“It’s just sad, really,” Rittenhouse told reporters in a statement that can only be described as part lament, part metal history lesson. “Metal was supposed to be the one place where freedom, rebellion, and just shredding your frustrations away were celebrated. But now it looks like metal’s gone woke. What happened to the days when metal was about defying the mainstream? Now it’s all about virtue-signaling and canceling people. Just sad.”

It all started when Shell Shock II, a charity festival aimed at raising money and awareness for veterans and first responders with PTSD, announced Rittenhouse as a special guest. The festival, known for its lineup of hardcore bands and mosh pits that can only be described as “organized chaos,” quickly found itself in the middle of a controversy that had nothing to do with music.

Rittenhouse was initially scheduled to appear as part of the festival’s initiative to include “influencers” who supported the cause. But once word got out that he would be attending, the backlash was swift. Bands began dropping out of the lineup faster than a Slayer guitar riff, with headlining act Evergreen Terrace leading the charge.

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