Nazi Band Tries Scamming Venues with Name Change; Fails
Remember Nyogthaeblisz? The New Jersey venue Dingbatz (the “z” is to make sure you know you’re in a classy establishment) recently declined to cancel a show featuring the Texas black metal project, despite learning that the duo appear on Satanic Skinhead Propaganda’s compilation, Satanic Skinhead: Declaration of Anti-Semetic Terror (Satanic Skinhead Propaganda misspelled “semitic” to make sure you know they’re a classy label), with a charming ditty about “menial Israelite rats.” Dingbatz defended its decision as an unwillingness to lose money block freedom of speech, even though that’s not what freedom of speech means.
Thing is, not every venue is greedy open-minded as Dingbatz. So Nyogthaeblisz have now begun attempting to con venues into booking them by pretending they’re a different band, Hellvetron. Nevermind that one need only glance at the two allegedly-separate projects’ respective Metal Archives pages to see that they share a line-up.
Nyogthaeblisz/Hellvetron seem to have had mixed success with their scheme thus far. On the one hand, they fooled the Final Score Bar & Grill in Bensalem, PA into letting them play, and Spotify still has Hellvetron’s one full-length available for streaming, while Nyogthaeblisz do not appear on the service.
On the other hand, they got busted before they were able to perform at Chicago’s Cobra Lounge this past weekend, NBC Chicago reports.
Apparently a fan brought the issue to the attention of Chicago native Laura Jane Grace, of Against Me! fame:
Hey @CobraLounge would you please, please, please address this? https://t.co/15i4Xmkx1c
— Laura Jane Grace (@LauraJaneGrace) November 16, 2018
Right around the same time that the venue’s general manager, Louie Mendicino, was putting two and two together thanks to a text from a friend:
“Mendicino said he told the promoter for the show either Hellvetron had to come off the bill or the whole show needed to be canceled. The promoter wouldn’t remove the Texas black metal band and asked if Mendicino knew of any other venues that might take them, the venue manager said.”
So, as promised, Cobra Lounge pulled the plug on the whole gig:
“Tonight’s show has been canceled. We were recently made aware of some anti-Semitic rhetoric in regards to one of the bands on tonight’s bill and we cannot support even the slightest claim of racism or social divisiveness of any kind,” the venue said. “We pride ourselves on diversity and cultural development of unifying nature. We have already received threatening messages from Nazi supporting entities and we are fine with that. We apologize for inconveniencing any ticket holders but our stance is firm. All but the hateful are welcome in our house.”
Mendicino goes on to say that “the venue has been receiving hateful messages from other bands and groups online that have SS imagery and Swastikas on their Facebook pages” and that the venue probably lost a few thousand dollars on the show. Very much to his credit, he gives zero fucks:
“Absolutely, that money doesn’t mean anything to us if we’re gonna be tied to hate speech. There’s not enough money in the world for us to be tied to that kind of rhetoric.”
Hopefully, more venues will follow the Cobra Lounge’s example in the future. In the meantime, don’t let yourself be fooled if someone asks you to go see a Hellvetron show.
Thanks: Patrick M.
