DARK FUNERAL's First Visit To Chile Since Priest's Murder Creates Controversy

Swedish black metallers DARK FUNERAL played Chile on October 7, 2006 — the group's first visit to the country since the murder of an Italian Catholic priest in Santiago in 2004 at the hands of a self-proclaimed DARK FUNERAL fanatic. Despite numerous complaints and petitions to stop the show from going ahead, the concert happened without incident.

On July 24, 2004, 26-year-old Rodrigo Orias slit Father Faustino Gazziero's (photo) throat, smeared his face with the victim's blood and then stabbed himself several times in the chest and neck with the same knife while hundreds of churchgoers at Santiago's Metropolitan Cathedral watched in horror (picture of spot where Father Gazziero was murdered).

Orias, who had a pentagram branded on the left side of his chest (covering his heart) and several other symbols of the occult tattooed on his body, asked DARK FUNERAL vocalist Emperor Magus Caligula during the Swedish black metal band's visit to Santiago in 2003 to burn an inverted cross on Rodrigo's arm with a cigar — a "mark" which Orias later planned to make into a tattoo.

Humberto Lagos, an adviser to the Chilean Interior Ministry on religious sects, told La Nación newspaper that bands like DARK FUNERAL may inspire negative behaviour in their followers. "DARK FUNERAL should not be held accountable for the influence their music has, but the music can be perceived as a non-ethical instrument since their lyrics glorify murder, death, misbehavior and the negative aspects of society," Lagos said prior to DARK FUNERAL's latest visit to the country. "The government should not let them come in," he added.

The former Headmaster of the Santuario Nacional de MaipúRaul Feres agreed that the band should not have been allowed to play in the country and that the government's rules should have been more strict. "I wish that they could have been prevented from entering the country, but there was nothing that we could have done about this. I think that the government must defend itself and defend people from this kind of Christian expression which censors people and creates fanatical influences on those who believe it."

The Bishop of the Pentecostal Apostolic Church and coordinator of the Committee of Evangelical Organizations Francisco Anabalon was very disappointed that a band like DARK FUNERAL was allowed to play in Chile. Anabalón stated: "It has been proven that a band like this is a bad influence on its listeners. Music has power, it connects with listeners on many different levels, and it is a pity that these bands choose to contaminate people's spirit."

In a fall 2005 issue of the Swedish magazine Close-Up, Emperor Magus Caligula recalled his encounter with Rodrigo Orias and offered his views on where the blame should be placed for Father Faustino Gazziero's murder.

"I burnt him with a Cohiba, a very fine cigar," Emperor Magus Caligula said of his 2003 meeting with Orias. "That night is a bit of a blur, because I was wasted on Pisco, Chilean cognac. Anyway, this guy came up to me and asked me to burn a cross on his arm. I'm not one to say no, so I puffed on the cigar to get it hot enough and he got his cross. I didn't press the cigar against his skin several times; instead I dragged it like a soldering-iron up and down his arm. He didn't seem to be feeling any pain. He was ecstatic that he was able to meet us. Afterwards we had our picture taken together and I thought he was a cool guy."

"Before we found out the name of the killer, I though it was another fan," said DARK FUNERAL guitarist Lord Ahriman. "A guy in Santiago [the capital of Chile] just stood there crying when he met me. He knew everything about DARK FUNERAL. It was creepy. He'd bought the same guitar as the one I have, a BC Rich Warlock, and he had desecrated graves to honor us. He said, 'My Lord, give me an order and I will execute it.'"

"People ask us if our music caused the murder. I don't think so," said Emperor Magus Caligula. "Sure, we sing about killing Christians and blood and feathers falling from angels are present in a lot of the lyrics. Maybe the music triggered him somehow, but he probably would have harmed someone even if he hadn't been listening to [DARK FUNERAL]. He was not well. But I have to say that I'm…er, SOMEWHAT impressed. He deserves some credit. You're not supposed to say that, but I don't care."

(Thanks: Luis Benavides / www.therockfather.cl)