Black Metal Band Apologizes For Controversy at Texas Show

After generating controversy a show at The White Swan in Houston, Texas, local black metal band Martyrdom have apologized for their “actions and gimmicks.”

The show took place on Friday, Jan. 19 and also featured hardcore acts Devoured Trachea and Accosted, among others. During Martyrdom’s set, a severed pig’s head was tossed through the crowd and the moment was even captured on video by one person in attendance, as seen further down the page.

The stunt drew a myriad of responses from others who were there as well as online onlookers, most of whom were appalled and grossed out.

This isn’t the first time Martyrdom have done this. Accosted even commented on Martyrdom’s Dec. 24 post advertising the gig at The White Swan with a GIF of a pig, indicating they were well aware of the black metal group’s live antics.

Instagram Highlights on Martyrdom’s page also show a pig’s head being thrown around at a previous show.

However, now that video of the more recent incident has circulated, a lot more attention has been brought to it. As a result, Martyrdom have issued a formal apology, which can be seen beneath the reactions below.

READ MORE: The Eight Most Controversial TV Performances in Rock + Metal

In response to the backlash, Martyrdom blamed themselves for trying to align with black metal’s notoriously provocative history and tried to “add a little bit of imagery and shock value” to their set.

Their apology (via Lambgoat) reads,

Hi everyone

we just want to start off by saying we are incredibly sorry to anyone we offended with our actions and gimmicks on stage.

We are a black metal band, and as part of it, we try to add a little bit of imagery and shock value to our set. Unfortunately our acts has gotten carried away and way out of hand, offending many and even harming some.

We want to apologize to any vegans, Muslims, or other minority groups we may have offended, and to anyone who was harmed by our act.

Most importantly we want to apologize to the White Swan, and Harry, the sound guy, specifically. thank you so much white swan for giving us the opportunity to play there.

As others pointed out in reactionary comments, using animal parts for shock value is not new to black metal. Sweden’s Watain have used pig’s head and pig’s blood as part of their live show throughout the years. A pig’s head was infamously tossed about during harcore band Bad Luck 13 Riot Extravaganza’s 2004 set at Hellfest.