The Days of Lore

Black Friday: Lemmy have it

Friday, December 12th, 2008 | fliX, musiX | No Comments

It all started with The Rainmakers and The Motown Sect in the early ’60s. Then The Rockin’ Vickers and Sam Gopal. Following the breadcrumbs? Opal Butterfly, Hawkwind …

Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister has been living the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle for 40 years. With the exception of Hawkwind, the only band that really matters, of course, is Motörhead. In junior high I borrowed a cassette of Orgasmatron from a friend … and I think I literally pooped my pants … I just did it again typing the word “Orgasmatron.” The band’s self-titled 1977 debut and 1980’s Ace of Spades are where it’s at, and it goes without saying that Motörhead has influenced everyone … except God, because, well, you know …

And when I say Lemmy lives the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, he LIVES it. Rumor has it he’s bedded down some 2,000 women, and I think his idea of a midnight snack is a fifth of Jack and a pack of Marlboros. Well, all of the rumors and stories are going to be exposed in all their gory detail in next year’s Lemmy: The Movie. That’s Lemmy: The Movie. See for yourself. I just want to know how C.C. DeVille got in there.

Trailer for Lemmy: The Movie

Tags: Ace of Spades, C.C. DeVille, Hawkwind, Lemmy, Lemmy: The Movie, Motörhead, Orgasmatron

Black Friday: Iraq ‘n’ roll

Friday, December 5th, 2008 | fliX, musiX | 1 Comment

Heavy metal has always drawn a lot from the drearier things in life: frustration, anger, disenfranchisement … evil-doers. So I guess if there’s any place a metal scene should be thriving it would be Iraq. But even with Saddam Hussein out of power, playing metal can be tricky business in a Muslim country that’s been fracked by the U.S. government and insurgents.

I recently watched the documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad, which follows “Iraq’s only heavy metal band” Acrassicauda (Latin for the black scorpion found in the deserts of Iraq) as they practice and attempt to play shows amidst the day-to-day chaos in Baghdad. Their practice space gets hit by a Scud missile, concerts are shut down and, like many Iraqis, the four members become refugees in Damascus, Syria. These guys have a right to be pissed, aside from the obvious reasons. They can’t even grow their hair out. And wearing a Ride the Lightning shirt can get you into trouble (I wonder if they have to turn their metal shirts inside out like teachers made kids do when I was in junior high).

But Acrassicauda, which formed in 2001, keeps the faith in the name of rock … because, well, that’s what metalheads do—and no dictatorship, or piddly U.S. invasion, or a few groups who like to blow people up are going to stop them. The members of Acrassicauda are currently living in Istanbul trying pull resources together to make a record, meanwhile the band may have already secured legend status.

Iraq’s only heavy metal band has paved the way for “Iraq’s only death metal band.” Dog Faced Corpse—named after an infamous murder in which militants stitched a dog’s head onto a decapitated body—has been performing for only a couple of months. Damn … Dog Faced Corpse sorta makes Acrassicauda sound like Iraq’s only choir boys.

Listen to Acrassicauda’s “Psycho” (not a Sonics cover) and “Massacre” at Last.fm.

Dog Faced Corpse performing “Consanguinity” in Baghdad, 10.25.08

Tags: Acrassicauda, Black Friday, Dog Faced Corpse, Heavy Metal in Baghdad