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Devilstone Open Air - Religious Community Upset After Mayhem's Performance


Lithuanian metal music festival Devilstone Open Air 2010 - which took place last July in the little town of Anyksciai - has gained a serious amount of criticism from the religious community. The Prosecution Service even started a pre-investigation whether or not the festival has provoked religious disunion.

According to an official press release, the festival has been highly acclaimed by its target fans and the broad society... except for the religious community of the town. Recently a group of local Catholics and the Dean of the local church publicly expressed their opponent attitude towards the festival. These people even initiated a pre-trial investigation accusing the festival and/or one of the festival's headliners Mayhem of provoking religious disunion.

Local Catholics and the Dean declare their religious feelings have been insulted as they witnessed the photos of the band's performance where Mayhem front-man Attila Csihar wore something similar to a cassock, had an inverted cross, bloody mask and a gallows loop.





The Dean applied to the Ministry of Justice which in turn forwarded the case back to the local Prosecution Service of Anyksciai. The pre-trial investigation is in the process and the organizers of the festival are scheduled to express their statement next week.

In the meanwhile such unprecedented case has been highlighted by Lithuanian media and is being hastily discussed by the society. The majority express their negative reaction to the initiators of the case, comparing the present situation with the middle ages. On the other side a minority defends the Dean and the religious community, stating that the festival and its content are harmful for people's moral.

The organizer of the festival - ALT events - justifies the festival, the band and the festival's nature, as the aim of it is not to provoke disunity among religious, national, racial, ethnic or any other groups of people. The organizer stands for the viewpoint that even the most extreme and radical shows on stage should be considered as art of performance; the freedom of artistic expression should not be restrained, was it black metal music or a piece of contemporary art.

It is expected that such unwanted confrontation between the festival and religious institution would not determine the end of festival's existence. The relation with local authorities of the church has been complicated since the debut of the festival in 2009, when the Dean aimed to ban the festival for its title "Devilstone" and for its last year's headliner Sepultura, which, according to the Dean, was a Satanic band.

Devilstone Open Air occurred for the second time this year in Anyksciai, was headlined by Norwegian band Mayhem, Sweden's Grave and Germany's Tankard, featured by 15 more bands from all over Europe, and held an audience of about 1500 people.

Source: devilstone.net
Band profile: Mayhem
Event: Devilstone Open Air
Posted: 04.09.2010 by Thryce


Comments

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Comments: 30   [ 1 ignored ]   Visited by: 241 users
04.09.2010 - 20:52
Baz Anderson

I'd love to see Mayhem again.
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04.09.2010 - 20:57
vezzy
Stallmanite
Don't know what to think. Surprising to see such negative reaction though, but funny.
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04.09.2010 - 21:47
RavenLord

"Local Catholics and the Dean declare their religious feelings have been insulted"

In the 21st Century, can we please just acknowledge that religious sentiments have no more exemption from criticism than any other. Otherwise I'll have to declare my feelings insulted regarding the Catholic Church's ridiculous pontifications on what we should and shouldn't be doing.

Perhaps the local community could look at the big picture and realise that Devilstone is actually giving them some important culture and (presumably) income...or are they so blinkered that they'll shoot themselves in the foot just to preserve their own feelings of security.

Guess what, guys? A bloke with a beard once said to turn the other cheek. Then he got nailed to a tree. He didn't complain about his feelings, though.
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04.09.2010 - 22:00
Lit. Metalhead
Account deleted
...And why should we care?
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04.09.2010 - 22:17
Vegard R

Ah, so that's what catholic priests does when they aren't raping kids. Suing people. Because they insults their beliefs. Well, I gotta say they kind of insults my belief when they rape kids.. Hmm.
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04.09.2010 - 22:50
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight
For religious fanatics i only have one answer - Det Satan Club!
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My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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04.09.2010 - 23:14
Elodie Artour
Slania
"when the Dean aimed to ban the festival for its title "Devilstone" and for its last year's headliner Sepultura, which, according to the Dean, was a Satanic band" - LOL LOL LOL

I mean, seriously? I hope local people really don't care much about these sick people's beliefs. After all, it's their choice whether to look at these pictures or not. Besides that, they do insult us, too by calling our music 'bad' , 'wrong' or whatever. Art must not be judged like that. It simply mustn't...

Anyway. I respect people who have different beliefs as long as they don't mess up with my religious point of view.
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04.09.2010 - 23:35
Hugoj33

So many stupid people with their stupid religion out there....they should get something useful to do
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04.09.2010 - 23:53
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
What is dean and cassock?
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Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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05.09.2010 - 00:10
Elodie Artour
Slania
@K7: I wanted to ask the same thing...
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Speak up dear 'cause I cannot hear you...
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05.09.2010 - 00:12
vezzy
Stallmanite
A dean is a head priest. A cassock is a robe worn by clergy of the church.
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Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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05.09.2010 - 00:16
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight
This needs Richard Dean Anderson, who would magically turn the cassock into a rocket launcher and blow out the local church HQ
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My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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05.09.2010 - 00:39
vezzy
Stallmanite
Written by Ellrohir on 05.09.2010 at 00:16

This needs Richard Dean Anderson, who would magically turn the cassock into a rocket launcher and blow out the local church HQ


Sir, that was win.
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Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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05.09.2010 - 00:56
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Ellrohir on 05.09.2010 at 00:16

This needs Richard Dean Anderson, who would magically turn the cassock into a rocket launcher and blow out the local church HQ


ghahhaah Mc Guiver or how I shood spell it
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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05.09.2010 - 00:56
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by vezzy on 05.09.2010 at 00:12

A cassock is a robe worn by clergy of the church.


stilld dont get it any pics
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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05.09.2010 - 01:01
Vombatus
Potorro
A Black Metal band offending a local religious community.... Nothing new, just the same old debate where the church can't find an acceptable argument and the stated BM band gets free publicity
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05.09.2010 - 01:15
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Vombatus on 05.09.2010 at 01:01

A Black Metal band offending a local religious community.... Nothing new, just the same old debate where the church can't find an acceptable argument and the stated BM band gets free publicity


man its in new country we havnt hear about Lithuania till now
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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05.09.2010 - 01:59
Osric

It says Tankard played there. I believe Tankard's guitarist, Andy Gutjahr, is a christian. I wonder what he thinks of the church opposing the festival. Maybe the band has to like drag him out every time to come play. And hes all like "nooo, i don't want to play metal and sing about Satan, its bad" and they're like "you're going to do it and you're going to like it! and we're going to pay you in BEER". Then the next thing he knows he wakes up on stage drunk and playing guitar and hes all like "man this is awesome, hail Satan!" Yeah, thats probably how it goes down every time.

Anyway, the church faggots in Lithuania should go kill themselves.
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05.09.2010 - 07:19
Jon

Written by Bad English on 05.09.2010 at 00:56

Written by vezzy on 05.09.2010 at 00:12

A cassock is a robe worn by clergy of the church.


stilld dont get it any pics


Google images dude! Anyway its that thing that Attila's wearing in the picture in the article. It's like a sacred apron.
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A mythology is a religion different enough from your own for it's absurdity to be obvious.
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05.09.2010 - 07:46
N.G.J

Umm. Why now do they attack?
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05.09.2010 - 12:05
.mrt

"provoked religious disunion" - ok, so that's something criminal??? Who gives a f.
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05.09.2010 - 17:57
lunarbloom

This is an amusing story, and not surprising when you think about it. Just imagine Attila and the tour crew storming into this peaceful, quaint little town of pious old folks. I'm sure they proved quite the disruption. Good to know Mayhem is doing their job :]

Sepultura satanic?? Ahahaha.
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06.09.2010 - 02:06
insanity.peppers

Written by Osric on 05.09.2010 at 01:59

Anyway, the church faggots in Lithuania should go kill themselves.


Uh oh, looks like the Lithuanian churchies aren't the only primitive, backwards people around here.
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06.09.2010 - 02:29
RavenKing

I have only one thing to say on the matter: Fuck religion and fuck those who still care for and defend those obsolete ideas in 2010. Hail to the freedom of speaking and thinking. And may the mental enslavement that religion is disappear.
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They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink
They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end
But everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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06.09.2010 - 04:56
Daggon
Underpaid M.D.
Written by Ellrohir on 04.09.2010 at 22:50

For religious fanatics i only have one answer - Det Satan Club!


Fuck! That was awesome!

Oh yeah, same old story, this is getting boring hahaha remember, Satan loves you all
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"Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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06.09.2010 - 07:51
Shadowcross
The Summoner
Woohoo Mayhem this month in Brisbane city!!

it's just a show! I wish these religious zealots would get over it!
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06.09.2010 - 08:17
BudDa

What really surprises me is that the community usually complains after the show. Its Mayhem goddammit! What did u expect..a tit-show?
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Freeze! Step away from the hubris.
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06.09.2010 - 12:51
Chidder

In Poland something like that happenes all the time
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07.09.2010 - 09:28
skatmat

Ridicilous.
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15.10.2010 - 17:27
Aeonfrost

Sepultura satanic?and next they will say slipknot is satanic.
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