The heathens aren’t letting the faithful get into their hair.
A Christian group is planning to protest a Nebraska metal band known for playing wild shows filled with satanic rituals, such as burning human hair and performing “un-baptisms” — but the anti-religious act says it’s all talk.
An anonymous “coalition of churches” announced it would picket self-described “war metal” band Vickers Monday to denounce the Lincoln group’s outspoken criticism of Christianity. And while the Facebook invite has only drawn a handful of participants and the group may not even be real, it has prompted the pious to bombard the band with hate mail, Vickers bassist Ville Orgone told the Daily News.
“We’re all taking this as a joke: There are 12 people claiming they are going to go to this protest,” he said. “In the six years we’ve been playing, we’ve never encountered anything like this — but we’re ready for it, if it happens.”
The tension started last week when the Facebook group “Nebraska Concerned Christians” created a page for an apparent protest against the band on Monday. The group listed “Omaha” as the location of the demonstration — but Vickers is set to play a show 50 miles away that night, in Lincoln.
“This band has been very outspoken about their hatred for the church and its followers,” the coalition said in a statement, adding that the band encourages fans to bring Bibles to “trample in the mosh pit” and performs “Satanic un-baptisms” for free.
The statement continued: “We must not be overthrown from our own Christian nation … Churches from all over Nebraska have answered our lord’s prayer and are scheduled to send busloads of proud Nebraska Christians to stand up for our sacred beliefs.”
Around the same time, a Facebook account under the name Bobby Lee Simmons began messaging Orgone on Facebook, the musician said. He claimed to be a part of the protests, and claimed the band was threatening his Christian way of life.
“I was messaging with that account for a few days — not very nice things being said by either of us, of course — but got blocked,” Orgone said.
Simmons is listed as the media contact on the coalition’s press release, but did not appear in searches of Nebraska public records. He did not respond to The News’ request for comment.
Whether Simmons, his coalition and his event are real are up for debate — but it’s prompted plenty of people to reach out to the band to condemn their music, Orgone said.
But fans of the metal band have fought back, plastering the coalition’s Facebook page with insults.
“It’s really getting blown out of the proportion,” Orgone said of the back-and-forth.
The Lincoln musician admitted the “outspoken” band has vocally railed against Christianity and other organized religion. That anti-theistic theme is a major part of their act, he said.
“We have played some wild shows: Pig’s blood, the full 9 yards,” he said.
The band also burns hair during their sets, passing the act off as a Satanic ritual, he said. Its most loyal fans even bring cut-off chunks of hair to throw into the flames.
“The smell of burning hair has been a cornerstone of our show. The psyche effect that has on the crowd is intense,” he said.
Orgone insisted his group is just anti-Christian, not Satanist, despite the Satanic themes featured in its shows.
Vickers — which formed six years ago and also includes drummer Kirke Incinerator and a singer named Raws — has been condemned before, mostly getting hate from a single person who went to a show without knowing what the concert would include, Orgone said. They’ve never gotten organized criticism, he said.
“But part of being in a band like this in the Midwest is knowing that something like this could happen,” he added. “We’re still within the Bible Belt. People here cling to the past.”
Vickers isn’t planning any extra security at their Monday show, since they doubt any protesters will even show up.
But there’s at least one silver lining to the vicious Internet debate, Orgone said.
“This has come as incredible publicity,” he laughed.
