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By BRIAN GIFFIN
SAN Jose death metal band Ripped to Shreds has made a stand against bigotry and hatred by refusing to play a show alongside cult thrashers Master, who appeared at last week’s controversial Metal Threat Festival in Chicago.
“Refusing to play with a Neonazi band like Arghoslent that glorifies the Black slave trade is the lowest possible bar and Master still failed it by playing Metal Threat,” wrote the band, declaring that they would subsequently withdraw from this weekend’s performance with them.
In their original post, Ripped to Shreds – whose members are Asian and Latino – also announced they would be cutting ties with their booking agent, Heavy Talent, for allowing Master to do the festival.
An updated message from the band has since cleared Heavy Talent from involvement: “I would like to clarify that Heavy Talent only reps Sinister. The Sinister and Master tour was booked as a package and Master booked their show at Metal Threat directly.”
Master, a cult US band thrash band now mainly based in Czechia, was one of up to 40 bands originally booked to appear at Metal Threat.
The deeply divisive music festival suffered a major setback when more than a dozen acts, including Destroyer 666, were denied US entry visas to appear.
Along with Arghoslent and Master, the festival also featured Graveland, who also espouse Neo-Nazi philosophies, the openly anti-Semitic Grand Belial’s Key and Inquisition, whose frontman was convicted on child pornography charges in 2009.
