“This band is a very modern story,” says Slaughter To Prevail founding guitarist Jack Simmons. “We didn’t start out in the garage like everyone in the ’90s. We found each other through the internet, living in different countries.”
And perhaps there lies some of the secret to their success. Many musicians end up settling with the best players they can find locally – or, in some cases, nationally. English guitarist Simmons, however, managed to carve out a name for himself with musicians halfway across the world in Russia.
Now three albums in, including the release of Grizzly this month, they’ve become one of the most exciting names in modern metal, having inked deals with Slipknot management 5B and Sumerian Records. Simmons has chosen to do things his way and it’s working out well for him.
“Every day I wake up thinking the way I’ve gone about it is really fucking weird,” he laughs. “But I couldn’t find anyone in England with the same drive and didn’t want to waste time. When I was 19, I saw [singer] Alex Terrible on YouTube and hit him up. We quickly realized we had the same mindset. Eventually we found the right people. This band feels really good right now.”
As per albums of the past, the 13 new tracks are a masterclass in uncompromising brutality, fusing elements of nu-metal, death metal and hardcore into one hellish wall of noise. But there’s also been room for growth in places, too. “Me and Alex write everything,” continues Simmons.
“This time we wanted to come from the listener perspective. As a result, it feels more like a collection of songs than an album. I also changed my guitar sound…”
In what sense?
“I became obsessed with analog pedals. I started digging out things like the Electro-Harmonix Bassballs [twin dynamic envelope filter] that I used on [Slipknot cover] Disasterpiece. I was hunting down old pedals from the 90s, like the Boss HM-2.
“I wanted to capture our live energy. The base sound is that digital tone we hear a lot. The intricacies are in the layers, like this Swedish metal flavor I’d add underneath for grit. I didn’t want it to sound plastic. For staccato riffs, I’d take that layer off so my tone could breathe.”
There are different shades within the heaviness.
“Yeah! I’d add in these dissonant chords through pedals to create more noise. I love plugins, but certain riffs needed an extra edge. Sometimes you just have to play around with pedals to find the right sound.”
What plugins were you using?
“Half of the album was tracked using TSE X50, an old Russian plugin that they stopped updating because of the sanctions. It started crashing my computer, taking eight hours to load. Then I switched to the Mike Stringer [Spiritbox] MixWave plug-in. We mainly used demo takes because they sounded more messy. Whenever I retracked things, it felt too clean.”
Were the pedals going into amps or plug-ins?
“Pedal into plugins. For Russian Grizzly In America I used a DigiTech Whammy to shift everything one tone down to Drop G towards the end. And on the breakdowns I chose to blend in an old Metal Zone I found.
“That allowed me to hit the pinched harmonics better. There’s something about the EQ of the Metal Zone that’s ridiculous for that stuff.
“We did a lot of pitch-shifting. I loved using the Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork for dissonant stuff, with the blend set at 75%. That’s a trick I picked up through Isaac Hale [Knocked Loose]. It’s way dirtier than the Whammy, reminding me of the Meshuggah albums of the 2000s.”
Your ESP RS-320 has been refinished in blood splatter. Is that what we’re hearing on the record?
“Yeah! It’s stock but my guy redesigned it into a medieval weapon. He did the blood splatter, adding three stripes because we wear Adidas all the time and drilled spikes on the side. I also used my Stephen Carpenter baritone ESP Tele. Fishman pickups have become my go-to.
We took inspiration from Eastern European groups who use deeper voices against heavy guitars
“I also had a Swollen Pickle fuzz. I’m actually working with my tech on my own pedal that’s similar but with anime artwork. I have the prototype and we’re calling it The Berserker. It has this messy feedback which I like. It’s not perfect, whereas digital stuff can almost sound too good.”
1984 has its fair share of pinched harmonics. It’s always a big moment in any guitarist’s life when they learn how to pull those off!
“Pinched harmonic riffs are always my favorites because you get a good feeling. It’s like magic. I recently went on a binge of old Pantera live videos where Dimebag would be shoving in harmonics everywhere. It made me wish the studio versions were like that because it sounded so heavy.”
You have some interesting guests on this album. Ronnie Radke appears on Imdead.
“We played our first arenas with Ronnie. Chugging away on three frets, I never expected to be doing this kind of stuff. Ronnie was kind and welcoming. Alex guested on one of his tracks so we asked if he wanted to do something. It came out great.”
And Babymetal appear on Song 3, which could be the most brutal track they’ve ever appeared on.
“That was my goal! I started to delve into their catalog and they’ve written some bangers, plus seven minutes-long epics. It’s cool to see the success they are having around the world.”
Did their involvement change how you wrote the track?
“I think so. I had this remote set-up for hotel rooms – a couple of monitors, a [Focusrite] Scarlett interface and pedals. Me and Alex would write on our days off. We wanted keep the Slaughter vibe but make something that catered to them.”
You’re more of a riffer than a shredder, but there are some leads in places. Which guitarists inspired that side of you?
“I have the typical ones, Eddie Van Halen and Dimebag, though I can’t play like them. Kerry King’s a big influence. His solos are funny but they sound fucking metal with all the divebombs, so we did a lot of that.
“I grew up on Machine Head albums like The Blackening and Through The Ashes of Empires. I love how they layer their leads and used the Boss SY-200 for stuff like that.
“The crazy organ sounds helped me cut through on Viking, Kid Of Darkness and Banditos. The solo on Rodina, which translates as ‘motherland’ or ‘home,’ is the closest I’ve sounded to Dimebag. We took inspiration from Eastern European groups who use deeper voices against heavy guitars; it ended up with this Rammstein vibe.”
What tips can you offer us on the art of modern metal guitar?
Deathcore guitar can be simple. It’s about finding the nuances to make your ideas stand out
“Palm-muting is so important. I play very heavy – it’s a big part of the tone. What’s interesting about deathcore is that it’s a mix of genres getting blended. Old-school death metal riffs and Suffocation-style ideas make it interesting.
“Then there’s the hardcore beatdowns where the playing isn’t technical, but it carries so much energy. Learning all the techniques within extreme music is cool because if you bring them all together, you have an interesting sound.
“Rhythms are so important for breakdowns and slams which make people go crazy if you know how to do them right. There’s a whole genre of bands like Devourment and PeelingFlesh doing that. Deathcore guitar can actually be simple. It’s about finding the nuances to make your ideas stand out.”
- Grizzly is out now via Sumerian Records.
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