The Scottish black and death metal festival Caledonian Darkness was cut off early this past weekend, according to Glasgow Live after Nazi imagery was found scrawled in pig's blood on the wall.
Pig's blood is sometimes used as a prop by black metal bands, as was the plan for the bands Pseudogod, Sortilegia and Ifrinn but instead it was used to draw a swastika on one of the dressing room walls, amon g other vandalism. The resulting vandalism is believed to be a result of some bands not being paid for their performances because the festival didn't bring enough money.
Festival promoter Oracular Phantasm blamed the financial issue on budgetary restrictions due to the lower value of the British pound after the Brexit in a lengthy statement saying:
[Certain people] decided to use the blood provided for Pseudogod, Sortilegia and Ifrinn, to paint various Third Reich imagery across the dressing room resulting in a lofty decorating bill in the end.
Freedom of speech or whatever here is irrelevant. This act was extremely disrespectful to the venue who worked tireless with us to ensure a favourable outcome in the end and in the event of not selling enough tickets to cover hire, were extremely accommodating.
With the cost of things like flights absolutely through the roof due to factors such as the value of the pound fluctuating as a result of the so-called 'Brexit' referendum, the festival really struggled to stay on budget.
This was made harder with lack of sales.
The clean-up bill for the wall is reportedly in the thousands. The venue, Classic Grand, offered their own statement saying that the show was cancelled because of rising tensions:
Bands had flown in from all over Europe, with performance fees agreed by the promoter, as well as riders etc. It soon became apparent that the agreed fees were not going to be available to the bands, or venue.
"When certain acts discovered they were not going to be paid by the promoter, some took it upon themselves to challenge them/refuse to play etc.
"Several, unnamed, bands then decided to cause severe damage to the venue. Which has resulted in a four-figure repair bill.
"To ensure everyone's safety, the promoter decided to cut short the event, a decision which The Classic Grand agreed with."
It's unclear if the nazi imagery was done to intentionally spew racism or as a way to get attention for not being paid, but this puts a black eye on the entire metal scene, specifically the black metal scene. Obviously, there is some blame to be put on the promoter for not paying his artists, but whoever thought this was good retaliation was taking it out on the wrong person – the venue, which had little to do with the payments and instead is now baggaged with bad press.
Photos of the disgusting act can be seen below.
[via]
