Austin mainstayers Hoeks Death Metal Pizza‘s yearly SXSW metal fest was shut down earlier tonight by the Austin Police Department. The third annual Hoeks Metal Fest was slated to run from Tuesday through Saturday, during the entire duration of the five-day SXSW music festival.

We talked to Hoeks owner Jason Adams a few minutes after the police came and pulled the plug. Jason says the “official” reason given for his shutdown was that Hoeks did not have an active outdoor music permit from the city of Austin to conduct the metal fest.

The kicker?

The city’s music office cashed Jason’s $241 check to renew Hoeks’ permit back on February 28.

However, since the city neglected to send him a paper copy, (and then refused to give it to Jason when he went to their offices in-person the week before SXSW) Hoeks technically was not “permitted” to play live music during SXSW.

This year’s Hoeks Metal Fest was expected to be bigger than ever, with metal publications like MetalSucks and Metal Injection prominently featuring it in their run-ups to this year’s SXSW metal festivities. But now, it seems like 54 participating bands and their fans may have to look elsewhere for opportunities to enjoy heavy music at SXSW.

We’ll let Hoeks maestro Jason do the rest of the talking…