The Local is reporting today that a student teacher in Germany has been given an ultimatum: Quit the band or quit school. Thomas Gurrath is the frontman of German Death Metallers DEBAUCHERY by night and a philosophy teacher at the Hegel Gymnasium, a high school in Stuttgart by day. Most of us are familiar with the romanticized story of School of Rock, however this time is no easy riff-chop. Gurrath's band was discovered after his principal found the band's website and promptly reported him to the school's superintendent.
Gurrath is the brains behind the band, in charged of writing, recording and producing the band's material in studio. Debauchery is signed to AFM Records in Germany, releasing Kill, Maim, Burn, their first album in 2003, and following up with new studio work every year there after. Their latest work titled Rockers & War was released on April 3rd of last year.
According to school officials, Gurrath's band and performances are a form of mental instability, adding that "It was very worrying to listen to his music and then realize he was teaching our children."
As is sadly common, some of the press coverage the case has received thus far is not the most positive, which certainly doesn't help the cause at all.
METALLERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE! show your support by adding Debauchery on Facebook, and while you're at it, why not e-mail the principal nicely asking the school to open their mind a little bit? After all, Hegel might even side with Gurrath on this one.
