Chris and I joke that we are “part-time thrashers,” like accountants that wear suits during the week but throw on their leather jackets and jump on the Harley on the weekends. But since we were young, we’ve always had a love for all things loud.

Lucky for me, my parents moved us to the Death Metal Capital of the World when I was a pre-teen and my first Florida friends were dirt rockers with metal crushes on Slayer, Iron Maiden and Carcass. In Tampa, loving and living metal is easy…especially when your neighbor could be in Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Morbid Angel, Brutality, etc.

So last year when I saw VICE‘s documentary on the Iraqi metal band, Acrassicauda, called “Heavy Metal in Baghdad,” I was moved by their adversity and resolve. I made all my friends that came over to the house watch it. The four dudes in this band learned English listening to Metallica, practice for hours each day with no shows to play, and risk their lives (from bombs and death threats) for the love of the double bass. This was the true example of the “audacity of hope.”

Then last week, Matt Potasky, called me to tell me that Acrassicauda were granted refugee status in the US (after seeking refuge in Syria and Turkey for the last couple years) and were relocating to New Jersey (15 minutes from where I grew up). The New York Times even chronicled their story and their second concert ever, Metallica, in Newark.

I think I might cry.

If you haven’t seen it, go check out “Heavy Metal in Baghdad.” Regardless of whether you listen to metal, this movie is really about the longing for freedom, the strength of friendship, and the atrocities of war on every day, innocent people…all put to a metal soundtrack.

As Acrassicauda says, “let the metal unite us, let the metal rule.”

BTW…Happy Valentine’s Day. I wish this for all my friends (well, just my friends with penises):

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tLiqIv3BSU

We love Japan and Chris loves Slip N’ Slide!

When I was 16 I saw Carcass at the Ritz Theater in Ybor City during the Heartwork tour (little did I know how much “street cred” it would give me over the years). But when I heard Carcass was coming to Jannus Landing for their reunion tour, I was apprehensive, for multiple reasons:

1. I’m old.
2. Venues with no re-entry are bogus.
3. Sweaty, long-haired, sausage parties are unappealing.
4. And the thought of seeing one of the most technical and influential grind bands of all time losing even one ounce of their awesomeness would be heartbreaking.

I’m not really into nostalgia but I do believe that some things should just be left alone. But luckily for me, Chris and the hundreds of other people in attendance last night, Carcass (even without their original drummer) killed it. Watching Carcass and Suffocation reminded me that really good death metal is TIMELESS.

But the real lesson I learned is that you should never abandon your roots. So I say to you what the frontman of Suffocation said to the crowd last night as he exited the stage, “Stay brutal, my friends, always.”

Yeah, I know this picture sucks. But I refuse to sacrifice my safety any longer for metal. It takes much longer to heal these days.