2 German festivals drop Pantera over racism claims and Nazi salute

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Nearly 85 years after the start of World War II, Germany is still struggling to atone for its past affiliation with Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler and his dastardly campaign to exterminate the Jews. So it’s perhaps no surprise that two major music festivals chose to distance themselves from a certain North Texas metal band infamous for their offensive and anti-Semitic antics.

That’s right, yall: Pantera has been cancelled.

Earlier this week, festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park announced the band’s elimination from their summer 2023 lineups. The decision was reportedly made after organizers spoke with other musicians and fans, who bristled at the thought of Pantera taking the stage.

“Pantera will not be performing at Rock in the Park and Rock in the Ring 2023, as announced,” read a statement released by the festivals. “Over the past few weeks we have had many intensive conversations with artists, our partners and you, the festival fans, we have continued to face the criticism together and have decided to remove the band from the program.”

Metal fans may recall that in 2016 frontman Phil Anselmo bellowed WHIIITE POWERRR after performing a Nazi Sieg Heil salute on stage. Afterwards, he tried to blame the racist gesture for drinking too much white wine and claimed he meant it as a joke, according to Metal Injection. But Machine Head singer-guitarist Robb Flynn later poked holes in that excuse, alleging there was no such backstage drinking.

To be sure, that wasn’t the only blemish on the band’s record. Last year, an old video surfaced showing the late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell using the N-word.

Event organizers may be particularly apprehensive about hosting Pantera given the area’s history. For example, one of the festivals is held in Nuremberg (Nuremberg in English), which hosted a multitude of pro-Nazi rallies from 1933 to 1938, according to Blabbermouth.

Germany’s Green Party has also spoken out against Pantera shows this summer, noting at a meeting of Nuremberg City Council that Anselmo had “repeatedly and deliberately made Nazi gestures and shouted racist slogans”. The party then called for Pantera to be removed from both bills.

Rock am Ring and Rock im Park are generally considered an event with almost identical lineup, and they are considered one of the biggest music festivals in the world and the biggest in Germany, according to Blabbermouth.

So far, Pantera has remained silent on the ordeal. But in 2019, Anselmo was questioned during an interview with Kerrang! magazine for his thoughts on the white power controversy.

“I feel like it’s ridiculous, he reportedly said at the time. I made an inappropriate joke and ‘Boom!’ it’s like I’m literally Hitler! I’m not. I take each individual one at a time, like any logical individual would. I have love in my heart.

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