photo by P.R. Brown

As he proved yet again by co-directing the band's evocative new video "Dead Memories," Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) isn't just good at hitting things, he's also got the mind of an artist and a keen eye for detail. In addition to expressing himself through videos, Crahan has taken thousands of creative photos over the years, and we're proud that he's chosen HeadbangersBlog.com as a platform to exhibit some of the shots in a weekly guest blog filled with candid commentary. Click "more" to see the second installment of "The Eye of a Clown." Read more...

Hollywood director Darren Lynn Bousman has especially good reason to love Halloween. His past three movies, "Saw II," "Saw III" and "Saw IV" opened on All Hallows Eve and debuted at number one, he got engaged in mid-October as the pagan holiday approached and his new movie, "Repo! The Genetic Opera," debuts the week after Halloween.

Unlike the vicious boobytrap deathfests of the "Saw" series, "Repo!" is a mindwarped flick that combines graphic violence with a campy storyline, resulting in a rock n' roll musical that's part "Ichi the Killer" (Takashi Miike), part "Rocky Horror Picture Show." In the movie, people are dying from an epidemic of organ failures and a ruthless multi-billion dollar biotech company, GeneCo, discovers a way to benefit from the suffering by conducting organ transplants en-masse. If you think the current housing crisis is bad, picture a similar scenario with patients who default on their organ loans. And when the "organ repo men" drop in to extract what isn't paid for, things really get messy.

Throw in an insane ensemble cast that includes Broadway star Sarah Brightman ("The Phantom of the Opera"), Paris Hilton, Skinny Puppy singer Nivek Ogre, and veteran horror actor Bill Moseley ("House of 1000 Corpses," "The Devil's Rejects," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2") and mix with absinthe until everything takes on a incandescent glow, and the absurd vision of "Repo!" starts to take form.

During our Halloween podcast interview, Bousman talks about why he turned down "Saw V" to direct "Repo!"; how he picked the cast; what happens when you put Paris Hilton in the same room with Ogre; what caused the actors to burst out in tears on set; and the headbanging soundtrack, which was performed by members of Korn, Filter, Slipknot and others.

Bousman also discusses how he got into horror, how a script he wrote earned him the "Saw II" gig, the value of plot over splatter, how far is too far when it comes to graphic violence, true crime exploitation movies like "Faces of Death" and "Traces of Death," why his "Saw" party was raided by a SWAT team and the influence of directors like Takashi Miike, Ruggero Deodato and Dario Argento. Fasten your straitjacket and click "more" to stream or download the bloodcurdling podcast. Read more...

More than 25 years after co-founding Death Angel with his brother Gus Pepa (guitar) and cousins Mark Osegueda (vocals), Rob Cavestany and drummer Andy Galeon, bassist Dennis Pepa has left the band.

"I've been with Death Angel since its inception in the '80s and believe it is time for me to move on," he said in a statement to Blabbermouth.net. "Throughout my career with the band, I've brought a punk-influenced edge to the Death Angel sound, and as an open-minded musician in need of change, I'd like to diversify and explore other opportunities within and beyond the genre of metal." Read more...

Here's our favorite demented heavy metal illustrator Mike Hrubovcak of Visualdarkness.com to tell us all about his latest designs for Dutch death grind band Inhume, which will launch a European tour on Halloween. Click "more" to see the merch Mike designed for their road trip: Read more...

Forsooth, an ill wind doth blow. The devil's nostrils flare with a chill that makes October grim. And in that darkened mist cometh thy blackest hour. And he shalt reign forevermore.... or at least rain forevermore. Damn, it's ugly around here. Been brisk and rainy all day, and, let us tell you, that ill went frickin' sucks. At least we can jump for joy and clack our hooves together about the arrival of a new Cradle of Filth record.

Today, the band untied the beast that is Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder, a feral concept album about the life and crimes of Gilles de Rais, a French nobleman, decorated soldier former comrade of Joan of Arc, who also happens to be one of the most prolific and vicious serial killers of all time. In commemoration of Cradle of Filth's latest proclamation of the damned, we bring you part one of a video interview with vocalist Daniel Davey (a.k.a. Dani Filth). Click "more" to hear him spew filth about the new album, the films that thrill him the most, the visual appeal of Cradle and the absurdity of capitalistic black metal bands. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Just last week, Testament announced that guitarist Alex Skolnick will not be playing the band's Mexican dates because of a prior commitment to the Trans Siberian Orchestra -- a glitzy orchestral hard rock outfit that became popular for their dramatic, flamboyant Christmas shows. The move rekindled a question that has long been brewing in the minds of Testament fans. How metal is Skolnick and how committed can he be to Testament if he keeps emphasizing the other projects he's working in, including, his jazz outfit, the Alex Skolnick Trio and the Trans Siberian Orchestra? Given the latest news, the guest blog Skolnick recently wrote for us seems all the more timely:

Who is metal? Who is not? Who decides who is and isn't?

Recently, I found myself pondering the answers to these questions. It started earlier this summer, after a story I had originally posted on my blog (http://skolnotes.blogspot.com) was picked up by other Web sites and generated a lot of comments. The blog story was about meeting the Iraqi metal band Acrassicauda, and the film that made me aware of them: "Heavy Metal In Baghdad,” which sheds light on the US invasion of Iraq and the subsequent aftermath.

Now, I try not to get trapped in the quicksand of comments on-line. Like television, the Internet can suck you in and waste your valuable time and mental energy, especially when it comes to comments.
But here was an important story. It had political, musical and most of all, human overtones. Not your typical metal Website news. So, in this case, I was very curious to see what the people were saying online and couldn't have been more surprised by what I saw.

The reaction was 100 percent positive. I was touched that the fans were taking such an interest. One comment on www.blabbermouth.net, which was echoed by others, stood out in particular: 'This is what metal's all about.

The statement struck a bit of a chord, pun not intended. Why? Because I haven't always been ‘Mr Popularity’ on the Internet, especially in metal forums. Admittedly, my own 'metalness' has been called into question several times. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Saturday's edition of "Headbangers Ball" was a special commemorative show to celebrate 20 years of headbanging madness. Because of this, the program featured mostly classic metal videos from the past two decades. So, this week's "Your Vote Counts" will draw from the other new videos and video premieres we aired last week, including Slipknot's "Dead Memories," Bleeding Through's "Death Anxiety" and "Down's "N.O.D. (Live)" from the bonus DVD on the new deluxe edition of Over the Under, plus a few other new videos we've debuted recently.

Click "more" to see the full list. The video with the most votes will return for next week's "Headbangers Ball." Voters chosing videos that aren't from the list below will be disqualified, as will voters who chose more than one entry. Remember, only one vote per IP address. Please include a comment with your selection, which may be published when we announce the winner. Voting runs through Wednesday at 3 p.m. Now, here's are you choices. Read more...

And now, to close out HeadbangersBlog.com's celebration of the 20th anniversary of "Headbangers Ball," we bring you the premiere of Slipknot's new video "Dead Memories." The song comes from the band's most recent album All Hope is Gone and was written by singer Corey Taylor about the painful collapse of his marriage to his ex-wife. The video was co-directed by Paul Brown and band percussionist Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown). Click more for Clown's interpretation of the clip and then watch it right here. Catch it again tonight on "Headbangers Ball," which will commemorate its 20th anniversary this week with a special two hour program that starts at 10 p.m. EST. Read more...

photo by Cody Smyth

Here's the last batch of clips from the "Headbangers Ball" roundtable discussion with Dee Snider, Riki Rachtman and Jamey Jasta. The event was hosted by Sirius programmer and personality Jose Mangin and covers all things metal. Watch the full roundtable on "Headbangers Ball" on Saturday on MTV2 at approximately 10:07. This week's show is a two-hour special that runs from 10 p.m. to midnight. And don't miss the premiere of Slipknot's "Dead Memories" video right here on HeadbangersBlog.com just after Midnight. Now click more to see the second batch of those roundtable clips: Read more...

A two-minute-long preview of the Roadrunner United concert DVD has been posted on RevolverMag.com. The double-DVD, which chronicles the Roadrunner Records supergroup rock fest that went down in New York on December 15 at the Nokia Theater, is scheduled for release on December 8.

The concert captured most of the songs from Roadrunner United: The All-Star Sessions, a 25th anniversary disc that featuring 56 musicians from 44 different bands and spanned the label's entire history. The preview clip depicts Killswitch Engage singer Howard Jones, Machine Head's frontman Robb Flynn, Sepultura's guitarist Andreas Kisser and Slipknot bassist Paul Gray ripping through the track "The Dagger" onstage and talking about the cryptic cut after the show.