Two longtime members of Detroit metal band Perversion quit after frontman Fernando Conde booked a recent neo-Nazi concert at Harpos, Metro Times has learned.
According to sources close to the band, bassist Alan Hoover and drummer Peter Gibbs resigned ahead of the controversial Jan. 25 show, which included Perversion on the bill. It’s not clear who replaced them in the version of the band that performed before the Detroit venue pulled the plug on the event.
The band declined to comment.
Founded in 2008 as a different lineup, over the years Perversion solidified as the trio of Conde, Hoover, and Gibbs, releasing its 2022 sophomore album Dies Irae on the influential underground metal label Hell’s Headbangers.
Sources say Conde organized the Harpos concert, which was to be headlined by Grand Belial’s Key. The Virginia band is considered to be one of the most infamous examples of American National Socialist black metal (NSBM), a genre that promotes neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideologies.
According to the 2020 book USBM: A Revolution of Identity in American Black Metal by Decibel magazine’s Daniel Lake, Grand Belial’s Key “have used strongly anti-Semitic language in lyrics and titles, and have covered songs by openly Nazi punk band Chaos 88.”
Some of the band’s album titles include Judeobeast Assassination and Kosherat with tracks like “The Shitagogue” and “The Slums of Jerusalem.”
Quoted in the book, Grand Belial’s Key frontman Alex Halac claimed the band’s aim is to criticize “Judeo-Christianity” and says its music “mocks and ridicules the religion with a twisted sense of sarcasm.” Halac, who goes by Gelal Necrosodomy, is also a founding member of Arghoslent, whose lyrics revolve around the transatlantic slave trade.
Even in a broader style of rock music known for transgressive and blasphemous lyrics, Grand Belial’s Key crosses a line for many metal fans. It has been barred by venues from performing and often plays secret shows to avoid attracting attention. (Its fans also perform the “Sieg Heil” Nazi salute at shows.)
Harpos owners Ruzvelt Stevanovski and Krystle Dzajkovska said that the secrecy around the event kept them in the dark regarding the nature of the band, but they decided to stop the show once they learned what was going on. A video posted to YouTube shows California band Blue Hummingbird on the Left, the second act on the bill, getting cut short when the sound abruptly stops.
According to social media posts from fans, the Grand Belial’s Key performance was relocated to an undisclosed location.
In the wake of the event, Harpos has temporarily closed. Police called to handle potential threats of violence at the show reportedly ordered the notorious Detroit venue to be shut down due to numerous code violations.
Metro Times could not reach Harpos for comment.
In a social media post, Harpos apologized for the incident.
“While the events on January 25th do not reflect our values, or that of our community, we are truly sorry and are holding ourselves and others involved accountable,” Harpos wrote on its Facebook page. “We at Harpos are deeply committed to fostering an environment of inclusivity, respect, and equality for all. We want to unequivocally state racism has no place in our business or community, and we stand against all forms of racism.”
