photo by Jon Wiederhorn

About 30 minutes before Killswitch Engage opened the Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards with a riveting three-song set, Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor spun records for the crowd to warm them up for the show.

Afterwards, during an exclusive on-site interview with XM Satellite Radio DJ Jose Mangin, Taylor talked about deejaying, the arrival of the Golden Gods and Slipknot's new video for "Sulfur." Click "more" to watch it, and don't miss a special edition of "Headbangers Ball" hosted by Taylor and Suicide Silence tonight at midnight on MTV2. Read more...

Eight days and counting until the telecast of the Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards, the first heavy metal awards show on U.S. soil. While we were backstage before the festvities began, we interviewed Suicide Silence frontman Mitch Lucker about performing at the event, the growing popularity of extreme metal, what's coming up for America's deathcore sweethearts and why they hate being called deathcore. Click "more" to check out the podcast and to hear our Golden Gods podcast with Killswitch Engage vocalist Howard Jones. Read more...

Starting this weekend, "Headbangers Ball" will begin eight days of special programming leading up to the exclusive premiere of the Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards, which airs Saturday, May 22 at 11 p.m.

On Saturday, April 25 we've got a Golden Gods Awards preview special on "Headbangers Ball" that'll air at 2 a.m. on MTV2. The show will feature music videos from all of the Golden Gods performers -- Megadeth, Killswitch Engage, Hatebreed, All That Remains and Suicide Silence -- as well as behind-the-scenes footage from the event itself, the first ever metal awards show on U.S. soil, which took place on April 7 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California.

Click "more" for the full schedule of next week's special Golden Gods programming and our review of the show. Read more...

Metallica is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Revolver Golden Gods Awards have been handed out and now it's time to get back to the day-to-day coverage of heavy metal. And that means another edition of "Your Vote Counts."

Last week, we premiered Hatebreed's "Ghosts of War" video, which is totally rippin.' But we also played new videos from Oceano, Static-X and Suicide Silence, among others. Click "more" to vote for your favorite. Only one vote per IP address.The winner will be chosen on Wednesday at 3 p.m. 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...

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...

MTV2 will be teaming up with Revolver magazine to present the premiere hard rock and heavy metal awards show, the first annual Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards, which will storm through Los Angeles' Club Nokia on Tuesday, April 7. The event will feature Ozzy Osbourne, Killswitch Engage, Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan and more, and will be aired on MTV2 as a one-hour special on Saturday, May 2.

"We're working really hard to make this an event worthy of the music it celebrates," Revolver editor in chief Tom Beaujour tells HeadbangersBlog.com. "Metal deserves this and deserves to have it done f---ing right." Read more...

Slayer look forward to another bloodbath with Manson

While Ozzfest hasn't popped back out from the crypt in which it has been hiding, two major spring and summer festivals have announced the first set of acts on their lineups, and both bear striking resemblance to Ozzfests of old.

Music As a Weapon IV will be headlined by Disturbed and will also feature Killswitch Engage on the main stage and Chimaira and Lacuna Coil on the second stage. And Like past Ozzfests, the event will feature tattoo artists, extreme sports and videogames. Read more...

photo courtesy of festivals2go.com

Between July 31 and August 2 more than 75,000 people descended in the German town of Wacken to witness one of the largest and most illustrious summer gatherings, the Wacken Open Air Festival. The festival, which was launched in 1990 has grown exponentially since its first year, which featured the obscure local acts 5th Avenue, Axe 'n Sex, Motoslug, Sacret Season, Skyline and Wizzard.

This year Wacken featured Iron Maiden, Avenged Sevenfold, Carcass, At the Gates, Children of Bodom, Exodus, Gorgoroth, Watain, Kreator, Killswitch Engage, Opeth, Obituary, Warbringer, Mortal Sin and many more performing on multiple stages. Click more for a professional slide show of the event. Read more...

Catch Chimaira on the No Fear tour with Killswitch Engage, Dragonforce, and He Is Legend. See dates below...

Until then, Watch "Ressurection":

Apr 26 2007 7:00P
Cafe Iguana Monterrey, MX
Apr 27 2007 7:00P
Circo Volador Mexico City, MX
Apr 29 2007 7:00P
Teatro Teleton Santiago, CL
Jun 1 2007 12:00P
Earthshaker Days Zurich, CH
Jun 7 2007 7:00P
Academy Glasgow, UK
Jun 8 2007 7:00P
Balmoral Hall Belfast, IE
Jun 9 2007 7:00P
TBA Sheffield, UK
Jun 10 2007 12:00P
Download Festival Donington, UK
Jun 15 2007 12:00P
Provinssi Rock Seinäjoki, FI
Jun 17 2007 12:00P
Nova Rock Nickelsdorf, AT
Jun 20 2007 7:00P
TBA Berlin, DE
Jun 21 2007 7:00P
013 Tilburg, NL
Jun 22 2007 12:00P
Hellfest Clisson, FR
Jun 24 2007 12:00P
Graspop Festival Dessel, BE