ISIS the Rock Band Mistaken for the Terrorist Group
Rock band named ISIS getting "off color comments."
— -- The name of the militant Islamic group ISIS is probably one of the most reviled names in the country at the moment. It is also the name of a defunct post-metal rock band with the same name that is getting "off color comments" on its Facebook page.
The rockers may be hard to confuse with Islamic militants, but some have managed it.
"It certainly caught us off guard," Aaron Harris, the band's former drummer, told ABC News.
Even some of their fans have decided to put some distance between themselves and the music.
"Fans have emailed us that they're reluctant to wear our T-shirts now and we've also gotten some off-color comments," Harris said.
ISIS the band originated in Boston and began playing in 1997. It released nine albums with titles like "Panopticon" and "In the Absence of Truth." The group moved to California before officially splitting up in 2010.
Though the band is no longer together, the ex-members are being inundated with posts from individuals who believe they are associated with the Islamic terrorist group, which recently claimed responsibility for beheading American journalist James Foley. The group has also slaughtered Christians, Yazidis and other Muslims who aren't members of the Sunni Islamic sect.
"Just like our fans, we've been watching the news in disbelief. We haven't commented on it because we haven't been an active band since 2010, even though our music does live on. We maintain our Facebook page to keep people up-to-date on our current musical projects," he said.
The name of the band's official Facebook page was changed from "ISIS" to "Isis the band."
“It is an unfortunate situation and of course a few less than enlightened people are not seeing the distinction between an inactive band of musicians and a band of terrorists involved in current world affairs,” a representative from Ipecac, the band’s label, told ABC News. Despite the negative attention, the association has reportedly not affected merchandise sales, the Ipecac representative said.