Slaughter to Prevail frontman Alex Terrible has addressed criticism over the pricing of his handcrafted masks in a statement shared on his Alex Terrible Wear Instagram account.
The statement responds directly to fans who have complained that his masks are too expensive. Terrible defends the pricing by comparing it to industry standards and citing rising production costs.
“I crack up so much at comments like this,” Alex Terrible said. “Like, ‘Ahh, now I understand why the price is so high.’ You can immediately tell that many of you have absolutely no idea about this market. Go look at other handcrafted masks and find me even a couple of companies that produce as many masks as we do at such a low price.”
He went on to note that the pricing has long been a point of contention among fans, even when costs were significantly lower.
“Normally, a mask like this would easily cost around $500, yet so many of you are constantly complaining about the price,” he continued. “It’s honestly hilarious. You try your best to keep the price as close to the actual production cost as possible, and somehow it’s still ‘too expensive’ for them! Well, fair enough! It’s not a cheap price in general, but even many years ago when our masks cost was $90 including shipping and there were still so many people saying, ‘too expensive!’ Ha ha ha, come on!”
Terrible also pointed to broader economic factors affecting production costs.
“Now gas prices have tripled, there’s war going on, Russia is under heavy sanctions, and the whole world is going crazy with inflation — and we’re still keeping the price low!” he said.
The mask has been central to Alex Terrible’s identity for years. Its origins trace back long before Alex Terrible Wear became a business.
The concept first took shape while Terrible was working out at the gym roughly a decade ago, sketching designs during breaks. He was a longtime fan of masked superheroes and characters like Spider-Man and Spawn, and he channeled that fascination into his own devil mask, which grew into a defining visual signature of his stage persona.
Terrible’s rise to prominence began years before Slaughter to Prevail existed. His vocal cover videos on YouTube built him a massive online following in the Russian metal scene. That visibility eventually caught the attention of British guitarist Jack Simmons, leading the two to form Slaughter to Prevail in 2014 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Since then, the band has relocated its base of operations to Orlando, Florida, a move that came together in 2022 amid the complications tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Terrible has maintained that he opposes the war. The relocation has not slowed the momentum behind either the band or his merchandise ventures.
That history helps explain why Terrible pushes back so firmly against claims that Alex Terrible Wear is overpriced. The mask evolved from a gym-sketched idea into a globally recognized, in-demand product. What started as a personal creative outlet has become a full-scale handcrafted operation, one he insists still prioritizes affordability over profit margins despite the rising costs behind the scenes.
