"It was not our wish to cancel, but the decision was forced on us by the illegal activities of Antifa and its supporters who applied pressure on venues and promoters to cancel shows."
After the resurgence of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim accusations against Norwegian metal band Taake, the group has officially canceled 10 dates of their upcoming tour. The 19-date tour was scheduled to kick off at the end of March.
The backlash started more than a decade ago in 2007, when lead singer Hoest painted a swastika on his chest before a Germany performance. He later told Terrorizer, "We are definitely not Nazis. We only used that symbol as another symbol for evil. The usual symbols, the pentagram and inverted cross, don't invoke reactions anymore."
The cancellations began with the New York City show, and the other venues soon followed suit. The opening act, King Dude, removed himself from the tour, telling Brooklyn Vegan, "The banner under which people enter a King Dude concert must be welcoming to all people of all walks of life, race, religion, gender etc."