You may have heard of Disma, they are a no-frills death metal band from New Jersey and they sound like this…
But, a quick search about vocalist Craig Pillard reveals the man has some very very far-right views about society. He also has a side project called "Stormfuhrer" which is a play on the word "obersturmführer," a military rank in the Nazi party. With a photo of Hitler on the Stormfuhrer release Ich Kamfe, it's easy to put together the Nazi association. Then again, you can just look at the CD would tip you off:
He also gave an interview promoting the release with such amazing answers as:
Your imagery takes on WWII era themes with a strong emphasis on Germany… what are your thoughts on the last of 'the great wars'?
I think Germany was defending itself from the plague of world usury/Jewry and was unfortunately beaten with the help of world Jewry, between Amerika, CCCP and Britain "OUR" kind was seduced into believing Hitler was a mad man. The sad thing is that most of "US" didn't even realize that "WE" were fighting "OUR" own people!!!!
Looking to the current state of the world, it's quite apparent a violent period stretches before us. Do you see the world getting better before worse?
I definitely see it getting worse unless "WE" start doing something about world Jewry/usury! We are going downhill fast with the media multi-cultural cesspool that is being subjected to every decent White person that turns on the "Electric Jew"!!!!! As long as "WE" keep getting force-fed this shit, and not do something about it, the faster "WE" DIE!!!!
Hypothetically, if you could go back in time to any period, when and where would you go. What would you do there?
1933 Germany, as part the Schutzstaffel!!!
So, we can agree he's a nazi right?
Well, Disma was booked on the Netherlands Deathfest, a spin-off of the Maryland Deathfest, set to take place next February. News of Disma's addition to the bill did not sit well with other bands and more than a few of them threatened to drop off. It became such an issue that the promoters of the festival decided to wash their hands of Disma completely, offering the following statement:
Disma are no longer playing NDF 2016 and have been replaced by Funebrarum.
This is the first time in 14 years of putting on festivals that we've been put in such an awkward situation, and in the end, just like a member of Disma who recently quit the band, we've decided to distance ourselves from the drama surrounding the band lately.
For the record, nobody "pressured" us into making this decision and the decision is solely ours, but it should be stated that the billing would look drastically different if Disma remained on the bill, as at least 10 bands have said they do not want to play the event if Disma remains on the bill.
We acknowledge that Disma are nothing more than a death metal band (who once played Maryland Deathfest) and it's unfortunate that their fans cannot see them for what they know them as, but all things considered, there would've been far too many negatives than positives for us to deal with by leaving them on the bill. We thought the situation settled down slightly when the admin of the Disma FB page made a statement about a month ago claiming that the band member in question "made mistakes in the past", but that post was quickly erased and the drama fired up again as a result.
We feel that Funebrarum is an adequate replacement to make up for this, but if for some reason you purchased a Sunday ticket to see Disma, you may request a refund.
This news will surely create a debate that we don't wish to get roped into the middle of. We've always been about putting on a celebration of music and nothing more. Let's all just try to get along and enjoy dozens of great bands at this festival.
Ultimately, this seems like the right move for the festival promoters to make. This isn't the first time Disma has been kicked off a bill based on Pillard's political viewings. A similar protest occured in 2011 when the band was booked on Chaos in Tejas and subsequently taken off the bill.
More info on the Netherlands Deathfest can be found here.
