Metal band Tau Cross have been dropped by their label Relapse after it emerged that the liner notes for their new album, Messengers of Deception, included a dedication to Gerard Menuhin, a prominent holocaust denier and far-right activist.
As Brooklyn Vegan reports, Relapse has made the decision to cancel the album’s release and sever its ties with the band as a result of the inclusion of Menuhin in the liner notes.
The mention of Menuhin specifically states that he was a particular source of inspiration for frontman Rob Miller while writing the album. Scottish-born Menuhin was behind the 2015 book Tell The Truth And Shame The Devil, which describes the holocaust as "the biggest lie in history". (tQ has previously covered Tau Cross’ music on a number of occasions and also interviewed Rob Miller some years ago.)
Relapse label manager Rennie Jaffe has released a full statement on the matter, which reads as follows: "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."
The band have not yet responded to Relapse’s statement, but shared news yesterday via Facebook that they would be splitting with the label without explaining why.
