Thalia Hall Cancels Metal Band's Show Over 'Guns & Violent Imagery'
By Rachel Cromidas in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 5, 2016 10:39PM
King 810 music video still.
A metal band known for incorporating guns and violent imagery into its shows had its Thalia Hall show cancelled this month after reps said Pilsen neighbors were complaining.
The Flint, Michigan-based band King 810 was scheduled to play at Thalia Hall on Dec. 18, but on Nov. 30 a Thalia Hall promoter told the band via email that their gig would be cancelled over "excessive use of guns and violent imagery" that were upsetting to neighborhood residents who called the music venue to complain. King 810 is known for songs about murder and killing and have appeared on stage armed with automatic weapons, according to Fox.
Band Frontman David Gunn posted the email on Facebook to update fans on the cancelation. The email explains that “We are ending 2016 with the highest rate of gun violence in Chicago’s history and people are particularly sensitive. Defending the show, in the current environment, is becoming more and more difficult.”
Gunn later posted a video message on Facebook to tell fans that it wasn't his choice to cancel the show. "It wasn't us cancelling," he said. "We get a few of these on occasion and we usually take the blowback for cancelling, but usually it's out of our hands."
"The gun thing is part of the culture, where we're from, it's inherently part of the band," Gunn added. "It's not something that we apologize for our regret," he added. "I don't think there was any excessive use of guns, we've never used guns on anyone at hundreds of shows that went on perfectly fine."
He also offered this form of reassurance: "If anyone ever comes through the front door with automatic rifles, they’re not going to be able to kill 150 people at a King show, they’ll probably be shot from the stage."