photo by Jon Wiederhorn

We knew a random iPod list from Between the Buried and Me vocalist Tommy Rogers would be wildly eclectic, and we were looking forward to seeing which avant-garde, electronic, hardcore and freakazoid artists would pop up on his Shuffle. We were hardly disappointed by selections from acts like Matmos, Jon Zorn, Thievery Corporation and Hardingrock, but we were kinda surprised by some of the other titles that surfaced for all to see. For example, we never expected Billy Joel's mainstream '70s pop hit "Big Shot" and who would have anticipated the power metal of Rhapsody? There was also a surprising amount of ripping thrash, death and doom metal from Entombed, Corrosion of Conformity and Down. On a scale of 100, we give Tommy Rogers Random Shuffle a 90 for open-minded listeners and an 80 for anyone stuck in their prog/hardcore/metalcore cave. Click more for the complete list and to watch a video from one of the bands. 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 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...

There aren't too many bands as engagingly uncategorizable as North Carolina's Between the Buried and Me. One minute, they're writing dizzying prog rock songs full of unconventional rhythm and tempo changes, and the next they're unleashing a series of dissonant, chugging chords and crashing beats as jarring as a wrecking ball through your living room window. The band's eclecticism appeals equally to fans of death metal, prog-rock, metalcore, hardcore and even deathcore.

Because of this, Between the Buried and Me have played some wildly divergent bills since releasing their fifth album, Colors, last September. This spring they were on Dream Theater's Progressive Nation tour package along with Opeth and 3, and they're currently wrapping up a European tour with Meshuggah and Dillinger Escape Plan. Once they get back from Europe at the end of the month they'll be done touring for a while, but in September they'll head out again for a U.S. tour with Children of Bodom.

While they're off the road, Between the Buried and Me will begin working on the follow-up to Colors, which they hope to release in early 2009. For fans who can't wait that long, the band will release a live DVD in October featuring two sets -- one of Colors material and one of older songs.

While Between the Buried and Me were in Europe, we talked to guitarist Paul Waggoner about the band's efforts to remain original, the difference between experimentation and self-indulgence, the upcoming DVD and the next studio record, which just might be the group's first full-fledged concept album. Waggoner also filled us in on the final show shenanigans on the Progressive Nation tour and his favorite prog and metal bands.

Click "more" to stream or download the podcast: Read more...