Iraq's Only Heavy Metal Band

Acrassicauda claims to be the only heavy metal band in Iraq. I don't know if it's true, but their music is pretty good. I like the name too. Acrassicauda is a Latin term for one of the most dangerous and unique kind of black scorpions lives in the Iraqi deserts. That alone is very cool. They sound a little like Slayer. The song, Massacre, is somewhat doomesque. Check out their MySpace site here. This is from their site:

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 Say—the Yngwie Malmsteem of the Middle East—and 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.