This contorted mess of letters sure ain't pretty. Call us twisted, but it makes us think of what Dark Angel's logo might have looked like had it been carved in flesh by Jeffrey Dahmer. We know, we need help.

Anyway, here are your choices:

a) Naked Axiom b) Mangled Atrocity c) Waged Anarchy d) Primus e) Caged Devil

On Friday, Headbangers Ball Blog will roll out the first of our weekly Podcast series by posting an exclusive 30-minute interview with Heaven and Hell. Check in to hear singer Ronnie James Dio, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Vinnie Appice talk about their new live CD and DVD Live From Radio City Music Hall, their final U.S. tour, their individual plans for when Heaven and Hell get off the road and their thoughts about recording together again in the future. Don't miss it.

Until then, here's the video for "The Mob Rules":

From the start, Quentin Tarantino makes it clear that "Grindhouse Presents: Death Proof" (Dimension) is gonna be a throwback to the days of '70s exploitation, revenge flicks and car chase movies. Indeed, the look and feel of the picture is reminiscent of the slopppily assembled and edited drive-in flicks of yesteryear. There are even fabricated celluloid scratches and hasty splices onscreen, as if the film had been ripped and repaired. But while the look of the move is all '70s -- including sets, clothing, hair styles -- it takes place in modern times. The anachronism is all part of the charm, as is the surfeit of witty, absurd and sometimes irrelevant dialog, which has been a Tarantino trademark since "Reservoir Dogs."

The plot of "Death Proof" is simple. Kurt Russell plays a has-been stuntman turned madman, who gets his kicks hunting down groups of young girls and running them down with a structurally reinforced '70s stunt car. While "Death Proof" is packed with action, it takes a little while to get going. It isn't until 3o minutes or so -- after some, perhaps unnecessary, character development -- that the action actually picks up, but when it does, buckle your seat belts.

There's high energy thrills aplenty, and even some pretty decent gore in one of the crash scenes; one at a time, each victim is shown suffering the fatal moment in glass-shattering, limb-severing, face crushing detail. But the highlight of the movie is the 20-minute edge-of-your-seat chase scene in which Russell starts as the aggressor, nearly turning a New Zealand gal into ground kangaroo meat. But then the tables turn and the pissed off chick and her pals pursue an injured Russell to the violence-packed conclusion.

Overall, "Death Proof" is pretty predictable and the transformation of Russell from hellbent psychopath to scared rabbit isn't entirely convincing. But the movie doesn't need to be original, believable or inspire deep analysis. It exists to celebrate a long lost film genre, and enthrall with mindless excitement. As a vivid and reverential time capsule, it does the job better than a sack of Rubik's cubes. Read more...

Tattoo master Paul Booth isn't exactly known for his upbeat ink work. That's why we're a little concerned about something he wrote about here in his second Headbangers Ball Blog Guest column. You'll know what we're talking about when you get to it, and afterwards we'll have a little audience participation survey so you can help us figure out just how depraved the guy really is. Read carefully and enjoy:

I believe it happened on the first Family Values tour with Korn and Limp Bizkit. We had stopped in San Francisco and while I was there I rented a car, went and bought this collection of babies off this guy and went back to the venue.

I wanted to show off the kids, so I brought them up to the main dressing area where everyone congregated. I started showing them to friends and the next thing you know, there’s a little museum going on. I had all these babies lined up on the table in a room that was full of people. Half of them were into it and the other half of were totally freaked out. Of all people, the person that was most interested in the babies was Hed from Korn. We spent a bit of time together holding them up to the light and looking at the little fingernails and the little hairs on their head -- creepy stuff like that. When I heard recently that he'd found God, I thought, "That’s not the Hed I remember!"

The other thing I remember from that night was how freaked out Primus frontman Les Claypool was. Every time I glanced over at him, it seemed like he would always be facing me no matter where I was in the room. I think the babies got to him. It was almost like he was afraid I’d get behind him or something. I don’t know if that’s what it was or not, but it was funny because, from my point of view, it looked like I scared the guy so much he wouldn’t turn his back to me. We kind of played this game of run-around-the-room for about an hour. I thought that was pretty funny.

Okay, now here's the audience participation part of our post. In the end of the first paragraph when Booth writes that he "bought this collection of babies off this guy and went back to the venue," is he talking about:

a) scary dolls b) abducted children c) dead fetuses d) preserved baby pigs

Remember, you can help make a difference.... Ooop, sorry, for a minute we thought we were Nikki Sixx talking about getting kids off drugs. We gotta lay off the lattes.

To celebrate the release of the new head-clubbing Black Dahlia Murder album, Nocturnal, we'll be debuting the band's explosive new video for "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse" on Thursday. For nearly three days, you can watch it here over and over until your computer screen burns out. Then, after you buy another monitor, you can tune into Headbangers Ball Saturday night to see the clip in all its big-screen glory.

The song "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse" is named after the band's first five-song demo which was recorded in 2001, and marks a return to The Black Dahlia Murder's fierce, primal roots. Nocturnal, which follows 2005's Miasma, was recorded with Eric Rachel and mixed by Jason Suecof (Trivium, Chimaira).

"This record's a bit more European-sounding, I think," singer Trevor Strnad told MTVnews.com's Metal File. "More so than we already were, if you can imagine that. The solo stuff has a black metal-ish flavor to it. We messed around with that a little bit previously, but some of the songs have a major Dissection kind of feel to them."

To see some Black Dahlia Murder studio shenanigans, check this out. Otherwise, here's the band's 2005 video for "Statutory Ape":

We're totally stoked about new releases from High on Fire, Himsa, Black Dahlia Murder and Today is the Day. But we're even more excited about the new album by Ministry, The Last Sucker (Megaforce/13th Planet Records). Actually, it's a bittersweet release -- not because it isn't 100 percent brutal -- but because it signals the end of the industrial metal group's 20 year reign (we're not counting any of the wussy pop that came before 1988's In The Land of Rape and Honey. In any case, Ministry are going out with a mushroom cloud. The Last Sucker is an explosive amalgamation of everything they've done since frontman Al Jourgensen woke up from the heroin stupor of Filth Pig and started tearing stuff up again. Like 2004's Houses of the Mole and 2006's Rio Grande Blood, The Last Sucker combines high-octane thrash and storming metal with anti-government rants and soundbytes from President Bush to create a vicious, toxic and unerringly precise album, the brutality of which is only tempered by its dark humor. As those Bush-haters the French, say, Magnifique.

Here's the other new stuff that's out there:
A Life Once Lost - Iron Gag (Ferret) -- Vicious storming hardcore metal with vocal production by Lamb of God Frontman Randy Blythe.
The Black Dahlia Murder - Nocturnal (Metal Blade) -- More punishingly metallic than 2005's Miasma, this one marks a return to the death metal blast beats and graphically horrific lyrics of the band's early daze.
Christine - Badasser (Supernova) -- One of several ripping bands signed by, produced and released by Today is the Day frontman Steve Austin.
Defcon 4 - The Bad Road (Supernova) -- Here's another one of Steve Austin's discoveries.
High On Fire - Death Is This Communion (Relapse) -- Not as trippy as High on Fire's earlier offerings, this one is still no less destructive. Produced by Seattle soundsmith Jack Endino who keeps things savage and never resorts to Nirvana-style soft verses and loud choruses.
HIM - Venus Doom (Republic/Universal) -- More melodic gloom from Finland's finest flashy goth metal outfit.
Himsa - Summon In Thunder (Century Media) -- bludgeoning and raw, the band's new album combines the hardcore pummel of 2003's Courting Tragedy and Disaster with the thrash barrage of 2006's Hail Horror.
Roanoke - Stormbringer (Supernova) -- See previous Supernova entries.
Suicide Silence - The Cleansing (Century Media) -- Could this be the next extreme metal Job For A Cowboy or The Red Chord? They're certainly loud enough.
Today Is The Day - Axis Of Eden (Supernova) -- In addition to unveiling the new creations from his new label upon the world, gun-toting crazy man Steve Austin has graced us with his band's new album, which combines the atmospherics of 2002's Sadness will Prevail with the pulverizing jackhammer metal of 2004's Kiss the Pig. You'll bee spitting out your own teeth.

Leave it to Canadians to turn "Bang of the Week" into a game of nepotism. Mathcore demolitionists The End might have earned some points with a high profile band had they chosen to plug it instead of their neighbors, Ion Dissonance. Not that ID don't rock, they just won't be much help when The End try to land a big tour with someone like All That Remains... What? They're hitting the road together this weekend. Ummm, nevermind. For now, we'll let The End do the talking.

"There is a long list of great bands, but we're going to have to pick our French Canadian mates," said the group in a statement. "This band tears so hard, they will rip your face off. One of the tightest live bands out there."

Okay, now that we've got that taken care of, watch the video for Ion Dissonance's "Kneel":

We can reiterate ad infinitum that hack actor Tony Danza is not a member of the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravganza, but it won't make a damn bit of difference. Anyone that cares about the experimental grindcore band already knows this, and the seniors, well, they're so excited about seeing Danza tapdance, they've not about to listen to reason.

"Old ladies sometimes do show up at our shows waiting for Tony Danza to come out onstage," guitarist Layne Meylain told MTVnews.com's Metal File. "I'm serious, because a lot of times, they'll put on the marquee 'Tony Danza' instead of our full name. So it'll be, like, 'Tony Danza and the Red Chord.' So these old ladies always show up looking for Tony. It's pretty funny. Apparently, old ladies love Danza."

Clearly, most old ladies don't love Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, whose new album, Danza II: The Electric Boogaloo, drops October 16. And, some extreme metal fans have turned a deaf ear as well. "A lot of people seem to have a problem with the name, because it's not a normal name for a band like us," Meylain said. "We don't want close-minded people listening to our music." Read more...

Influential German power metal band, Helloween, hit commercial stride in 1988 with this single "I Want Out," which, ironically, is about being overwhelmed by the music industry and needing to escape. The song, written by guitarist Kai Hansen, was first featured on the album Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2, and is still performed live by both Helloween and Hansen's new band Gamma Ray.

About 11 years after its release, Swedish power metal outfit Hammerfall released a cover of the song, with Hansen guesting on guitar and lead vocals. In 2000, Sonata Arctica covered "I Want Out" for their EP Successor and again for their 2003 album Takatalvi.

The past couple weeks have been a pretty crazy time for metal.

Mastodon guitarist Brett Hinds got his ass thoroughly kicked in Las Vegas for reasons that still aren't entirely clear. Motley Crue bassist Tommy Lee got sucker punched by Kid Rock, then became part of a tangled legal battle with his ex-manager, his band mates and some other people who all seem to want a piece of the Motley pie. And now, various news sources are reporting that Lee's out of the Crue.

On other fronts, Iron Maiden announced they're gonna tour in the next year with only old material and travel in a plane piloted by singer Bruce Dickinson. And, Machine Head's Disneyland concert was trampled by the Mickey Mouse Club.

Well, stop being so polite and let us know what you think of this stuff by writing something in the little box below. Your comment will post on the right side of the page. It's that simple!

If you don't wanna write about any of these news stories, let us know what you think of this week's Headbangers Ball show (which featured, Heaven and Hell, Atreyu, Trivium and more), what you've been listening to or what videos you'd like to see us play.

While you're trying to figure out what to write, check out this awesome video spoof of Machine Head's "Imperium" by Sir Garrack and Cheeky Dave (and feel free comment on this one, too!):
Interpretation Of "Machine Head - Imperium"

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