Leonel Radde , a state representative from the Workers' Party (PT), accused Mayhem of neo-Nazism and contacted the authorities in an attempt to cancel the show in Porto Alegre scheduled for March 21st.
"It can be said that the band is openly neo-Nazi, using symbols of Nazism and Norwegian neo-Nazism. Their logo features an adapted swastika, and one of the members' clothing has the infamous Totenkopf , the skulls of the Nazi SS. It almost seems like a joke, but the Norwegian neo-Nazi band wants to perform in Porto Alegre, and we hope that the Opinião bar and the production company will cancel this show because we cannot accept neo-Nazis on Brazilian, Rio Grande do Sul, and Porto Alegre soil. Fascists will not prevail anywhere in the world," declared the politician (via Igor Miranda ).
The complaint reached Leonel's ears due to a post made on Twitter by far-right researcher and philosophy professor Renato Levin-Borges , also known as Judz . In it, the professor wrote: “The drummer Hellhammer has already declared himself against 'racial mixing', has appeared with a swastika on his arm, and they used to rehearse in a studio full of Nazi totenkopf. So, what's your opinion?”
Previously, at the launch of the book Lords of Chaos: A Bloody History of Underground Satanic Metal , in 1998, the musician had said that "black metal is for white people" (via AV Club ).
The call to cancel the performance is causing a divisive issue online, with some people defending the action and others claiming the information is false.
Regarding the Mayhem controversies
Vocalist Dead , who participated in radical movements against Christianity, committed suicide in 1991. His body was found by guitarist Euronymous who, instead of calling the police, photographed the corpse for use on the cover of the album Dawn of the Black Hearts (1995).
In 1994, Øystein “Euronymous” Aarseth was murdered by former bassist Varg Vikernes with 23 stab wounds. “When I pulled the knife from his skull he fell forward and rolled down a flight of stairs like a sack of potatoes – making enough noise to wake the whole neighborhood,” the criminal revealed (via Revista Fórum ). Varg was sentenced to 21 years in prison, even though he claimed self-defense.
Furthermore, bassist Necrobutcher has already confessed to planning to kill the guitarist .
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