photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Get ready to take an active role in the democratic process. Just think about President Obama's "Oh, Yes We Can" speech and select the best video from last week's "Ball" for an encore appearance on the next show. Remember, just one vote per IP address and only choose from the videos on the list below, since old videos and past winners are ineligible. Voting runs through Wednesday at 3 p.m. Click "more" to see your choices: Read more...

We don't want to sway voters or anything, but we're pretty sure we're going through the motions with this week's "Your Vote Counts." Sure, Static-X's "Stingwray" video is kind of cool and it does feature a former porn star and all, but it would take a video on the level of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" to top Mastodon's new clip "Divinations."

So, we'll just declare Mastodon this week's winner now and encourage you to leave comments about why the band, the video and director Roboshobo deserve the frickin' Nobel prize of metal. Click "more" to watch the video and see the other contestants who don't have a chance of winning. Read more...

When we got Trivium guitarist Corey Beaulieu's Random Shuffle we expected to see at least one or two Pantera songs on there. After all, this is a dude who learned to play by jamming along with records like Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power. Then it dawned on us. Beaulieu probably knows those so cold he can listen to them note for note in his head and never needs to place the actual discs in a player again -- kind of the way a lot of people are with Led Zeppelin. Does anyone really need to hear "Stairway to Heaven" again before they die? We've yet to see it on anyone's Random Shuffle and it certainly isn't on Beaulieu's list. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

If you were out of town last week, or your computer was in the shop because you had to have all the viruses removed that you acquired surfing for porn, don't worry, we've got your back. Here's a recap of some of the coolest stuff we posted:

We were there when Slipknot, Coheed and Cambria and Trivium blew the roof off Madison Square Garden and checked back with a full review of the show.

Click "more" for a recap on what else you might have missed. And keep up with all the metal on Twitter.com under the name HeadbangersBlog. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Last night, Slipknot stepped onstage and destroyed New York City. Of course, that's nothing new. The Des Moines, Iowa nine-piece have been doing just that on a regular basis since 1999. But this time they hopped on the shoulders of giants and proceeded to beat the looming bastards to the ground.

The Knot were performing in the legendary Madison Square Garden, they were headlining and the event was completely sold out. Check back Monday for a complete review of the show. For now, take a look at our photo gallery of Sliknot and opening band Coheed and Cambria. Sadly, by the time we received our photo pass Trivium had already left the stage. Sounds like a definite case of deja vu. Click "more" to check out our pics. Read more...

Our friends at Rhapsody.com recently contacted a bunch of metal dudes to get their take on Sunday's big game. Here's what Gwar frontman Oderus Urungus had to say:

"The fact that the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl shows how crazy the league has become. On any given Sunday anybody -- except Detroit -- is capable of beating anybody in the league, and in any single game careers can be lost and seasons ruined. I'd root for the Cards if Warner would quit doing shout-outs to God. God doesn't give a sh*t about football. In fact, God is dead ..."

Click here to for comments from Chimaira, Five Finger Death Punch, Trivium and others.

For those of you who aren't sure what the hell Trivium frontman Matt Heafy is talking about in the band's new single "Throes of Perdition," "hell" is the operative word. Throes of perdition literally means "struggle of eternal damnation," which is something of which Trivium seem to have been spared. 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...

"Touring the world sucks... the food outside of the USA sucks... people overseas suck..."

That's all I ever used to hear from bands before I had the opportunity to tour outside of the United States. When I started touring outside of North America I thought I would really miss the comforts of our home culture. Couple that with the fact that the touring life sometimes sucks you down into the deep, dark vortex of sitting in the bus all afternoon, lounging in the dressing room all day, playing on the Internet, doing the show, drinking yourself to sleep and repeat.

Now, this works well for some people and I have experienced it myself on many tours, but found it ultimately unfulfilling. To each his own, I guess. However, lately I have made a conscious effort to tour in a new way and embrace the opportunity to explore the open road and see as many new things in as many of the cities we are fortunate enough to visit. Read more...

The WTF story of the day goes to mask-wearing metal terrorists Slipknot and Dragonfly-riding prog-rockers Coheed and Cambria, which will tour together in the new year. And if we're interpreting the symbols correctly, this is certainly one of the seven signs of the apocalypse. Trivium will open the show and, perhaps, assume the role of lukewarm water between the fire and ice iconoclasts. Read more...