WATAIN – Guitarist Denied Entry Into U.S.

Pelle Forsberg, guitarist of Swedish black metal act WATAIN, has been denied entry into the United States and will miss the group’s U.S. tour with Morbid Angel. The band blames the “Trump-administered border policy” for the situation.

Watain have issued the following statement:

We regret to inform you that US authorities has decided to ban Watain’s guitarist Pelle Forsberg from entering their country. Erik, Alvaro, Hampus and Emil have after a week of uncertainty just arrived in the States, unfortunately not in time to go through with tonight’s show in Houston.

Here is what happened:

Upon his entry to the States last week, Pelle was unprovokedly taken into custody, locked up in a cell and interrogated during an entire night, only to finally have his newly approved US Working Visa -which he has been granted 5 times prior to this one- revoked and made void. He was thereafter deported back to Mexico where he had been prior to the tour. This radical and fatal decision, made by a random custom officer who happened to be on duty that day, was based on google searches on Watain made during the Pelle’s incarceration, as well as private pictures found on his phone of motorbikes, hunting and various things related to Satanism, Black Metal and counter culture in general. Stuff this officer didn’t understand, or like.