Metal and politics go so well together. Next weekend, the town of Texcoco, Mexico was to host the Hell and Heaven metal festival which was to feature performances from Kiss, Guns N Roses, Korn, Twisted Sister, Rob Zombie, Lamb of God, Carcass, Trivium, Suffocation, Suicide Silence and more but it won't be happening after a Mexican government invervention.
According to Associated Press reports, the Mexican state government cited inadequate security plans as the reason for the shutdown. And they weren't joking around:
The state sent about 300 riot police to surround the fairgrounds Friday in the township of Texcoco. The state civil defense office, and its federal counterpart, said in a statement that it had cancelled the organizers' plans "for 70,000 to 80,000 people and 50 musical groups, because safety conditions for potential concert-goers were not ensured." It cited a lack of fire safety and evacuation plans, and inadequate planning for fireworks.
Festival organizers vehemently disagreed with this position, saying the fairgrounds were used every year for an annual horse fair drawing equal crowds and no such security issues arose. The organizers believe that the state government shut down the proceedings for political reasons, seeing as though a very conservative government is in place and it is assumed that they fear a youth revolt. For their part, the township of Texcoco, which is left-leaning, has no problem with the concert.
Reading some quotes, it seems some town locals fear that a metal concert will provoke gangs to show up and pillage their town:
Texcoco market vendor Juan Portugues told the Milenio television network that local residents were leery of the festival. "We think that this event, this metal event, will be attended by a certain type of people, gangs will come."
Whether it's political or music discrimination, one thing is for certain, as of now the festival is cancelled.
Update: We got word from festival organizers that they are looking to secure a new location in a seperate Mexican state for the festival and it may still happen
