Texas Venue Considers Banning Hardcore Bands

10 May 2023 | 12:56 pm | Mary Varvaris
Originally Appeared In

“Basically mixing metal and hardcore on the same lineup just invites disaster. Metal wants to mosh, core wants to kick, punch, stage dive and crowd kill. They don't mix”.

Chain Reaction @ Chain Reaction, Anaheim

Chain Reaction @ Chain Reaction, Anaheim (Joel Muniz via Unsplash)

The Ridglea Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, is considering putting a ban on hardcore bands after a Terror show made headlines.

Last Friday, US hardcore outfit Terror opened for The Black Dahlia Murder at the Ridglea Theatre when a security guard allegedly wouldn’t allow fans to crowd surf from the stage. The guard then used vocalist Scott Vogel’s microphone to proclaim, “I don’t think so,” per Metal Injection, when Vogel attempted to give the microphone to fans in the audience.

Terror said on social media over the weekend, “Ridglea Theater in Ft. Worth easily has the worst security this band has encountered in all 20 years of existence. And if you know us, that’s saying A LOT.”

Since then, things have gotten weirder. Metal music publication Lambgoat has posted about the unfolding situation regarding the gig and earlier today, shared a Direct Message they received from the Ridglea social media team.

Ridglea wrote that they have a zero-tolerance policy for “stage diving, kicking, punching, and windmilling.” 

They added that “the people in the crowd were attempting to jump the barricades to get on the stage, only one ejection for kicking a minor in the front row. Our security did a great job and exhibited a lot of restraint after being hit, punched by a very rowdy crowd.”

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

Ridglea Theater President Gerald "Jerry" Shults later publicly commented on the situation, “Yes we are banning terror, and maybe all hardcore. Don't know of a venue in dfw that will allow stage diving, punching, kicking and crowd killing, all the while bitching about everything.”

Shults added, “I clearly don't want the hardcore scene, its a disaster. All metal is great, wish they didn't mix the two genres together. No problems with black dahlia people, this insanity of people have a right to stage dive, kicking and punching, crowd killing is the problem.

“Basically mixing metal and hardcore on the same lineup just invites disaster. Metal wants to mosh, core wants to kick, punch, stage dive and crowd kill. They don't mix”.

Third String Productions has since commented to say that they will no longer be booking acts at the Ridglea Theatre.