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...

When we were young, we once saw an advertisement for a concert featuring Slayer, Venom and Exodus at the disco club Studio 54 in New York City. At the time we thought this was the heaviest, most insane metal bill ever conceived. Of course, that was 1985, and since then band after band have redefined the very definition of heavy, Since then, we've seen Possessed rip it up with Dark Angel, and we've watched Napalm Death, Carcass and Morbid Angel tear it up together on an Earache showcase, not to mention Deicide sharing a bill with, Obituary, Malevolent Creation and Cannibal Corpse. Read more...

Sadly, Ozzy was unable to make the Screaming Metal gig

Before you tune in to MTV2 tonight at 2 a.m. to catch "Headbangers Ball," if you're in the New York/New Jersey area you might wanna hightail it over to Dingbatz in Clifton, New Jersey to catch Talking Metal podcast dudes John Ostronomy and Mark Strigl rocking out onstage with ex-members of Hades, Alan Tecchio, Dan Lorenzo, and Ron Lipnicki (who is now the drummer in Overkill) and a bunch of special guests playing a killer set of '80s covers. (Click "more" to watch a video of the band rehearsing for the show). Read more...

The current singer of Exodus, Rob Dukes is a pretty big, burly guy and after a night performing under the hot lights, he's positively dripping with sweat. His scalp glistens, his shirt's soaked and you can bet everything he's got on underneath is as wet as garments dropped in a lake. So there's no way in hell we'd even touch his worn socks without wearing two sets of rubber gloves, let alone put them in our mouths. We may be Exodus fans, but we're not insane, rabid and delusional like some of the diehards. Dukes explains in his guest blog:

When on tour, you have to either recycle clothes or you run out or you buy new ones. There are no laundromats in Europe that are easily available, so we have a thing called “gig clothes” or “the rock suit,” which is something you have two sets of so, as you’re letting one dry, you're wearing the other. They're the clothes you wear on stage every night. I personally have three of the same thing because when I come off stage, I look like I jumped in a pool.

So, 30 shows equals a lot of socks, and I wear the same pair of socks for four or five shows. I wear them onstage, then I let them dry and do this over and over for a few shows (let me remind you they are only worn onstage). They usually smell after two shows but f--k it, I'm on tour! Read more...

I hate politicians -- all of them. The very nature of their job is to serve the few who spend the most. But the hypocrisy hit an all time high during Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican convention and the subsequent defense of her ongoing problems at home.

The "Family Values" party attacks the media for coverage of her and her family, yet they have no problem parading her knocked-up daughter out there for millions to see as some warped example of "Family Values." Am I to believe a pregnant 17 year old girl forced into a sham shotgun wedding to a self proclaimed "f---ing redneck" is some shining example of "family values?" Get real, and while you're at it, get some condoms. Read more...

Here's Rick Ernst, director of "Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal," writing about the moment he first discovered thrash metal. His insightful and entertaining movie, which started taking form more than two decades after that personal epiphany, comes out on DVD on September 16.

Some will say thrash metal was born with Metallica's Kill 'Em All. Others will say Exodus was playing thrash metal before them. And many metal fans will tell you that Motorhead and Venom started it all.

While strong arguments can be made for all, ultimately, there was no "Big Bang" moment for thrash metal -- no definitive "moment in time" when genre was born. However, there is that personal moment where all of us as individual fans discovered thrash metal.

For me, it was a mixed cassette that was handed to me by a friend in high school. The tape was a third or fourth generation dub, hardly digital quality, but it had a huge impact on my life. Upon first listen, the thrashing sounds of Possessed, Nuclear Assault, Overkill and many others seemed like a cruel joke – a bastardization of the beloved heavy metal I knew back in 1984. Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Accept and others were my standard, and thrash metal had just turned my metal world on its head. The first few listens were for amusement. I mean, were Nuclear Assault for real when they sang "Hang the Pope?" (Turns out they were joking – to an extent. It was a metaphor. They didn't want to hang anyone – they’re actually very nice guys.) By the second round of listens, I could see there were a "few" good songs on the tape.

About three weeks later, I was buying every thrash album I could afford. I was addicted to the speed, the power, the musicianship and the middle-finger salute to the mainstream that thrash metal provided. It’s funny looking back on that summer of 1984. I basically discovered thrash metal through a cassette tape that I mainly listened to on a boom box in my friend's backyard. How could I have known back then that 24 summer’s later, I'd be releasing a movie on thrash metal on DVD.

In any event, that’s how I discovered thrash. Click "more" to check out this sneak peak of "Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal" to see how it was "born" in the eyes of the bands who lived through that very special time. Read more...

After months of waiting, the DVD release of the thrash metal documentary "Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal" is finally on the horizon. The flick, which was directed by Rick Ernst, comes out September 16 and for the next four weeks we'll be premiering scenes and segments from the movie.

To start, we offer an exclusive clip from the Exodus section of the movie. Click "more" to hear from Ernst about the band and to watch the footage. Read more...