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Acrassicauda
Acrassicauda is an Iraqi thrash metal band formed in 2001 in Baghdad and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. It is often credited as the first heavy metal group to emerge from Iraq. The original band consisted of four members and played concerts during the rule of Saddam Hussein. They became well known outside of the local Iraqi metal scene after a Vice magazine profile, and received even greater coverage with a feature-length documentary about the band and its troubles in Iraq called Heavy Metal in Baghdad. Their first extended play was released in 2010, and their debut studio album Gilgamesh was released in 2015.
Because of increased fame after the Iraqi regime change, the band started to receive death threats from Islamic militants. Due to this and the increasing violence in Baghdad the members of the band fled first to Syria and then Turkey before being granted refugee status in the United States of America. Most of the band settled in New Jersey, but Tony Aziz decided to live with family in Michigan, before moving to Richmond, Virginia. The band has since based themselves in Brooklyn.
Acrassicauda originally consisted of lead vocalist Waleed Moudhafar, Assyrian guitarist Tony Aziz Yaqoo (also performing professionally as Tony Aziz), bassist Firas Al-Lateef, drummer Marwan Hussein Riyadh (also performing professionally as Marwan Hussein) and vocalist–guitarist Faisal Talal Mustafa (also known professionally as either Faisal Talal or Faisal Mustafa). Moudhafar left the group in 2003, after which Talal assumed the role of lead vocalist.
The band was formed in 2000 after Riyadh and Talal met Aziz in a Baghdad school where they were studying fine arts. The four members worked as journalists and translators before the American invasion. The band name is derived from the Latin name of a species of black scorpion common in Iraq. In Saddam's Iraq, the band was able to get inspiration from various bootleg tapes from heavy metal's 30-year history.
With original lead vocalist Waleed Moudhafar, the band performed under the Saddam regime, but because of censorship restrictions, they had to write a song that praised Saddam Hussein. Called "The Youth of Iraq", the song included the lyrics "Following our leader Saddam Hussein, we'll make them fall, we'll drive them insane!" Other restrictions on the band included the banning of headbanging because of its similarities with the head movement of Orthodox Jews (davening) while praying. In early stages of the American presence in Baghdad Vice magazine (Vice 2004 Vol 11 no1) did a profile on the band which claimed that it was the only heavy metal band in Baghdad. Since that time, other bands have emerged from the Baghdad heavy metal scene.
After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein during the Iraq War, Acrassicauda staged a concert at the Al-Fanar Hotel in the summer of 2005. After stringent security, the concert was able to go on, but several power cuts interrupted the show. The band members practiced in a basement of a store complex until 2006, when the building, basement, and all the band's equipment was destroyed when it was bombed. Due to threats against their lives and increasing violence in Baghdad the band members individually moved to Syria.
While in Syria, the band was able to hold a concert for metal fans in the basement of a Damascus hotel. Because of Syrian government restrictions, the band was not allowed to call its concert heavy metal and, therefore, used rock music on concert advertising. At the concert, the band performed mostly cover songs because the Syrian audience was not familiar with the Acrassicauda sound. In Syria, the members of the band lived in a small room in an apartment basement with no windows.
During the taping of Heavy Metal in Baghdad in 2007, it was revealed that the Syrian government did not intend to extend the visas of the band. The country had changed its immigration policies, forcing Iraqis to apply in Baghdad instead of the Syrian border. The filmmakers campaigned to raise funds to relocate the band in a safer country rather than having it return to Iraq. The band members also sold their equipment to make the trip and for living expenses. The members of the band fled to Turkey when the visa change took place to apply for refugee status and wait for a third country to accept them.
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Acrassicauda
Acrassicauda is an Iraqi thrash metal band formed in 2001 in Baghdad and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. It is often credited as the first heavy metal group to emerge from Iraq. The original band consisted of four members and played concerts during the rule of Saddam Hussein. They became well known outside of the local Iraqi metal scene after a Vice magazine profile, and received even greater coverage with a feature-length documentary about the band and its troubles in Iraq called Heavy Metal in Baghdad. Their first extended play was released in 2010, and their debut studio album Gilgamesh was released in 2015.
Because of increased fame after the Iraqi regime change, the band started to receive death threats from Islamic militants. Due to this and the increasing violence in Baghdad the members of the band fled first to Syria and then Turkey before being granted refugee status in the United States of America. Most of the band settled in New Jersey, but Tony Aziz decided to live with family in Michigan, before moving to Richmond, Virginia. The band has since based themselves in Brooklyn.
Acrassicauda originally consisted of lead vocalist Waleed Moudhafar, Assyrian guitarist Tony Aziz Yaqoo (also performing professionally as Tony Aziz), bassist Firas Al-Lateef, drummer Marwan Hussein Riyadh (also performing professionally as Marwan Hussein) and vocalist–guitarist Faisal Talal Mustafa (also known professionally as either Faisal Talal or Faisal Mustafa). Moudhafar left the group in 2003, after which Talal assumed the role of lead vocalist.
The band was formed in 2000 after Riyadh and Talal met Aziz in a Baghdad school where they were studying fine arts. The four members worked as journalists and translators before the American invasion. The band name is derived from the Latin name of a species of black scorpion common in Iraq. In Saddam's Iraq, the band was able to get inspiration from various bootleg tapes from heavy metal's 30-year history.
With original lead vocalist Waleed Moudhafar, the band performed under the Saddam regime, but because of censorship restrictions, they had to write a song that praised Saddam Hussein. Called "The Youth of Iraq", the song included the lyrics "Following our leader Saddam Hussein, we'll make them fall, we'll drive them insane!" Other restrictions on the band included the banning of headbanging because of its similarities with the head movement of Orthodox Jews (davening) while praying. In early stages of the American presence in Baghdad Vice magazine (Vice 2004 Vol 11 no1) did a profile on the band which claimed that it was the only heavy metal band in Baghdad. Since that time, other bands have emerged from the Baghdad heavy metal scene.
After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein during the Iraq War, Acrassicauda staged a concert at the Al-Fanar Hotel in the summer of 2005. After stringent security, the concert was able to go on, but several power cuts interrupted the show. The band members practiced in a basement of a store complex until 2006, when the building, basement, and all the band's equipment was destroyed when it was bombed. Due to threats against their lives and increasing violence in Baghdad the band members individually moved to Syria.
While in Syria, the band was able to hold a concert for metal fans in the basement of a Damascus hotel. Because of Syrian government restrictions, the band was not allowed to call its concert heavy metal and, therefore, used rock music on concert advertising. At the concert, the band performed mostly cover songs because the Syrian audience was not familiar with the Acrassicauda sound. In Syria, the members of the band lived in a small room in an apartment basement with no windows.
During the taping of Heavy Metal in Baghdad in 2007, it was revealed that the Syrian government did not intend to extend the visas of the band. The country had changed its immigration policies, forcing Iraqis to apply in Baghdad instead of the Syrian border. The filmmakers campaigned to raise funds to relocate the band in a safer country rather than having it return to Iraq. The band members also sold their equipment to make the trip and for living expenses. The members of the band fled to Turkey when the visa change took place to apply for refugee status and wait for a third country to accept them.