Tau Cross are a metal supergroup featuring members of Amebix, Voivod, Misery and War//Plague. The band were set to release a new album called Messengers of Deception via Relapse this year, but the record has been shelved for incredibly controversial reasons. It turns out Tau Cross thanked a prominent Holocaust denier in their liner notes.
Relapse's Rennie Jaffe released a statement today explaining the label dropped Tau Cross when it realized Gerard Menuhin had been thanked in the liner notes. Menuhin is a prominent Holocaust denier, calling the event "the biggest lie in history" in his 2015 book Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil.
Jaffe explained the thank you in the Messengers of Deception liner notes traces back to frontman Rob Miller, also of Amebix.
Here's Jaffe's statement in full:
Over the weekend the German magazine Ox brought it to our attention that a person named Gerard Menuhin was prominently thanked in the new Tau Cross album, and specifically credited in the liner notes for inspiring Rob Miller. All Relapse records go through a vigorous proofing process — checking for spelling and punctuation mistakes, mostly. We all read this name, but didn't recognize it or think that it was anything other than a personal friend of the band's, that we did not know. Ox however recognized the name as a far right conspiracy theorist, focused specifically on Holocaust denial. Suddenly the lyrics and themes of the new record were cast in a new light, for me. I spoke with Rob Miller, who is the individual in the band who Ox was interviewing, and while he denied being a Holocaust denier, I cannot comfortably work on or sell a record that dabbles in ideologies such as these.
There are certain issues that rise above mere political differences and this is one of them. I spoke with the rest of the band on Monday, and NONE of them had any idea who Gerard Menuhin was, and were as shocked by these references in the record, as we at the label were. I firmly believe that these references and mentions in the record do not represent the band as a whole. but rather just Rob Miller's. In light of all this, Relapse swiftly decided we cannot move forward with this album — we gave the masters back to the band, together with the rest of their catalog.
Prior to Relapse's statement, Tau Cross shared the news on their official Facebook page on Tuesday (July 2), but they did not mention the reason for the split from the label.
"Circumstances have arisen that must put an end to our relationship," they wrote. "We would like to extend our gratitude and thanks to all the staff and crew at Relapse for their work over these past few years and our apologies to supporters who have already bought the new record."
The band have not yet responded to the allegations of Rob Miller supporting a Holocaust denier.
Relapse's Rennie Jaffe released a statement today explaining the label dropped Tau Cross when it realized Gerard Menuhin had been thanked in the liner notes. Menuhin is a prominent Holocaust denier, calling the event "the biggest lie in history" in his 2015 book Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil.
Jaffe explained the thank you in the Messengers of Deception liner notes traces back to frontman Rob Miller, also of Amebix.
Here's Jaffe's statement in full:
Over the weekend the German magazine Ox brought it to our attention that a person named Gerard Menuhin was prominently thanked in the new Tau Cross album, and specifically credited in the liner notes for inspiring Rob Miller. All Relapse records go through a vigorous proofing process — checking for spelling and punctuation mistakes, mostly. We all read this name, but didn't recognize it or think that it was anything other than a personal friend of the band's, that we did not know. Ox however recognized the name as a far right conspiracy theorist, focused specifically on Holocaust denial. Suddenly the lyrics and themes of the new record were cast in a new light, for me. I spoke with Rob Miller, who is the individual in the band who Ox was interviewing, and while he denied being a Holocaust denier, I cannot comfortably work on or sell a record that dabbles in ideologies such as these.
There are certain issues that rise above mere political differences and this is one of them. I spoke with the rest of the band on Monday, and NONE of them had any idea who Gerard Menuhin was, and were as shocked by these references in the record, as we at the label were. I firmly believe that these references and mentions in the record do not represent the band as a whole. but rather just Rob Miller's. In light of all this, Relapse swiftly decided we cannot move forward with this album — we gave the masters back to the band, together with the rest of their catalog.
Prior to Relapse's statement, Tau Cross shared the news on their official Facebook page on Tuesday (July 2), but they did not mention the reason for the split from the label.
"Circumstances have arisen that must put an end to our relationship," they wrote. "We would like to extend our gratitude and thanks to all the staff and crew at Relapse for their work over these past few years and our apologies to supporters who have already bought the new record."
The band have not yet responded to the allegations of Rob Miller supporting a Holocaust denier.
