Resolution For Heavy Metal in Bagdhad

Not long ago, Vice filmed a documentary about a heavy metal band from Bagdhad called Acrassicauda. In Heavy Metal In Baghdad, the four members were living as a metal band in a war zone – lives constantly at risk from soldiers, extremists, bombs, and with most of their fans either moved out of the country or dead. Shit pretty much sucked, but they loved metal. What can you do?

Good news for the members of Acrassicauda. With help from Vice, all four members have successfully been relocated to the USA.

From NY Times:

..On Sunday night, two days after the last of the band’s four members was resettled in the United States, they enjoyed what any metal fan would have to call heaven: bearhugs and “Wow, dude” heart-to-hearts backstage with Metallica at the Prudential Center in Newark. It probably wasn’t necessary for James Hetfield, Metallica’s lead singer, to surprise them after the show by handing over one of his guitars, a black ESP, and signing it “Welcome to America”; their minds were already blown.

“That’s for keeping the faith,” Mr. Hetfield said, adding as he disappeared with his entourage down a corridor, “Write some good riffs.”

As for this part:

“What I want to be is a musician,” Mr. Riyadh said. “I want to release an album. But you feel all this pressure by the media. It’s like, do you care about me because I’m a musician or do you care about me because you think my story is interesting?”

Well, he’s probably right. Like most bands, they most likely suck. Still, that doesn’t make this clip any less heartwarming.

Check out the trailer for Heavy Metal in Bagdhad after the jump.

Tags: acrassicauda, Baghdad, bombs, Entourage, extremists, heavy metal band, james hetfield, keeping the faith, lead singer, metal fan, Metallica, musician, newark, ny times, prudential, prudential center, Resolution For Heavy Metal in Bagdhad, riffs, war zone, welcome to america