Shock rockers Slipknot have been accused of influencing a string of attacks - including a murder - at a South African high school.

A schoolboy, reportedly dressed as the band's drummer Joey Jordison, stabbed a fellow pupil to death with a sword and then attacked and wounded two gardeners at Nic Diederichs Technical High School in Krugersdorp on Monday morning. Fellow students tell cops the unnamed boy was mimicking the rocker's appearance, and that he had claimed Satan instructed him to carry out the attacks.

Jacob Raboroko, from Johannesburg police, tells News24.com, "He stabbed one of the school kids in the neck and he died. He then went further and stabbed a gardener in the back and another gardener in the face. They were taken to hospital in serious conditions."

It's not the first time the band has been accused of influencing criminal acts. In 2003 two young killers claimed lyrics from the band's song Disasterpice drove them to murder, and last year words from the track Surfacing were found at the site of a grave robbing.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

...riiiiiight. If a song is all it took to drive someone to murder, chances are it wasn't going to take much if any further motivation to commit the act.

I read that some "experts" in South Africa blame the murders and attacks on
"bad Satanic music". Like where is the good Satanic music?


Another dose of the "let's blame metal" syndrome. Why doesn't extremist religion or anything get this kind of flack?

Such nonsense. People have been blaming wrong-doing on music all the way back to Louie Louie. For crying out loud...whatever happened to people being responsible for their own actions?

Who knew Slipknot even had distribution deals outside of the US, let alone South Africa?
Anyway, there is no form of entertainment that can drive someone to do something they wouldn't otherwise do.

he had claimed Satan instructed him to carry out the attacks.
sounds like schizophrenia may be a bit more responsible than slipknot. :rolleyes:

it does irritate me when people say that violent music can't influence criminal decisions, because IT CAN. that's not a theory. it happens, it's real, that's just psychology for you. but it's worse when people will flatout blame a band for something they had nothing to do with.

SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor has spoken exclusively to Blender magazine regarding reports that the schoolboy who stabbed a fellow student to death with a sword in South Africa Monday morning (August 18) wore a mask that resembled the one worn by Taylor. Eighteen-year-old Morné Harmse slashed the neck of 16-year-old Jacques Pretorius at the Nic Diederichs technical high school in the town of Krugersdorp, with students who witnessed the fatal attack saying that Harmse looked and acted like he was "possessed by the devil." Pretorius died at the scene. Harmse also stabbed two gardeners, and authorities discovered three more swords and four other masks in his school bag. The additional masks reportedly were patterned after those worn by SLIPKNOT drummer Joey Jordison, percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan and DJ Sid Wilson.

Local community leader Pierre Eksteen put the blame on music, saying, "He came here camouflaged as the guy from SLIPKNOT. We know the wrong kind of music and drugs have bad effects. Young people need to be informed of the effects of bad Satanic music."

But the head of the South African police's investigative psychology unit, Gerard Labuschagne, responded, "Whenever there is a murder, people jump to conclusions, and always God or Satan told the killers to do it. These notions shouldn't be taken seriously because it is straightforward: someone, of their own free will, can kill another person."

Taylor told Blender: "Obviously, I'm disturbed by the fact that people were hurt and someone died. As far as my responsibility for that goes, it stops there, because I know our message is actually very positive." He continued,"You have something like this happen, it could have been Marilyn Manson, it could have been any number of people who make art that is startling visually, on the darker side. It could've been Pat Boone, for Christ's sake. At the end of the day, there are always going to be mental disorders and people who cause violence for no other reason than the fact that they're ****ed up and lost. And all we can do is try to learn from it."

Parents Of South African Schoolboy Killer Say Son Dabbled In Satanism - Aug. 21, 2008

The parents of the South African teenager accused of killing a fellow student with a sword and wounding three others while wearing a mask similar to masks worn by heavy metal band SLIPKNOT have spoken publicly for the first time since the tragedy.

In a statement to the Beeld newspaper, Morné Harmse's mom and dad said, "Firstly, we want to extend our heartfelt sympathy to the Pretorius family. We realise your precious possession has been taken away by our child's deed.

"We are terribly sorry and wish that the circumstances weren't so, and that we could change them.

"Morné is very small and scrawny for his age. Until Monday morning we never thought he was capable of such a thing. We are a very solid family and our children are raised strictly, but with a lot of love.

"Because of Morné's physical build, he was often belittled during his formative years. Where we could, we stood up for him and spoke to the bullies involved, but also accepted it as part of life.

"During a visit with Morné on Tuesday, we saw that we never realised the true impact that the physical and emotional abuse had on him.

"He explained to us that he felt so powerless and worthless that he wanted to make a stand.

"He went to school intending to give 'them' — which was never directed at a specific person — a fright and to hurt them, but he never intended to kill anyone. He wanted to release built-up frustration and his feeling of powerlessness. He wanted to be someone.

"Morné was a very small baby at birth, and through life we knew him as someone quiet who knew his place.

"To our regret, it looks as though Morné experimented with Satanism and that, in his psyche, it offered him a measure of protection. It was as though he could escape into this idea — that he would experience certain powers which would then offer him a protection mechanism.

"His words to us were: 'When I put on the mask, everything became dead quiet and my body moved. I wanted to stop, but couldn't.'

"He also mentioned that the matric final exams had put a lot of pressure on him. Although he never failed a grade, he was terribly afraid he would.

"We suspect a combination of stress, bad self-esteem, wrong influences and an absolute feeling of powerlessness led our child to this terrible deed.

"During our visit (in the cells), Morné was terribly confused and only realised on Tuesday that someone had died. He remembered basically nothing about the incident.

"Two lives have been destroyed by this unfathomable incident.

"We appeal to all parents to have deep conversations with their children to make sure everything is alright. One is inclined to attribute certain personalities to physical development, but that isn't always the case.

"We ask that you please pray for us, the Pretorius family, and everyone who has been affected. We also want to use this opportunity to thank everyone for their support.

"We appeal to people not to judge us. Please grant us the time to pick up the pieces of our lives.

"Thank you."

Morné Harmse:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3196/2779906891_544b706d06.jpg

Police found this mask (see below) which resembles that of SLIPKNOT vocalist Corey Taylor, among other "Satanic" materials, in Morné Harmse's room after he had killed Jacques Pretorius with a sword at a school in Krugersdorp. (Photo: Sizwe Ndingane, The Star)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/2779950525_59747bd842.jpg

From South African newspaper: http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=240493

How deadly is our music ... really?

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SATANIC? Lyrics from controversial American music group Slipknot have been blamed for some of the vicious crimes committed by their fans.

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SATANIC? Lyrics from controversial American musician Marilyn Manson have been blamed for some of the vicious crimes committed by their fans.


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2008/08/23

A teenager’s vicious behaviour this week shocked South Africa . Must pop culture share the blame or are there other factors, asks Lindile Sifile

MORNE Harmse walked into Krugersdorp’s Nic Diederichs Technical High School on Monday morning. His face painted black and covered with a death mask, the teenager unleashed a kind of violence that has shocked the South African nation.

Five days after the incident when Harmse swung a 60cm Samurai sword at a friend’s neck, killing him almost instantly, South Africans have started searching for answers to a boy’s behaviour that seems so out of step even with a society where violence has reached unacceptably high levels.

In the aftermath of a murderous spree, with three other victims, speculation about the reasons for his behaviour has ranged from the influence of Satanism to drugs, from bullying to the pervasive effect of popular culture and media on young minds.

The 18-year-old was supposed to have been an ardent fan of Slipknot, an American heavy metal band described by the British Telegraph as “the most revolting band in the world”.

“Onstage,” its report continued, “the ensemble create a blitzkrieg of noise while hurling themselves aggressively about a hi-tech set of exploding fireballs and giant flying drums, pausing only to defecate, urinate and masturbate in a weird nihilistic pantomime of bad behaviour.”

In response to Harmse’s actions, Slipknot, speaking through its frontman Corey Taylor, said:

“Obviously, I’m disturbed by the fact that people were hurt and someone died. As far as my responsibility for that goes, it stops there, because I know our message is actually very positive. I’m not encouraging anybody to kill anybody. I encourage our fans to express themselves, to stick together and to help each other.

“You have something like this happen, it could have been Marilyn Manson, it could have been any number of people who make art that is startling visually, on the darker side. It could’ve been Pat Boone. At the end of the day, there are always going to be mental disorders and people who cause violence for no other reason than the fact that they’re f****d up and lost. And all we can do is try to learn from it.”

The broader question remains: Does popular culture – music, gaming, television, film – play an excessively important role in shaping and influencing young people’s behaviour? Or is it but one of many factors that bombard young lives?

Seventeen- year-old Selborne College pupil Lloyd Zacharias looks anything but a Slipknot fan. He’s a well-mannered matriculant. His tucked shirt is crisp and he is very articulate.

Given the grotesque image of Slipknot, few people would imagine that he is a heavy metal fanatic who owns some of the band’s CDs.

“I listen to them for the music itself and not so much about what they have to say. I like the way they put their music together.

“I don’t think their lyrics are that bad as many people would think. Heavy metal music needs a strong- minded person and if you are not, then you’ll find yourself doing funny things,” says Lloyd.

Some of his friends also listen to heavy metal music. “They aren’t exactly guys that I would say are living dangerously. It also depends on the person because you can’t say ‘this song is going to make me kill someone’ unless you have an interest from something else.”

East London psychologist Liezel Gordon says many teenagers are under pressure to fit in and are struggling to form their own identities.

Although she says the media, particularly music, should not be blamed, they have a measure of influence on how teenagers perceive things.

“It’s difficult to prove that a specific thing has a certain influence but my experience with teenagers is that the more they are exposed to certain things in the media, the more they regard those things as the norm,” explains Gordon. “If they are exposed to a lot of violence or exposed to some of the ideas that come out of the music, then they think that is how people should behave.

Music can trigger emotional response but it’s not to say a person has to go and act out that response.

“Having said that, I don’t think one song will cause bad behaviour unless one is very vulnerable and has other stresses and influences which could lead up to being vulnerable to what they hear.”

Could this be what happened to Harmse? Did a song from his favourite band cause him to react the way he did on Monday morning, or is society looking for someone to blame?




According to Gordon, the teenage behaviour pattern has evolved over the years. Bottom line is, parents have lost control.


“Twenty years ago, the youth was sheltered from outside influences and the parents were the main influence that they had. Even in society there wasn’t such a focus on popular culture, role models or Paris Hilton. Nowadays, those influences are allowed to be stronger,” Gordon says.

“Before, it mattered to people that they were accepted by their families first. Now the sway of the peer group is a lot stronger than sticking to family values.”

Wendy O’Halloran, an East London school teacher and a parent, says easy access to information through the Internet and cellphones has made it more difficult for parents to look after their children compared to when she was grow- ing up.

“It’s much more difficult for teenagers these days to grow up properly than it was for us. They’ve got access to so much more and are tempted very easily. And that makes it more difficult for parents because you are not always there.

“Even at school, teaching is very difficult because the level of discipline is very low. It’s a worry.”

O’Halloran’s son Sean, 18, has grown up listening to rock music.

Posters of his rock idols, Prime Circle, The Parlotones and the Spoonfeedas, decorate his room.

While his mother has trusted him enough to let him choose his own music, he seldom dabbles in heavy metal and American pop music.

“That kind of music doesn’t have any meaning to me. There’s so much variety of music that one can listen to and there’s also a lot of rubbish music about girls, parties and booze and that’s just not my style,” says Sean, who believes music should not be blamed for Harmse’s rampage.

“Music doesn’t have a huge influence on who you are as a person. Things like your school, your upbringing, your religion will have more impact.”

Putting pop culture in the dock is not a new phenomenon. The 1960s saw the spectacular rise of the British band The Beatles, who were accused of leading American teenagers astray with their “filthy unkempt appearances and suggestive music”.

In August 1956, a Florida judge called rock ’n roll superstar Elvis Presley a “savage” and threatened to arrest him if he shook his body while performing in Jacksonville.

Popular culture is littered with icons who society has felt are too dangerous, too wayward, too extreme for young people to deal with.

Every decade, it seems, has had its share of anti-heroes who fulfil a space in teenagers’ lives, hooking into the pain of growing up.

More recently, American musician Marilyn Manson was accused of having played a part in the phenomenally violent behaviour of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who killed 13 and injured 24 others when they attacked Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999.

Along with being Manson fans, the two teenagers were also gaming enthusiasts, particularly of the violent Doom and Doom 2.

“Deep down, most adults hate people who go against the grain,” responded Manson in an article in Rolling Stone magazine.



As Gordon says, one song does not cause bad behaviour or, as most psychologists have agreed, the influence of popular culture does not operate in a vacuum. What seems to be clear, though, is the fact that young people have to contend with many pressures.

Morne Harmse will go on trial eventually on a murder and three attempted murder charges. Perhaps then we will hear his defence lawyers use “the most revolting band in the world” as an excuse for him brandishing a Samurai sword with deadly results. We will have to see.