DEICIDE guitarist Ralph Santolla spoke to Chile's Las ?ltimas Noticias regarding the cancellation of the group's Feb. 21 show in Valparaiso. The concert, which was eventually replaced with a gig in nearby Quilpue (before that show was also pulled), was reportedly called off as a result of the continuing controversy surrounding DEICIDE's appearance in the country ? where a DEICIDE fan murdered an Italian Catholic priest in 2004 ? and the band's promotional poster for the concert, which featured an image of Christ with a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead (view the poster at this location).
After arriving in Chile, DEICIDE mainman Glen Benton reportedly refused to talk to the Chilean media because he was furious over the cancellation. "Glen Benton is really annoyed and doesn't want to hear any more excuses," DEICIDE's manager said, according to Las ?ltimas Noticias. A representative for Extratours, who organized the gig, walked nerviously in the lobby of the Atton Hotel in Santiago, trying to find a better explanation. "It is incredible the power and influence that the mayor and the church have over the local business owners," the representative said. "They were under pressure and that's why they never gave us the permission to go ahead with the gig." The promoter also admitted that a mistake was made in utilizing such a provocative image to promote the show. "Yes, the truth is we made a mistake," he said. "It was an error to use that image to generate so much negative publicity. Maybe we should have made only small flyers." But the bandmembers didn't want to hear any more excuses. They just wanted to rest and be ready for tonight's (Feb. 22) show in Teatro Novedades in Santiago. Suddenly, one of the guitar players appeared. Ralph Santolla, wearing an IRON MAIDEN t-shirt and running his hands through his hair, sat on an armchair, lit a cigarette, drank a beer and explained that he does not understand what's going on:
"First they told us it was cancelled and then they said it wasn't... I don't understand why this kind of stuff happens," he said.
Could the church have had any influence over the decision to call off the concert?
"Look, I'm Catholic and I'm against Satanism," Santolla is quoted as saying, according to Las ?ltimas Noticias. "I do understand the church, but I only want to play my guitar and have a good time."
In Chile you're known for inspiring Rodrigo Orias' murder of a priest...
"I don't know why he did what he did, but it certainly wasn't because of our music," Santolla stated. "He was sick in the head or was harboring murderous feelings within himself. It is something terrible; there are many people that should be murdered, but not the priests who are men that dedicate their lives to serving God."
What's your opinion of the promo posters used in Chile?
"That made me really furious," Santolla said. "They do not have the right to do that; they didn't ask us for permission to use that image and we do not have anything to do with it. I would never approve something like that... it's stupid and it's sick. The people who made it are really pretty sick."
source: Blabbermouth
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