DESTRUCTION Frontman Comments On Ecuadorian Concert Fiasco

It was reported yesterday that DESTRUCTION's April 15 concert in Quito, Ecuador ended in total chaos after the local promoter lost control of the 2,000 fans that wanted to attend the gig in a venue that could only accommodate half of them and that didn't have a working lighting system. According to a posting on the German thrash band's web site, the promoter even got arrested by the local police because he sold too many tickets to the concert.

Commented DESTRUCTION bassist/vocalist Marcel "Schmier" Schirmer in a posting at Destruction.de, "What a mess! The local promoter had no idea what he was doin', we have worked with him the first time and are really disappointed. The venue had no lightning system — nothing — nada! In all those years, this has never happened to us before. Why the hell do we send out technical riders? We have told him to organize a least a litte bit of lights to get through the show but nothing happend.

"We have just played a sold-out gig in Bogota, Colombia, where the lightning system totally collapsed during the first song! Somehow we have thrashed through a two-hour set where the lights came in and out all the time. But basically we did the show for the fantastic Colombian audience in fuckin' darkness and with some emergency lightning. So we really know how to survive a concert that suffers from complications.

"This Quito 'so-called' promoter has also sold too many tickets, I guess. There was around 800 people in the venue and even more outside! I don't want to imagine what could have happened if the 1200 kids from outside wanted to storm the sold-out show during the gig! Our crew and the band wanted to give the guy a chance to postpone the show to the next day and a bigger venue but all he did was just delay the gig. So ain't no wonder the fans have freaked out. I can totally understand their anger!

"It's a sad story and it seems some of the local promoters are rippin' off the metalheads here. This was maybe a good warning to not fuck around with the band and their faithful fans.

"No doubt Latin America has the craziest and most loyal thrash fans on this fucked up planet! Despite the problems with the organization, it's an honour to play those exotic places! here is the home of the biggest old-school metal scene in the world and is luckily not poisoned with all the mainstream nu metal and emo crap!

"Anyway, we will try to come back to Ecuador with a reliable promoter and give the fans a hell of a show! We are now lookin' forward to ten more days of terrific, wild and unforgetable South American concerts — hopefully without any organization problems!"

DESTRUCTION are continuing to tour in support of their latest CD, "Inventor of Evil", which is available in Europe on AFM Records and in North America on Candlelight Records.

DESTRUCTION recorded "Inventor of Evil" with producer Peter Tätgtren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN),V.O. Pulver (GURD) and their live engineer Franky Winkelmann at studios in Germany and Switzerland. The mix was done by Tätgtren at the Abyss Studios in Sweden.