Headbangers Ball MTV’s Headbangers Ball – sadly one of
the last sources of free, publicly broadcasted metal in the world. Whether
it’s any good or not, I simply cannot comment because sadly I do not have
the privilege of having MTV in my house (what a damn shame.) It seems that
the first disc is a collection of more ‘well known’ (dare I say ‘popular?)
bands, that is to say that it holds a bit of a numetal majority, which
annoyed me because there are some damn good tracks stuck in the middle
of some rather expendable ones. The second disc generally holds harder
and heavier tracks, which are generally less popular in the mainstream.
DISC ONE: The ‘Popular’ Disc
Genre: Popular Metal (Predominately
Numetal)
Rating: Best Track: Slayer – "Reign In
Blood" (Live)
So what’ve we got? A fairly mish mash
collection of numetal, with a tiny bit of hardcore, pop rock and thrash
metal thrown in just for the hell out it. This disc will please many numetal
fans with the catchy little numbers from Staind, Cold, Manson, Ill Nino,
Spineshank, Stone Sour and Mushroomhead.
For a change the Staind track "Price To
Pay" is almost tolerable, with quite a nice little hook in the chorus.
I am in no way a fan of Cold and their ‘widely acclaimed’ hit "Stupid Girl",
to me they just seem like Staind without the fat, baldy whiney bitch of
a singer. Spineshank’s "Smothered" was actually one of my favourite tracks
off their latest album Self Destructive Pattern, and well worth
a bit of a listen. The Manson track "This Is The New Shit" aptly demonstrates
why I rated his latest CD so low – namely the abysmal song writing. I mean
who the hell wants to hear ‘rabble rabble bitch bitch rabble rabble party
party sex sex sex blah blah blah’ (et cetera)? That’s right, no one, and
especially not me.
The Ill Nino track "When It Cuts" was poorly
chosen, being perhaps the least inspiring track on a fairly decent numetal
record.
The same can be said for Mudvayne’s "World
So Cold", an extremely bland little ballad from an otherwise sound release.
Stone Sour’s "Inhale" represents a mediocre effort from a mediocre band,
but no track on the album shouts ‘overrated piece of burnt-out crap’ quite
like the Deftones’ "Hexagram". It’s numetal, but in no way catchy or clever,
reusing the same shitty fragmented four-chord progression they have used
throughout their entire career. Mournful.
The little hardcore ditty "This Is Now"
depicts Hatebreed doing what Hatebreed do best; getting angry and playing
loud.
Killswitch Engage’s "Fixation On The Darkness"
provides a nice little introduction for some to the bands rather fragmented
song structures. The new Static-X track "Destroy All" is uncharacteristically
weak for the band (much like the new single) without any of the half-serious
hooks from Wisconsin Death Trip.
And when we have the Stone Sour contingent
of Slipknot, we must therefore have the other half, the (slightly) lesser-known
Glam Metal band Murderdolls. The band’s first single "Dead In Hollywood"
is a bit of satirical fun, as are indeed the band live.
The biggest letdown on the disc is similarly
the biggest let down on Anthrax’s new album We’ve Come For You All.
>From quite possibly the best metal release of the year comes one of the
cheesiest rock ballads in "Safe Home". Don’t let the track turn you off
buying the album. As for the best track on the disc, naturally Slayer’s
live rendition of "Reign In Blood" takes the cake a thousand times over.
DISC TWO: The ‘Scary’ Disc Genre: Varied
Rating: Best Track: SYL – "Relentless",
In Flames – "Cloud Connected"
Ahh, at last, now we get to the business
end of the disc! We’ve got some death metal, hardcore, rap metal, math’s
metal, Devy metal - even some black metal compliments of Cradle Of Filth.
Quite a nice little collection of varying metal sub-genres.
The one major pitfall of this disc is that
in places it seems MTV believes ‘real’ metal requires nothing but downtuned
guitars and shitty screams, which allows for a collection of substandard
tracks to slip through the gaps amongst ‘underground’ heavyweights.
Highlights can be found in Lamb Of God’s
"Ruin", Arch Enemy’s "We Will Rise", In Flames’ "Cloud Connected", Chimaira’s
"Down Again", Strapping Young Lad’s "Relentless", Meshuggah’s "Rational
Gaze" and surprisingly enough Cradle Of Filth’s "Mannequin". I am by no
means a fan of Danny Filth, but this track is heavy, melodic, catchy and
very different.
There is however a few let down tracks
on the disc, namely being the collection of ‘underground’ (IE: shitty Ozzfest
Stage 2) bands MTV decided to throw in. Weak tracks appear in the songs
from Eighteen Visions, Lacuna Coil, Mastodon and Motograter whereas a note
of derivative psuedo-hardcore crap can be found in 36 Crazyfists, Demon
Hunter and Poison The Well. Then comes perhaps the worst song on the entire
compilation – a sh*tty hip/hop come metal song entitled "Mandibles" by
E.Town Crazy.
Out of the total forty-track line up, only
nine or so can actually be counted as ‘good’ and a further seven as ‘average.’
The sobering reality is that even this so-called ‘Headbangers Ball Compilation
Disc’ blows pretty solidly. Definitely not a ‘must buy’ album but perhaps
it will do some social good in introducing a few numetal darlings into
the realm of In Flames, Slayer, Arch Enemy, Strapping and Lamb of God.
Any ‘real metal fan’ will find this disc bland and unfulfilling.
Posted by Daddy Jeremy:
yall need to shut the f*!k up and stop arguien because yall kniw nothing about rock
Posted by old school rocker:
HEAVY METAL SUCKS,MTV SUCKS,PUT THE TWO TOGETHER AND YOU GOT GUARANTEED SUCKAGE!
MUSIC DIED WHEN MTV WAS BORN!
Posted by Wheelz:
hobo, slayergirl, why the hell are you fighting ITS A GODDAMN WEB SITE
Posted by Wheelz:
i think this site needs to have a list of the dates of headbangers ball & the songs & artist's names in order of time
Posted by mASSACRE:
Posted by Brundlefly7: I think you are all a bunch of dorks... who are the dorks tHE Metal fan or the Metal Haters?
Posted by Massacre:
Listen punk. I don't what you think but I'm not going to sit on my @$$ listening to stupid jazz music. HEADBANGERS BALL RULZ!JAZ SUKS!
Posted by And You Think You Know English?:
How can our opinions be over-hyperbolised? Shurely shome mishtake? I mean, I could just about live with mega-hyperbolised, even hyper-hyperbolised, but that, my friend, is to overassume the length and breadth of one's moral superiority. I like what you did with 'wangst' though. Diggin' it.
Posted by Kids These Days Can't Spell:
What a tonne of over-hyperbolised teenage wangst. Go and listen to jazz. Or Queens of the Stone Age, at the very least.
Posted by Nirvana kid:
The Cds are both good music but I perfer the second one because its not all commercial, and The Music is really awesome
Posted by GothBloth:
We what can I say just to much cookie monster vocals for me. I'm sticking to listen to metal bands like
Megadeth
Rob zombie
Ozzy
Type O Negative
Ministry
Nocturne
Posted by shaggs:
their both good
Posted by Cradle:
the cd rules. the first disc is awesome simce it has mushroomhead, hatebreed, and killswitch engage. the second disc is the better of the two in my mind. it has (just to name a few) chimaira, devildriver, lamb of god, lacuna coil and many other awesome bands. if someone is really into the metal scene, i think this is a must have cd.
Posted by Brian:
I think you didn't do KsE enough credit. That's not their best, but it's still kickass. Also, don't down Deftones off of one song, Deftones kickass!
Posted by newageanarchist:
The one thing I have to disagree with in the artical would have to be the referance to Lacuna Coil. I have not heard alot from them but i thought their contribution to the disc "Heaven's A Lie" was a very strong track.
Posted by Brundlefly7:
I think you are all a bunch of dorks...
Posted by Throwbackking:
I agreeed with most of the songs but here are a few i didn't:
deftones (how could u those guys are trendsetters)
ill nino: "when it cuts" is a great track
Lamb of god: terrible
mudvayne: great song great live band
cold better than staind
manson and cratle of filth: both are a waste of time, those guys should pack it in
highlights of this album are in flames, hatebreed, mudvayne, deftones, strapping young lad, killswitch, and ill nino
Posted by TheBlackMeatalHeadChick:
Personally I think that both c.d.s are good. but everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But some of the opinions that were given were really low. I think it is safe to say that the bands you dont like obviously made it farther in the buisness than you did...I don't see you with music out, Hobo, im not saying that your opinions dont count but look at what you re saying from a different angle before you critize others... *RoCk oUt aNd oN AlWaYz*
Posted by wicked!:
I love this c.d
Posted by MetalZelda:
Eh.... Hobo man, I almost totally agree.I have just two differences... I would have to say 'Destroy All' by Static X is damn good... as well as 'March of the Fire Ants' by Mastodan. Well now, the rest obviously correct I would have to say.... oh yeah, and 'The House of 1000 Corpses' by Rob Zombie, was extremely dissapointing, just more advertisement for his really... disgraceful horror flick, Rob Zombie, for once, has let me down.
Posted by bleedyoudry666:
i think this dude sux and i give give a fck less
Posted by wow...you are all stupid:
mtv blows donkey cock...they never play any good music anymore...its all those stupid show like newlyweds and that sh$$...the only good shows are headbangers ball and rock countdown.(cause not everyone is a pure metalhead) but i really wouldnt have bought this cd if i knew if wasnt going to be what i thought it was...instead of spending like 20$ of it, i just would go download a bunch of songs of itunes or something like that for like 49cents each....make ur own mix....of songs u like
Posted by worthy:
fairly $hite too be honest theres only bout 5 songs that are any gud
Posted by people need to chill!!:
Hobo u really have to stop listen to what these ppl r saying... okay sure one person may like lets say slipknot and another may not... it doesnt mean that either one is right or wrong... it just means everyone is entitled to their own opinions. so dont listen to them if all theyre going to do is b*tch and complain that u didnt say their favorite band was the best on the 2-disc set. f*ck them if theyre going to act like 5 year olds...
Posted by Hobo:
Out of here for good? Even if I told you I prefer Agraphobic Nosebleed, Origin, F*ck Im Dead, The Kill, Macabre and countless others over the (majority) if sh!te on this record? And Origin sh!ts on Mastodon.
Posted by Drunken Ghost:
Uhhh did that dude say "shi*ty underground bands" and proceed to list MASTODON, one of the best metal bands of the new millenium? I guess Nu releases by In Flames beat them by a long shot huh...
Ozzfest's second stage holds some of the best metal bands today in the form of God Forbid and Unearth, and to a lesser extent even Atreyu, I guess all that recycled trend metal this site concentrates on does not allow enough room for talk of real metal. Oh well, i'm out of here for good... there's my rant for my own sake.
Posted by SlipKnOt2004:
i think this c.d. is one of the best metal c.d. ive heard in along time. i think the second disc is f*ckin heavy. I LOVE IT!!!!
Posted by Brock:
36 crazyfists have gone downhill, true, with the new album, but they still far out class most of the stuff out there
Posted by Shagrash:
I think the choice of the cold song was sh!t, they didnt even write the damned words to it, theres first two albums where alot better than year of the spider, but thats mainstream for ya, good review
Posted by Hobo:
Slayergirl you tard, I gave the goddam CDs 3/5 and 3.5/5 respectively - that's not a bad score. As I f*cking said, it's NOT A BAD CD but then again it's not terrific. What type of total f*cktard buys compilations anyway?
Posted by Deathmetalmaggot:
Oops...Well, I'm f*ckin gayer than Richard Simmons anyway, but my keyboard has been malfuntioning ever since I came all over it while cybering at gayposers.com. They've got a chatroom there where we all celebrated the release of this cd.
Posted by Deathmetalfaggot:
It's a m*ckin awsome CD and that maggot who rated it m*ckin sucks sh*t and doesn't know good music, instead he just gives the artists low blows on some wicked songs. I think you need a new guy on here cuz this is a crazy, awsome CD that deserves alot more credit, and that mag who rated should die.
Posted by Otter:
I think your analysis on the second cd was pretty good... but f*ck you, I like Poison the Well
Posted by rockfan:
this cd is awesome no matter what anyone says. I've listened to it all the way through a lot and it never gets old!
Posted by slayergirl:
f*ck you hobo. headbangers ball is one of the best c.d.'s out there right now. F*CK you and your review. i think that if you say you're a "metal god" you should rethink your superpowers! so what, the record company sent you the c.d. for free. is that supposed to say something about you and your taste in music? i think that some of the numetal is pretty crappy, but not all of it. in short the c.d. is f*cking awesome and anybody who goes on what hobo thinks is a f*cking dumba$$ and is probably missing out on some bada$$ music.
Posted by Hobo:
Dani Filth is a f*cking faggot and COF's music is total and utter crap. You might as well be listening to the f*cking Darkness RJ. In terms of Black Metal, COF are f*cking trend metal. They're the poster boys of the whole goddam genre. Listen to some real metal with some BALLS like SYL, LOG, Testament, Slayer, Death, Grip INC, Old Mans Child, Origin & Meshuggah. F*cking falsetto crap. And McKee, that line was bad it actually made me weep for the human race. In the future we'll be burning f*cktards like you for heat energy.
Posted by RJ McKee:
Based on your faggot review, it should be called the Homo Review, not the Hobo Review.
Posted by nothing:
it's DANI FILTH not DANNY, moron.
Posted by CYCO:
i think headbangers ball is the sh*t i loved it in fact im listining to disc 2 right now i like both cd the same they both have great artists and great songs that is all you may go now
Posted by Riotracer:
i love to CD its so awesome, marilyn mansons song kiks ass!i only took off 4 songs but the rest r awesome...headbangers ball 2 isnt as good..i took off like 7 from there..but disk 1 kiks ass
Posted by RJ:
I think you don't know sh*t about music, but especially nothing about metal. You put "suprisingly Cradle of Filth" as if a good track is a surprise. Dani (the correct spelling) Filth's lyrical abilities alone outdo most other Headbanger Ball's bands efforts. And a little tip, Tristania which are from Norway (quite a good metal change). Give them a listen you Pop Rock queer.
Posted by Saltine Crakers:
Hey i like e town concrete and arch enemy so forget you man if your ganna put them down thats preaty sad you have to complain about bands you dont like rather than bands you do like. and i agree static X was kick but.
Posted by Saltine Crakers:
i loved the album right now im trying to find the lyrics to e.town concrete but have no luck hopfully ill find sum info at there web site but i love the mushroom head , anthrax, arch enemy, SYL,Sevendust, mushuga . lol i could go on and on! I love the album and im so grade it came out.
Posted by rockkidd:
i think that this cd is the sh*t yeah their are a few songs on here that a pretty lame but i like it
Posted by Hobo:
Oh yea, and I'm a metal master. I'll trash all I want, for I am the metal god.
Posted by Hobo:
You're not the same genre - you're a commerically spawned, musically simplistic offshoot of the greatest genre on earth. Good death metal? Crown Of Thorns & Arch Enemy. Whats wrong with Arch? Some of their newer stuff is pretty decent. I'm more of a thrash fan though myself.
Posted by hobohater:
i agree thatthe deftones songon the cd is horrible, but trashing new bands like 36 crazyfsts and motograter who have well written lyrics and guitar riffs that not even i can keep up with sometimes is just wrong, when u write, produce, and play a song as good as any of the songs u said suck, let me know, id like to hear it so i can trash it , you self-proclaimed metal master
go fvck yourself
Posted by We Are The Same GENRE!!!:
i think slayer are good, but ripping arms and f*cking dead ppl can get kind of boring. best bands at the moment are mudvayne, chimaira, ill nino, machine head. death metal is boring, and arch enemy suck, so do linkin park, and that shi*ty trapt band headstrong to suck di*k. iknow this is really random but im bored
Posted by Hobo:
'if u were gonna b!tch about the album so much you should of listened to it before buying it dumbass' - DUH.... I'm a f#cking reviewer slvtface, the record company sent me the CD for free. Stop being so god dam stupid. F#ck.
Posted by huh?:
punkgato: says pretty much all "nu-metal" huffs ass - then she says the deftones are still great
Posted by SaTaNiC_PriESt:
WELL IF YOU WANT MY OPINION IM GOING WITH SLAYER
Posted by mike:
the best song on disc one is static X "destroy all", disc 2 cradle of filth
Posted by Ashlei:
well i actually rekon that the headbanger's ball album rocks except the only song i dont really like that much is 'mandibles'by E.Town concrete,other than that i rekon all the other songs are good and hobo dont be a f*ckin b!tch to manson cos he rules! and his music is awesome,i dont see you making any records and even if u did they wouldnt be anywhere near as good as manson's and by the way the golden age of grotesque is an awesome album!!! if u were gonna b!tch about the album so much you should of listened to it before buying it dumbass
Posted by punkgato:
Obviously Hobo has no taste and the rest of you are like retards fighting over a broken toy! Mastodon rocks, Poison the well rocks, pretty much all "nu-metal" huffs ass and the deftones are still great as they careen futher from the norm, less dorks who are into D and D and Stratovarious will get it...I guess beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder!
Posted by Hobo's a fag:
Go F*ck yourself Hobo
Posted by Deathmetalmaggot:
It's a f*ckin awsome CD and that faggot who rated it f*ckin sucks sh*t and doesn't know good music, instead he just gives the artists low blows on some wicked songs. I think you need a new guy on here cuz this is a crazy, awsome CD that deserves alot more credit, and that fag who rated should die.
Posted by Metal Goddess:
this cd is a third average, a third great and the rest is history. bands like HateBreed, Cradle Of Filth, Lamb of God, Slayer and 1 or 2 others has exceptional tracks on this cd. MTV needs to look at the Heaviest , Blackest, Death Metal Bands.
Posted by hampster:
i think this guy dismisses SOME of these bands too quickly.. most notably Mastodon which have pretty good metal riffs and a really technical drummer.
Posted by Ozzfan:
I think Ozzy should have been on this cd. but all n all this was an awesome cd!!
Posted by brittani:
i have recently perchased the headbangers ball c-d. and indeed it is not as heavy as i thought of it to be. not the usual headbangers ball standerd if u ask me but still i do not hate the disc. to me it was kinda cool to hear some numetal because i barely listen to that "genre" or metal.tho i was angry at first that i spent money on a worthless piece of s*** i also enjoied some of the newer stuff. for instance i enjoied spineshank sevendust and weirdly i liked the mushroomhead song. for this disc id have to rate it about a 6 1/2 but im not too happy with what i spent all my money on. i suggest that u sample the cd before u get ur self into something u may not like.
Posted by heavymeatal79:
SWORN ENEMY is the best song on the disc! I also thought that it was a good buy though.... Needs more black or dark metal!
Posted by PerfectSolitude:
Welllllllllllllllllllll that was amazing.
Anyway, I'd like to see you beat the $hit out of anything, besides your meat that is.
Posted by Hobo:
Care cit, god cit, die cit. Hey, come here and fight me now. Soft.
Posted by shooter:
dear dick: F**k YOU AND THE f***** c**t you came out of! You stupid dumbsh*t, C**k sucking M****RF****R!! If I were to see you I would Beat the Sh*t out of you. Instead of criticizing, you should go Smoke some c**K You cocksmoker
F**K You!!
Posted by PerfectSolitude:
"Chimaira's prior release blew and their new one rocks. And I've been a fan of Lamb and Enemy for years now. Still I hate the label death metal."
I see nothing about Slayer in there Anthony.
Cookie monster, I like that. I should start a Death Cookie band. And all of our songs can be about biting the heads off of Animal Crackers and any other animal or humanoid shaped snack.
This is annother thing that irks me really, the assumption that all Death Metal musicians and fans are just trying to make some lame attempt at being different or threatening. Have you ever actually read any death metal lyrics? A vast majority of it is just a bunch of morbidity. Pretty much the same kind of concept behind a horror movie.
I happen to be morbid, so there's a huge appeal there for death metal, especially seince the recent horror movies are almost uniformly $hit.
Posted by Hobo:
Anthony Tardommi, where did I call Slayer a death metal band? I may breathe Slayer, Lamb of God and SYL in the same sentence, but thats only when I'm citing my taste in music. Calling all death metal cookie monster crap is just idiotic. And by the way, arguably God Hate and Diablos are shying away from Thrash.
Posted by Anthony Iommi:
Death Metal sucks fat rhino cock. Did Hobo get his metal knowledge at the K-Mart Education Center on "blue light sale day"? Slayer is a THRASH band that has nothing in common with the Cookie Monster death metal bands he groups Slayer with. And who gives a flying f*ck about MTV?
Posted by Hobo:
Well Solitude, in those examples, yes they're death metal. But like, calling Strapping Young Lad and Lamb Of God and music I LIKE death metal I dislike.
Posted by nig:
I *ucking love metal
Posted by godpuppet:
didnt get along with those tracks either, as for lamb of god... i cant stand them.. its just something about thier style. I think ill go back to my thrash and melodic dm now.
Posted by Perfect Solitude:
Why do you hate the label of Death Metal? Surly it dosn't actually apply to all the bands it's slaped on, but the bands it does really apply to Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Mortician and the like are all at least ammusing, and at most great bands with amazing solos.
Beyond that, I really need to find a way to buy good music... I really want to hear this Lamb of God without having to steal thier stuff.
Posted by Whateva:
Not a bad review for not a bad cd. I agree with you on the first disc (but not with your Deftones' comments, but that's beside the point). The second disc is far superior especially in that Lamb of God track. It's the best, heaviest, most crushing metal I've heard in a long time. You guys need to get a review of their cd up!
Posted by Hobo:
Sure, some of its a bit hard to absorb: SYL, Detox, All Hail The New Flesh, Concequence, Aftermath, Oh My Fvcking God
Posted by godpuppet:
id downloaded about 4 syl tracks, and to be honest, i didnt enjoy them at all. can u recommend any good tracks?
Posted by Hobo:
Well, all should hail SYL. It goes without saying. I'm seeing them in 7 days, I'm excited like a schoolgirl trying crack for the first time.
Posted by Mindskrew:
Shooter man, Lamb of God, Death Metal? dude, no way. Arch Enemy maybe. But Id consider them more the power metal. No mention of Strapping Young Lad there, other than The Devy Metal comment which was VERY cool. That band is great on CD and live.
Posted by Dick:
shooter you suck dick you dont know how to f*******king read you dumbass LOL ihat eyou
Posted by godpuppet:
i dislike lamb of god, but i thought there was a shadows fall track on this cd.. why didnt it get a mention? shadows fall kick ass
Posted by Hobo:
And from my guess, probably alot better looking and alot more popular too.
Posted by ??:
I'm obviously smarter than you since I can read what Hobo wrote for what he said not what I thought he said.
Posted by Hobo:
Well, if its any consliation, Chimaira's prior release blew and their new one rocks. And I've been a fan of Lamb and Enemy for years now. Still I hate the label death metal.
Posted by shooter:
To ??: Who the F**k do you think you are to talk S**t. Slayer might be hobo's favorite band, but he doesnt even know that lamb of god and arch enemy are death metal. He criticizes yet he didn't know who chimaira was before he heard them. yeah, I agree with him that most of the disc is s**t, but the same way he didn't know who chimaira was, it was the same way i didn't f****n know that slayer was one of his favorite bands. So F**K OFF!
Posted by shooter:
To ??: Who the F**k do you think you are to talk S**t. Slayer might be hobo's favorite band, but he doesnt even know that lamb of god and arch enemy are death metal. He criticizes yet he didn't know who chimaira was before he heard them. yeah, I agree with him that most of the disc is s**t, but the same way he didn't konw who chimaira was, is the same way i didn't f****n know that slayer was one of his favorite bands. So F**K OFF!
Posted by Smotz:
I'll buy it.
Posted by Hobo:
Jesus... I am shocked by the level of idiocy I am faced with here. The disc it 'predominately' (mainly) numetal besides those tracks - but still they fall in the more 'popular' metal category. '(disc one) holds a bit of a numetal majority, which annoyed me because there are some damn good tracks stuck in the middle of some rather expendable ones' - IE: Slayer, Arch, Lamb etc etc. Do me a favour and READ the review, dont just skim it and start whining about something that isnt even there. B4 U CoMmENnnt ReEeed Dah ReviEW!!1!1 AHAH LOZ@!1!
Posted by ??:
Shooter you might do well to pay attention, he didn't call them numetal he just said most of this disc is numetal, which it is. I'm sure Hobo knows the difference, especially since Slayer appears to be one of his favorite groups.
Posted by shooter :
I think this reviewer is a F***in' DumbA**. How could he put slayer, lamb of god, arch enemy and in flames as F***IN' numetal. before you review, Get your head out of your narrow A**!
