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'Hate' metal band Infernal War dropped from UK tour over 'sick fascination with Nazis'

The band had been due to play in Jeremy Corbyn's constituency.

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A Polish black metal band with a “sick fascination with Nazi atrocities” has been dropped from a UK tour that was due to take them to Jeremy Corbyn's constituency.

Infernal War played in Cardiff on Tuesday and was due to perform in Manchester, Glasgow and, on Friday night, at The Dome, Tufnell Park, in Mr Corbyn's Islington North constituency, but was dropped after intense public pressure.

Anti-fascist campaigners Hope Not Hate, which led the campaign to have the group dropped, told the JC the Cardiff venue, The Globe, should apologise for hosting the band.

The Globe later said: "It goes without saying that we were unaware of the situation prior to programming the show into the venue, and unfortunately we were only alerted to the situation [the day after the concert]...

"We can only apologise for not having done our due diligence on the band's history beforehand."

Infernal War was previously named “Infernal SS”. Its guitarist reportedly goes by the name of “Zyklon”, a reference to the gas used to murder Jews in the concentration camps, while the band’s singer calls himself “Herr Warcrimer”.

They have released albums throughwhite supremacist and Nazi record labels, Hope Not Hate said, adding one of their songs is called “Jewhammer”.

David Lawrence, who researched the band for Hope not Hate, said: “They are a very extreme band...

"As soon as we were alerted to their performance scheduled in Manchester we contacted the venue and explained  who they were. Credit to the venue they have now been pulled from the entire tour.

“Unfortunately they did perform in Cardiff, and we have written to the venue there to ask them to apologise. The community there are owed an apology for allowing a band like that to perform in the UK.”

On Thursday, The Dome tweeted Infernal War had been removed from Friday's gig due to "the message and imagery... [they] attach to their music".

The Dome said: “After speaking to the promoter and other parties today, the joint decision has been made to remove the band from the bill.

“We do not condone hate speech, we don’t ever want our venue to serve as a platform for it, and we can only apologise for not doing our due diligence sooner so that we could have addressed this at an earlier date.”

Infernal War has also described itself as “a soundtrack to genocide” and standing for “the extermination of the weak and ignorant human masses”.

One band member, who goes by the name Triumphator, told the JC: “The band Infernal War firmly states, that it is not, and never was a Nazi, neo-Nazi or Fascist band, nor does it identify, or has ever identified with any other kind of political movement or ideology, that involves dissemination of nationalism, racism or antisemitism, in any shape or form."

He added: "For now.”

He continued: “We are very sad about the situation. I have lived in the UK for years and have many Jewish friends. We are not celebrating the Nazis.

"Metal music has never been soft and I have listened to it from when I was 6 years old. I think it is ridiculous that people think that we are Nazis. I am tired of that association.

“My family are from Poland and they lived under the German occupation. It makes me very sad.”

He came up with the bands former name “Infernal SS” because “the German army was so powerful”.

The JC has contacted The Globe for comment but had not received a reply as this article went live.

Mr Corbyn has also been contacted for comment.

Infernal War was acting as a support band for a Swedish black metal band called Marduk on its European tour.

Marduk has also been accused of having links to Nazism, which it has denied, saying that its lyrics “deal with religion and history, nothing else”.

Marduk’s albums titles have included Panzer Division Marduk, and song titles include “The Hangman of Prague”, and “The Blond Beast”, both nicknames of Reinhard Heydrich, the architect of the Holocaust.

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