Iraq, You Rock…

If a shared love of Black Sabbath can’t unite all nations in peace, at least “Heavy Metal in Baghdad” brings us one step closer to understanding our longhaired neighbors to the east. Today, Vice magazine debuts its six-part series, which follows Acrassicauda, a Baghdad-based band formed in the last few years of Saddam’s rule. In 2003, just after the U.S. toppled Saddam’s regime, Vice interviewed the group, who were then optimistic about living and recording an album in a newly free Iraq. Since that time, as you might imagine, their outlook has changed. Check out the first episode, in which Vice co-founder Suroosh Alvi follows Acrassicauda to Syria. It’s like Headbangers Ball and Al-Jazeera all wrapped up in one.

Heavy Metal in Baghdad (episode one) [VBS.TV]