Marduk‘s planned show at the Life House club in Rzeszow, POL earlier this week was cancelled under rather extraordinary circumstances. While recent reports have alleged two members of the band were found to have purchased Nazi propaganda back in 2016—claims which the band have denied—this doesn’t seem to be the controversy that caused the show to be scuttled.
It would appear that intense pressure from the Polish conservative Christian political party PiS was mainly to blame, as they had called for the show to be banned earlier for ‘promoting satanic content.’ While the club didn’t buckle to public pressure, an unknown person broke into the venue and stole a water meter and pipe that essentially cut the venue off from having running water the night before the concert was due to take place.
According to a local media report, while the venue ordered portable toilets, washbasins and a fire fighting water tank to proceed with the show, local authorities would not give the venue permission to host it. Marduk‘s booking agency Massive Music issued the below statement on the matter (hastily translated from Polish):
“Something unusual happened. From the beginning of the announcement of the concert concert in rzeszow, they were on us and the pressure club to cancel this concert. The situation was definitely over yesterday and today. The Club, only today, had police control, fire department, and sanitation. On yesterday’s “unknown” Perp broke into the club, cut out a part of the pipe with wodomierzem, cutting off the club from running water.
On this basis, the health department has halted the activities of the life house club (until it is restored to the current water club) Coincidence? The Club did everything for the concert to take place (he ordered portable toilets, sinks, a fire tank, and even in case a aggregate generator). Unfortunately, the strength of political pressure and offices has proved too large. We regret to cancel tonight’s concert even though the teams are in rzeszow and the stage is ready.
There has never been such pressure in our history, letters from lawyers and control. We were also not able to move the concert to another place, because the checks appeared only today, on the day of the concert, and other clubs in the city did not talk to us or fear the risks.
Purchased collector tickets can be returned at sales points. Tickets from the network network can be returned after a long weekend as soon as the disposition returns.”
Marduk themselves have been under increased scrutiny lately over their alleged ties to racist beliefs with police cancelling the band’s show in Oakland, CA last year over those concerns. One prominent Polish metal musician has spoken out against the cancellation of this latest concert, having continually been under pressure for his own religious beliefs in his native Poland over the years. That musician is Behemoth frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski, who took to social media to post:
“Unfortunatelly they succeded. Marduk concert in Rzeszów got cancelled. How far you will go to protect your one and only truth? How long you will keep on violating our freedom? What it will take for you to realize that NONE of your fascist ways will break our spirit?
Do I sound pathetic? Exagerated? Reactive?Try to live free life in the country full of blind sheep led by conservative, stubborn, shameful lowlives.”
Notably Marduk recently performed a show in Stockholm, Sweden with another artist facing similar allegations of Nazism: Taake. While Taake‘s mastermind Hoest has repeatedly denied these allegations, the band’s planned North American tour earlier this year was cancelled amid outcry from Antifa groups, other artists and concerned citizens. Marduk viewed the show as a personal victory of sorts, taking to social media to post the following:
“On April 29, despite the outraged bleating from the enemies of black metal, Marduk Official and Taake (Official) performed in a sold-out Stockholm venue. Both bands wish to thank the Stockholm Slaughter promoter, Vlad of Death Disco Productions, for going above and beyond in the face of overwhelming adversity. But above all, our heartfelt gratitude to you – the fans – whose unwavering support ultimately made this a highly worthwhile experience, not to mention at all possible.
Let this little escapade serve as a reminder of how outside interference in black metal matters should be approached: unity in defiance, with neither apology nor compromise.”
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