[rocknation]

Loudwire: Cannibal Corpse knew that entering Russia for a string of shows wouldn’t be the easiest run of their career. ...(They) took the stage in Nizhny, Novgorod on Oct. 10, but halfway through the death metal legends’ set, police raided the venue and pulled the plug on the show...

Various Russian Orthodox activist groups began protests against Cannibal Corpse due to their violent lyrical themes...(The band)...addressed the issues...(i)n a new statement:

...As you all are certainly aware by now, our concerts in Ufa, Moscow, and St. Petersburg were cancelled. We were present in these cities and ready to perform each of these shows but were not permitted to.

In Ufa the power was turned off shortly before the show (we were told because the venue was late on rent), and in Moscow and St. Petersburg we were told that we did not have the correct visas and that if we attempted to perform...we would be detained and deported...In Nizhny...(w)e were told the police needed to search the venue for drugs...On the brighter side, we had a fantastic time performing in Krasnodar, Samara, Chelyabinsk, and Yekaterinburg...

We came to Russia excited and prepared to play all of the scheduled concerts, and we apologize that we were not able to do so...We have played in Russia many times and we love our Russian fans. Hopefully someday the situation for us in Russia will be different and we will be able to return.

This is like watching a bad movie rerun -- I thought the Cold War, PMRC, and civil rights movement had been fought and won already! Well, under the circumstances, I guess four and a half out of eight aren't bad, and at least they weren't detained.