• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

Report: GORGOROTH Face Two Years In Polish Prison After Causing 'Religious Offense'

February 4, 2004

Norwegian black metal band GORGOROTH are being investigated in Poland for causing religious offense after a show that included dozens of sheep heads on stakes, a literal blood bath and a naked, crucified woman, newspaper Aftenposten reports.

The concert in Krakow was broadcast by state TV station TVP and the resulting scandal was the center of attention in Polish media, according to Aftenposten. The band are now being investigated for causing religious offense, which is punishable by up to two years in prison.

The police are also considering an investigation of cruelty to animals.

"On stage there was blood everywhere. About ten decapitated sheep heads and naked people, alive, on large crosses," TVP director Andrzej Jeziorek told newspaper VG. "Everyone was painted with 100 liters of sheep blood. Also there were Satanist symbols everywhere. One of the hanging female models fainted and an ambulance had to be called,".

Jeziorek said that the TVP staff were shocked and reported the show to police.

"This kind of thing should happen on state TV and especially not in Krakow, which is the Pope's city," Jeziorek said. Jeziorek wanted to halt the concert but feared a riot from enthusiastic, bloodied fans who had paid for tickets.

The band were recording a concert DVD and had promised fans a very special show in Poland, and had rigged the stage behind curtains to keep the content secret.

Recent troubles with sects and Satanist groups have made the issue especially sensitive in Poland.

Here are links to several other media reports on the incident:

NRK (Norwegian)
Bergensavisen (Norwegian)
VG (Norwegian)
Die Presse (German)

Photographic and video footage of the controversial concert has been posted online at this location.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).