HMiB - HELP SAVE OUR HEAVY METAL FRIENDS FROM AN UNCERTAIN FATE IN BAGHDAD

On October 10th, 2007, the visas of the members of Iraqi metal band Acrassicauda will start to expire. The Syrian government  has made it clear that they will not renew them, meaning the band will be forced to return to Iraq. We don't need to stress just how dangerous this will be for them. It could very likely be a death sentence, and the time in which we can help them is quickly running out.

We are asking for donations to assist Acrassicauda in leaving Syria for a safer haven. The band has no bank accounts, and Paypal doesn't function in Syria, so we've setup a Paypal account on their behalf. No donation is too small. By giving as little as ten dollars, you can be a part of keeping the heavy metal dreams of four young Iraqi men alive.

TORONTO — VICE FESTIVAL BALL

With all the amateur paparazzi stalking C-list celebrities from their semi-luxe hotels to colonic cleanse appointments and back, Film Fest week in Toronto can get pretty fucking unbelievable. But—as VICE, CKIN2U, and Rimmel London discovered last Friday night—there’s only one sure-fire way to totally bring back reality. First, mix the finer taste of free booze with babes of both sexes, some sweat and a little bit of blood. Then, enlist the powers of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to fiendishly pound out two hours worth of brain-bashing tunes. Finally, stuff all these highly explosive elements into a place of worship like the Berkley Church and witness the blinding fire display of real-deal fun that shall forever be known as the legendary Festival Ball. And if you’ve already missed the party, skip ahead to step two and get your requisite dose of harsh reality at the next Heavy Metal In Baghdad screening (keep checking here).

HMiB - ACRASSICAUDA ROCKS THE SILVER SCREEN

By now most of you have probably heard all about Acrassicauda, the Iraqi heavy metal band displaced from their homeland because of that little conundrum over there. They play some gnarly heavy metal, but in their six years as a band they have only managed to play six concerts in Baghdad. VICE Films and VBS.tv have made a movie about them called Heavy Metal in Baghdad, which premiered last week at the Toronto Film Festival.

TORONTO - HMiB PREMIERE and TIFF AFTERPARTY

By now you probably heard about our friends Acrassicauda and our little film Heavy Metal in Baghdad. Well, this Saturday is the big HMiB premier at the Toronto International Film Fest and we’re psyched. Not only because the film rules, but also because we’re throwing a party Saturday night at The Drake Underground. We asked a couple of friends, Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Nobody’s Hero, to come out and DJ, and rumour has it that there will even be some limited edition Acrassicauda shirts (courtesy of our friends at Shared) to be given away. Wanna come? Just rsvp to: baghdad@vbs.tv. See you there!

BAGHDAD - HEAVY METAL REFUGEES

Today we bring to a close our Heavy Metal in Baghdad Trilogy with the two final installments of Heavy Metal Refugees from Syria. It has been a wild ride from our first corkscrew dive into Iraq to the bunker-like refugee slums on the outskirts of Damascus, but the saga is not over yet. In the first part the boys of Acrassicauda find a recording studio willing to accommodate them and finally put head to magnetic strip (or however tape recording works) on their first demo...

BAGHDAD - HEAVY METAL

In today’s installment of Heavy Metal in Baghdad we give the guys in Acrassicauda a little breathing room and hook up with Mike, the sharp-looker you may have noticed front and center and filming at their first concert in exile. Mike’s another Iraqi expat as well as the president of the Acrassicauda fan club (you’re damn right they’ve got a fan club), and as he’s been living like a refugee for a little longer than the guys, he knows the ins and outs of Damascus’s Little Iraq, so we asked him to give us a little tour of the sites...