According to stereogum.com Pantera‘s concert in Austria has been canceled due singer Philip Anselmo‘s previous racist remarks. Pantera consists of surviving members Anselmo and Rex Brown along with guitarist Zakk Wylde and drummer Charlie Benante.
Pantera was scheduled to perform at Gasometer in Vienna on May 31 as part of their spring and summer 2023 European tour. However, earlier today promoters Barracuda Music and Mind Over Matter Music released a statement on social media saying that the show has been cancelled.
“PANTERA concert on the 31st May 2023 at the Vienna Gasometer will be canceled. All tickets can be returned where they were purchased.Thank you for your understanding.”
Although Barracuda Music and Mind Over Matter Music have not mentioned the reason for the cancelation most of the fans who commented on the Facebook post believed that the cancelation was made for the same reason as Pantera‘s appearances being cancelled at the Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park festivals in Germany.
What has been causing music festivals to cancel out Pantera‘s performances is due to Anselmo’s alleged racist remarks. The singer allegedly made Nazi-style salute while performing at the January 2016 “Dimebash” event at the Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood which honored late Pantera guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott. Also Anselmo appeared to be saying “white power” while he made the gesture but a little later on Anselmo stated he was joking about drinking white wine backstage and was reacting to the audience members who were taunting him.
The other criticism is regarding that Rock Am Ring takes place in Nürnberg which is where Hitler supporters held a series of mass Nazi party rallies between 1933 and 1938.
Because of Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park organizers cancelling Pantera‘s appearances at the festivals, the German Green Party mentioned in the Nürnberg city council that Anselmo “repeatedly and deliberately made Nazi gestures and yelled racist slogans.” Réka Lörincz, the spokeswoman for the Greens against racism and right-wing extremism, added that “the former Nazi party premises” were “being deliberately misused for the staging and reproduction of racist and inhuman ideology.”
The Green Party rep told Germany’s Stern Magazine that Anselmo’s apology for his white power outburst was “not credible enough” and that hosting Pantera on the former Nazi Party rally grounds “clearly exceeds the limit of what is bearable.”
With the days following up to the Vienna concert cancelation, the Green party in Vienna did demand Pantera‘s performance to be scrapped from the lineup.
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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