Okay... I thought about making a new thread about this, but didn't, but since there's this thread now I'll post my thoughts in it. This is basically a call for information. For the record, let me state that I am a HUGE fan of Arcturus; they are my favorite Norwegian band. I bought the DVD at PP7 and loved it, I love all of their albums, and I love Hellhammer's drum work. I don't want to spread gossip/rumors or try to "make an issue" out of anything. Since Arcturus hasn't been actually announced, and I don't expect them to be anytime soon, this post may be a moot point.
But what if Arcturus DOES play a future ProgPower?
By now you've probably guessed what my post is about: Hellhammer and his racist views.
I am an asian person. I don't let things like that (racist band members) keep me from being a fan of the band, and Hellhammer is one of the most impressive drummers I've heard. But his racist attitude is no secret and has not been for years. While the information in Lords of Chaos (his interview in which he states his attitudes quite explicitly) is out of date (the interview dates to 1994), when I last tried to find out if he's "changed his mind" or not back in 2003, I was told that he has not changed his views, and that he is an active member at a few white-power message forums around the internet. While he is not public or loudmouthed about his beliefs, I can't help but wonder how this would play out at a show like ProgPower which does have a significant non-white audience, mostly asian, hispanic, South American, Indian, etc. etc. Would Hellhammer agree to play a show like this and just be polite about it? What if I saw him in the hallway or on the street during that weekend? Would he refuse to take a picture with me or sign my CD booklet if I asked?
If anybody knows for a fact that Hellhammer isn't racist anymore, please update me. I'd love to hear it. But a thing like that would probably be news, and I haven't heard anything like it - just that he still feels the same way as of at least 2-3 years ago. On the Arcturus DVD, you may notice that while the band members' costumes are colored variously, Hellhammer wears a white face mask. His drumset is painted white. His drum heads are coated white. While I appreciate that he doesn't have swastikas or 88/14 plastered on his drumkit/T-shirt, I can't help but read into his choice of single-color as a quiet indication that he hasn't changed. (Yes I'm aware of his Portuguese descent).
I'm sure I'll get some posts telling me to stop being ridiculous, which is what happened when I posted about this on another forum. Let me just say that racist or not, Hellhammer slams on the drums, and I'd be ecstatic to see Arcturus playing on stage at any ProgPower, even if Hellhammer wouldn't be ecstatic knowing I (and other nonwhite people) would be in the audience.
