Metal and hardcore shows can sometimes get fucking crazy, as people mosh, crowd surf, and otherwise cause a ruckus to show their support of the band on stage. It’s just a fact of life at this point and you’d think security personnel would know that fact and either have policies implemented to stop that sort of thing or prepare themselves for the onslaught ahead.
Yet apparently that wasn’t the case last Friday at the Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth, Texas. While on tour with The Black Dahlia Murder, hardcore band Terror were performing their set when a security guard decided to insert himself into the show. The incident happened when the guard, who’d been seen all night pushing fans away from the stage, grabbed the mic and shouted “I don’t think so” before handing it back to Terror vocalist Scott Vogel after he tossed it into the crowd to share it with fans. This sort of thing is a common occurrence for Terror (and frankly for most hardcore shows), but the guard wasn’t having any of it.
It was such a shitty situation for the band that Terror took to Twitter to roast the venue:
Video of the incident circulated online, prompting musicians and fans alike to lambast the venue and the security guard. Some bands even decided to back out of a show there and move their gig to a different location all together.
In response to comments on a Lambgoat Instagram post, the theater’s president Gerald “Jerry” Shults said Terror was banned from ever playing the venue again and that there were considerations being made as to whether they would do the same for all hardcore acts.
“Yes we are banning terror, and maybe all hardcore. Don’t know of a venue in dfw that will allow stage diving, punching, kicking and crowd killing, all the while bitching about everything.”
Shults then later held the moral high ground by calling Terror the “worst excuse for a band I have seen in 20 years” before saying Vogel “sucks.” He also argued that metal and hardcore “don’t mix,” which is categorically not true.
“Basically mixing metal and hardcore on the same lineup just invites disaster. Metal wants to mosh, core wants to kick, punch, stage dive and crowd kill. They don’t mix.”
All of this sounds like a clusterfuck that’s going to eventually cost this theater more than it will Terror. After all, Terror’s still on tour with The Black Dahlia Murder, Frozen Soul, Fuming Mouth, and Phobophilic, while the Ridglea Theater may have just lost a whole lot of potential concertgoers.
The Black Dahlia Murder w/Terror, Frozen Soul, Fuming Mouth & Phobophilic
05/10 Mesa, AZ – The Nile | TICKETS
05/11 Los Angeles, CA – Belasco Theater | TICKETS
05/12 Anaheim, CA – House Of Blues | TICKETS
05/13 Berkeley, CA – UC Theatre | TICKETS
05/14 Sacramento, CA – Ace Of Spades | TICKETS
05/16 Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot | TICKETS
05/18 Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre | TICKETS
05/19 Portland, OR – Roseland Theater | TICKETS
05/20 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre | TICKETS
05/22 Edmonton, AB – Union Hall | TICKETS
05/23 Calgary, AB – Palace Theatre | TICKETS
05/25 Winnipeg, MB – Park Theatre | TICKETS
05/26 Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theatre | TICKETS
(via Lambgoat)