4 Jun 2026 10:00
#354 Headbangers Ball: The Greatest Metal TV Show Ever Made
“Today is all about 7’s…”
We can’t believe it…it’s officially been SEVEN years since we began our podcasting journey, and as of this episode, we are celebrating SEVEN years of heavy metal podcasting excellence! And in the spirit of heavy metal greatness, what better way to celebrate and commemorate the completion of our SEVENTH year than a tribute to the best thing MTV ever did for metal heads that started way back in the late 80’s: HEADBANGERS BALL!!!
“It was the novelty, because that was the only place where you could get it…”
Premiering on Saturday April 18, 1987, MTV began what would become a weekly Saturday night tradition and/or ritual for metal heads with HEADBANGERS BALL, the one section of MTV that belonged to the metal community…it was OUR show, OUR music, and OUR videos, made by metal heads for metal heads (ironically, not unlike this podcast).
“SEVEN!”
Granted, there were often a lot of glam and hair metal videos mixed in, but there were always a plethora of obscure thrash, power metal, and other assorted heavy metal videos on there that you absolutely could not see anywhere else on MTV except for when you tuned in to “The Ball” (NOTE: this is where the crochety “back in my day” sentiment comes into play because, as everyone with access to the internet knows, in the late 80’s, rock radio sure as hell wasn’t doing much to promote metal artists, and we certainly didn’t have Spotify or YouTube at our disposal. “The Ball” was all we had…mark the time.).
“They weren’t Trans then, dude…they were 100% dudes and they were the Savatage Brothers…”
Break out your finest relaxers and get ready for a celebratory stroll down memory lane, and understand that since we’re discussing music videos, you’re gonna need all the sensory enhancement you can muster to thoroughly maximize your enjoyment of this episode.
Find out who’s “lips are always out”, understand why calling a woman “handsome” is a dangerous move even with the proper context, see how many applicable references to “SEVEN!” you can find in this episode, and don’t deny the power of “The Dinklage” when you JOIN US as we celebrate our 7th birthday in nostalgic style with HEADBANGERS BALL.
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Show Notes:
(00:01): “That’s weird looking…”/ “I tell you one thing: don’t call a woman handsome…they do not like it…especially when they don’t understand the context…”/ #thebiggestloser #jillianmichaels #handsome / “They think everything is an insult…”/ #WWE / “I wanna see if this is a handsome woman…”/ The definition of a handsome woman / “It fits…see if it fits down there…”/ “Make sure to get his face during this part…”/ #markthetime / “Soap Opera for men…”/ “They’re referring to my Croc sneakers / “Let’s get this road on the show…year number 7!” / ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “We are 7 years old today as a podcast…”/ #sixseven / ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL
