News : Ruins, Black Cobra to play at Melbourne International Arts Festival

The Melbourne International Arts Festival takes on a slightly metal edge this year, with the screening of ‘Heavy Metal in Baghdad’, a feature length documentary that follows the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day.

To celebrate the screening of the documentary, organisers have put together a small gig after the screening that showcases some quality black metal and doom metal music in the form of Ruins and Black Cobra.

Black metal band Ruins, from Hobart, Tasmania, blend an ominous dark-death metal dynamic amidst their powerful, menacing and melancholic, yet eerily seductive black metal style; with a venomous, and summoning vocal presence. The writing/recording nucleus of Ruins consists of guitarist/vocalist Alex Pope, formerly of the post-punk noise-rockers Sea Scouts; and drummer Dave Haley, currently also drumming with Psycroptic and Blood Duster. Both have also recorded and performed with The Amenta, and various other groups and projects over the last decade or so.

Southern Lord recording artists Black Cobra who hail from the ‘City of love’ San Francisco, have been delivering the goods since 2002. Renowned for their super low-end sludge riffs and hard edge touring ethic, Black Cobra have created quite a name in the underground doom metal scene. Black Cobra are a duo featuring guitarist Jason Landrian and drummer Rafael Martinez, Raf also plays bass for Acid Kind, another Bay Area sludge metal favourite.

For more information, and to buy tickets ($15), please visit the festival website at www.melbournefestival.com.au

14th Oct 2009
Ruins @ The Forum, Melbourne
w/ Black Cobra
Tickets available from Ticketek, $15. Doors at 8pm. Event includes screening of ‘Heavy Metal in Baghdad‘ as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival.