Heavy Metal in Baghdad: Masters of War

The News Review:

- Heavy Metal in Baghdad: Masters of War
- Pawtucket music store closing
- Local band vows to keep stomping

Heavy Metal in Baghdad: Masters of War
Village Voice – Apr 1, 2008
A club official trotted to the microphone and ordered everyone to sit down but the band played right through the announcement and half the crowd remained standing. The official promptly cut the power and ushered the band offstage causing Talal to swear intensely at him to the delight of the fans. Soon after the botched show though Acrassicauda began receiving death threats (accusing them of Satan worship) in their practice space which they assumed came from one of the many fundamentalist sects carrying Baghdad closer and closer to chaos. Also around this time Suroosh Alvi a co-founder of Vice magazine got in touch with Talal and announced his intentions to make Heavy Metal in Baghdad. The documentary follows Alvi and Eddy Moretti the director of Vice’s film division as they meet the band for the first time in 2003 and goes on to record the eventual ousting of Saddam and the subsequent fall of Baghdad through the band’s eyes. In 2005 Vice organized what was to be Acrassicauda’s last concert in their own country at the famed Al-Fanar Hotel. When a mortar exploded next-door in the middle of the set the band didn’t drop a beat… In the meantime the band is prepping for their third and final interview with the United Nations High Council for Refugees which will decide their fate hopefully by assigning them to a refugee-friendly country. “We don’t care where we go so long as we can perform” Riyak says. “We follow the music man. ” After all metal never dies. Learn more about the documentary at. com; for New York Underground Film Festival showtimes see.

Pawtucket music store closing
Providence Journal – Apr 1, 2008
Business has dropped so sharply that lately Luke’s has been opening just two days a week. It was different after Dec. 8 1980 when the death of John Lennon put Luke’s Record Exchange on the map. At that point Luke’s had been open about a year. The store was known for having a big collection of Beatles records. But business was slow. “I almost threw in the towel” Renchan recalls… The album was worth a lot of money he says. It was one of the rare copies with the cover showing the Beatles butchering dolls. r all the times a fan of heavy metal music came in to sell his record collection. The guy would tell Renchan he had entered Alcoholics Anonymous or become a Christian. “I probably heard that several times in my career” Renchan says: ‘I can’t listen to this music anymore. ’ ” ccasions like that were windfalls for a used-record dealer.

Local band vows to keep stomping
TheJambar.com – TheJambar.com (subscription) – Apr 1, 2008
Prosenjak was introduced to the other four members by a mutual friend so they got together and formed KKC. “When I met the other guys we pretty much hit it off right away. We all have similar tastes in music so it worked out well” said Prosenjack. KKC is influenced by a wide range of bands including Six Feet Under Faith No More Cannibal Corpse and Suicidal Tendencies. KKC describes their sound as sounding kind of like death metal kind of like hardcore and definitely like “groovecore. ” So what is their sound called? The band calls it “stompcore. “The band had the opportunity to open up for their heroes Six Feet Under a few years ago at the Agora in Cleveland and band says the experience was amazing… We all have similar tastes in music so it worked out well” said Prosenjack. KKC is influenced by a wide range of bands including Six Feet Under Faith No More Cannibal Corpse and Suicidal Tendencies. KKC describes their sound as sounding kind of like death metal kind of like hardcore and definitely like “groovecore. ” So what is their sound called? The band calls it “stompcore. “The band had the opportunity to open up for their heroes Six Feet Under a few years ago at the Agora in Cleveland and band says the experience was amazing. “We opened for them at the Agora and the crowd was amazing. The entire ballroom was packed it was pretty sweet” said Prosenjak.