Back in June 2019, we reported that fans at France's Hellfest on were left dismayed as Manowar, one of the headlining acts, canceled at the last minute. While the promoters claimed it was the band who pulled out, Manowar released their own statement, saying the promoters "obstructed our efforts to put on the epic show we had promised." The incident took place originally on June 17, 2022.
Now, in an interview with Germany's Metal Hammer Podcast, Manowar bassist Joey DeMaio has hit first and hit hard at Hellfest promoters, saying "I think about it every day. I can't wait to get to court. I can't wait."
DeMaio continued by saying, "I hope all the people that were stupid enough to piss on me and the band and call me an asshole and say that I canceled, not one of them can find a cancelation on my website. I never canceled. It's a fucking dream. It's a lie. They canceled — not me. Why would I show up in France with all my trucks and 50 people if I wasn't prepared to play and wanted to play?"
It's a fair point, but what the dispute was still remains a mystery, and in a very "Dee Snider Goes to Washington" kind of way, DeMaio offered this preview of what's to come.
"Don't worry — we're going to court, and on that day, it will be the day of deliverance," said DeMaio. "People will find out what really goes on in this business. So I invite anybody who's out there, when the day comes, come and watch me in action when I get a chance to tell my story to the judge. And I hope everybody who condemned me will use that same energy to apologize. Not to me — I don't give a fuck — but apologize to the fans that believed in the band and stand behind us."
When Manowar first announced the lawsuit from the stage later that summer, DeMaio said afterward, "I believe we will win this lawsuit, and when we do, we're gonna take some money and we're gonna find a country and we're gonna find a city in that country that will have us, and we're gonna play a free concert, and the whole fucking world is invited.
"You have my fucking word that that will happen… And don't listen to these fucking ass-kissing motherfuckers on the Internet talk shit about Manowar and their rumors. None of those fucking assholes were even there. Do they have a copy of our contract? Were they backstage? Did they see what happened? No. They've got nothing better to do than play with their fucking little dicks and type on the fucking Internet and talk shit about people. But we're the band that showed up there with eight fucking trucks, or however many we had, ready to play. And guess what? We never canceled.
"Yeah, that's right. The announcement came from them, on their site. But it was nice for people to say we canceled so they wouldn't have to listen to the fans bitch. So maybe those people should ask these fuckers some questions about what really happened."
All I can say is sit back and get the popcorn ready. This one's about to get interesting!
