A EUROPEAN metal act linked to neo-Nazis will make its UK debut under a veil of secrecy in Glasgow tomorrow night.

Ticket-holders for the Satanic Warmaster gig were informed about the venue by individual email after the first location pulled the plug over the act’s alleged links to fascism.

Rock venue Audio was originally slated to host the event when it was announced last year but backed out after members of the public highlighted connections to the far right.

However, The National has learned that the 200-capacity concert will now take place at the city’s Ivory Blacks. The location was confirmed following an investigation by Glasgow Anti Fascists and through enquiries to Tickets Scotland, who initially handled sales for the event before cutting ties with it. All subsequent sales were handled by independent promoter Gigs In Glasgow, who claim the Finnish black metal band is not racist or anti-Semitic.

Yesterday the promoter did not respond to questions posed by The National and Ivory Blacks could not be contacted through telephone, email or social media.

However, in an earlier post, Gigs in Glasgow said: “We do not support anything racially/politically motivated therefore we booked the show in good faith for the black metal community and if they were a direct racist band then we would never have booked it.”

But a member of Glasgow Anti Fascists, who did not want to be named, said: “If they’re not fascists, they’re certainly fellow travellers – they have worked with racist bands, they have shared stages with them and they have released records on labels that only release racist records. Where do you draw the line?

“There’s plenty of black metal bands who have no connection to fascist music or will not share stages with these kinds of bands.”

Satanic Warmaster use pagan and anti-Christian themes common to black metal, which is often associated with northern European countries like Norway, and have been linked to the national socialist black metal (NSBM) sub-genre.

Singer Werwolf – real name Lauri Penttilä – has repeatedly denied espousing Nazi ideologies, but critics dispute this.

The act, which includes Penttilä as the only full-time member, contributed to a 2006 compilation titled Declaration of Anti-Semitic Terror and has issued split-releases with NSBM bands including Aryan Blood and shared with the stage with Germany’s Absurd.

One member of that band broke parole terms when, on release from prison for murder, he gave a Nazi salute.

Meanwhile, Satanic Warmaster have been criticised for songs like “Gas Chamber” and lyrics which include the phrase “Sieg Heil!” and refer to “torching the Jewish creation”.

However, Penttila denied Nazi sympathies, saying: “If someone becomes a Nazi just by working with or hanging around ‘the wrong kind of people’, should it not be true in all possible contexts?

“I could never tie Satanic Warmaster down to the concept of NSBM for the reasons that have been there from 1998: it would not coincide with my conviction and the thoughts I want to convey through my music.

“The ideology behind Satanic Warmaster is Satanism and the musical style is black metal. Those who claim otherwise do it on the basis of their own feelings and resentment.”

In a Facebook post, Gigs In Glasgow said black metal is “built on controversy” and compared it to “old school hip hop”. Earlier this week they advised ticket holders not to “blab too much” for fear of anti-fascist supporters learning of the venue.

However, the Glasgow Anti Fascists source told The National no protest or trouble is planned outside the gig.