Pantera axed from Austria’s Gasometer

Band is removed from festival lineup

Pantera’s spring performance at Vienna, Austria’s Gasometer has been canceled by the promoters. Barracuda Music and Mind Over Matter Music shared the news in a social media statement on Wednesday (Jan 25th).

“Pantera concert on the 31st May 2023 at the Vienna Gasometer will be canceled,” they write. “All tickets can be returned where they were purchased. Thank you for your understanding.”

There was no explanation as to why the performance was canceled, but the Green party in Vienna demanded the band be removed from the lineup after singer Philip Anselmo made a Nazi-style salute and screamed “white power” during a 2016 Dimebash event in Hollywood.

“Due to its National Socialist past, Vienna in particular has a special historical responsibility to oppose any form of right-wing extremism,” the statement reads. “The appearance of Pantera is completely incompatible with this responsibility. Therefore, it can only mean for Vienna: No stage for a Hitler salute, no stage for Pantera!”

A day earlier, two German festivals replaced the reformed group with the Foo Fighters after the German Green Party for the Nuremberg City Council released a statement asking that organizers remove the band for “stirring up anti-racist and anti-fascist circles.”

Following the incident, Anselmo apologized, stating he made an “off-color joke” about drinking white wine backstage and made the comment and gesture to audience members taunting him.

The band has yet to make a statement regarding their removal from any of the festivals.

The reformed group featuring original members Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown joined by guitarist Zakk Wylde and drummer Charlie Benante paying homage to the late Abbott Brothers who founded the band in the 1980s, will play their first European shows in 22 years this summer as they headline Tons of Rock 2023, Finland’s three day Rockfest and 2023 Sweden Rock Festival.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com