Recommendations of the Editorial team
For a metal fan, hearing “Enter Sandman” live is a bit like a trip to Mecca for a Muslim: you should experience it once in your life. But Metallica didn’t enrich the world through their songs alone. With their foundation “All Within My Hands Foundation” they are committed to charitable causes and publicly position themselves against racism. During the Charlottesville protests in 2017, singer James Hetfield addressed his concert audience with the words “All are welcome” and “We are not interested in differences.” It is doubtful whether Phil Anselmo sees it the same way – because the Pantera frontman apparently doesn’t believe in equal rights.
But what exactly is so problematic about Pantera?
An influential band with a dark shadow
On May 24th, Metallica fans will welcome Pantera to Deutsche Bank Park. One of the most influential metal bands of the 90s, having sold around 40 million records. One might think how nice it is that Metallica gives their fans such a well-known band as a warm-up. But there’s a little catch.
The incident at Dimebash 2016
Humor can be debated – whether Mario Barth is funny, for example. But even if Germany may not be a humor stronghold, from a historical perspective, a Hitler salute should not find international recognition as a joke. If you combine this Hitler salute with a “White Power” battle cry, the white robes appear directly in your mind’s eye. It was exactly this combination that Phil Anselmo found so funny. The incident occurred in 2016 at the “Dimebash” festival – a tribute event for Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who was shot in 2004 – and subsequently led to canceled performances across Germany, including at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park 2023. Anselmo initially claimed it was his humor – and then rowed back to an insider, which was due to “White Wine”. Oh well.
What “White Power” means
If you are unsure of what the term “White Power” means, here is a brief classification: The term is one of the most central and frequently used key terms in the right-wing extremist scene and is intended to express the superiority of the “Aryan race” – ideologically a direct continuation of the National Socialist racial ideology. The Hitler salute itself was declared a mandatory form of greeting within the NSDAP in 1926 after Hitler adopted it from Mussolini’s fascist “Saluto romano”. Now Anselmo can perform in Frankfurt to coincide with the 100th anniversary of this introduction.
Metallica’s silence
Metallica remains silent about it. No press release, no statement, not a single word. The same band whose bassist Robert Trujillo was on the same Dimebash stage in 2016 when Anselmo raised his arm – and who now puts him on the biggest stage in Frankfurt.
