Do you know this guy? Yes? Then you will know about him and what he has recently done to upset most of the metal community, if not the entirety. If not, then in a nutshell Mr. Phil Anselmo formerly of Pantera and now front-man of Down deliberately used the Nazi salute and bellowed 'White Power'. Racism does not belong in metal, well only in one sub-genre and for blatantly obvious reasons, the aforementioned NSBM movement which essentially is 'National Socialist Black Metall'. Said bands would sing about the Holocaust (in appraisal), fascism, pagan-related topics and hatred towards not just Jewish people but also various ethnic groups such as Muslims, Blacks, Orientals and other people of non-white and Aryan descent. Varg Vikernes is one musician who is an open racist and supporter of said metal sub-genre, in fact he would be applauding Phil's antics during this gig, despite it's appalling nature and his 'grovelling' apology, come on do you really think the metal community would forgive you? Actions speak louder than words, and Phil? The metal community will take you 'Down'. When you see metal bands emerge from various parts of the world with widely different ethnic backgrounds, in fact not only bands but musicians alike. Think Jesse Leach (Devil You Know / Ex-Killswitch Engage), Freddy Lim (ChthoniC), Derrick Green (Sepultura), Mike Smith (Ex-Suffocation), etc., I'd love to see these musicians perform with Phil on that night, I just can't imagine Phil walking off the stage in a straight line let alone legs intact. Racism is bad enough as it is without a (well it seemed) respected metal musician doing something so blindingly stupid and highly abhorrent, from which has mounted a huge social media storm against him - essentially he has fallen victim to his own actions. But despite this, racism appears to be receiving a welcomed kick in the teeth by metal musicians, bands and fans alike. Global Metal Apocalypse has analyzed planet metal and has come up with three points as to how and why metal music has become a way of bringing the worlds peoples together through one passion, one music, one love.
You know to think that Africa is developing a rapidly growing breadth of metal bands from East to West and South to North, disregarding North Africa for this point (as covered later) we begin on the topic of bands who live south of the Saharan desert, or to put it plainly black people. The pictured metalhead is from Botswana as highlighted in a CNN article linked here, when you think about it when Africa is the last frontier for metal music to emerge from and then to think that these are people from medium-to-poor nations in terms of economy, life expectancy and the like. To think that the following listed countries have at least one metal band in their country, more importantly one with black musicians:- Angola, Botswana, Uganda, Cape Verde, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Togo, Madagascar, Mauritius, Zambia, Namibia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Burundi and Zimbabwe just goes to show that the African nations are enjoying a musical shift and because of this they have attracted fans from their own and neighboring countries. In fact it's the likes of Skinflint, Vale Of Amonition, Iron Sliver and Mortal Soul who are making a buzz in Europe, with the first former signing to a label in Europe. So yeah Phil? Sub-Saharan Metal fans and musicians stand united and point their fingers at your face with disgust. 2. Alienating your peers in the metal community. Well Robb Flynn hits the nail right on the head, watching this video he makes the statements that Phil Anselmo sympathizers ought to apprehend and hear. Because those who support Phil's actions are just as racist!! No, there is no room for racism in metal. I hope, and I don't, which I agree is a contradictory before I have even started writing the next paragraph, that Down do not get to perform anymore. I hope, no matter what band Phil belongs to he never, ever gets on a major stage again. There again, he might as well get the deserved abuse from the respectable metal community he deserves, not Nazi sympathizers battle crying 'white power', this action by Phil Anselmo SHOULD NOT GOT UNNOTICED, NOT ONCE, NEVER. Well Phil let's be honest I very much doubt that the likes of Corey Taylor, Robb Flynn, Bruce Dickinson, in fact all the metal greats could not even look at you in the eye. As for the bands who looked up to you, note I say 'looked', probably now hate you as much as your band mates hate you for one being a closet racist and two bringing shame on the band Down. The media alike will say what the community is thinking, heck I am speaking on behalf of the global community of whom I love endearingly. We are all brothers and sisters, we are all one in this music movement, but you, he he, you Phil Anselmo are nothing but a disgrace to the metal community. Apologize all you like, it's all on the internet for the world to see. We are a community, A COMMUNITY PHIL! WE LOOK AFTER EACH OTHER, YOU ARE NOT WELCOME WITH YOUR RACIST VERBIAGE. 3. Folk Metal Why folk metal? Why bring this into this article? The clue is in the name. We are all folk in this community, not you Phil Anselmo. Racism is not welcome. What? Are you racist towards Black Metal? Get a grip, retire because your career is considered redundant, finished. Folk Metal is embraced by various races, nationalities and religions. We have had bands from Israel like Orphaned Land, creating Middle-Eastern influence folk metal thus touching upon their own cultural understandings. ChthoniC from Taiwan, who sing about their historical past - are you racist towards them because they're Orientals? Or how about Myrath from Tunisia? Because they're Muslim? What about Tyr from the Faroe Islands, because they're not American? Because none of the bands mentioned are like you? We are all folk in this community, we are all together standing as one. You know Phil? You've said so much hatred and disgust over the years and we've tolerated it, but this is beyond toleration. As a lover of the global community, I was offended and I stand by the world's musicians, be it Robb Flynn, Till Lindemann, Devin Townsend or my beloved brothers and sisters in Asia, Africa, etc. In fact I stand by every single metal musician who opposes your vile and cowardly antics. I respect all metal musicians, well not all, I don't respect Varg Vikernes and CERTAINLY NOT YOU PHIL ANSELMO. RACISM DOES NOT! DOES NOT BELONG IN METAL.
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