photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Shortly after finishing their tour with Meshuggah and Cynic, The Faceless hit the road with Arsis, Misery Index and The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. As soon as they're done with that, they'll embark on a bill with Cannibal Corpse, Neuraxis and Obscura. Read more...

Arsis frontman James Malone must be getting pretty sick of revamping the band's lineup. In September, bassist Noah Martin quit to go back to college, and now guitarist Ryan Knight has joined The Black Dahlia Murder, replacing John Kempainen, who left suddenly last month to spend more time with his family. Read more...

By now you've seen all those top ten rock and metal lists featuring Metallica, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, Gojira, Nachtmystium, Enslaved, Opeth, Amon Amarth, All That Remains, Trivium, Meshuggah et al. So here's a list of ten slightly more indie acts that might not be on your radar yet, but which you owe it to yourself to check out:

10. Arsis - We Are the Nightmare (Nuclear Blast)
Technical death metal is rarely this inspiring. A breathtaking blend of speedy unconventional guitar work, abrupt rhythm shifts, double-bass drum thunder and real honest to goodness hooks.

9. These Arms Are Snakes - Tail Swallower and Dove (Suicide Squeeze)
Post-hardcore insanity merges with strong songwriting on this Seattle band's third full album. Direct and uncompromising, TS&D blasts through challenging math rock progressions, battering ram rhythms and bizarre grooves that'll remind you equally of Fugazi and Blood Brothers. But what else would you expect from former members of Botch and Kill Sadie?

8. Abigail Williams - In The Shadow of a Thousand Suns (Candlelight)
Honestly, we're not sure why this modern black metal album didn't crack more critics' year-end lists. The band even has a super-cute chick on piano/orchestration -- and the girl knows how to compose better than a lot of classical musicians. In The Shadow of a Thousand Suns is epic, brutal and shudders with horrific beauty -- like a haunting blend of Cradle of Filth and Immortal. (Click "more" to see our seven other choices.) Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

From now on, you gotta register as a part of MTV's Community to submit comments to HeadbangersBlog.com. And that means, if you wanna help choose what artist from the last "Headbangers Ball" returns for Saturday's show, you need to scroll to the bottom of the screen and sign up. It's easy and all submitted information is confidential. No one's gonna rob you of your identity or sell your email address to a third party. And, in addition to being able to comment on HeadbangersBlog.com posts (anonymous posts are no longer accepted), being part of the MTV Community will allow you to explore previously unexplored corners of the MTV.com community. That means you'll receive access to music and video premieres we can't offer on the Blog. One thing about the sign-up sheet, though. People are getting a little tripped up by the box asking for the users "Profile URL." So, here's what to do.

Under "Profile URL" just type something to identify you -- preferably some word that includes a couple numbers. That will then be attached to a long URL address that will be your private address for the site. Also, be sure to fill in all the required information on the form, and check the box verifying your interest in belonging to the MTV Community. Sounds corporate and all, but it's a good way to build a real metal community and minimize spam.

Okay, now on to this week's "Your Vote Counts." On Saturday's show we had premieres by Hatebreed and Cancer Bats. Choose one of them or someone else from the list below. Obviously, the act with the most votes will win a return slot on the next episode of "Headbangers Ball." As always, past winners are not eligible and neither are videos from old albums. In other words, only pick from our list.

Also, only ONE vote is allowed per IP address. It doesn’t matter if you use a different screen name. If you vote twice from the same computer, you will be disqualified. Voting runs between now and 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Click "more" to see the complete list. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

A short message before we get into this week's competition: Last week the astute judges of "Your Vote Counts" noticed that many of the votes being cast were coming from the same IP addresses. These voters were disqualified. Only one vote can come from a single IP address. If your roommate already cast his ballot, go find another computer.

Now on to this this week's challenge. Last week, Whitechapel won our contest, so you can't vote for them again. Other than that, submissions from the list below must be received by 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23. Feel free to include a comment, which may be published when we announce the winner. Oh, and you may not be listening to hair metal when you vote. Click "more" to see this week’s choices: Read more...

photo by Ivar Nikolaisen, courtesy of flickr.com

Last week you voted for Shai Hulud's "Misanthropy Pure" to return to Headbangers Ball for an encore airing on "Headbangers Ball" (which took place on Saturday). This week, Shai are ineligible, as are our other past winners (Dead Child, Opeth, Pelican, Danava, Behemoth). But there's till lots of stuff to chose from, including Arsis' "We are the Nightmare," which we debuted on last Saturday's show, Children of Bodom's "Hellhounds on My Trail," Machine Head's "Halo" and Unearth's "March of the Mutes."

Click "more" for the complete list. Votes must be placed in the comments section. Selections will be tallied at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11. Readers who vote more than once will be disqualified: Read more...