Lamb of God: Officially NOT Playing Kuala Lumpur
Update, 12:05 PM: Lamb of God have released the following statement in regards to the cancellation —
“It is very evident (and a bit frustrating) that the groups, parties and powers that have taken the most offense to our music and lyrics, have themselves only made a passing glance at the content and meanings of those songs. We would invite anyone offended by our music to engage in a discussion regarding the true motivations behind our work, especially before publicly slandering us based on assumptions and shallow misinterpretation.
“We sincerely apologize to our amazing fans in Malaysia for the cancellation. Many thanks to all who have spoken out in support of us through this.”
The original story follows below.
Following objections by The Department of Islamic Development of Malaysia (Jakim), The Communications and Multimedia Ministry have rejected Lamb of God’s application to stage a concert in Kuala Lampur on September 28. Jakim’s director-general, Datuk Othman Mustapha, had previously asserted that LoG’s music “incorporates evil and anti-divine spiritual elements in its performance.”
This really makes me feel bad for all parties involved. I feel bad for the members of Lamb of God, who I’m sure were looking forward to the performance. It makes me feel bad for the band’s Malaysian fans, who are now robbed of what surely would have been a great show. And I feel bad for God, who isn’t bothered by hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, cancer, kiddie rape, or How I Met Your Mother, but is apparently way offended that some band from Virginia has dared to suggest that He may not be as awesome as some people would have the world believe.
But mostly, I feel bad for The Department of Islamic Development of Malaysia, who apparently have no understanding that metal, like all rock music, thrives on rebellion. By banning Lamb of God from playing Kuala Lampur, they have almost certainly ensured that the band’s Malaysian fanbase will now grow even more passionate about LoG’s music. And, in all likelihood, they’ve also inadvertently recruited new Lamb of God fans — or, more horrifying yet!, new metal fans in general. For to tell people that something is forbidden is to create fascination with that thing. Really, if they wanted to stop Malaysians from liking Lamb of God, they should have praised them for spreading The Gospel of John. BOOM! Would had a million new Bieber fans in no time.
[via The Star by way of Lambofgoat]
