Looks like Richmond natives and world renown metal band Lamb of God won’t be making a stop in the East Asian country of Malaysia.
Looks like Richmond natives and world renown metal band Lamb of God won’t be making a stop in the East Asian country of Malaysia. A statement from Mark Morton, lead guitarist for the band, was put up on their website yesterday:
As widely reported, Lamb of God’s concert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia scheduled for September 28th has been cancelled by the government who refused to issue a permit for the show even though the concert had been on sale and had sold over 1500 tickets. It is very evident (and a bit frustrating) that the groups, parties and powers that have taken the most offense to our music and lyrics, have themselves only made a passing glance at the content and meanings of those songs. We would invite anyone offended by our music to engage in a discussion regarding the true motivations behind our work, especially before publicly slandering us based on assumptions and shallow misinterpretation. We sincerely apologize to our amazing fans in Malaysia for the cancellation. Many thanks to all who have spoken out in support of us through this. We will still be playing the shows scheduled in New Zealand, Australia, and Thailand.
Lets take a look at why this might have happened – first off, Malaysia is over 60% Muslim, and while some sects of the Muslim faith are significantly more open-minded, Malaysia’s version of Islam is not in that category. Here’s a snip from a 2006 article talking about how the Malaysian Government banned metal bands, calling it a cult:
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Malaysian Islamic authorities have banned all forms of “Black Metal” music and declared that its followers have deviated from Islamic teachings, reports said Tuesday.
The national Islamic council ruled Monday that the “Black Metal” culture, often termed as a Satanic heavy metal cult, completely went against Islamic principles and could lead Muslims astray, council chairman Shukor Husin said.
“It has been established that Black Metal practices are way against (Islam) and every effort must be taken to stop its spread,” he was quoted as saying by the Star Daily.
Hey, good luck with that.
But music isn’t the only thing Malaysia has cracked down on:
“… kissing onscreen on local networks is prohibited, as are homosexuality, nudity and extremely graphic violence. Profanity is often muted out as well. For a short time in the early 2000s, images of pigs on terrestrial TV were also censored…”
So there yea go. If this pisses you off, consider supporting Lamb of God some how – perhaps catch them on one of their tour dates this fall (closest they are coming is PA) or buy their latest album, Resolution.
