A dark cult-like punk band performed a strange gig last week that vowed to “cleanse the damned”, complete with blood baptisms of audience members and wild chants. Cancer Christ, which plays music from a genre known as Reptilian Christian Christ Violence, appeared at a Barroom Blitz event at Knucklehead Hollywood in Los Angeles on Thursday night – and performed more than just music.
According to Mirror, Cancer Christ aims to “cleanse the damned”, with an ‘army’ of followers they say “is growing”, reports No Echo. The hardcore group is headed by vocalist Anthony Mehlhaff, who says he turned his life around to serve punk rock in the name of faith. While their ensemble falls under many definitions, Mehlhaff says they ultimately “portray the imperfect vessel to wage a holy war against those who wish to profit from a dying prophet’s words.”
On their Instagram page, the band posted a picture announcing Thursday night’s show, writing: “Take the Friday off and have a truly religious experience in the city where dreams are crushed, watch bones break and souls get f***ing saved.”
They then appeared as part of an event at the California bar, offering stomach-churning bloodbath baptisms and wrestling matches. Many participated in the distressing scenes, which saw the no-ring pro wrestling game be one of the more popular events. During, people horrifyingly chanted “we want blood!”.
In an interview last year, Cancer Christ vocalist Anthony Mehlhaff called himself “a humble servant of God.” “I stand for all the would-be scum that never considered Jesus an option,” he told No Echo.
