The phrase “all publicity is good publicity” doesn’t always apply. Take Nuclear Hellfrost, for example. They’re the band that were initially blamed after Pantera posted a picture of an Instagram account claiming that they vandalized and robbed Dimebag Darrell’s grave. Reaction was swift, and can be imagined, overwhelmingly outraged. First Nuclear Hellfrost issued a statement, blaming it on their former singer Reece Eber and claiming it was a hoax. And late last night, Eber himself made a post on his (since deleted) Facebook page claiming responsibility for his actions. The band has since reposted it on their own page, and it reads as follows:
This is Reece Eber, the guy who ignorantly acted like a fool and pulled the dumbest possible delinquent act of my life… And where to begin… I’ve become famous today in the worst possible way. My friends and I have received death threats and multiple insults over the past day or so, I’ve made the …news, and all I can say to sum it all up is I’m deeply sorry. I acted ignorantly and completely out of line. There is NO reason for doing what I did, and when I say “I”, I mean ME alone. My friends were not present for the event and should have caught up with them when they were walking away, instead i left a piece of paper with an insult to a man many people idolize and for a cheap laugh that I didn’t think about the consequences. I did not carve into it and it was a piece of paper and nothing was stolen. I’m not asking for forgiveness, I’m not asking for sympathy, I am only attempting to express an apology that I want to reach out to the people I hurt and offended with this dumb act. There is no reason for what I did and it was the worst mistake I’ve made in my young and evidently dumb life. I don’t blame the threats and comments. I understand how you feel and that’s why I’m an asshole because I knowingly was out for blood, and so I don’t blame anyone for wanting to do god knows what to me. The fact of the matter is I feel awful and guilty and this will stick with me forever, just like the Seinfeld guy using the N word… I can not express how sorry I am to Vinnie Paul and the Abbott family for the distress I caused, and the other members of Pantera and other acts Darrell was a part of. I owe everyone an apology for my actions because they were uncalled for, and horrible, despicable, and I went way too far. Some jokes are NOT funny and this is one of them. I took a joke way too far with a piece of paper and some hurtful words and as I’ve expressed, I don’t expect any sort of acceptance or sympathy. I’m doing this out of the guilt I feel, knowing I caused this and I want to attempt to make it right even though I’m sure many will not accept this… I’m truly sorry for my actions and I’m sorry I put people I care about in potential danger and upsetting people for my selfish and morbid sense of humor. Anyways to wrap this up, I hope this was read, I hope at least someone will accept this and I hope for a better future for everyone…
His apology seems sincere, but also done under duress. If a lot of people thought it was funny instead of being rightly outraged, he would’ve been celebrating this going viral. Also, he seems to be apologizing mainly for the “fag” part, not for saying he spit on a grave and stole cowboy boots. Either way, the guy’s going to have to watch his back for the rest of his life. Dimebag himself was killed by a mentally unstable Pantera fan. There’s no telling how many Dime fans would be happy to beat the hell out of this guy. And even though Nuclear Hellfrost have tried their best to disassociate themselves from their former singer, it doesn’t look good for them either. They’ve already been removed from a festival lineup, according to internet commenters. On the other hand, they’ve gained 2,273 Facebook likes in the past week, which is more than the mere 413 they had before this stunt.
