The Messe des Morts (MdM) is a Montréal music festival that, according to the “About” section of the festival’s Facebook page, sets out to “satisfy those who like their metal dark and hateful!” The event is primarily organized by Martin Marcotte under the auspices of his label Sepulchral Productions. It is mainly devoted to black metal and its local scene, Québec Black Metal, a largely underground but highly developed music scene that is particularly fond of shocking themes, including Satanism and gore, reflecting a taste for non-conformity and an urge to provoke and transgress.
What we will be discussing below, however, goes far beyond mere provocation.
The 2016 edition of the MdM made headlines following the announcement of the participation of the Polish band Graveland, a black metal band associated with the National Socialist Black Metal (NSBM) subgenre. The term “national socialist” refers to the German political party better known by its common abbreviation: the Nazi Party.
National Socialist Black Metal, as its name suggests, wallows in Nazi apologetics and explores dark themes that include the racial superiority of “white” Europeans and the glorification of the Holocaust (sometimes directly and explicitly, but often obliquely or implicitly), frequently accompanied by references to paganism, Norse and Germanic gods, Scandinavian mythology.
Graveland’s history is punctuated by more or less direct links with the NSBM movement. For more on this subject, see: Graveland : Du Black Metal d’extrême droite bientôt à Montréal
Following an outcry over Graveland’s inclusion in the MdM program and an intense campaign by anti-fascists in the weeks leading up to the event, culminating in a demonstration outside the Plaza Theatre on the evening and the intervention of riot squad, the band was prevented from playing and was forced to vacate the stage. In the end, the evening was cancelled.
After that, the festival, still organized under the Sepulchral Productions banner, became more discreet (although the 2017 edition was also problematic). . . until this year.
Sepulchral Productions seems to be making an unfortunate return to its roots this year: at least three bands belonging to the NSBM subgenre (or in some way adjacent to it) have been announced in the 2024 lineup (November 28-30).
Here’s an overview of this year’s bands and their NSBM links.
///
Marduk :
This Swedish band is particularly fond of macabre World War II themes. Although the band denies any connection to NSBM or in any way glorifying Nazism, with its members describing themselves as nothing more than history buffs, oddly, they systematically explore “historical” themes from the point of view of the Third Reich, the Wehrmacht (the German army), and the SS (elite Nazi units, responsible in particular for the extermination of Jews). The show they intend to present on the third evening of MdM 2024 is entitled Panzer Division Marduk, the title of their 1999 album and a direct reference to the armored divisions of the German military during the World War II.
The band’s Nazi monomania is evident from the lyrics on this page: [http://www.darklyrics.com/m/marduk.html]
Marduk’s most recent album, Viktoria (2018), is a return to the themes explored on their previous records, revisiting various episodes from the World War II. . . always from the Nazi point of view. The song “Werwolf” refers to the clandestine resistance plan of the same name that the Nazis hatched in 1944 to address their potential defeat. “Equestrian Bloodlust” is in reference to the 8th SS Florian Geyer cavalry division. “Narva” evokes the battle of Narva and the Narva battle detachment known as “the European SS.” “Viktoria” refers to the Nazi military marching song “Sieg Heil Viktoria.” And on it goes.
Finally, a cursory search of the band’s online merchandise reveals, among other things, t-shirts adorned with the emblematic SS Totenkopf (skull and crossbones) and the Third Reich’s imperial eagle emblem, alongside the warrior imagery associated with the band’s records, including Panzer Division Marduk.
A sample of Marduk’s Nazi t-shirts, to give you an idea of the iconography you can expect to see at Théâtre Paradoxe on November 29 and 30….
Nazism and the glorification of German military during the World War II, SS units in particular, are clearly not incidental elements in Marduk’s work but consistent central and recurring themes.
The group has, in fact, had its share of controversies in recent years (see links below). In 2017, two of its members were identified as having purchased material from the Nordic Resistance Movement, Scandinavia’s largest neo-Nazi movement. As a result, a Marduk show was cancelled in Oakland, thanks to pressure from Anti-Fascist Action Bay Area. Last year, the band’s bassist was filmed giving a Nazi salute at a show, after which the band was forced to sack him.
Sources :
- [https://www.invisibleoranges.com/exclusive-interview-marduk-antifa-balkans/]
- [https://www.metalsucks.net/2018/04/04/members-of-marduk-bought-nazi-propaganda-tied-to-national-socialist-party/]
- [https://www.etc.se/kultur-noje/marduk-revealed-ties-neo-nazi-party]
- [https://guitar.com/news/music-news/marduk-fire-bassist-alleged-nazi-salute/]
Horna :
This Finnish band has clear links with the NSBM scene. Horna’s former singer is the founder and main member of NSBM band Satanic Warmaster. Horna’s key member and guitarist has long managed a label that has signed other NSBM bands, as well as having himself been a member of a band whose lyrics advocate white supremacy. As for Horna’s current singer, he was keyboardist for the French band Peste Noire, one of Europe’s leading NSBM bands, whose song “La bataille de Sarcelles” [The Battle of Sarcelles], for example, serves up apologetics for a street brawl with Arabs in France (“les ennemis de nos terres”) [enemies of our country] with “battes de baseball et d’autres bâtons de guerre” [baseball bats and other battle clubs] making reference to “fanions à croix celtique” [Celtic cross pennants], a far-right identarian symbol (2021), while the song “Turbofascisme” rationalizes the “fascism” of the “race des Seigneurs” [master race] and the “race blanche” [white race] of “Vieille Europe” [ancient Europe] (2018).
Sources :
- [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horna]
- [https://astralnoizeuk.com/2019/03/27/nazi-ties-and-cancelled-tours-the-problem-with-hornas-political-neutrality/]
- [https://astralnoizeuk.com/2019/03/27/nazi-ties-and-cancelled-tours-the-problem-with-hornas-political-neutrality/]
- [https://www.metalsucks.net/2019/03/22/horna-band-with-nsbm-ties-scheduled-to-begin-u-s-tour-next-week/]
- [https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/04/hi-dive-metal-show-horna-cancel/]
Akitsa :
A Quebec band whose stature is partly due to their past collaborations with NSBM groups. In 2004, they produced a split disc with the previously mentioned Finnish group Satanic Warmaster, which includes the song “Six Million Tears,” referring to the six millions Jews killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
In an interview given in 2004, the members of Akitsa said they had no problem with the NSBM scene:
“[c’est] vrai que l’on doit mettre fin à l’immigration telle qu’elle est maintenant. La plupart de nos pays occidentaux sont envahis par des étrangers avec d’autres cultures que les nôtres. Ils détruisent la culture européenne. C’est la même chose pour les valeurs américaines (ce qui comprend les idées sionistes et les lois en matière de droits de la personne). La philosophie nationale-socialiste a des bons points concernant ces problèmes.” [It’s true that we have to put an end to immigration as it is now. Most Western countries are being invaded by foreigners with cultures different from ours. They are destroying European culture. The same goes for American values (including Zionist ideas and human rights laws). National Socialist philosophy had some good things to say about these problems.]
The slogan integrated into the band’s logo immediately above reads “Me ne frego,” a fascist slogan that is also the title of a split disc released in 2013.
Akitsa’s singer Pierre-Marc Tremblay, alias “Outre-Tombe” [Beyond the Grave], founded the still active label Tour de garde [guard tower] in 2001 and soon began to distribute music by Québec neo-Nazi artists (Arnstadt and Mors Summa). It’s worth noting that the Tour de garde logo clearly evokes SS military crests. Another coincidence, no doubt.
Sources :
- [https://www.antihate.ca/selling_hate_canadian_labels_platform_profit_nazi_metal_quebec]
- [https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Satanic_Warmaster/Akitsa_-_Satanic_Warmaster/50368]
///
Additionally, Finnish bands Chamber of Unlight and Warmoon Lord, also on the Messe des Morts 2024 bill, are produced by the NSBM label Werewolf Records. Graveland’s former keyboardist now plays with Warmoon Lord.
///
All of this clearly paints an extremely problematic picture.
Black metal fans themselves are not mistaken! Here are some of the reactions found on the festival’s and Sepulchral Productions’ pages after the announcement of Marduk and Horna’s appearance:
[Hell yeah. Don’t let antifa cancel this time.]
[Nice!!!! Will you have security in case “antifas” show up!]We strongly feel that these artists cannot be allowed to perform in Montréal. We also refuse to accept the festival’s organizers, first and foremost Martin Marcotte, hiding behind the idea of artistic license. They must be forced to take responsibility for what they are doing: inviting artists who promote and modernize hateful ideologies, year after year, artists who come to our multicultural city to glorify Nazism and fascism. We believe it’s absolutely vital to preserve Montréal’s welcoming, diverse, and inclusive character and, therefore, to make it clear that music with this sort of hateful content has no place in our concert halls.
So who is hosting this particular festival?
///
Le Théâtre Paradoxe
Since the 2017 edition of the MdM, the Théâtre Paradoxe, a social economy enterprise in a refurbished church, has been hosting the festival. In an interview with the magazine Sors-tu? in 2022, Martin Marcotte expressed pride in this unusual partnership between blasphemous Black Metal fans and a former Christian place of worship.
“J’ai parlé avec la directrice, on a discuté des controverses, de la médiatisation, je lui ai donné ma version des faits, et elle était OK pour donner une chance à l’évènement.”
[I spoke with the director, we discussed the controversies, the media coverage, I gave her my side of the story, and she was okay with giving the event a chance.]
Three weeks ago, we contacted the Théâtre Paradoxe administration, requesting that, in light of the 2024 programming, they do the sensible thing and to sever their business relationship with MdM. At the time the management told us that they were concerned about the situation and were taking it seriously.
After a few e-mail exchanges, the theatre’s administration invited us to a meeting to discuss the matter with the various parties involved. However, from an antifascist point of view that would be completely pointless. There are situations where a clear-cut decision has to be made, and this is one of them. There can be no dialogue between apologists for Nazism and its enemies; that debate was definitively concluded eighty years ago.
In any case, we’ve already heard every element of Martin Marcotte and Sepulchral Productions’ line of defense ad nauseum. There would be the “freedom of expression” issue. We’d hear how these artists publicly deny being neo-Nazis and “don’t really” belong to the NSBM subgenre (although some have questionable backgrounds). Problematic lyrics would be construed as a matter of “second importance” and artistic license. Equally problematic imagery would be presented as an integral part of the subculture. The “real fascists” are those who seek to silence these artists. And so on, and so forth.
All these arguments are nonsense, little more than gaslighting, and are ultimately nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
Since 2017, despite muted hostility, the anti-fascist community had not acted against the Messe des Morts. This year, however, Sepulchral Productions is headlining bands that are widely recognized to be extremely problematic. In our opinion, this crosses a red line, and it’s clear that Martin Marcotte is testing the limits with Théâtre Paradoxe’s administration to see how far he can push this dubious material within the very walls of this socially-minded enterprise.
We understand, of course, that the Théâtre Paradoxe does not endorse the repugnant ideas promoted by National Socialist Black Metal and its apologists. However, the organization does have the power to act decisively by severing its business relationship with Sepulchral Productions, which would send a clear signal and have the Messe des Morts cancelled, or at least confront Marcotte with the consequences of what he is responsible for and force him to come up with a Plan B.
In short, now is not the time for dialogue, but for reasonable positions, consistent action, and consequences.
We invite our sympathizers to contact the Théâtre Paradoxe administration to (politely, but firmly) express their concerns.
Deputy Director :
asimon@theatreparadoxe.com
(514) 931-5204 ext. 203
More contact info here :
https://www.theatreparadoxe.com/contact
https://www.theatreparadoxe.com/equipe
