The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) was “relieved” to hear that Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs decided to ban a performance to be held by Swedish heavy metal band Watain in the country, the organization shared in a letter published on Friday on their website.
Written by NCCS president Bishop Terry Kee, the organization expressed appreciation to the ministry and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam “for your swift and decisive action” in recommending Singapore’s Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore to cancel the concert.
Watain was scheduled to perform in Singapore last Thursday, and their concert was canceled just hours before it was slated to be held.
“We fully agree with MHA’s assessment that the band’s history of denigrating religions and promoting violence has the potential to cause enmity and disrupt Singapore’s social harmony,” said Bishop Kee.
Bishop Kee said that NCCS views Watain’s “sacrilegious attacks on the Christian faith” through their songs as “particularly disruptive and hurtful” towards Singapore’s religious harmony.
The band is known to worship the devil, and the frontman identifies with anarchic practices but the band promised to tone down its controversial aspects for the Singapore gig.
In some of their other gigs, pig’s blood was thrown into the audience as part of a Satanic ritual.
“We are concerned that Watain’s open endorsement of satanic violence could have deleterious effects on impressionable and restless youths,” added Bishop Kee in his letter.
Bishop Kee said the ministry’s move to cancel the concert is “in the interests of the general public”, although some beg to differ that such music has helped people deal with dark thoughts and personal struggles.
