During our run on the "Hed To Head" tour with Mushroomhead and Hed P.E. we left Pittsburgh, PA and made an 8 hour journey home to Knoxville, TN to film our new video Taste of Ashes featuring Jamey Jasta (from Hatebreed). We had been trying to hook up with Jamey ever since our record came out to shoot a video for TOA. Luckily, Hatebreed was playing in our hometown when we had an opening, we planned so that we'd play their after party and shoot the video there.

The location for the video was The Cider House; a small venue that is connected to The Valarium which Hatebreed was playing that night. We, however arrived earlier in the day to meet the two Director's from our Raging Nation Team (Timur and Tom) who would be directing the video who flew in from New York. After everything was set up, SLS performed numerous times. Timur shot each band member individually capturing single performances while the whole band played together. Later, Jamey came over to the set to shoot his single shots. He was very polite, introducing himself to everyone on set, even our family and friends that were there. When Jamey performed his parts he was very calm and professional knowing exactly what to do, he even came back out during our live set to perform the song live with us and we really got to see him do what he does best - which is OWN the crowd.
To say the least we were exhausted!

What was great about doing this video besides having Jamey actually appear in the video was that we got to invite our families, friends, and fans to come hang out and be apart of the whole production, having them perform in the video also. This video is definitely one our most memorable ones to date because its raw gritty and in your face allowing no apologies. To me it is a very honest video, no glitz and glam to cover up what is really important...THE MUSIC! It's what you'll see when you come out to one of our shows.

I hope all who watch the video will enjoy it as much as we all did making it! -- Alexis Brown/Straight Line Stitch

Jamey Jasta checks in to present the new Hatebreed video, watch the full clip below...

"In Ashes They Shall Reap" is the first song we decided to focus on from our new album. I feel like this song will go on to become a big part of our live show as fans become more and more familiar with it. "Live For This", "I Will Be Heard" and "Destroy Everything" followed a similar type musical structure where the call and response part of the song become mini-anthems onto themselves and the audience responds accordingly and we feed off of that energy.

We shot this video a few weeks back in Hartford, CT with our long-time friend/director Dale "Rage" Resteghini who also shot "Defeatist" and some of our earlier clips as well.

The video captures the essence of the song and all the die-hard fans that came out to be a part of the live video shoot brought it to another level. We owe a lot to our fans for being the most amazing die-hards ever. We can't wait to start playing this song live and re-creating the energy you're about to see…

Our new self-titled studio album will be out on September 29th; we're really proud of it and can't wait to take it on the road. – Jamey Jasta/Hatebreed

Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta on black carpet with Vinnie Paul
photo by Jon Wiedehorn

At the first annual Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards, Hatebreed were the only performers to play four songs. For frontman Jamey Jasta's sake, we'd like to say it was because they were the best band at the event, but it probably had more to do with the length of their songs compared to those of Megedeth and Killswitch Engage.

Anyway, as always, Hatebreed rocked the joint and kids in the pit reacted by moshing, diving and engaging in other activities likely to cause bodily harm. After Hatebreed's soundcheck for the Awards, Sirius XM radio's metal master Jose Mangin sat down with Jasta and talked about the Golden Gods, the video for Hatebreed's cover of Slayer's "Ghosts of War," their new cover disc For the Lions and the return of original guitarist Wayne Lozinak.

Click "more" to watch. Also, watch Hatebreed guest host a special edition of "Headbangers Ball" tonight at 11 p.m. on MTV2. And don't miss the exclusive 60-minute telecast of the Golden Gods Awards Saturday night at 11 p.m. on MTV2, followed by an additional hour of outtakes and performances from the show. Read more...

One of the the highlights of the Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards was Hatebreed, who performed four scorching songs that pumped up the crowd and set the bar for much of the the activity that followed. During their set, two of the members wore shirts promoting their upcoming covers album, For the Lions, which comes out May 5 and features of brutal versions of songs by Slayer, Metallica, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, Sepultura, Cro-Mags and others. The album also marks the recording return of original guitarist Wayne Lozinak, who replaced Sean Martin in February.

During a podcast interview with frontman Jamey Jasta backstage at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards, we discussed the creation of For the Lions, plans for the next proper studio album, (due in September) and the trauma and sorrow that caused Jasta to mold the disc into what will be Hatebreed's "meanest and most negative record." We also discussed the future of Kingdom of Sorrow, Jasta's side project with Crowbar frontman and Down guitarist Kirk Windstein, the status of Jamey's label Stillborn Records and the current state of metal. Click "more" to stream or download the podcast. And catch the exclusive broadcast premiere of the Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards on May 2 on MTV2. Read more...

Sweeping this week's "Your Vote Counts" is Hatebreed's tremendous cover of Slayer's "Ghosts of War." The video will return to the next episode of "Headbangers Ball," which airs Saturday from 2 to 3 a.m. on MTV2.

"I have to admit, the Hatebreed video really surprised me, So I'm going with them," wrote GVOLTT, echoing the sentiments of other readers impressed by the band's ability to pay homage to Slayer and still express their own artistic vision.

Click "more" to watch the video plus a full Hatebreed concert from 2007's Hovefestivalen. Read more...

Most of last week was devoted to coverage of the first annual Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards, a heavy metal awards ceremony that took place in Los Angeles and Club Nokia and was attended by a who's who of headbanging celebrities, including Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Killswitch Engage, Hatebreed, Slipknot and Machine Head. Click more to see a photo gallery of the event, check out backstage interviews and read our review of the show, which will be broadcast on MTV2 on May 2. Read more...

Vinnie Paul with Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta
photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Between interviewing the Revolver Golden Gods Awards performers -- Megadeth, Killswitch Engage, Hatebreed and Suicide Silence -- posting entries about the event, reviewing the actual show and hanging with the heavies, we were able to shoot a couple dozen photos as the bangers walked the black carpet an hour or so before showtime. Click more to see close-up shots of members of Slayer, Megadeth, Alice in Chains, Motorhead, Bleeding Through, Job For a Cowboy and more. Read more...

When Connecticut hardcore metal masters, Hatebreed, started working on their covers album, For the Lions, they weren't planning to include any tracks by Slayer, and not because they weren't worthy. Slayer, says frontman Jamey Jasta was so influential and so supportive to Hatebreed that the band didn't want to pay them a disservice by screwing up one of their songs. Fortunately, Hatebreed changed their mind because "Ghosts of War," from Slayer's 1988 album South of Heaven is an excellent tribute to the masters, faithfully executed without being a photocopy of the original. Click "more" to watch the video for the song, which will debut on-air on Saturday's "Headbangers Ball," which airs from 2 to 3 a.m. on MTV2. Read more...

photo by Cody Smyth

Before "Headbangers Ball" got its name, the show was called "Heavy Metal Mania" and was hosted for about two years by Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. Then, the program changed to the "Ball," and Kevin Seal and Adam Curry were hosts for a brief time before Riki Rachtman took over in 1987 and Headbangers Ball" quickly became an institution.

For years, the show persevered with Rachtman alternately playing the roles of rocker, clown and interviewer. He accompanied Alice in Chains on a trip to a water part, in which singer Layne Staley fished in a public aquarium, members showed up in flippers and a duck life preserver and general mayhem ensued. On other programs, Rachtman went skydiving with Megadeth, partied with Pantera and stood bemused as Niravna frontman Kurt Cobain appeared for a "Headbangers Ball" interview in a full ball gown.

After the decline of metal, "Headbangers" went off the air for a while, starting in January 1995. But it was resurrected in 2003 on MTV2 and was hosted by Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta until early 2007. Along with the usual slew of headbanging favorites, Jasta brought in more underground acts, such as Pig Destroyer, Cattle Decapitation and Meshuggah.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Headbangers Ball," Snider, Rachtman and Jasta took part in a roundtable discussion hosted by Sirius radio programmer and personality Jose Mangin. Click "more" to check out some of the discussion and debate: Read more...

Sure, that's Lemmy, but can you ID the other folks in the pic?; photo by Nancy McDonald

Just three days left until MTV2 launches it's 20th Anniversary of "Headbangers Ball" celebration. In the spirit of old-school headbanging, we've got some vintage photos for you that'll either make you feel really, really old or really young.

Either way, tune in to "Headbangers Ball" Saturday from 11 p.m. to midnight EST and catch the on-air premiere of Divine Heresy's "Bleed the Fifth." Then chill for the rest of the weekend before we launch a week of what Spinal Tap might call "Heavy Metal memories." Read more...