One of the most prominent names of the international metal scene for the last 30 years or so, Sepultura were set to rock Beirut heavily on April 28th at The Palace – Hamra. With heavy promotion underway since the announcement a couple of months ago, and with high expectations and pride for bringing such a name home, the General Security has decided otherwise, a week from the performance.
In a statement issued by the hosts “Skull Session”, the struggle continues with authorities, as it has been the case for the past years, with “loud”, “growling” bands, dubbed satanic and unfit to perform in the country.
It is with great regret that Skull Session and 2U2C have to announce to the public, that the Lebanese Authorities represented by the General Security has banned Sepultura from entering Lebanon and refused to process their artist visas. At the moment we are still trying to communicate and request the revocation of the ban order.
We are still in shock and disbelief, more information will be released as soon as we get them, we are currently preparing our press release.
Finally, we are as outraged and angry as all of you will be, but we request that everyone remains respectful in their comments on social media and in public.
It is worth noting that the band is set to perform in Dubai on May the 2nd, and has not yet issued an official statement about the Beirut concert’s cancellation, as the promoters fight to save it for one last time.