Earlier in the week Relapse Records dropped underground supergroup (Amebix, Voivod, Misery, War/Plague) Tau Cross who were about to release their anticipated third album Messengers Of Deception. The label pulled their new album from the release schedule and removed all tracks by the band from Digital Service Providers (DSPs) and YouTube. The reason the band was summarily dropped was due to bassist/frontman Rob “The Baron” Miller, who “prominently thanked” Gerard Menuhin, a writer whose 2015 book, Tell The Truth And Shame The Devil, is said to reject many of the official and popular accounts of World War II in the liner notes of the new album. Relapse manager Rennie Jaffe released a statement explaining that the company chose to sever its relationship. The band responded last night that they had no knowledge of Miller’s thank yous and they were “blindsided” by this news. Read both statements below. Miller has, as yet, made no comments. We’ll keep following this story as it develops. 

Rennie Jaffe commented:

“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.”

The band commented:

“This is a statement from Michel, Andy, Jon and Tom regarding the recent events with TAU CROSS and Relapse Records.

“On Monday, July 1st, the four of us received a very concerning e-mail from Relapse stating that they will not be releasing our upcoming album and severing all ties to any previous work. To say that we were blindsided by this news is an understatement.

“During initial production of the album, we were asked individually to provide our thanks list, which for us consisted of family and friends.

“Now, the four of us were informed that Rob Miller has submitted a thank you to a notorious right-wing author who none of us are familiar with. We promptly researched this author’s history and we are adamantly against anything relating to this kind of ugliness. We’ve been vigilant in our attempts to get answers as to why this has happened and, frankly, how it could possibly happen considering our background and beliefs.

“We are all crushed. We’ve worked so hard on this album — to have something of this nature destroy it is absolutely devastating. For the many of you who know us, you’re aware that we are sincere and honest with ourselves and with the world. TAU CROSS was an outlet for us to experience the love and passion we all have, while staying true to our beliefs and ideals. It is truly beyond comprehension to see it take this very unexpected turn.

“With that, we want to extend our love and appreciation to Relapse Records and all our friends and family who have supported us.

“With love and light, Michel, Andy, Jon and Tom”

Tau Cross line up:

Rob “The Baron” Miller – bass, vocals

Andy Lefton – guitar

Jon Misery – guitar

Michel “Away” Langevin – drums

Tom Radlo – bass

James Adams – keyboards