Cannibal Corpse have blamed the cancellation of a gig in Russia on technical difficulties.
The show in Moscow was pulled at the last minute in the wake of fierce opposition from the head of the God’s Will movement which wanted to have the tour scrapped amid claims of blasphemy. But the band insist technical issues were to blame, and not the protests from the religious group.
A report in Interfax reports an eyewitness as saying: “Everything was fine, and all the equipment had already been set up on stage. However, a few minutes prior to the concert’s scheduled start, the organiser came out and told the audience that the show was cancelled.”
Guitarist Pat O’Brien tells C-Lebrity: “We played here several times before and there were no problems.” Drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz adds: “Nobody cared ever. We figured this was our sixth time here. So the other five times were fine.”
Dmitry Tsorionov, the head of God’s Will, had spoken out about the band’s Russian tour saying: ““We sent the prosecutor the description of the concerts. Their songs describe in detail the rape and murder of children.
“We will try to resolve this issue with the help of law enforcement. If it does not work there may be a mass protest in various forms.”
Russian authorities recently passed stringent anti-blasphemy laws, introducing fines and prison sentences for those who offend religious beliefs. Behemoth were jailed then kicked out of the country while attempting a tour in May. The following month, Marilyn Manson lost one show through a bomb scare and another as a result of religious concerns.
