A Line in the Sand

Black Metal has, for most of its history, been outsider art. The beginning of the second wave marked a radical divergence with the trends of the time and a rallying cry against the oppression of the status quo. The beginnings of the second wave marked a time when Black Metal, as an ideology transcended simply being music and became: A Line in the Sand. Since these early days, there were calls for censorship, to shut down these blasphemous creations that offended the average sensibilities of the time.

The current era hearkens back to this era, where censorship of Black Metal is ever increasing. In the modern era, attacks to the expression of this art are done under the guise of politics rather than religion. It is considered thought crime for a band to simply express itself and shows and festivals are being shut down at an ever increasing rate by those who wish to censor its expression. Often, assailants of the art are attacking and shutting down Black Metal for no other crime than expression. Organizations that outwardly claim that they are against totalitarian regimes are using the tactics of these very regimes to censor and police thoughts and ideologies.

It is the mark of a developed mind to be able to tolerate those thoughts that one disagrees with. However, it seems like the enemies of our art do not share these beliefs. In an age where accepting the fake news without fact-checking and reading only the titles of articles and studies without understanding the underlying biases, assumptions, and nuances, the need for critical thinking is becoming more and more important.

The hope for this page is to take the first steps to fight back against those oppressors. A Line has Once Again been drawn in the sand…

Why are Shows Being Cancelled?

It is not hard to see that Black Metal shows are being cancelled at an ever increasing rate. Why is this happening and what can be done to prevent it?

There are, in my understanding, four key elements to organizing a successful show: 1) The Performers / Bands, 2) The managers / promoters who work with bands and get shows booked, 3) The venues at which shows occur, 4) The fans who purchase tickets and fund the whole operation with their money.

When we examine the four elements above and review why shows are being cancelled, it becomes clear that there are two weak points of the four elements above that cause shows to be cancelled. The cancellation of acts / shows / festivals occurs because:

a) A venue will be forced to cancel a show

or

b) A promoter will kick a band off of the bill or force a band to bow out

The former category is the most common. Usually what we have seen is that bands are ready to play and fans are eager to see an act, but the venue decides not to host the show. Venue cancellations are usually done under the threat of violence from a pro-censorship group or the fear of the venue owner of backlash / negative reputation. Proponents of censorship have (correctly, in my opinion) identified that venues are the weakest link and the most likely to be coerced into their demands. The venue owner bows to the pressure and cancels the show, in the hopes to see another day.

This kind of behavior is disgraceful. While it goes without saying that the pro-censorship affiliates are at the most fault here, I believe that change can only happen if pressure is put on venues to hold their ground in the face of pressure and to hold true and firm to their word. It is not a valid excuse for the venue to claim that it did not research the act or “didn’t know”.

Promoters and fans who want to see fewer shows being cancelled need to apply pressure to venues that cancel shows and bow out of commitments. (The obvious exception being if the venue is shut down for reasons beyond the control of the venue owner relating to legal issues, ex. involvement by the police or fire department.)

What I propose is for us to begin compiling a list of venues that have fallen through on their promise to make a show happen and create a “blacklist” of venues to be boycotted when Black Metal promoters are looking for venues to book shows. (A promoter can, of course, make the decision to still book with that venue, but at least they are doing so in an informed manner knowing that the venue might bow from pressure.) The idea is that venues will fear getting blacklisted because this represents lost dollars and lost business as well as a negative reputation when dealing with Black Metal promoters and should cause them to have greater incentive to stay true to their words about hosting a show. The supply-and-demand dynamic between venues and promoters is heavily in-favor of the promoters, who have the discretion to choose amongst many different venues in any given city in which a band will be performing. Let’s make sure that they choose the venues that will have the least chance of cancellation from bowing to pro-censorship pressures.

If any promoters or fans could please provide me with information related to instances where venues have cancelled shows, please reach out with details and proof and I will compile a list that I will continue to update. Please share the list with other promoters and bands so that we can make smarter choices and have fewer cancellations in the future.