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As big things unfold in Libya, we get a reminder that heavy metal there is reality, not fantasy.
“I mix war with music. Death metal gives the real part of humanity; most music talks about love, beaches, cars, but this talks about real things, brutality, poverty, the soul.” His Iron Maiden T-shirt denoting the slogan ‘matters of life and death’ made for the perfect war gear.
From this story in Al Jazeera. Thanks to Matt S. for the tip.
— Cosmo Lee
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I found this cool article on J. Netherton’s blog a few months ago. It really puts the meaning of “War Metal” into perspective.
““I was inspired by Megadeth, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Chuck Schuldiner’s Death, that sort of stuff. It was not easy to find in Libya, so if you got something on tape, you guarded it like gold,” he told me.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1969/12/libyan-rebels-a-sound-track/8540/
Bozaid talked about the metal festival he wanted to stage when Qaddafi was finally defeated. “It’s my dream—Hazfest,” he said. “It’s going to come true, if I’m still alive.”
In a year or two, Bozaid might be able to make his dream into reality.
Fucking awesome.
We should all get together and donate a box full of Bolt Thrower and Hail of Bullets shirts to the rebels.
I noted the bit written in the article before the quote you used;
…”Zeid’s passion, he explained, is metallica music”…
Hopefully pre black album….
Maybe you could send him a transcript of the Metallica articles that appear on this site for his perusal.
Excellent article; interesting to see Al Jazeera even acknowledge the existence of metal. If economic conditions continue to slowly deteriorate in America, I’d be interested to see if saccharine pop music decreases in popularity, never mind an increase in the popularity of metal.
@ dschalek
I doubt it. Saccharine pop music is a reflection of our society’s insatiable need for ADD-induced instant gratification, so as long as we’re distracted by trivial shit like MTV, The Kardashians, gossip, and Facebook, we’ll always have that kind of shitty music around.
You’re probably correct, as the country’s rulers have done an extraordinary job at confusing the masses and supplying the appropriate opiates.
In a similar vein the movie Heavy Metal in Baghdad is well worth watching: http://www.heavymetalinbaghdad.com/about.html It follows an Iraqi metal band from 2003 to 2007. Amazing to see them play a metal show in occupied Baghdad. The band eventually moved to Syria, Turkey and finally the US, where they released an EP that does not suck: http://www.heavymetalinbaghdad.com/album.php
I DJ’d an Accrasicauda show last May. They were a last minute replacement 2 days after Instinct Of Survival were denied entry at Newark International Airport. That show got shut down by the cops though, and they ended up playing at this weird bar on the north west side. It wasn’t the noise, but some drunk guy at the bar allegedly told the cops there was a guy with a gun at the venue.
I find it amusing how the journalist inadvertently references three subgenres of metal – thrash, death and heavy metal, whereas his descriptor of “metallica music” begs for a bit more research on his behalf.