HARDWARES

Vice magazine, when they're not being goofy, can occasionally be involved with something quite moving and powerful. So it goes with this documentary, which follows the Vice crew as they travel to Baghdad, then to Syria, to meet and film Iraq's only heavy metal band, Acrassicauda. The 85 minute film is equal parts terrifying (watching the Vice guys get equipped with bullet-proof vests upon arrival and being told "snipers will shoot at you"), inspiring (seeing the Acrassicauda guys pushing ahead with the band, despite the ludicrous obstacles in their way) and depressing (hearing the guys talk about the despair they see around them every day). The band, whose practice space gets bombed during the period in which the film was shot (2003-2006), has to deal with things the average North American group could not even imagine-having to sing one song for Saddam Hussein at live gigs, the threat of going to jail for headbanging or being killed for wearing a Slipknot shirt, having to cut interviews with Vice short because "it's getting late" and it's "dangerous"-at 5 p.m. on a beautiful day. With bombs and gunshots going off in the background while the band is talking about wanting to get out of Iraq, this is a chilling documentary and a testament to the power of heavy metal, which the band continually channels to help get them through the tough times. When the drummer of the group says if he didn't have the outlet for his anger that jamming and playing shows (about one a year) offers, him and the other guys in his band would be "killing machines," it puts a whole new perspective on extreme metal.