Born out of a basement rehearsal space in Baghdad, Acrassicauda (Latin for “Black Scorpion”) is Iraq’s only heavy metal band. Tutored by music instructor and guitar virtuoso Saad “Yngwie” Say and inspired by western bands like Metallica, Slayer and Slipknot, they began writing and playing metal in 2001. They soon learned that their dream of performing live in Iraq was going to be no easy task.
Original members Firas (bass), Tony (lead guitar), Marwan (drums), Faisal (rhythm guitar) and Waleed (lead vocals) were only able to play 3 shows before the war started in 2003. Soon after, Waleed retired from the band and fled the country, leaving Faisal to fill the void of lead singer. Due to increased security precautions throughout Iraq, it became difficult to practice or even get through a show without serious problems. As the situation worsened in Baghdad they began receiving death threats from insurgent groups and religious fundamentalists accusing them of Satan-worship. Eventually, it proved impossible to find any venue that was safe to perform in.
In their six years as a band they have only managed to play 6 concerts in Baghdad. The war has now all but destroyed their dream to live in peace, grow their hair long, bang their heads and play metal as loud as they want. They currently reside as refugees in Damascus, Syria, and all of their visa applications to foreign countries have been denied.
Vice Magazine has made a film about them, watch the trailer
1 comment:
Great post. This story is quite heartening, considering the situation on the ground--defiantly, the band plays on.
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