Heavy Metal in Baghdad.
Heavy Metal in Baghdad is a feature film documentary that follows the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day. Playing heavy metal in a Muslim country has always been a difficult (if not impossible) proposition but after Saddam's regime was toppled, there was a brief moment for the band in which real freedom seemed possible. That hope was quickly dashed as their country fell into a bloody insurgency. From 2004-2007, Iraq disintegrated around them while Acrassicauda struggled to stay together and stay alive, always refusing to let their heavy metal dreams die. Their story echoes the unspoken hopes of an entire generation of young Iraqis.
The Heavy Metal Scene in Tehran
A look at Iran�s metal scene, which somehow incorporates Kiss, Tupac, and Ziggy-Stardust-era Bowie hair. They�re just like us � or rather, they�re just like us but even cheesier. Possibly the most moderate Muslims you�ll ever see.
Pastor: Metallica Echoes Biblical Message
Lyrics show Christians' quandaries
By M.S. ENKOJI
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - c.2005 THE SACRAMENTO BEE
How many church pastors begin their service by offering free earplugs?
How many turn to a heavy-metal band to preach their sermon?
Pastor Ron Vanderwell of The Gathering was ready Sunday with earplugs and a message from Metallica.
Yes, the Bay Area heavy-metal band and author of what Vanderwell posed as thought-provoking lyrics: "Broken is the promise, betrayal/ The healing hand held back by the deepened nail/ Follow the God that failed."
"These guys are not happy," he said of the group, whose latest album is 2003's "St. Anger."
Anger and the sense of betrayal conveyed in lyric after lyric are quandaries facing a lot of contemporary Christians, Vanderwell said.
"There's a lot of things in our world that just aren't right," he said.
Metallica's lyrics provide the perfect conduit to the Bible, which offers solutions, said Vanderwell, who paralleled lyrics, such as the band's 1991 "Follow the God that Failed," with Bible verses to make his point.
And from 1988's "And Justice for All," the lyrics despair over the hopelessness of seeking justice.
Vanderwell points to Isaiah 59:4, which says, "No one calls for justice."
Is it possible, Vanderwell asked, that God is a Metallica fan?
And he is saying: "
'Yes, that is what I'm trying to say,' " Vanderwell said.
The group's past travails with the unexpected death of a band member in 1986, rehabilitation of another from alcohol addiction and members' own inner conflicts revealed in the 2004 documentary "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" are all anger-generating fodder, said Vanderwell, adding that the Bible promises redemption.
Not the conventional stuff of Sunday morning preachers, but it's another new twist in the way Vanderwell chooses to convey his message.
For three and a half years, Vanderwell has led The Gathering, a denomination of the Christian Reformed Church, which meets in the comfy confines of the Regal Cinema at Natomas Marketplace in Sacramento. A coffee bar, with bottled water and doughnuts, greets the 75 or so worshippers filing into the theater; jeans and T-shirts are OK.
Vanderwell, who looks more like he walked out of a Gap ad, instantly is at ease on the stage as he starts a Power Point presentation - complete with sound - on the giant screen, beginning with a photo of the current band members.
"This is what happens when kids are too old for the Vienna Boys Choir," he joked.
The church adheres to core biblical principles, but he is not confined to present them in what he likes to call "Church Lady" fashion.
He often refers to the "Saturday Night Live" skit of the pompous churchgoer to eschew the superficial in religious worship, he said, mainly in hopes of drawing in the previously religiously disenchanted.
"I have a real sweet spot for those who have some experience with God, but have been disenchanted," he said after the service.
Two members of Metallica's Northern California fan club - Norcallica - just happened to see the sign advertising the service and came in with a video camera.
Jennifer and Kevin Schulze intend to forward the video to the band.
Disgruntled by negative attacks on the band, Kevin Schulze gave Vanderwell's sermon a two-thumbs-up.
"I think it was awesome," said Kevin Schulze, 33.
Critics are superficial in their attacks, he said.
"They don't catch the connections at all," he said of the biblical references.
Vanderwell could have made some converts to the church of Metallica.
A music teacher who helps with the church's musical programs said he never gave Metallica much thought before the sermon and certainly never linked them to anything biblical.
"I was surprised at the degree of connection," said Jeff Galindo, 36. "They are that honest in what they are writing about."
