Acrassicauda, does the name ring a bell? How about “that band from that movie about metal in Iraq?” Most fans of metal have at least heard of the story of Acrassicauda by this point. Four guys who, against all odds, put together a metal band, made it to the states and have now put out their own four track EP. It is one of the most fucked up fairy tales to every be told and the happy ending is Marwin, Firas, Tony, and Faisal have day jobs in the states trying to make it as struggling metal musicians.
The EP, entitled Only The Dead See the End Of The War, comes with some expectation. This isn’t your average garage band EP. This was produced by Alex Skolnick and distributed by Vice Records. Could these four tracks live up to the hype that surrounds them? Fuck yea they do.
At first listen it appears to be a pretty cut and dry metal album. It has the standard hard hitting music with lyrics of death and destruction. What sets these tracks apart from anything else is they are based on real experiences. These four guys came from a place worse than the most crime riddled ghettos of any developed nation. Death and destruction was a way of life for them back in Iraq. Their practice space, which was a room smaller than most of our bedrooms, was blown up by a fucking rocket.
Then you take into account that these guys learned to play metal music by listening to bootlegged copies of bands like Metallica and if they were ever caught with said bootleg they could be put in jail or even killed. They taught themselves to speak English by reading the lyrics to the songs that inspired them. Nobody can ever give a bigger middle finger to the society that holds them down than what Acrassicauda did to the regimes in Iraq.
The technical musicianship and quality of the music put on this EP is amazing. You feel the anger and pain coming through in the deep pounding music laced with the lyrics describing an apocalyptic hell that was actually lived through. One moment is a steady rumble of bass and drums and then you get hit with some of the tightest guitar solos known to the metal world. The way that Acrassicauda take all of their influences and mix them into each song is pure musical awesomeness.
Regardless of what sub-genre of metal you may vow your life to you will want to get your hands on this EP. Without a doubt, Acrassicauda is a metal band of the finest caliber and this EP is a definite must have for every metalhead’s collection.
Track Listing
01 – Message To Baghdad
02 – Garden Of Stones
03 – Massacre
04 – The Unknown
Video for Garden Of Stones
