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...

A pugilistic dementia reaction of habit
with a system in slow motion.
Done by thirty-three
and bitter about it.
What could have been!
Not a single promise kept

Just what is Down (ex-Pantera) frontman Philip Anselmo referring to in the first six lines of his new poem? He could be writing about a doped up "pugilistic" rocker "in slow motion." Or he might be referencing a minor 33 year old celebrity who was promised the world but squeezed like an orange, then left out to rot in the hot sun. Or maybe he's going on about some psychotic stripper who's past her prime.

But no, Phil's actually going on -- as he often does -- about his favorite sport, boxing, and the heroism, triumph and tragedy of the fighters who make it so exciting. The poem's called "The Retired Journeyman" and it was published by BoxingInsider.com. Anselmo's obsession with boxing is comparable, perhaps, to Ernest Hemmingway's love for bull fighting -- except that boxers don't brandish spears and swords and stuff... yet.

Click "more" to read the complete poem and watch Anselmo training aspiring boxer "The Anvil" and talking on camera to "Headbangers Ball" about the poetry of the ring. 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...

We wont waste time filibustering. We'll just say if you're not down with Down, you suck. And if you don't want to see the band open for Metallica, you suck more. The new Down video for "N.O.D." will receive its on-air debut tonight on MTV2 at around 10 p.m. EST in celebration of the 20th anniversary of "Headbangers Ball." The video will also be included on the DVD of the upcoming deluxe reissue of the band's 2007 album Over the Under. If you need to see it now, click "more". But first, check out our new guest blog from singer Philip Anselmo. Read more...

Avant-garde vocalist Jarboe has recruited Down singer Philip Anselmo, Mayhem growler Attila Csihar and others to contribute to her new album MahaKali, which comes out October 14. Click "more" to hear an audio stream of the full record. Read more...

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Voodoo Fest in New Orleans, Louisiana, the festival organizers have posted a batch of professionally shot vintage videos on their Web site, some of which are very metal, indeed.

This year, the event will go down October 24, 25 and 26 and will feature a diverse range of acts, including Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots, Mars Volta, Butthole Surfers and loads of jazz, funk, blues, soul, emo, hip-hop and electronic acts.

Click "more" to watch killer clips of Down, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Godsmack, P.O.D. and others from past Voodoo festivals. Read more...

To promote their tour with Gwar and Toxic Holocaust, and maybe garner a few more sales of their self-titled debut album, Kingdom of Sorrow, -- the supergroup featuring Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta and Crowbar frontman Kirk Windstein -- have posted a widget featuring a free download of "Lead Into Demise," an exclusive cover of Motorhead's "No Class" and the album tracks "Begging For the Truth" and "Buried in Black."

The Kingdom of Sorrow tour launches October 2 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and runs through December 20 in Philadelphia. But keep in mind, until at least November 23, the role of Kirk Windstein will be played by Type O Negative guitarist Kenny Hickey since one of the other bands Windstein is in -- a little underground entity known as Down -- will also be on tour.

"Obviously, my commitment is to Down and I cannot wait for these Australian and Japanese dates as well as the Metallica shows in the U.S.," said Windstein on the band's MySpace. "Since Kingdom Of Sorrow has been confirmed on the Gwar tour for a while, I [insisted] they find a fill in for me and do the tour, but I will try and make as many shows as humanly possible. It looks likely that I will be able to finish the last few weeks of the tour with them."

And while we're in the Kingdom, here's another tidbit: HeadbangersBlog.com will premiere the band's new video "Lead the Ghosts Astray" on October 9. Okay, click "more" to check out that awesome widget: Read more...