AS I LAY DYING will no longer be performing at next year’s ‘Resurrection Fest‘ in Viveiro, Spain. The band’s inclusion on the festival was apparently a source of controversy given the criminal history of frontman Tim Lambesis, who spent roughly two years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of solicitation of another to commit murder. That charge in question resulted from Lambesis unknowingly attempting to hire an undercover cop posing as a hitman at the time to murder his then wife, Meggan Lambesis, back in 2013.
Lambesis has since apologized for the incident and reunited with his former bandmates, with their first proper touring since his arrest to commence this fall. Speaking on the decision, the organizers of ‘Resurrection Fest‘ issued the below statement:
“Given the controversy after the announcement of As I Lay Dying for next year, we would like to highlight our absolutely condemnatory position against gender violence. At the festival, we are aware that it is a huge problem in society, with which we must have a special sensitivity.
Like other forms of intolerance or oppression, it has no place within our festival or within the scene of which we are part. Proof of our commitment is that during our 13 editions we have been an example of coexistence, or any other violent act. Furthermore, in the surveys of the assistants during the recent years, we have been given high results in terms of security.
Resurrection Fest for us is a celebration of music in many of its variants and for the majority of our attendees it is the best week of the year. We still try to make a festival that we would like to attend to as public and where the passion for music and coexistence among all our attendees reigns.
The decision to include the band As I Lay Dying in this year’s edition, the same way many other European festivals will do next summer, is that we believe in social reintegration and in the right of people to rehabilitate after having met a conviction. We understand that this opinion by the organization of the festival is shared by a large part of the festival attendees who requested the band in the polls.
Given the debate and the division that was created among the attendees, and in order to maintain the prevailing atmosphere of harmony among the entire festival community, we finally made the decision after talking with the band of not including As I Lay Dying in the billing of this edition.
We hope that everyone understands this situation. Resurrection Fest is an event for all types of audiences regardless of age or social group, and that forces us sometimes to make difficult decisions. Thank you very much for understanding. See you in Viveiro.”
Thus far the lineup for next year’s ‘Resurrection Fest” includes Parkway Drive, Within Temptation, Trivium, Testament, Cradle Of Filth, Converge and many more. It will be held July 03rd through 06th with more details available at resurrectionfest.es. As I Lay Dying‘s touring return will commence in November with this North American run. A European/UK trek will follow. A number of venues for both treks have either been upgraded or sold out in advance.
Source: The PRP
https://www.facebook.com/asilaydying/
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