NEO-NAZI BLACK METAL BASSIST’S BAND CLAIMS THEY’RE “NON-POLITICAL,” ARE INCORRECT
Earlier this week we told you about Giorgos Germenis, bassist for the black metal band Naer Mataron, who was recently elected to Greek Parliament as a member of the Golden Dawn party — a political group infamous for their espousal of neo-Nazi ideologies. Well, now the band has released a statement in which they understandably try and distance themselves from that party. Unfortunately, they completely fail:
“Naer Mataron has been and still remains a pure-blooded black metal band, and as such, a non-political one. Any member of the band has the right to keep on to his personal beliefs and act accordingly. Therefore, any kind of legal political activity of any member, is a matter of personal choice and is respected as such. Attempts to put Naer Mataron under any political agenda are rejected by the band. In addition, any false accusations against the band will come across with legal actions on our behalf. The band stands only for black metal, and black metal is extreme music, not politics. Closing, anyone who is into the extreme music and thematology, but for any reason feels shocked or offended by non-extreme views and/or beliefs is none of our concern.”
I understand that some people think art and politics shouldn’t mix, and that’s all well and good, but here’s the thing: this is a moral issue. If you have a friend who has legitimately different political beliefs from you, that’s one thing — heck, it’s probably good, because surrounding yourself entirely with people who think the way you do will offer you a very limited worldview. But if you have a friend who believes that, say, minorities are the source of all the world’s ills, and you remain friends with that person, you are an asshole by association. We can sit around and debate all day long about how to fix the economy, what to do about the environment, how to run the miliary, campaign finance reform laws, whatever — but how seriously am I supposed to take you seriously if your views are, y’know, RACIST and BIGOTED? That’s not a legitimate political disagreement — it’s a legitimate demonstration that you’re a putz.
Regardless of whether or not the band wishes to remain apolitical, they aren’t apolitical anymore — not when one of their members is involved with such an insidious group. I know it might seem like an odd comparison, but when Tripp Eisen fucked an underage girl, Static-X kicked him out for a reason — they didn’t release a statement saying, “Hey, we’re all entitled to our own sexual preferences.” Because a desire to have sex with underage kids isn’t a sexual preference; it’s an illness. So they kicked him out of the band.
If Naer Mataron really want to keep politics out of their art, they need to part ways with Germenis. Otherwise, they’re just assholes by association.
-AR
[via Metal Insider]
