A topic that means a lot to me is freedom of speech, expression or however you want to word it. One of the best films I’ve seen in recent years was Heavy Metal in Baghdad, the tale of a band of Iraqi kids trying to enjoy their metal in the early days of the conflicts. incredibly emotional and eye-opening, this was a brilliant piece of film-making and I urge anyone – metal fan or not – to watch it.
Back to the current day and a similar tale seems to be coming from neighbouring Iran. This strict country forbids the likes of black metal, but if people like something they’ll find a way to listen to it and play it.
Blackhearts is a forthcoming documentary telling the story of one such man – Sina – and his band, From The Vastland. Indie Recordings has taken them on board, will be releasing their album (Kamarikan) on March 27th and is doing their best to get them on the bill of the Inferno Festival in Oslo.
Keep your ears out for the album, and your eyes peeled for the film. I’m sure both will be worth your time.
Film trailer:
“Kamarikan” from the album of the same name:
[…] actually featured Iran’s one-man-band From The Vastland about a year ago in another article about metal leaking through the cracks in otherwise oppressive countries. With […]