Loaded DVD release of Vice's acclaimed documentary on Iraq's only heavy metal band, Acrassicauda. (And I'm not just saying "acclaimed" either - Rolling Stone and Huffington Post wrote about this shit!) The bonus features here include the 45-minute follow-up featurette "Heavy Metal In Istanbul," 30 minutes of additional and deleted footage, 3 live performances from the band, and an 8-page booklet which includes Vice's original article on the band, "No War For Heavy Metal." In all, there's nearly 3 hours of material here. The skinny on the film itself: "In the late summer of 2006, as the insurgency escalated and gripped every corner of the city, filmmakers Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi traveled to the Red Zone in Baghdad to meet and interview the only heavy metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda. Heavy Metal In Baghdad is the story of that band and its members, following them from their beginnings under the dying days of Saddam's rule to the present day. The filmmakers have collected glimpses into the struggles of Acrassicauda as they try to stay together and stay alive. Their story is the untold story of the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of young Iraqis, young lives that have been distorted and displaced by years of continual warfare in their homeland."

reviewed by el generico