MELBOURNE - RUINS TO PLAY FORUM TONIGHT

The grim lords of Tasmania, better known as Ruins (not be confused with the Japanese band of the same name) have been creating a dark cloud of fierce black metal for well over 10 years now. They share members with technical death metal gods Psycroptic and have had album covers designed by Lorenzo Mariani, better known for his work with Darkthrone. With a new album out and world domination on the horizon, Alex Pope sheds some light on the morbid creation he calls Ruins.

NEW YORK - THERE'S SOMETHING GOOD ON CABLE TONIGHT

Remember those Iraqi guys we helped get over here? Those ones in a band called Acrassicauda who fucking shred and had their practice space bombed for it and were in exile in Syria and Turkey and lived their lives in total shambles marinated in fear for years and…and…shit, why am I still typing this? You know by now who they are and that we made that documentary about it. Heavy Metal in Baghdad is screening on the Sundance channel tonight at 10 PM. And what a coincidence, it's screening 26 minutes after the official six-year anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Oh, did you forget about that? Well, at least there’s those dreams of owning the fiberglass killer whale to bring you back to fantasy land.

AUSTRALIA & NZ - HEAVY METAL IN BAGHDAD DVD IS OUT NOW

If you've been paying attention, you will by now have heard about Acrassicauda — the heavy metal band from Baghdad we originally did a story on in our Obsessions Issue called No War For Heavy Metal. Since that article came out, we've made a feature length movie about them in the wake of Saddam’s capture as they fought to stay together and keep out of harms way. It's called Heavy Metal in Baghdad and we're releasing it on DVD right here, right now.

NEW YORK - WEEKEND WATCHIN

Remember how we told you James Hetfield gave Acrassicauda one of those guitars that looks like either you're really serious about metal or else you're really serious about playing metal in your bedroom, depending on the rest of whatever else you've got going on? Video of it ended up somewhere in the black hole of Metallica.com and it's so cute we all simultaneously went "Aww" when we watched it. Seriously, it sounded like we were having a baby shower in here. So even though all this month we've been focusing on stories to make you bawl an ocean of teardrops, we're showing you now (well, not right now—go click down there on that extra black word and then you'll get there) that yes, there are happy endings in this world.

NEW YORK - NOW THAT JERSEY'S ALL THE RAGE...

Now that all of Acrassicauda's moved to Jersey they're making that state all the rage right now (look, even MSNBC thinks so, even though they clearly don't have a clue that reporting means more than barfing up a hairball of someone else's information). Well, there's one guy who pretty much organizes and/or publicizes every show and party in Jersey City and his name is Dancing Tony. He compiles this thing called the "Rockit Docket," and it's not like he culls it from other blogs—he just knows everyone. That pretty much makes him the Swearengen of Jersey City's Deadwood. Jersey City's just about as corrupt, and has about the same murder count as Deadwood, so that metaphor works in many ways. We decided to check in with this guy and see what kind of "cool" and "hip" stuff is going on out there.

NEW YORK - HEAVY METAL IN AMERICA

Late last week the last of the four members of Acrassicauda, the Iraqi metal band we’ve been profiling for half a decade, settled in New Jersey on refugee status. The New York Times will fill you in on all those details, but we hung out with them over the weekend and they’re probably the only metalheads in that state who were excited to be in it.

MONTREAL - HMIB SCREENING

Hey Montrealers, what are you doing tonight? Oh, you're not sure because you're kind of deciding between hanging out and drinking on some terrasse versus hanging out and drinking on your front steps? Maybe you're open to some suggestions, eh? Here's a suggestion: go to Casa Del Popolo (4873 St Laurent) for a free screening of Heavy Metal in Baghdad at around 9pm (or whenever it gets dark enough). You probably already know that  the Casa backyard is pretty teensy, so try and come early, OK?

AUSTRALIA - VICE TURNS FIVE! YAAAAYYY!!!!

Put your stupid hats on because this weekend Vice Australia celebrates turning the big 5 with ragers and screenings of Heavy Metal In Baghdad in both Sydney and Melbourne. Telepathe from Brooklyn, NY are set to perform a set of whimsical melodies both nights and I'm sure you will get to see at least two bathroom handjobs!

NEW YORK - HEAVY METAL IN BAGHDAD CHINWAGS

Just in case the dozens of blog posts and trailers and banners still haven’t piqued your interest in Heavy Metal in Baghdad, here are a couple more interviews about our upcoming film: First up, founder Suroosh Alvi sits down with Faith Salie on PRI’s Fair Game to share some anecdotes about his time with Acrassicauda (he also spills the beans on the DVD-only sequel/extra Heavy Metal in Istanbul). Then up top we’ve got Suroosh on the English version of Al Jazeera elaborating on the movie during one of those Q&A dealies after a screening.

HMiB - CANADIAN UNIVERSITY SCREENINGS

If you live in Lethbridge or Saskatoon, you've probably been reading all about Heavy Metal in Baghdad's "limited theatrical release" and crying yourself to sleep in your igloo. Well your prayers have been answered, and Vice is bringing our new film to you. Thanks to a few loverly student organizations across Canada, Heavy Metal in Baghdad will be shown at eight lucky university campuses starting today March 19th. Admission is free for everyone, even townies. Check here for dates and locations.