More than a thousand people have signed a petition against the performance of controversial metal band Impaled Nazarene at the Effenaar. The band is scheduled to play at the Eindhoven Metal Meeting on 14 December, but it is still uncertain whether the gig will take place.
In the Effenaar you feel safe’, it says in gigantic letters in the house rules of the concert hall. That safety, according to many music lovers, is now in question after the Effenaar booked Impaled Nazarene for the upcoming edition of the metal meeting. The Finnish band is known for its controversial homophobic and racist lyrics.
In their lyrics the band talks about a new holocaust and according to the song Zero Tolerance “AIDS would be the punishment” for “that fag shit”. The content of this song in particular has been under fire for 20 years, but to this day the band have not distanced themselves from it.
Cancel culture
Effenaar director Jos Feijen has previously said that metal fans ‘just enjoy the music with a beer’, but not every fan recognises this image. Especially we metalheads are already outcasts of society and think that everyone should be welcome,’ reads the description of the petition.
COC Eindhoven, the advocacy group for the lhbti+ community, disagrees with the band’s thinking, but refuses to sign the petition. We understand the dilemma of our ‘cancellation culture’. We would like to add our signature, but on the other hand we do not want to be censored. We value freedom of speech in our society, even if sometimes an opinion is expressed that makes us feel uneasy,’ write Kay Sachse and Johan Stribos on behalf of COC Eindhoven and Queer 040.
Final decision
Nevertheless, the organisation believes that freedom of expression does not come without rules. Behind the right to this freedom there is also an obligation, namely to respect the dignity of others. Why are we giving a stage to people who want to abolish Article 1 of the Dutch Constitution? For us, Impaled Nazarene has squandered its right to perform because it tramples on the rights and dignity of others,’ the letter from the interest groups reads.
The Effenaar is currently investigating the matter and will make a final decision on Wednesday.
Source: Studio040.nl
Translated by: Anitha Sevugan
