Two German festivals remove Pantera from their line-up
The group is also on the bill with us in Belgium at Graspop this summer. Classic 21 has also had confirmation that the organizers are maintaining the concert scheduled for Saturday June 17, a date that is already full.
Phil Anselmo has repeatedly apologized for his comments in 2016. He initially said it was just a joke and later posted a more detailed statement:
“Every citizen of this world has the inalienable right to live with dignity and respect, free from hatred and oppression. And I mean it, with all my heart, despite feeling guilty and defeated.”
“It is common knowledge that we can choose to learn from our mistakes or continue down the path of callousness and destruction. I am totally responsible for the mistakes I made, and I can only give you my word not to do them again now, by actions, not by mere words.”
“My bandmates are now bearing the consequences of my behavior, and I am now publicly apologizing to them. Never in my life would I drag them down, and I have privately suggested they move on without me.”
Anselmo also said he was “disgusted” by his own actions, adding: “I will understand if I get shunned until I hit rock bottom.”
He apologized again in a later videodespite other criticism from his peers like Machine Head’s Rob Flynn or Scott Ian of Anthrax.
As Stern magazine reports, local Green Party city council members in Germany asked festival promoters, Argo Konzerte GmbH, to remove the band from their poster. The Rock Am Ring did indeed take place where Hitler’s supporters under Nazi Germany held mass rallies between 1933 and 1938.
Réka Lörincz, spokesperson for the Greens, reacted to the move saying it was “unimaginable” that Pantera would be allowed to perform at the very site where the Nuremberg rallies took place.
“We’re optimistic that Pantera is an isolated case, but will be seen as a medium to long-term precedent,” Lörincz said (via Music Radar). “We hope that the democratic parties will show a unified and clear position here too, to prevent, from the outset, anti-Semitic, racist and far-right appearances of all kinds on the site.
