Cephalic Carnage are one of the most forward-thinking, modern extreme bands, drawing from styles as diverse as avant-jazz, technical thrash and grindcore. But before they discovered the power of Napalm Death, John Zorn's Naked City and Captain Beefheart, the members of Cephalic Carnage explored the rudiments of metal, just like all the rest of us. And that's why vocalist Lenzig Leal has chosen "The Mob Rules" as his Bang of the Week. The song, of course, was originally performed by Black Sabbath on the 1981 album Mob Rules, Sabbath's second disc to feature Ronnie James Dio, the singer who replaced Ozzy Osbourne.

"If it were not for this for combination of musicians, I might have been a jazz singer or country bass player," Leal says.

Since Sharon Osbourne's legal team prevented the Dio-fronted band from using the words Black Sabbath, it called itself Heaven and Hell for its highly successful reunion last tour year, which Leal caught and calls "one of my favorite concerts of 2007."

And while he continues to delve into the outermost reaches of fringe music, Leal still holds a special place for Mob Rules, which he regards as "one of my all time favorite albums."

Now, check out the video for "The Mob Rules," or as Leal says, "Bang 'til your teeth bleed."

Here's a Bang of the Week from Pig Destroyer, one of the bands of the year. But first, a few words on the artist whose newest record, Phantom Limb, was declared the best album of 2007 Decibel, which rewarded them with a cover story.

Sure, there were many bands that put out more extreme albums this year (Watain, Dillinger Escape Plan, Behemoth and Nile to name a few), but few captured the muddy, delusional and sociopathic vibe of Pig Destoyer's Phantom Limb. So, now that we've established their absolute cred, you should give extra credence to their recommendation: Aborted's "The Chondrin Enigma."

"The Aborted video is actually a good example of a horror-related video that's not silly," says Pig Destroyer guitarist Scott Hull. "[It is really] well executed and actually disturbing. Good video by a killer band."

Texas thrash-lovers The Destro have picked a melodic death metal band fronted by a grand progenitor of metalcore and industrial metal as their Bang of the Week. We're talking none other than Divine Heresy and their divine leader Dino Cazares, whose former group, Fear Factory, was one of the first groups to integrate cookie monster growls with tuneful crooning and blend keyboard samples and sound effects into a framework of scorching thrash. Here's what The Destro's singe Eric Daughtry had to say:

"It’s been a while since a band has come out and kicked my ass as hard as these guys do. And being a big fan of Dino’s amazing talents I have to go with Divine Heresy's 'Failed Creation' 100 percent."

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:

If we were Amon Amarth, we would send our Bang of the Week from Valhalla to Blind Guardian or Manowar. But the band's choice of Black Sabbath with Dio is, perhaps, just as valid. And the song Amon Amarth have chosen, "The Mob Rules," is an absolute classic.

Singer Johan Hegg exlains: "A classic song from a classic band. I really like the Dio years with Black Sabbath, or Heaven And Hell as they are called here, and after seeing them live this summer at several European festivals I was deeply impressed with the vitality this band still possess, and with how well these songs worked out live."

You said it, Johan. May Odin grant you a place on his battle council forevermore.

Laura, the lead singer for Light This City, may been inspired to join a band after seeing Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow onstage, but for her Bang of the Week, the energetic growler chose progressive metal band, 3, and their video "All That Remains."

"It fits the music perfectly," she enthuses. "It is at once darkly beautiful and strange, rich and original, and incorporates their haunting album artwork and castle ruins. Not only do they f---ing shred, but also we’ve hung out with them a few times and they are some of the nicest guys in the world. They’re pretty intimidating in their musicianship and creativity, but definitely down to earth and so cool overall.

"3 is one of the most important bands out there right now, and even though their newest album, The End Is Begun, keeps giving and giving, I am really curious and excited to see what they will come up with in the future."

We're gonna stop guessing in advance who our Bang candidates are gonna pick. The only one we got right so far is Slipknot. After all, who else would pick their own video. But we were seriously banking on The Devil Wears Prada to choose a more melodic group like Atreyu or As I Lay Dying for their Bang of the Week. We never figered they'd select the thrashy, corrosive Darkest Hour. Here's what singer Mike Hranica was thinking:

"The reason I picked Darkest Hour is because of their phenomenal guitar parts and
musicianship," he says. "I think "Undoing ruin" is a very innovative record, and one of my favorites as far as fast metal is concerned. we ended up touring with them for a large portion of the summer on Sounds of the Underground Tour, where I picked up their new record Deliver Us. It was interesting to hear Darkest Hour continue their crazy guitar parts and solos, as well as expand their traditional vocal range to include some singing. They most certainly switched up their sound, while continuing their leadership in straight, good metal. in the vast world of metal bands."

You heard him, now see for yourself:

We knew Atreyu frontman Alex Varkatzas wasn't going to pick anything by Avenged Sevenfold for his Bang of the Week, but we didn't really expect him to go with Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy is a cornerstone of metal -- a figure who helped lay the foundation for the genre to flourish, and Atreyu have always been about avoiding the traditional conventions of metal. Outside of the '80s hair metal guitar, their sound seems mostly inspired by thrash, punk and alternative rock.

It's not the first time we've been surprised by an artist's choice and it certainly won't be the last. Here's Varkatzas explaining the rhyme behind his treason -- err, reason:

"We've done Ozzfest with Sabbath and Ozzy, and both times were amazing," he says of his vote for Ozzy's "I Don't Wanna Stop" video. "It's great to hear the Prince of darkness come up with some catchy new riffs and songs. I think we should petition to get his moniker changed to The King of Darkness (I know the title is taken, but who would win in fight). Seriously though, he has been at the top for a long time for a reason. All hail The King."

Surprise, surprise. Droid didn't pick Korn as their Bang of the Week. Despite all the support Droid have received from Bakersfield, California's biggest export, singer James "Buddy" Eason chose to go with Unearth's video for "This Glorious Nightmare." Here's why:

"This video is what metal should be all about," he writes. "It's sheer intensity from beginning to end. I have seen Unearth many times and they are the real deal and this video is pretty much what every Unearth show is like. I think I need to go break something now."

Now, here's Eason's Bang of the Week:

We called upon Trevor Phipps, singer for the mighty Unearth, to deliver unto us a Bang of the Week. In his infinite wisdom, he hath led us to the Darkest Hour video for "Demon(s)," a seismic song from the Washington, D.C. metalcore band's 2007 album, Deliver Us.

"Shredding riffs in a field and then a junk yard, hell yeah," opines Phipps of the clip. "Plus, these guys have been good to share the stage and beers with for the past month of our tour. Good dudes, good band. Check 'em out."

You heard the man: