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Black metal band Rotting Christ forced to change name for South African gigs

A black metal band from Greece has agreed to change its name in order to play live in South Africa.

Athens’ Rotting Christ agreed to the name change after religious groups in the area protested their two upcoming appearances, July 1 in Johannesburg and the following night in Cape Town. The name change will be a temporary solution for the metal band, which formed in 1987 and has released 13 albums since 1991.

As Metal Hammer notes, the same religious groups protesting Rotting Christ coming to the area are also upset over Polish blackened death metal band Behemoth playing those cities later this month.

Rotting Christ’s shows are organized by Witchdoctor Productions, and the shows’ promoter, Shaughn Pieterse, offered the following to TeamRock Radio’s Republic Of Rock show, set to be broadcast this weekend, via Metal Hammer: “What we’re going through is what the metal scene dealt with in the late ’80s and early ’90s, with religious folks challenging them and trying to stop the shows because they disagreed with the opinions and messages of the bands. It started early last year with Witchfest 2015. In order to host an event you’ve got to get certain certificates from the council. Every time we made a move to do everything by the book, the councils were getting shot down by so-called Christians and religious protesters.”

Pieterse adds: “Every time we had to move venue we lost the deposit and you keep hemorrhaging money. But you have to make the show happen because if you don’t then they’ve won. You have to take quite a knock to show that they can’t stop you. It’s started again with Behemoth and more so with Rotting Christ. But we even accommodated that and spoke to the band and they will be playing in South Africa under an alternative name so as not to offend people in that sense. Rotting Christ was maybe a little bit too far for some people, it’s really in your face.”

There’s no word on what name Rotting Christ will play under this summer. Check out their music below.

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