Acrassicauda played their first show on US soil for a few of us at the Charleston in Willamsburg last week. If you don't know why that is super-deep you should watch Heavy Metal In Baghdad and get caught up. Their influences include Metallica, Slipknot, anti-US insurgencies, fleeing countries to stay alive, death and destruction all around them, and living under Saddam Hussein's fascist regime. Here are a bunch of links that will be handy to you if none of this is ringing any bells: http://heavymetalinbaghdad.com www.vicerecords.com http://www.viceland.com/vicerecords/artist.php?artist=ACRASSICAUDA http://www.myspace.com/wwwacrassicaudas5com
In the most delicious of name-related coincidences, our friends Dessert Storm (yes, "dessert" as in cake and cookies) opened for them. They play about one show a year, which brings them up to 3 total. What keeps them going at this point is that they know they have the best band name ever. That's literally it.
The show was something of a secret and in a tiny basement venue that usually smells awful. I think it smelled fine this time, though. It is the kind of place that makes you remember how awesome it was to be 16 and simultaneously reminds you how bad it sucks to almost be 30.
I knew way more about Acrassicauda's story then their music walking into this, but then after seeing them live it's all like holy shit! They are incredibly good at metal. The novelty melts away the second they start playing, as does YOUR FACE! (i typed that with one hand, the other was making the sign of the beast).
I could never really be in a metal band because my Dad drove Volvos and I went to summer camp and I have been to like 100 bar mitzvahs. You could probably write your own list of why you can't really be in a metal band either. Acrassicausda's practice space in Baghdad(!), was bombed(!!), they had to flee their homeland to stay alive(!!!), they sold their instruments to afford to survive(!V)--which makes it really hard to be a band--yet they stuck together and went through all this shit for years so they could play this show for us in a basement in Brooklyn. Now they will forever have the freedom to do this shit because they had the balls to be willing to die for metal and friendship and well fuck it, you get my point. The bar is set really high now. Sorry your parents didn't love you, or you don't really appreciate "the system," other metal bands. Simply put, these guys make you and the rest of us look like a bunch of little bitches.
Photos by Ben Ritter.
For more on Acrassicauda please explore:
heavymetalinbaghdad.com
Vice Records
Vice Records’ artist page
And their Myspace.
