We can't imagine a name that sounds less metal than Twitter or a logo less inclined to conjure images of hatred, carnage and high-velocity riffage. But we recognize the importance of social networking, so we've dropped our guard and joined the Twitter community. You can read our, err, Tweets at www.twitter.com under the name HeadbangersBlog.

Typically, the metal world gets off to a slow start at the beginning of a new year. And while it has taken a while to shake of the hangover that was 2008, we're getting ready to swing into 2009 like a gladiator with a double-edged sword.

In the weeks ahead, we've got some sweet video premieres, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. For now, take a look at the vids from Saturday's show and let us know which you want to see again next week. Since we're starting anew for 2009, you can pick any of the new videos regardless of whether it won last year. Check the list below and make your choice. Remember, only one vote is allowed per IP address and choose only one band or be disqualified. Voting runs through Wednesday at 3 p.m. Click more to see this week's candidates. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

This Saturday, December 13, Testament will be taking over the airwaves on MTV2’s Headbangers Ball. Along with their brand-new video for “More Than Meets The Eye” (produced by Kevin Custer, who has also worked with Kingdom of Sorrow and Beneath the Massacre), "HBB" will also air never-before-seen footage from the band’s shoot at Alcatraz in San Francisco.

Six Testamentart pieces, performances, and videos will be intertwined with the rest of the videos in the program. Watch it on Saturday between 2 and 3 a.m. EST. Click "more" to watch the video now and read Testament's comments. Read more...

The end of November is coming. the leaves have fallen, football season's in full swing and Christmas ornaments are already decorating the city. In other words, it's time once again to get all those year end Top 10 lists together, and while you're at it don't forget to assemble a list of the Top 10 metal videos and send it over to MTV2. The "Headbangers Ball Best of 2008 Countdown" has actually already started and can be found at www.hbb.mtv2.com (click "vote"). Here's the direct link.

The final episode of the year will air on December 20 from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. and will be comprised entirely of the winning videos. If you can't wait 'til then, we'll post the winners right here on the Blog on December 19.

Click "more" to watch some clips you might wanna consider, then vote for your faves: Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

It was a photo finish, but in the end Between the Buried and Me triumphed over Machine Head and Divine Heresy to clinch a return slot for the next "Headbangers Ball."

The winning video was for the song "Informal Gluttony," which is featured on the band's CD and DVD package Colors Live. Click "more" to watch and to find out the new air times for "Headbangers Ball." 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...

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...

photo by Cody Smyth

Before "Headbangers Ball" got its name, the show was called "Heavy Metal Mania" and was hosted for about two years by Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. Then, the program changed to the "Ball," and Kevin Seal and Adam Curry were hosts for a brief time before Riki Rachtman took over in 1987 and Headbangers Ball" quickly became an institution.

For years, the show persevered with Rachtman alternately playing the roles of rocker, clown and interviewer. He accompanied Alice in Chains on a trip to a water part, in which singer Layne Staley fished in a public aquarium, members showed up in flippers and a duck life preserver and general mayhem ensued. On other programs, Rachtman went skydiving with Megadeth, partied with Pantera and stood bemused as Niravna frontman Kurt Cobain appeared for a "Headbangers Ball" interview in a full ball gown.

After the decline of metal, "Headbangers" went off the air for a while, starting in January 1995. But it was resurrected in 2003 on MTV2 and was hosted by Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta until early 2007. Along with the usual slew of headbanging favorites, Jasta brought in more underground acts, such as Pig Destroyer, Cattle Decapitation and Meshuggah.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Headbangers Ball," Snider, Rachtman and Jasta took part in a roundtable discussion hosted by Sirius radio programmer and personality Jose Mangin. Click "more" to check out some of the discussion and debate: Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

We're down to the final two days of our week-long celebration of the 20th anniversary of "Headbangers Ball," but that means we've still got 48 hours to look back at the past with classic footage and glance into the future with new video premieres. Today, our second premiere is the Between the Buried and Me video for "Informal Gluttony." We'll get to that in a minute, but first some background from singer and keyboardist Tommy Rogers:

The date was August 2, 2008. The place was Nashville, Tennessee at Rocketown, where we filmed our new CD/DVD "Colors_Live." Were we nervous? Yes. We've never filmed a show for a DVD before, and we've never played a set that lasted for almost two hours before. With all the nerves aside, this was one of the most exciting moments in our career. This was a show truly for Between the Buried and Me fans -- two sets which consisted of Colors in its entirety, and six old songs chosen by the fans. (Click more to read the rest of Rogers' commentary and watch the video for "Informal Gluttony"). Read more...

I was a strange year. In 1987, porn star Cicciolina wins a seat in the Italian Parliament and U.S. presidential hopeful Gary Hart's career was ruined when news broke of an affair he had with model Donna Rice. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore got married, the largest drop in the history of Wall Street ocurred (the Dow lost almost 23 percent of its value in a single day) and condom commercials appeared for the first time on television. It was also the year MTV launched "Headbangers Ball," the program that would help guide the course of heavy metal history through the '90s and beyond.

Sadly, the first edition of "Headbangers" was lost in a fire, but we were able to retrieve the show, which was aired in May 1987. The program was hosted by Howard Stern -- who, at the time was only the "King of Some Media" and his special guest, Mountain frontman Leslie West. Click "more" to turn back to clock and prepare to rock: Read more...