Greek metal band will have to change its name to play in South Africa to appease religious protesters. Rotting Christ will play two dates in Johanesburg and Cape Town on 1st and 2nd of July respectively. The shows were arranged by Witchdoctor Productions, a company that faced similar problems last year when organizing the Withchfest festival. Promoter Shaughn Pieterse says in an interview that will be broadcasted on Sunday via Republic Of Rock Show: “What we’re going through is what the metal scene dealt with in the late 80s and early 90s, with religious folks challenging them and trying to stop the shows because they disagreed with the opinions and messages of the bands” While the promoter is disappointed to have to ask Rotting Christ to play ‘in disguise,’he says the alternative was letting the protestors win. He adds: “I believe we live in a democratic society and art is art. You can’t censor it. Art is designed to provoke emotions from people. Once you start getting offended by art and start censoring it, where does it end? People are buying the tickets to see these bands and they have every right to see them. As long as the fans buy tickets we will bring these bands for them. We’re not doing anything wrong.”
It’s not known yet what name Rotting Christ will take for the South Africa dates.
