Greek Black Metallers NAER MATARON: We Are Not A Political Band

Greek black metallers NAER MATARON have proclaimed themselves to be a non-political entity following reports that the band's bassist has been has been elected to the country's parliament.

Giorgos Germenis, who is known by the stage name "Kaiadas," will represent the extremist Golden Dawn party, which is described as perhaps the most extreme of the far-right parties in all of Europe. Comparisons are made to Germany's neo-Nazi National Democratic Party and many say Golden Dawn's logo (see below) resembles a swastika.

Golden Dawn, an extreme right nationalist party with patriotic symbolism and an anti-immigrant stance, won between 5 and 7 percent of the vote in Greece's general elections on May 6, enough for them to gain representation in parliament for the first time in Greek history.

In a statement, the members of NAER MATARON say, "NAER MATARON has been and still remains a pure-blooded black metal band, and as such, a non-political one. Any member of the band has the right to keep on to his personal beliefs and act accordingly. Therefore, any kind of legal political activity of any member, is a matter of personal choice and is respected as such. Attempts to put NAER MATARON under any political agenda are rejected by the band. In addition, any false accusations against the band will come across with legal actions on our behalf. The band stands only for black metal, and black metal is extreme music, not politics. Closing, anyone who is into the extreme music and thematology, but for any reason feels shocked or offended by non-extreme views and/or beliefs is not of our concern."

Stefanos Stefanopolous from the Rockway.gr webzine tells PRI's The World, "[Giorgos] wasn't a well-known musician here in Greece. And to be honest, not many webzines were paying attention to NAER MATARON. It was just another black metal band, a mediocre one, so no one was really paying attention."

In a recent interview, Germenis suggested that there was an easy solution for Greece's myriad economic problems. First, he said, "Greek factories must be reborn, rheir chimneys must be filled with smoke once more, and, of course, all illegal immigrants must leave. If all the illegal immigrants left — and there are more than three million — there would be three million jobs for Greeks." Germenis was also quoted by PRI's The World as saying, "We Golden Dawn say that Greece is a rich country. In order to rebuild Greece, we also need to revitalize our factories and small workshops. In this way, Greece can stand on its own two feet. We won't need the European Union or anyone else. We'll just need Greeks."