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Outlook: Sarajevo Siege - metal music in the madness: part 1

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Sarajevo Gig (credit: Scream For Me Sarajevo Film)

13/04/2019 GMT

Sarajevo Siege - metal music in the madness: part 1

BBC World Service - Outlook, Sarajevo Siege - metal music in the madness: part 1

While war raged around them, the city's heavy metal musicians found artistic freedom

While war raged around them, the city's heavy metal musicians found artistic freedom.

In 1994, Sarajevo was under siege. The citizens tried to live their lives while shells and sniper bullets rained down on the streets. Crossing the road could be deadly, electricity and water were in short supply. But while daily life was a struggle, artistic expression flourished. There was opera, theatre and classical music. And then there was heavy metal. 

Sarajevo's heavy music scene was resilient. When they could get enough petrol for the generators they'd play gigs for hundreds of people in sweaty crowded basements. These events happened throughout the siege, but there was one night in particular that no metal fan would ever forget. In the midst of the violence, a ragtag group of firemen, UN peacekeepers and committed metal heads had managed to smuggle one of the biggest rock stars in the world into the city. The resulting misadventure would become rock and roll legend. 

Image: the audience at a metal gig in Sarajevo
Credit: Scream For Me Sarajevo Film

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