As news was surfacing yesterday about the tragic shooting in Dayton, Ohio, it was revealed that the shooter was wearing a The Acacia Strain hoodie (pictured above). Eventually, the shooter's Twitter account was found, where he identified as a leftist and a metalhead. This was all that one reporter in Dayton needed to connect the dots and try to point the blame at metal. If you missed it, here is that tweet again:
Suspect in #Dayton shooting was wearing shorts with a black sweatshirt that read: "No heart to fear, no soul to steal."
The slogan is believed to be from a hateful and vengeful song called Ramirez by The Acacia Strain, a metalcore band.
— Jim Heath (@JimHeathTV) August 4, 2019
Yesterday, The Acacia Strain frontman Vincent Bennett was quick to condemn the violent actions of the Dayton shooter and distance the band from the action. "What happened in Dayton is horrifying. Even more so to know that the shooter was wearing a TAS hoodie is making me sick. There is no excuse for this. Anyone who knows anything knows we don’t condone this behavior. No one has the right to take another’s life." Vincent wrote on Twitter.
Vincent added that the band "will be taking action to help the families of the victims however we can."
Shortly after publishing our story yesterday, Bennett tweeted twice more writing "I’m fucking shaking." He later added "Music is an outlet. Music should purify. Use art as a positive outlet to your negative emotions. If you feel angry – turn to music, turn to creation. This has to stop."
The band performed a show last night, August 4th, in Milwaukee and Bennett addressed the shootings from the stage, saying:
Before we start, I want to kind of say something about the things that have been happening in the past couple of days. Kinda bullshit. Anybody who knows this band knows we don't condone anything even close to the things that have been happening in El Paso – the things that have been happening in Dayton. It's disgusting, it's sad and all I do this for is so you have a safe place to be. So you can have a good fucking time, so you can get your energy out, so you can leave smiling. All I ever wanted to do was make music. All I ever wanted to do was make people happy. So please, just have a good fucking time tonight. Throw everything else out the window. Smile. Make a new friend. Just have fun. Please.
In related news, it's been pretty cool to see prominent metal musicians coming to the defense of The Acacia Strain and pushing back on the narrative that heavy metal somehow caused this shooting.
No. You don’t get to fucking do that. This isn’t about a fucking t shirt. And the Acacia Strain are not a hateful or vengeful band. Blame the KILLER; not the fucking WARDROBE. You Ghoul. https://t.co/LWv9ql2AOF
— Corey Taylor (@CoreyTaylorRock) August 4, 2019
Perhaps this scientific report can help you become educated on the subject of heavy metal and violence. https://t.co/guJAGH5hGt
The questionable cause fallacy you’re using is a bit trite, no?
Beast is a fantastic song of theirs btw. Check it out!
— Mark Hunter (@chimairamark) August 4, 2019
For what it's worth, the reporter, Jim Heath, has retweeted the comments Bennett made yesterday.
[via Lambgoat]
