Attendees lit Evanescence's drum set ablaze onstage after organizers canceled the festival ahead of the band’s set.
Knotfest Mexico City erupted into a fiery riot Saturday night after attendees broke through a barricade and set fire to a drum kit belonging to the band Evanescence.
The event started to take a turn ahead of Evanescence's support set when fans broke a barricade separating the audience and the performance area and organizers decided to cancel the festival out of safety concerns.
That apparently angered fans, who then rushed the stage and set fire to the Evanescence’s drums, which had been set up in anticipation of their set. In turn, Slipknot -- the festival's namesake curators -- canceled their headlining set as well.
Video of the destruction quickly went viral, prompting outcry from angry fans who blamed the chaos at Parque Deportivo Oceania on the actions of a few dozen unruly fans.
“This doesn't represent metalheads nor mexicans. Only f***ing morons that can't behave properly,” wrote Twitter user @ShazzulFA, one of the 40,000 fans who attended the event concert that combined Slipknot’s traveling Knotfest with Mexican promoter Carlos Alcaraz’s 11-year-old ForceFest.
Adiós a la batería de Evanescence en el #KnotFest, gracias a la pésima organización y seguridad de Live Talent pic.twitter.com/5obb663pLo
— Uziel (@UzielChavz) December 1, 2019
— Scott Heisel (@scottheisel) December 1, 2019
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Slipknot were not able to perform at last night’s Knotfest,” the band wrote on Instragram. Prior to Evanescence's set, fans broke a barricade separating the audience and the performance area, “and it was decided that for the safety of the fans, neither Slipknot or special guests Evanescence could take the stage.”
The band added “we are extremely disappointed that we did not get the chance to perform,” and said “we will look to get back to Mexico sometime in the future.”
On Sunday, the ForceFest-produced festival's second day, the number of bands scheduled to play was cut from 40 to 20, according to La Razón. After the previous day's fires and riots rattled nerves, it was Swedish band In Flames that apparently calmed nerves, and, along with Rob Zombie, were the “heroes of the festival” according to the Spanish newspaper. Besides rebuilding the barricades, additional security personnel were also on hand.
“We are so disappointed that we didn’t get to play for you at Knotfest,” Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee said in a statement posted to Instagram. “I don’t know how, but some how, we are going to make it up to you.”