We were fully unaware that Nostradamus drove a Harley and dressed in studded red and black leather, but then that's why we're not writing an album about the dude's life and Judas Priest are.

Which brings us to this week's podcast. We've got a revealing interview with Priest frontman Rob Halford, who has a ton to say about the upcoming Nostradamus album, and more than a few choice comments about all the recent material he has put out by Fight, the band he formed after leaving Judas Priest in 1991.

Hear Halford discuss why Judas Priest decided to write a concept album about the famous soothsayer, the challenges and rewards of creating songs about a single subject, the grandiose rock opera presentation the band is planning for its Nostradamus tour, how he's still got Fight left in him after all these years, what music is keeping his iPod charged and the empowerment that comes from being an elder statesman of metal.

Click here for a direct MP3 download of the podcast interview with Judas Priest's Rob Halford
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There was no way thrash legends Exodus could do a video with "Dethklok Metalocalypse" producer Jon Schnepp and not come up with something at least a little silly. But surprisingly, the vid for "Riot Act" is for the most part dark, apocalyptic and evil, with the humor taking a back seat to the "metal."

The clip features a meteor/spaceship engraved with a pentagram that speeds towards the earth while the guys in Exodus rock hard and heavy, heads banging and scowls carved in. The whole thing has an "Independence Day" vibe to it, though in this case the aliens seem to triumph over Will Smith and Judd Hirsch. But while Armageddon seems to be the theme of the day, when the meteor thing hovers over the city and the middle pops out to flood the world with fire, we can't help but snicker a little -- especially with all the Medieval pentagram art work that keeps splashing across the screen.

"I had an amazing time working with all those guys [in Exodus]," Schnepp commented about the video in a press release. "They're all great. They did a fantastic job and made it a really fun shoot. They were full of energy with every take and you really can't ask for more than that."

Exodus had just as much fun. "We went out on a limb and asked Jon if he'd shoot our video," said Exodus guitarist and songwriter Gary Holt in the same release. "When he said yes, we were stoked to say the least. The ideas he came up with made this our best video ever. I usually hate making videos, but this time I was actually excited about it! It's unique, and of course, it's heavy."

Now check out "Riot Act" and watch it again Saturday night on Headbangers Ball on MTV2.

There's nothing like a blood-red logo to get our attention -- especially since our blog has a black background. If we had a red background, of course, it would be even harder to decipher.

While it's hardly the most perplexing logo we've posted, it's pretty tough to read without multiple choice options -- and we're not gonna give 'em to you. So, guess whatever you want -- Fecal Fetus, Aborted Abortion -- we don't care. Just place your conjectures and snarky comments in the receptacle below or suffer the torments of a thousand mice on a really big glue trap.

It's lookin' to us like Machine Head will be taking home the Grammy for "Best Metal Performance" next year for their song "Aesthetics of Hate." They're up against, Slayer ("Final Six"), King Diamond ("Never Ending Hill"), As I Lay Dying ("Nothing Left") and Shadows Fall ("Redemption").

Okay, here's our reasoning. Slayer already won last year for "Eyes of the Insane," which is from the same album, Christ Illusion, so they're out. King Diamond is too creepy and he's got an inverted cross on his forehead, so that ain't gonna happen. That leaves As I Lay Dying, who could be the spoiler (after all they've got God on their side) and Shadows Fall, whose latest album, Threads of Life, wasn't super-well received and was left off a lot of year-end Top Ten lists.

So, by process of elimination we're left with Machine Head, whose latest disc, The Blackening, has been universally trumpeted as the band's finest offerings and one of the best metal albums of the year. We'll find out if our crystal ball is working on Grammy night, February 10. Now if only they'd have some of the Best Metal Performance nominees perform on the show. Maybe next decade.

We won't bother guessing who's gonna take "Best Hard Rock Performance," but the nominees are Ozzy Osbourne ("I Don't Wanna Stop"), Foo Fighters ("The Pretender"), Queens of the Stone Age ("Sick, Sick, Sick,"), Tool ("The Pot") and Evanescence ("Sweet Sacrifice").

The 50th Annual Grammy Awards will take place this year at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Now watch the video for next year's possible Grammy-winning metal song:

One of the hottest independent label buzz bands at the moment is Baroness, a progressive metal outfit from Savannah, Georgia that sounds kinda like southern-fried mish-mash of Mastodon, Kylesa and Helmet.

The group's new cinematic video is for the song "Wanderlust," from its third disc, The Red Album, which came out September 4. The album was recorded at the Jam Room in Columbia, South Carolina and produced by Kylesa's Phillip Cope. Now, if someone could just tell us who those Native Americans in the clip are, what they have to do with the villagers, why an old man is playing a contraption that looks like a violin and a trumpet fused together and what the hell happens in the end of the video we'll be in business.

If you're computer monitor is see small to see exactly what's going on -- let alone understand it -- plug your laptop into an HDTV. Or, check out the clip on Saturday night's Headbangers Ball on MTV2.

Along with Vio-Lence, San Francisco's Forbidden were at the top of the "next big thing" pile when grunge and alternative rock overtook metal as the choice of a new generation, and the once-thriving thrash scene collapsed like a sloshed frat boy at a kegger. Still, Forbidden had a hell of a ride and served as the launching pad for drummer Paul Bostaph, who played in Slayer between 1993 and 2001.

And now, it looks like Forbidden are gonna do a reunion tour next year with ex-Strapping Young Lad and Dark Angel drummer Gene Hoglan. "As I understand, Mr. Bostaph has prior commitments [with Testament], so my Forbidden brethren reached out to me and I was very honored to say yes," Hoglan said in a statement, according to Blabbermouth.net. "I'm sure more details will come from their camp soon, but I just wanted to make a quick mention of it right here. I'll keep everyone posted with some updates soon."

In a post on the band's MySpace, Forbidden guitarist Craig Locicero discussed Forbidden's interest in reforming: "We want to show everyone what we used to do was as relevant and powerful as anybody else of that era," he said. "The gravity of our influence is really dawning on us now and we're very humbled. We owe it in turn back to those who supported us in the past. We'll be concentrating mostly on Forbidden Evil and Twisted Into Form material to give the people what they want. The time is right and it's gonna be a lot of fun. 2008 will also be the 20th anniversary for the release Forbidden Evil. It'll be very heavy and we're all excited to get started."

Until then, check out Forbidden's 1990 video for "Step By Step," a song off their signature second album Twisted Into Form.

A few weeks ago we ran a bunch of boxing ring footage of Down frontman Philip Anselmo that was shot for a mid-November episode of Headbangers Ball. We posted one a day for a week in honor of the release of the new Down record, Over the Under.

But now the album's on the shelves and the band is tearing up the road, so we're gonna dump out the remaining six clips from the session in on fell swoop. The first two feature the singer answering questions he's been asked 100 times before (don't blame us! We didn't ask the questions!!). But in the last four segments, Anselmo faces the unique challenge of training a boxer known as The Anvil.

A boxing fanatic since before he was in Pantera, the singer jumped at the opportunity to get in the ring and offer some pointers to an aspiring champion and the drama captured was even more exciting and intense than a watching a round of PGA Championship golf. Enjoy.

Next time you're at a show and think the crowd is getting unruly, remember this fan-filmed Slayer clip from a 1988 concert in New York City, which was exhumed and posted by Metalkult.com.

The gig was at the Felt Forum, a theater next to Madison Square Garden, and near the end of "Ghosts of War," the audience started ripping off the seat cushions and flinging them in the air. Seeking safe haven from the flying projectiles, Slayer exited the stage, then singer and bassist Tom Araya returned to chastise the crowd for "blowin' it, big time."

Finally, Slayer played a particularly fierce rendering of "Angel of Death" (captured here) with spotlights off so they would be able to see and dodge any cushioned launched at the stage.

Watch clip here.

We shoulda known that Black Tide would pick a band with a hot chick singer for their Bang of the Week. Who knows whether they're choice stems from teenage hormone overload or genuine musical appreciation, but their decision was mutual among all four members -- In This Moment's video for "Beautiful Tragedy."

“We picked this video because we really enjoy the song and we heard it every day on the Ozzfest tour," said Black Tide in a joint statement. "They're such a good band and we love'em!”

Fair enough. Now here's the clip:

Hmmm, we thought Exodus guitarist and songwriter Gary Holt gave up drugs years ago. Maybe this guest blog is proof that residue from that crap stays in your brain until the day you die. Either that or it's evidence that Gary needs to find a better hobby on the road. But whatever you think of this strange story, there's no denying that Exodus' new album, The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A, is one solid slab of undiluted thrash metal stronger than a bottle of Rohypnol.

On another note, the band's new video for, "Riot Act" will make its official Internet debut right here on Friday. And look for it on the big screen on Saturday night's Headbangers Ball on MTV2. Now, here's Gary:

Over the years we’ve seen a lot of very bizarre things. A fan once brought me a dead cat in a plastic bag as a gift. Since I am an animal lover, that one didn’t go over well. And there are too many other examples of parenting gone wrong to describe. But on a recent trip to South America, we witnessed some of the strangest s—t I’ve ever seen.

Our first show was in Bogota, Columbia. Insane! It was our first time there and it won't be our last -- every bit as nuts and over the top as I had hoped. Or so I thought. As we were leaving the venue, walking across the main floor of the hall, I started to noticed something different. Read more...