So what happens when a deliberately outré band pokes fun at one of America's greatest tragedies?
Following Pittsburgh City Paper's coverage of New Kensington's Preserving Underground, a DIY venue and record store focusing on hardcore, death metal, and other extreme music, a reader who identified themselves as military wrote in to let us know they were dismayed by a flyer for an upcoming show. Said flyer is a, shall we say, irreverent depiction (content warning) of the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attack by "two-stepping neon weed death [metal]" band Bonginator.
"We booked this show at Preserving Underground on 9/11 just because it made sense with our tour routing," says Bonginator frontman and songwriter Erik Thorstenn. Realizing the date, Thorstenn went with a gonzo, weed-infused, 9/11-themed flyer featuring a laughing George W. Bush. The flyer went viral on TikTok, with over 18,000 likes as of this writing, a seeming P.R. coup for the niche New England band.
Not everyone was amused – for some locals, the Flight 93 crash in Shanksville is still a clear memory freighted with reverence and grief. However, far more TikTokers expressed support in the comments. Bonginator addressed the pushback in a frank but unapologetic follow-up post, claiming the flyer was "for likes."
"It's no mystery to me that edgy humor like this can be great for marketing," Thorstenn says. "Bonginator's marketing has always been essentially that."
A quick scan of Bonginator's merch page corroborates this. One of the band's less ridiculous shirts is a camo tee printed with "Arm Trans Weed Smokers" in the colors of the trans pride flag. Meanwhile, the band's latest release, full-length The Intergalactic Gorebong of Deathpot, is a largely tongue-in-cheek collection of songs loosely centered on astronauts being sent to space to plant the Earth's last marijuana seeds following a nuclear apocalypse.
"Metal has always been something that shocks ordinary people. I think that's an essential characteristic of metal. It's outsider music," Thorstenn explains. "Me? I do what I do to be funny."
Preserving Underground might be on board with extreme music's shock value, but the venue is not on board with Bonginator's 9/11 flyer. Though the band created an alternate flyer for the show, Preserving has yet to display it on its site. In an emailed statement, Preserving told City Paper, "... we are confused why this is worth writing about… but you know as well as we do that death metal, as a whole, is to shock and horrify with comic book levels of the absurd, obscene and grotesque to create a spectacle.
"I can only assume the promoter had the same intentions with the flyer but missed the mark," the venue said. "If someone has a problem with it, we encourage them to confront the promoter."
Along with Cannibal Corpse and, more recently, Columbus shock-rockers Sanguisugabogg, Bonginator revels in body horror, sometimes crossing perceived lines along the way. However, all three acts also strive to create inclusive spaces (as Bonginator's "Arm Trans Weed Smokers" shirt perhaps suggests).
For the uninitiated, this is death metal's fundamental contradiction — by alienating some with gross-out lyrics and deliberately offensive imagery, the genre also makes space for personal expression. The music follows this principle – it's probably a bit much for your average rock fan, but Bonginator are legitimately good at their craft, deploying rapid-fire riffs and pulverizing rhythms even as they scream about suffocating on blunt smoke.
Thorstenn is sanguine about the current controversy. He was only three when 9/11 happened but grew up in greater New York City and witnessed the deadly attack's emotional fallout. "I do know firsthand how it affected people and how tragic it was," he says. "I still think my flyer is funny, though."
It seems likely the show will go on even as local businesses have called for Preserving to cancel it. Thorstenn says the venue would likely have axed the lineup — which recently added local hardcore act Princess — if their objections extended beyond the crass flyer. "One person sent me a death threat, so that's pretty lame. But I don't think the show is going anywhere," Thorstenn says. "There are a lot more people that want to come to the show than people who don't want it to happen."
"We will be doing a few special things for our set for sure," Thorstenn says. Preserving is a drug-free venue, so don't expect any intergalactic bongs, but Bonginator's lyrics about weed, space, poop, and more could make for… interesting stagecraft.
As for the 9/11 tie-in?
"[I] can't give any spoilers, but let's just say that you will never forget this show," Thorstenn says.
