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...

Metal isn't the only thing lurking on Unearth vocalist Trevor Phipps' iPod, but judging from this random sample, if he's gonna listen to thrash, it's gotta be old-school: Hence Slayer's "Black Magic," Entombed's "Hollowman" and Anthrax's "N.F.B." Phipps is also into more cutting-edge stuff like Protest the Hero and Scissorfight, not to mention quirky alternative music including Portishead, Bjork and Flaming Lips. Plus, there's some cool punk, country, crooner music and classic rock. The only embarrassment we see is Dave Matthews' "Trouble." We hope we're reading that wrong and it's really a song by Trouble called "Dave Matthews," but that seems really unlikely. Bonus points for George Carlin's "Familiar Expressions," which kinda evens out the Dave Matthews thing. On a scale of 100, we give Phipps' Random Shuffle a 90 for openminded metal fans and a 70 for metalcore purists. Click "more" to see the list and watch a video by one of the artists -- not Dave Matthews! Read more...

Unless you're buying them from the dudes who swarm the parking lot after concerts, metal t-shirts are pretty durable. We've still got a Corrosion of Conformity sweatshirt from 1991 and Napalm Death and Entombed shirts from 1993, and each looks good as new despite countless washings with multicolored clothing. But we were amused when we saw this post by BoingBoing.net called "How to Launder Precious Heavy Metal T-Shirts," and if you've been less fortunate than us with your heavy metal delicates, maybe their tips will do you well. Click more to read to article. Read more...