Sepultura was initially booked to play the Nile Country Club on June 4, though the proper permissions were filed for the concert to go down. Instead of canceling, concert organizer Nader Sadek, of Nader Sadek fame, moved the concert to a private villa in Sheikh Zayed. Unfortunately, this move also required permissions that Sadek did not have.
According to Ahram online, the show was stopped after police forces stormed the villa and put the kibosh on the gig.
General Ahmed Hegazy, head of the Giza Security Directorate, told Ahram Online that police forces stormed into the villa and physically stopped the concert after necessary permissions for the show were not provided.
Hegazy added that security personnel negotiated with the organizers and asked the audience to leave the vicinity of the villa.
Unsubstantiated rumors have been circulating that the band packed up its gear and moved the show to a café in Maadi, though there has been zero confirmation of this. What's worse is that some of the food purveyors for the show could face persecution by the Egyptian government.
Privately owned newspaper Al-Watan reported that the Giza Investigation Bureau acquired information that the concert was going to take place in Sheikh Zayed. The report, titled "Police thwart Satanists concert", mentioned that three were arrested, including two of the organisers.
The article and the event's cancellation received wide criticism by metal fans who were eager to see live the international band's first performance in Egypt.
Several assistants to the organisers, who planned bus trips and helped bring food to the concert, told Ahram Online that they fear persecution as the matter now is investigated by Egyptian National Security.
So a show got cancelled and some people might be in trouble for liking music. Awesome! Meanwhile in Georgia, Christian Orthodox groups are breaking up rock shows because they think it's a massive sex orgy and it's defiling graveyards, which is entirely logical.
