Born out of a basement rehearsal space in Baghdad, Iraq, Acrassicauda (the scientific name for black scorpion) is the country's only heavy metal band. Tutored by local guitar virtuoso Saad Saythe Yngwie Malmsteem of the Middle Eastand inspired by Western bands like Metallica, Slayer and Slipknot, they began writing and playing their own music in 2001. They quickly learned though, that their simple goal of performing live was going to be no easy task.
Original members Firas (bass), Tony (lead guitar), Marwan (drums), Faisal (rhythm guitar) and Waleed (lead vocals) played three shows together before the beginning of the war in 2003. Shortly after the invasion, Waleed fled the country, leaving Faisal to fill the void of lead singer. Because of the security situation in Baghdad, setting up shows or even just practicing together became increasingly difficult. Aside from the basic danger of walking the streets in their hometown, the band received death threats from fundamentalists and insurgent groups who thought they were devil-worshippers or simply didn't like them playing Western-style music. Eventually, it became completely impossible to find anywhere they could safely play.
Thanks to generous donations from fans and well-wishers from around the world, the band now resides in Turkey after a harrowing year spent living as refugees in Syria. In their seven years as a band they have managed to play only nine concertssix in Iraq, two in Syria, and one Turkey. The war has all but destroyed their dream to live in peace, grow out their hair, and rock as loud as they want. Life in Turkey is already proving extremely hard for them, but the band continues to soldier on. They are literally a band on the run.
(Source: http://www.myspace.com/wwwAcrassicaudas5com)
According to a recent interview aired on NPR's "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" with two of the band members and the director of "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" Suroosh Alvi, the entire band has managed to relocate yet again to the United States. While not officially split up, one member lives as far away as Michigan for the time being while the others are in New Jersey. For this reason, and also having to sell their equipment to afford traveling expenses they have no way of getting together and practicing presently.
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