Over the past two days, we've posted eight interview snippets with Mastodon talking about the acclaimed documentary "Heavy Metal in Baghdad," which tells the story of Iraqi band Acrassicauda and their struggle to continue rocking, first amidst a restrictive dictatorship, and later, after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in a climate of violence, unrest and uncertainty.
The DVD, which was released on Monday, was praised by everyone from The New York Times to Newsweek. "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" was directed by Eddy Morretti, head of VBS.TV & Vice Films and Suroosh Alvi, founder of Vice Magazine. Today, we conclude our coverage of the flick with interview clips from Neurosis guitarists and vocalists Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till discussing the risks of following your dreams, the ways different cultures interpret western music and the hardships the band has encountered over the years. Click "more" to watch the exclusive interview footage: Read more...
Today is the day. No, we're not talking about the awesome, gun-toting, experimental Nashville grind band fronted by Steve Austin. We're saying today is the release date for the DVD "Heavy Metal in Baghdad," a documentary about Iraqi band Acrassicauda and their efforts to stay together as their war-torn country is falling apart. For more information about the release and part two of our three-part post of interviews with Mastodon and Neurosis talking about the flick, check out "Movies For Metalheads: Mastodon and Neurosis Discuss the Acclaimed Documentary ‘Heavy Metal in Baghdad’ (Pt. 1)."
The DVD features 90 minutes of bonus features, including five scenes never intended for the film, three deleted scenes, the 45-minute mini-documentary "Heavy Metal in Istanbul," which chronicles Acrassicauda's exile in Turkey, and three live performances.
"Heavy Metal In Baghdad" was directed by Eddy Morretti, head of VBS.TV & Vice Films and Suroosh Alvi, founder of Vice Magazine. Click "more" to watch Mastodon guitarist and singer Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor talking about their first impression of the movie, the way the film portrays Iraqis as people they can relate with, the dedication required to carry on during war and the bond created between members of a band. Read more...
After tomorrow, Middle Eastern relations will never be the same. No, the U.S. military is not gonna carpetbomb Iran (at least, we don't think they will), there's still no end in sight for soldiers stationed in Iraq and Israel's definitely not signing a peace treaty with the Palestinians. Still, it will be a historic day for fans of Iraqi heavy metal since the film "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" will go on sale. An insightful, funny and emotional documentary film that follows the Iraqi band Acrassicauda from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day, "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is both a testament to human endurance and an affirmation of the strength of the spirit.
Being a metal band in a Middle Eastern nation run by a tyrannical dictator was, perhaps, always an exercise in futility, but after Hussein was defeated it became even more difficult. Between 2003 and 2006, as the war raged on, Iraq disintegrated around Acrassicauda and the members scrambled to stay together and struggled to stay alive. "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" vividly captures the frustrations, fears and hopes of a group of young Iraqi headbangers who just want to be left alone to play music and build a fanbase (click "more" to read more and watch Mastodon and Neurosis discuss the film). Read more...
The correct answer to yesterday's Indecipherable Logo of the Day is:
f) Lesbian
Why would four dudes from Seattle call themselves Lesbian? "Because its name evokes pure, sexually charged freedom -- and that's what rock is all about." That comes from the band's own press release, not us, so you know it's got to be true.
The group's debut album, Power Hor, is an amalgam of various incendiary styles, including psychedelic, doom, thrash, black, progressive and classic metal, and the four lengthy songs on the disc stomp and lumber like a brontosaurus leveling a lesbian gym.
"Fans of bands like Neurosis, Emperor, Skullflower, Boris, Pelican, Sleep and Isis now have a band that amazingly sounds like a hybrid of all of those legendary groups." Again, that's the publicist's words, not ours. We simply cannot find words to describe this synapse-frazzling, genre-defying thunderstorm of broken glass, bile and beer.
Stream the whole record here and judge for yourself.
Influential Oakland, California experimental metal, industrial and noise band, Neurosis, have return from a three-year hiatus with the new song "Water is Not Enough," which they've posted on their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/officialneurosis
The droning, pounding, darkly psychedelic seven-minute song will appear on the band's upcoming album Given to the Rising, which is scheduled for a May 8 release. Other tracks include "Given to the Rising," "Fear & Sickness," "At the End of the Road" and "Hidden Faces." The band started working on the album in December at Chicago's Electrical Audio studio with producer Steve Albini."It's deeply emotional and spiritual release for us," says guitarist and singer Steve Von Till of the new material. "It's a catharsis, and it totally surrenders itself to the spirit within the sound. We're not gonna talk about specific things like tell a story or get political on the record. It's very much an emotional outburst."The only goal Neurosis had when they were working on the album was to make it more thunderous, expressive and, well, stormy than 2004's The Eye of the Storm."On that album we were very much pushing our limit of stealth and restraint - how far could we push just using texture and melody and filtering everything down through that," Von Till tells headbangersblog.mtv.com. "Without being any sort of throwback, the new stuff is way more aggressive. And it's extremely psychedelic, disturbing and not very nice, but in a way we haven't ventured before. We're still using texture to our advantage and really getting away from the typical types of metal riffs, but this one just does so in a more aggressive and terrifying way."Excerpts from the Neurosis DVD "The Sun Never Sets"
