A forthcoming heavy metal music festival, Shell Shock II, to be held in Orlando, Florida on October 19, 2024, emerged at the center of a hot storm of controversy immediately after naming Kyle Rittenhouse as a special guest. It was put together in order to raise money for the veterans of the military and first responders suffering with PTSD, but the inclusion of Rittenhouse saw the event come under trenchant attacks from a variety of performing artists and fans.
Setting up to be more than just a metal music festival, Shell Shock II is much more about being a charity event for the noble purpose of making military veterans and first responders dealing with the impacts of PTSD supported. It looks to bring positive changes in the metal music community once and for all; this includes the intent of hosting said festival in order to raise funding for those who have put their lives on the line in service. The thing is, though the festival does have an amazing noble cause, the charitable intentions have shifted dramatically to a growing controversy with its guest list.
Well, the furor kicked in when Kyle Rittenhouse was announced to head out as a special guest for the festival. Rittenhouse has been a polarizing national figure every since 2020, when he fatally shot two men during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Though he was acquitted of all charges, his name still manages to raise eyebrows.
Some people feel he was justified and call it a matter of self-defense, while others view him as the embodiment of a greater political and social division. In fact, his presence alone at any event would automatically ensure protests by both fans and musicians. The addition of Rittenhouse, despite his legal acquittal, quickly became the focus of controversy, pushing out the original mission of the festival. Many in the metal music community-a very passionate and often politically active audience-viewed the inclusion of Rittenhouse as incongruous to the cause of the event.
After the announcement, some major bands announced that they too were pulling out of the festival.
Some bands further detailed in their statements that they felt uneasy about the shift of values in the festival. Indeed, artists mentioned that they could not align themselves with a platform that would involve an individual whom they saw as a problem.
It was despite attempts from festival organizers to try and remedy the situation, even reportedly offering to remove Rittenhouse from the lineup.
The festival subsequently scrambled to find replacement acts, confirming a Slipknot tribute band, SiC, for the headlining slot vacated by Evergreen Terrace. Though some welcomed SiC’s addition, others felt the festival had lost too much of its attraction already, with the Rittenhouse controversy continuing to shadow the event. Not surprisingly, the lineup change did little to dampen the growing discontent.
“This is no longer the festival for which we have signed up, ” frustrated ticket holders said, requesting refunds for suddenly altered events.
Finally giving in to the public’s reaction, one of the individuals behind the festival, Tyler Hoover, along with those working on The Antihero Podcast, went to social media. Hoover defended the move to include Rittenhouse in the festival, characterizing the outrage as part of a “bigger cultural war.” He says that the festival organizers are digging in and resisting what they refer to as the pressure from a “liberal mob” and are not going to be intimidated by public outrage over their event.
