Baby-killer, daughter raper and overall potty mouth, Marilyn Manson, has released a video for the song "Arma-Goddamn-Motherf---in'-Geddon," the first single from his upcoming album The High End of Low. The video was directed by Delaney Bishop who has also worked with Jurassic 5, Cut Chemist and others. The new album is scheduled for release on May 26. Click "more" to watch the video, which was posted by the Brit rock mag NME. Read more...

In Flames have released their new video, "Delight and Angers," which was directed and produced by Patric Ullaeus, who has worked on all of the band's recent videos as well as clips from Dimmu Borgir, Lacuna Coil and others. The track comes from the band's latest album, A Sense of Purpose, which came out in 2008. Click "more" to watch the vid. Read more...

At the risk of pissing off Exodus vocalist Rob Dukes -- a pretty huge guy who could snap our necks like pencils -- we gotta say that his iPod isn't all that brutal. One of the only thrash songs on there is by the band he's actually in, and the majority of his 20 random picks are kinda lightweight coming from a guy who screams, "I always stab my victims until they're dead/ A knife to the throat or a smashing blow to the head" just about every night he's onstage.

Still, we gotta give him kudos for having solo Mike Patton, Frank Zappa and The Accused on there. And, just to make sure we never end up on his sh-- list, we'll conclude things by saying Dukes is a multi-talented guy who enjoys tasting from the many flavors of life. Click "more" to see his list and watch a video from one of the artists in his Random Shuffle. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

When Metallica toured for their poorly received 2003 album St. Anger, the band only played two or three new songs. It was almost as if they were aware that the tunes weren't quite up to snuff and they'd be better off rocking the crowd with a set full of classics. They easily could have done the same with their Death Magnetic tour and swaggered away victorious. Instead, at the first of three sold-out New York area appearances, they played over 60 percent of the new album Death Magnetic and were rewarded with fist-in-the air sing-alongs from the crowd. Read more...

On last Saturday's "Headbangers Ball" we premiered new videos by Satyricon and Black Tide, and offered you a taste of the expanded reissue of Machine Head's The Blackening by broadcasting a video of the band covering Iron Maiden's "Hallowed Be Thy Name." Plus, we aired the new vid by Testament, the band you voted back from last week's episode. Click "more" to vote your favorite clip back for next week's show and watch the new clips by Satyricon, Black Tide and Machine Head. Read more...

Dyin' to see another new video of a power metal band playing in a world engulfed by flames? Then look no further. Hammerfall's "Any Means Necessary" has arrived to satisfy your pyromania. The video was shot in Belgrade, Serbia with director Ivan Colic (i-Code), who has also worked with Hammerfall on their "Natural High" video.

"Any Means Necessary" is the first single from the Swede's eighth album, No Sacrifice, No Victory, which arrives on these shores February 20. The disc was CD was largely recorded at Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden. Click "more" to watch the video. Read more...

The afternoon of the first Satyricon show in the U.S. in over four years, frontman Satyr is feeling a little antsy. The band still hasn't had soundcheck and he wants to make sure all the board levels are perfect. The band isn't scheduled to go on for six hours, yet several devoted fans have already started gathering in the hopes of getting a glimpse at the black metal legends.

These followers know Satyricon are one of the pioneers of the second wave of Norwegian black metal, and acknowledge that the band's distinctive roar has been extremely influential -- so much so that when Satyricon shifted gears on 2002's Volcano and embraced a slower, more rock-oriented approach, some old-school fans cried heretic. But the ones with open minds accepted the changes and found much to love in the new sound. Strangely, through all the tumult and transformation, Satyricon never really broke through in America the way Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and Mayhem have. That may be soon to change.

This, according to Satyricon, will be the year the band finally triumphs in the U.S., though he admits past efforts haven't gone so well. Eight years ago, they opened for Pantera, whose crowds just didn't get black metal. Then in 2004, Frost was denied a visa to enter the States since he was arrested in Norway in the '90s for taking part in a bar fight. Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison filled in, but shortly after the tour launched it was canceled because touring guitarist Steiner Gundersen and Arnt Ove Grønbech were arrested and charged with the drugging and rape of a woman on Satyricon's bus after a show in Toronto. Gundersen still plays with the band, Grønbech does not. Satyr refused to answer any questions about the incident, focusing instead on the creation of the band's new record The Age of Nero.

Strange, a black metal musician wanting to focus on the positive. But in this case, "positive" means a bleak, vicious, sepulchral album with hooks as sharp and dangerous as the edge of a serial killer's favorite blade. The Age of Nero is a triumphant celebration of the decadence and demise of mankind, a brutal presentation that frolics in the flames and shouts, "Told ya so" with a defiant smile as the earth turns to ash.

Like 2006's Now Diabolical, the songs are as rooted in traditional metal as black metal and the arrangements are often more minimal than those of their the group's Norwegian contemporaries. In simplest terms, The Age of Nero is kind of a cross between Celtic Frost and Darkthrone, with an emphasis on storming double-bass drums, downtuned minor-key riffing and midrange vocal growls. But the songs are treated with atmospheric arrangements (background choirs, augmented chords, unconventional production tricks) that keeps them sounding entrancing and original. And while blast beats and abrupt rhythmic shifts are minimal, when they're employed they're as lethal as an execution squad.

During our conversation with Satyr we discussed how the band wrote and recorded The Age of Nero, Satyricon's desire to break in the U.S. market, the sorry state of the world, how isolation is conducive to personal growth and the video for "Black Crow on a Tombstone." Click "more" to stream or download the podcast. Read more...

Let's raise a glass to Swedish metal veterans In Flames, who won the Swedish "Grammi" award today in the "Best Hard Rock" category for their album A Sense of Purpose. The other bands that were up for the award were Meshuggah for obZen, Millencolin for Machine 15, Opeth for Watershed and Sabaton for The Art of War. Read more...

This week's episode of "Headbangers Ball" features no video premieres, no exclusive live footage, nothing you haven't seen before if you're a regular viewer. So why should you tune in? 'Cuz this is the show you dudes programmed all on your own. We've tallied your votes for best videos of the year, and on Saturday we'll run your top 10 choices from 2 to 3 a.m. EST, ending the show with your favorite metal vid of 2008.

Due to the diverse demographics of our viewers, your final 10 doesn't exactly mirror ours, which is why we've included a separate list of our own favorite videos of 2008. If you can't wait until tomorrow night to see who won, click "more" to read both lists and watch the top five vids on each. Read more...

With Gigantour 2008, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine tapped into the independent market a little bit and cobbled together a fierce, bill that featured Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job For a Cowboy and High on Fire. It seemed like a good move -- one that verified Megadeth's importance in the lineage of heavy metal and made Mustaine look pretty savvy. Read more...