Video: Flaw Vocalist Drops N-Word on Stage
Update, 3:27pm EDT: Volz has issued a statement of apology. Read it here.
Original Post:
Floundering nu-metal band Flaw have once again found themselves at the center of controversy, as a video of vocalist Christopher Volz dropping the N-word at a show in Illinois last Friday, March 12, has begun making the rounds.
One of the more bizarre scandals in the metal world in recent years took place in 2019 when Flaw were busted for committing multiple acts of plagiarism on their most recent album. An effort to prevent guitarist-turned-bassist Tommy Gibbons from being discovered as the riff thief failed when Gibbons accidentally outed himself as the culprit on social media, after which the band had no choice but to fire him. Gibbons tried to blame the whole thing on mislabeling files on his computer and vowed to “step away from music,” only to eventually launch his own band.
The new incident involving Volz took place at The WC Social Club in West Chicago, IL, part of a three-day run of shows in Illinois and Indiana. In the clip, which depicts a sparse audience in the club, mostly maskless, Volz — who is white — is visibly and audibly agitated, complaining about the stage monitor mix (or lack thereof).
In the video, which you can view below, Volz can be heard saying [transcribed by MetalSucks]:
“There’s three of you N****s sitting right there [pointing]. I’d like one of you to come up here. You’re all white, so that’s not racist.
“One of you guys need to come up here. I want one of you to come up here and hear these center wedges before we finish, just so you know what I actually went through tonight and how badass it is that I actually had no wedges.
“Hey! I’m not fuckin’ around! One of you motherfuckers comes up on stage and listens to these wedges before we finish, otherwise you’re all getting rolled.”
Since the incident, Volz has taken to his personal Facebook page to post a statement condemning cancel culture, advocating for “free speech” — repeating a common, complete misunderstanding of the First Amendment — praising America as “the most amazing nation that has ever existed” and imploring people that “if something offends you move the fuck on.” It isn’t clear whether his post is a direct response to the incident depicted in the video or not.
Volz’s post reads in full:
“Always remember… We are not descendants of fearful people. We are a nation of immigrants who have been given the gift of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This does not mean you don’t have to work for it, or can mooch off of someone else’s hard work and decades of blood, sweat, and tears just to suit your greed and cater to your feelings.
“We are blessed with freedom of speech and expression, but this does not mean you can use that same freedom of speech and expression to try to oppress someone else’s or something you do not agree with. That in itself is in direct violation of the God given rights that have been sacrificed for and gifted to us. It’s also a direct double negative. Cancel culture can not, and will not, abuse the very fundamental rights they are trying to extinguish by using the exact same rights they are objecting to while trying to cancel them. You just canceled yourself, by-proxy. That is simply wrong and won’t be tolerated.
“There is no color, there is no race, we are all human beings trying to survive on a rock spinning around a huge ball of fire. We are all citizens of an amazing country. WE ALL BLEED RED.
“Grow some skin, if something offends you move the fuck on, stop expecting things you don’t work for, earn your keep, contribute to public service in some way, and stop trying to destroy the most amazing nation that has ever existed. Facts may cause feelings…but feelings aren’t facts, they are your own interpretation of reality and it’s not your place to force your reality on anyone else.
“We have a list of personal rights that were established centuries ago. Some may not know this but, America, our Constitutional Republic with a democratic voting system, and Capitalism as a whole… is an experiment. It is written in the oldest manuscripts we have and it was the only answer to truly separate from a ruling Monarchy… We can and will lose it if we do not protect, fight, and stand up for it. None of us are more important than that. God bless you all!”
Volz, who co-founded Flaw in 1996, is the sole original member left in the current incarnation of the band. In 2018, he appeared along with the band’s other members at the time in a segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in which the TV host bought the band a touring van in response to a crowdfunding campaign.
You can watch video of last Friday’s incident below.
