You might think that's a typo in our headline -- it's not.

Yeah, this is, indeed, a flashback to an old Zakk Wylde interview and solo performance session, but Zakk wouldn't be Zakk if he couldn't party like Caligula -- hence, "Flaskback."

Anyway, in the following clips, Zakk talks about family responsibility, playing with Ozzy, his friendship with the late Dimebag Darrell and his band Black Label Society's notion that life's a mountain (of beer cans). There are also a couple of cool acoustic performances. Click "more" to check it all out: Read more...

photo by Evos Marin, courtesy of flickr.com
In June 2006, Unearth singer Trevor Phipps took center stage in a powow with Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen, ex-Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares and Kittie drummer Mercedes Lander. It wasn't for an awards ceremony, charity benefit or supergroup recording session (though we'd love to hear Jourgensen and Phipps screaming over a futuristic soundbed by Cazares). No, the rockers were all united for a Headbangers Ball roundtable interview, during which they discussed such poignant issues as the beef between Iron Maiden and Sharon Osbourne, the most legendary tour of all time, the age of the music download. Click more to watch the roundtable discussion. Read more...

In 1981, a movie came out that brilliantly captured the aggression, creativity, libido and adolescent humor of the average heavy metal fan. It was called, of course, "Heavy Metal."

The animated movie was composed of stories from the edgy monthly sci-fi comic magazine of the same name, which featured graphic violence, nudity and far more adult-oriented story lines than anything dished out by Marvel or D.C. Comics. While "Heavy Metal" was definitely a vehicle for the counter-culture, it included a variety of well known animators and actors, including John Candy and Harold Ramis.

The score for "Heavy Metal" was composed by Elmer Bernstein, but the flick featured a wall-to-wall rock soundtrack highlighted by Black Sabbath's scorching "The Mob Rules." Other less bombastic songs were contributed by Trust, Nazareth, Blue Oyster Cult Grand Funk Railroad, Devo and Journey.

A far inferior follow-up flick, "Heavy Metal 2000" came out in 2000, but while it paled to the original in terms of originality, violence, nudity, shock value and overall enjoyability, it sported a far more rippin' soundtrack that included cuts by Pantera, Machine Head, Monster Magnet, System of a Down, Coal Chamber, Queens of the Stone Age and More.

Speaking of more, click "more" to watch a 35 minute documentary about the original animated masterpiece, "Heavy Metal." (warning: if lots of animated nudity makes you squeamish, turn back now!) Read more...

Before forming the operatic avant-metal band Celtic Frost, frontman Tom Gabriel Fischer and bassist Martin Ain rained fire, brimstone and death on the metal community with Hellhammer, which released just one EP, Apocalyptic Raids, in 1984, but inspired the nascent black and death metal scenes to rise up and get evil.

Hellhammer were primitive, simplistic and low-fi, paling in quality to the Celtic Frost material to follow, yet they were undeniably savage and raw, leaving an indelible stamp on the underground -- so much so that their demos have been widely circulated over the years, first with tape traders and later Internet file sharers.

On February 26, Century Media will release three Hellhammer demos, Death Fiend, Triumph of Death and Satanic Rites on the two CD set Demon Entrails. The recordings were re-mastered from the original master tapes under the guidance of Fischer, and, according to a press release "the demos now represent Hellhammer exactly as the band sounded when recording these songs in June and December of 1983." Read more...

We'll take one more stab at Christmas, then we'll leave you alone to enjoy the holiday. Since Celtic Frost doesn't have a Christmas video and we hadn't the heart to post anything by the Trans Siberian Orchestra, we dug into the vaults and came up with this ridiculous clip by the now-defunct band The Darkness, who came the closest of any group (besides Manowar) to being Spinal Tap without knowing it. Check out the Queen-influenced "Christmas Time," then go open your presents, you damn heathens.

The Darkness - Christmas time

Add to My Profile | More Videos

The loudest things at this year's MTV Video Music Awards show -- besides kids screaming for Kanye West and 50 Cent -- will be Foo Fighters and Fall Out Boy. Not terribly metal, we know.

So, we take you back now to 2003 when Metallica took the stage twice and rattled the rafters with two performances. First, they played a medley of award winning songs: Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and Michael Jackson's "Beat It." Then, the band ripped into "Frantic," from St. Anger, which came out that year.

Watch it here, but since we want to keep out jobs, we beg you anyway to tune in to the Video Music Awards, which take place Sunday night live from Las Vegas.
Metallica at VMA 2003-Frantic (live)

Add to My Profile | More Videos

If you think Slayer are untouchable today you never saw them back in the mid '80s when guitarist Kerry King had hair and singer and bassist Tom Araya didn't tell the world he was a practicing Christian.

Well, now's your chance to flashback to a time when MTV airplay was a mere pipe dream for Slayer and the thought of someday winning a Grammy was completely laughable. The folks at www.Metalkult.com have posted footage from an out-of-print 1985 video called "The Ultimate Revenge," which featured sets by Slayer, Venom and Exodus.

The Slayer and Exodus sets were captured on the Combat Tour Live at the legendary disco club Studio 54, a strange location for an underground metal show, but one that served the need quite nicely. The Venom set was recorded at a later date since guitarist Mantas was MIA at the Studio 54 gig, forcing Venom to use two replacement guitarists.

But it's Slayer that we're concerned with here, and during their set, the band played the former staples of their show: "Die By the Sword," "The Antichrist," "Hell Awaits" and "Chemical Warfare." There's also a backstage interview and a promo spot for the label.

The videos are available in both streaming and download formats.

By the late '80s, speed and thrash metal were becoming stale and tired. Major labels had jumped on the post-Metallica bandwagon, signing anyone with long hair, denim clothes and a drinking problem, and the caliber of artistry was going rapidly downhill as grunge and alternative rock began their upward ascent.

That said, the era did have some bright spots, one of which was Minnesota quartet Powermad. The group's catchy thrash riffs, forceful rhythms and shrill vocals even attracted the attention of oddball film director David Lynch, who included the band and their music in his movie "Wild At Heart." Powermad were the group onstage at the club, and their song "Slaughterhouse" was played in the film's explosive first scene, in which Sailor Ripley (Nicholas Cage) slams a dude's skull against the floor until he's dead. Then, Lynch gave the song an encore when Sailor and his girlfrield Lulu Fortune (Laura Dern) are flipping the dial on their car radio in search of something worth listening to. "Slaughterhouse" was also used for a while as the theme music for "MTV At the Movies."

Sadly, Powermad's success was shortlived and after the release of their 1989 album Absolute Power they faded into the ether for years. But now they seem to be back as Mad as ever. Powermad reformed to play the Bang Your Head!!! festival, which took place on June 22 and 23 in Balingen, Germany, and they're currently working on a new album, which they hope to finish later this year.

"Because of scheduling, I have been doing most of the coordinating and producing of the tracks on my own, with my great friend, Paul Ortiz (a.k.a. ChimpSpanner)," wrote singer and guitarist Joel DuBay on the band's MySpace, explaining the delay.

He added that he agrees with critics (like us) who feel Powermad were ahead of their time and thanks all of the group's fans for their continued interest. "I just want everyone to know just how much everyone's desire to stick with us for so long means to us," he said. "A band, artist, musician isn't owed sh-- by anyone, and needs to focus on one thing in order to succeed: making a connection with their audience. I think the next record is a perfect step toward proving we have not gone away or given up, and that Powermad is intact, and ready to bring you something you will love."

The group is currently without a label, but still hope to drop their new album before the end of the year. Until then, here's their video for "Nice Dreams":
Powermad - Nice Dreams

Add to My Profile | More VideosAnd here's a clip from "Wild at Heart" that features the band's music:
Wild at Heart Scene

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Before guitarist Larry LaLonde joined Primus, he played for the seminal San Francisco thrash/death band Possessed. But before he joined, the group recorded its 1984 demo "Death Metal" (which may have been the first reference to the emerging genre) with guitarist Brian Montana. Click "more" to download the classic four-song recording, which features "Death Metal," "Evil Warriors," "Burning in Hell" and "Fallen Angel." Read more...

With the upcoming global concerts to try to save the world from a global warming-induced Armageddon and all, we thought it was a cool time to flashback 22 years to Hear N' Aid, a project Ronnie James Dio and the rest of the heavy metal community cooked up to help fight world hunger.

Snuffed big time by Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and all the mega pop acts like Duran Duran and Queen that contributed to Live Aid, 40 metal artists and hundreds of volunteers spent four months writing, coordinating and recording the song "Stars" and its accompanying documentary video, which, by mid 1988, had raised $1 million for the good fight.

Contributing stars included Tommy Aldridge, David Alford, Carmine Appice, Vinnie Appice, Jimmy Bain, Frankie Banali, Eric Bloom, Mick Brown, Vivian Campbell, Carlos Cavazo, Amir Derakh, Ronnie James Dio, Don Dokken, Kevin Dubrow, Brad Gillis, Craig Goldie, Chris Hager, Rob Halford, Chris Holmes, Blackie Lawless, George Lynch, Yngwie Malmsteen, Mick Mars, Dave Meniketti, Dave Murray, Vince Neil, Ted Nugent, Eddie Ojeda, Jeff Pilson, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, David St. Hubbins, Rudy Sarzo, Claude Schnell, Neal Schon, Paul Shortino, Derek Smalls, Adrian Smith, Mark Stein, Geoff Tate, and Matt Thorr.

Dio, Dokken, Rob Halford, Iron Maiden, - Hear N' Aid

Add to My Profile | More Videos

For those of you that can't get enough, here are the lyrics along with a line for line breakdown of who did what:

Ronnie James Dio (Dio):
Who cries for the children?
I do

Dave Meniketti (Y&T):
Some time in the night
When you're feeling the cold
 

Ronnie James Dio:
Take a look at the sky above you
 

Rob Halford (Judas Priest):
Those are faces in the light
If the story were told
 

Ronnie James Dio:
They are calling you, calling you
Yeah. We are magic in the night
 

Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot):
We are shadow, we are light
 

Dave Meniketti:
We are forever you and I
 

Chorus (vocal lead: Rob Halford):
We're stars
We're stars
 

Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult):
We can be strong
We are fire and stone
 

Paul Shortino (Quiet Riot, Rough Cutt):
And we all want to touch a rainbow
 

Geoff Tate (Queensryche):
But singers and songs
Will never change it alone
We are calling you, calling you
 

Don Dokken (Dokken):
We're the beating of a heart
The beginning we're the start
 

Paul Shortino:
Forever we will shine
Yeah
 

Chorus (vocal leads: Paul Shortino, Don Dokken, Ronnie James Dio, Geoff Tate):
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars
Guitar solos:

1st solo: Craig Goldie/Eddie Ojeda
2nd solo: Vivian Campbell/Brad Gillis
3rd solo: Neal Schon/George Lynch
4th solo: Yngwie Malmsteen/Vivian Campbell
5th solo: George Lynch/Carlos Cavazo
6th solo: Brad Gillis/Craig Goldie/Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser

Kevin DuBrow:
We are magic in the night

Rob Halford:
We are shadow, we are light

Geoff Tate:
We are forever you and I

Chorus (vocal leads: Dave Meniketti, Eric Bloom, Rob Halford)
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars

We're stars, yeah
We're stars
We are shadow, we are light
We're stars
We are magic in the night
We're stars, oh yeah
We're stars
We're stars
We are magic in the night
We're stars
We are shadow, we are light

We're stars
We're stars
We're stars
We're the magic
We're stars
We're stars
We're the beating of a heart

We're stars
Forever we will shine
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars