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For the love of metal

I was watching FoxNews just now with Jim, and a news snippet came on with Laura Ingle sharing the story of a heavy metal band from Baghdad, called Acrassicauda. The band members lived through missile attacks and death threats in order to try to play their music in their homeland. There’s a documentary, Heavy Metal In Baghdad, which chronicles their struggles and their journey to America as refugees.

The FoxNews snippet was quick but highlighted the band’s journey as well as well as featured my personal childhood heavy metal heroes, Metallica. It seems James Hetfield gave them the guitar off his back after their latest show in New Jersey.

While this is a great story, Acrassicauda is not the only band struggling for the freedom to pursue heavy metal dreams. Remember a while back when I highlighted a story about Brutal Impact, a heavy metal band from Iraq going through similar struggles? These are the two we’ve heard of so far … so how many more are out there?

Here’s a vid of Hetfield presenting the guitar:

OK, Metallica … you’ve done some really assholish things over the past few years, but that was just freakin’ sweet! Just for that, I created a new category for any ‘good’ posts that I write about you — “Ok, maybe they’re not so bad” LOL!

Seriously though, rock on, guys. Rock on!

Anything for metal

Heavy metal is what I consider my “first love” when it comes to music. Although I have branched out into other genres over the years and have lots of favorites from 20s and 30s jazz and blues, to bluegrass and cajun banjo-picking, to opera and classical, I still always come back to heavy metal. When I’m in good mood and want something to match, or feeling nostalgic and craving a particular sound, or simply need a “pick me up”, I pop some heavy metal in my CD player or MP3 queue, and am instantly in love all over again.

Hell, I “earned” my online moniker because of heavy metal. I was dubbed ‘Nitallica’ by a friend in high school because at the time bands like Metallica were, for years, the staple of my proverbial musical diet. I happily credit heavy metal as a constant source of inspiration for many of my digital and other artrial emissions over the years, as well as a positive focal point from which I drew strength during darker periods in my life. While I appreciate many different forms of music, what really quickens my pulse are the primal sounds of lightning quick guitar riffs, thundering percussions, screaming/thrashing vocals — simply put: metal makes my heart smile.

One of my co-workers just sent me the link to an article posted yesterday on USA Today’s website:

Nothing else matters: Iraqi heavy metal returns

BAGHDAD — At a private dinner club on the banks of the Tigris River in Baghdad, Muthana Mani screamed threats at a wild-eyed crowd of young Iraqis.

“I’ll see you die at my feet! Eternally I smash your face! Facial bones collapse as I crack your skull in half!” he roared.

Two years ago, these kinds of threats in Iraq typically came from members of al-Qaeda, or violent sectarian militias. Saturday night, they were directed at 250 Iraqi fans of heavy metal music who fearlessly donned eye shadow, anarchist pendants and black T-shirts and came out of hiding to attend Iraq’s first metal concert in five years. Throughout the two-hour show, the crowd thrashed about, a sea of sweating bodies and banging heads. They screamed obscenities and broke tables. It was a scene that would have made any American metal fan proud.

It was also another indication of just how much security has improved here. When religious extremists controlled Baghdad’s neighborhoods, being a member of heavy metal’s unique subculture could amount to a death sentence, says Mani, 21, the lead singer of Brutal Impact, one of the two bands that played the concert.

“If I wore a T-shirt like this one,” Mani said in an interview after the show, pointing to a logo of a bleeding skull, “they’d have killed me.”

Read the whole article and watch the video here!

That is just freakin’ awesome. Freedom … and Metal. Two of my favorite things — and those Iraqi youths now have both.

Just one more reason to thank our troops!

Stop this rollercoaster, I want off!

The past month has been an emotional rollercoaster from Hell. I finally got my car back this weekend. Jim and I rode over to Perfect Reflections, who did the body work. The car looks great, and as far as I can see you can’t tell that it was ever damaged! I’m very pleased with their work, and highly recommend them to anyone who needs body or restoration work!

We still haven’t settled with the other insurance company. We’ve had some disagreements over the paperwork, then lawyers were involved, so right now we’re kind of in a holding pattern until we can see a new set of paperwork.

Oh the joy … :roll:

Jim and I have been on each other’s nerves a lot lately and decided to get out for a bit yesterday. We finally saw Ironman — I liked this movie VERY much! Seemed a bit short though, am hoping the DVD release has extras, you know, deleted scenes, and the like. Downey Jr. looked great and I enjoyed the soundtrack. (I’ll probably be buying a copy of it too!)

We also trekked around various parts of Birmingham over the weekend. We had dinner Friday night at Cajun Steamer, and dinner last night at El Carreton. (If you’re ever in the north Jefferson area, look ‘em up! VERY tasty Mexican food!!!) We stopped by Best Buy, Jim needed an HDMI cable for the tv upstairs. I perused the Asian films for an old kung fu movie I’ve been trying to find. Having no luck, I decided to check the music aisles … and a good thing too, seeing the small section of Lordi CDs reminded me that I accidentally cracked mine and so I picked up a new copy of The Arockalypse. Even better — it was a special edition! 3 extra tracks (one which is my FAVE Lordi song!) and a DVD of goodies.

Bonus! :mrgreen:

Jim’s watching the race and I’m sitting here looking at the folder full of stuff I bookmarked to post on or about … I think I’ll put ‘em off until tomorrow. I’ve been enjoying my “time off” and Jim and I have needed the “together time” to work out various things.

Mental note: I *so* owe Jim’s mom big time for keeping Jessie all this time … we’ve badly needed a “break”!