to do it yourself, and he hoped his own story could help others. After Conflict brought the set to a close, the lights came up, and the crowd reaction was visceral.
Slaughter To Prevail may not be a band for everyone, but their live show demands respect. The loyalty of this fan base is extraordinary, the atmosphere was insane and the performance was genuinely huge. It was also a pleasure to meet the guitarist Dmitry Mamedov after the show, who kindly gave me one of his guitar picks.
Whatever you think of Slaughter To Prevail, their meteoric rise is undeniable and Glasgow made it very clear that their following is strong.
