Several hours after MetalSucks uploaded a video of Flaw vocalist Christopher Volz dropping the N-word at a show in Illinois last Friday, March 12, the singer has issued an apology via social media.
The incident took place at The WC Social Club in West Chicago, IL, part of a three-day run of shows for the band in Illinois and Indiana. In the clip, which depicts a sparse audience in the club, mostly maskless, Volz — who is white — is visibly and audibly agitated, complaining about the stage monitor mix (or lack thereof).
In the video, which you can view below, Volz can be heard saying [transcribed by MetalSucks]:
“There’s three of you N****s sitting right there [pointing]. I’d like one of you to come up here. You’re all white, so that’s not racist.
“One of you guys need to come up here. I want one of you to come up here and hear these center wedges before we finish, just so you know what I actually went through tonight and how badass it is that I actually had no wedges.
“Hey! I’m not fuckin’ around! One of you motherfuckers comes up on stage and listens to these wedges before we finish, otherwise you’re all getting rolled.”
Volz posted an apology to his personal Facebook page earlier this afternoon. That message reads in full:
“Hey Flaw Family, I need to address the recent video and backlash that surfaced this weekend. I made a huge mistake and in the heat of my anger I used an unacceptable group of words towards another white person. I in no way meant it to be a racial thing and it is being construed on social media as if I made a statement about my beliefs and that is simply not true. Anyone who knows me knows that I have always been an advocate for equality and even wrote a song called ‘Bleed Red’ 5 years ago that was all about ending racism (link below). Flaw has always had all genders and races on our team, from managers to agents to labels to road crew and we always will. I have worked so hard for the past 25 years to build my career and I don’t want something like this to ruin it for anyone. I take responsibility for my actions, apologize for my melt down and hope that you can all forgive me.”
There is a whole lot to dissect in Volz’s statement, but on the most basic level: why is the N-word in his vernacular to begin with? Volz paints the picture that he got caught up in the heat of the moment and used a word he shouldn’t have… but why is that word rattling around his brain as an option at all? This whole statement reads as if he uses the word commonly in private, slipped and used it publicly, got caught because someone happened to be filming, and now feels forced to apologize.
More specifically, there is SO much wrong with Volz’s apology. Including:
- “Group of words”? No, it was just one word. One very specific word.
- “Towards another white person.” Is Volz including this detail to attempt to take the edge off his actions? I guess it would’ve been worse if it was directed at a Black person, but it’s still bad.
- “I in no way meant it to be a racial thing.” That word is a racial thing no matter what. It cannot not be a racial thing.
- “Anyone who knows me,” yeah, OK, bud.
- Concerning the Flaw song “all about ending racism” he shared, everyone claims they want to end racism, but unfortunately many of those people act otherwise, ignorant to the fact that they are, in fact, perpetuating racism in ways they don’t think are racist.
- The old “all genders and races on our team” card, akin to the “But some of my best friends are Black” defense!
In short: Christopher Volz is completely full of shit. I reckon the band’s 20 fans probably won’t care.
Over the weekend, seemingly in response to backlash he was already facing from Friday night’s incident, Volz took to his personal Facebook page to post a statement condemning cancel culture, advocating for “free speech” — repeating a common, complete misunderstanding of the First Amendment — praising America as “the most amazing nation that has ever existed” and imploring people that “if something offends you move the fuck on.” That statement read in full:
“Always remember… We are not descendants of fearful people. We are a nation of immigrants who have been given the gift of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This does not mean you don’t have to work for it, or can mooch off of someone else’s hard work and decades of blood, sweat, and tears just to suit your greed and cater to your feelings.
“We are blessed with freedom of speech and expression, but this does not mean you can use that same freedom of speech and expression to try to oppress someone else’s or something you do not agree with. That in itself is in direct violation of the God given rights that have been sacrificed for and gifted to us. It’s also a direct double negative. Cancel culture can not, and will not, abuse the very fundamental rights they are trying to extinguish by using the exact same rights they are objecting to while trying to cancel them. You just canceled yourself, by-proxy. That is simply wrong and won’t be tolerated.
“There is no color, there is no race, we are all human beings trying to survive on a rock spinning around a huge ball of fire. We are all citizens of an amazing country. WE ALL BLEED RED.https://98046386396fb9d6c877014516ffcafa.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html
“Grow some skin, if something offends you move the fuck on, stop expecting things you don’t work for, earn your keep, contribute to public service in some way, and stop trying to destroy the most amazing nation that has ever existed. Facts may cause feelings…but feelings aren’t facts, they are your own interpretation of reality and it’s not your place to force your reality on anyone else.
“We have a list of personal rights that were established centuries ago. Some may not know this but, America, our Constitutional Republic with a democratic voting system, and Capitalism as a whole… is an experiment. It is written in the oldest manuscripts we have and it was the only answer to truly separate from a ruling Monarchy… We can and will lose it if we do not protect, fight, and stand up for it. None of us are more important than that. God bless you all!”
Flaw were involved in one of the more bizarre recent scandals in the metal world in 2019, when the band were busted for committing multiple acts of plagiarism on their most recent album. An effort to prevent guitarist-turned-bassist Tommy Gibbons from being discovered as the riff thief failed when Gibbons accidentally outed himself as the culprit on social media, after which the band had no choice but to fire him. Gibbons tried to blame the whole thing on mislabeling files on his computer and vowed to “step away from music,” only to eventually launch his own band.
Volz, who co-founded Flaw in 1996, is the sole original member left in the current incarnation of the band. In 2018, he appeared along with the band’s other members at the time in a segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in which the TV host bought the band a touring van in response to a crowdfunding campaign.
You can watch video of last Friday’s incident below.