Relapse Records Has Dropped Tau Cross Over Ties to Noted Holocaust Denier
Relapse Records and Tau Cross have parted ways only a month before the scheduled release of their new album, Messengers of Deception.
The band was first to announce the news, simply thanking Relapse for their time together (two albums) without offering any details as to the reasons behind the split. A short while later, Relapse label manager Rennie Jaffe issued a statement on behalf of the label saying that the reason behind the split was a “thank you” from frontman Rob Miller in the album’s liner notes to Gerard Menuhin, a prominent Holocaust denier whose messages Jaffe believes inspired lyrics on the album. In his statement, Jaffe was deliberate in singling out Miller, not the rest of the band’s members.
Here is Tau Cross’s statement, via Facebook:
“We regret to say that Tau Cross and Relapse records are now parting company after several successful and fruitful years together. Circumstances have arisen that must put an end to our relationship. We would like to extend our gratitude and thanks to all the staff and crew at Relapse for their work over these past few years and our apologies to supporters who have already bought the new record. We shall be looking into other avenues to release the album ‘Messengers of Deception’ and will keep people updated about that development.”
And Relapse’s response (from label manager Rennie Jaffe), via Brooklyn Vegan:
“Over the weekend the German magazine Ox brought it to our attention that a person named Gerard Menuhin was prominently thanked in the new Tau Cross album, and specifically credited in the liner notes for inspiring Rob Miller. All Relapse records go through a vigorous proofing process–checking for spelling and punctuation mistakes, mostly. We all read this name, but didn’t recognize it or think that it was anything other than a personal friend of the band’s, that we did not know. Ox however recognized the name as a far right conspiracy theorist, focused specifically on Holocaust denial. Suddenly the lyrics and themes of the new record were cast in a new light, for me. I spoke with Rob Miller, who is the individual in the band who Ox was interviewing, and while he denied being a Holocaust denier, I cannot comfortably work on or sell a record that dabbles in ideologies such as these. There are certain issues that rise above mere political differences and this is one of them. I spoke with the rest of the band on Monday, and NONE of them had any idea who Gerard Menuhin was, and were as shocked by these references in the record, as we at the label were. I firmly believe that these references and mentions in the record do not represent the band as a whole. but rather just Rob Miller’s. In light of all this, Relapse swiftly decided we cannot move forward with this album–we gave the masters back to the band, together with the rest of their catalog.”
On behalf of everyone at MetalSucks, we support Jaffe and Relapse for making the right call here in spite of Miller’s denial that he’s a Holocaust denier (how did that conversation even go? is he just a fan of Menuhin’s wardrobe?). Tau Cross are going to have a difficult road ahead of them in getting their album released — as they should — and we sincerely hope no labels in the metal community agree to pick them up.
