Dogmatic

Slipknot have been blamed for a savage murder and series of stabbings in South Africa yesterday.

A schoolboy, dressed akin to Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison, was high on drugs when he stabbed a fellow pupil to death with a sword in Krugersdorp, South Africa. He then went on to stab two of the schools gardeners at Nic Diederichs technical high school.

“He stabbed one of the schoolkids in the neck and he died. He then went further and stabbed a gardener in the back and another gardener in the face. They were taken to hospital in serious conditions,” said Jacob Raboroko of the Johannesburg police force.

A representative for Slipknot’s record label, Roadrunner Records, has told South Africa’s The Times web site that the band had no comment regarding reports that the schoolboy (18-year-old Morné Harmse) who stabbed a fellow student to death with a sword in Krugersdorp, South Africa Monday morning (August 18) was dressed like Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison.

Declining to provide her name, the woman at Roadrunner Records said: “We’ve had no confirmation that it was, in fact, a Slipknot mask. The band is not going to respond.”

When asked how they had found out about the stabbing, the representative would say only that people had been phoning the label all day.

Local South African metal bands defended the music genre. As Internet forums from across the world buzzed over the incident, commentators said metal music had “always drawn the short end of the stick” in being linked to Satanism and teenage violence.

Hugo Louw of metal band FEARSTRIKE told The Times: “If you are down, then the music [lyrics] will work with your mind. You need to be mentally strong to listen to that kind of music.”

Louw said it was not fair to blame incidents such as the one in Krugersdorp on the music.

“It is not fair to blame it on heavy metal … it tells fans to show people you are strong and to not be afraid.”

Slipknot lead singer Corey Taylor told Blender Magazine: “Obviously, I’m disturbed by the fact that people were hurt and someone died. As far as my responsibility for that goes, it stops there, because I know our message is actually very positive.” He continued,”You have something like this happen, it could have been Marilyn Manson, it could have been any number of people who make art that is startling visually, on the darker side. It could’ve been Pat Boone, for Christ’s sake. At the end of the day, there are always going to be mental disorders and people who cause violence for no other reason than the fact that they’re fucked up and lost. And all we can do is try to learn from it.”