Hosts "The Ball" replaced
Heavy Metal Mania (which began airing monthly in June 1985), helmed by
Dee Snider of
Twisted Sister. Three North American tours were presented by Headbangers Ball. The first in 1987 with
Helloween,
Armored Saint and
Grim Reaper, the second (
the 1989 tour) with
Anthrax,
Exodus and
Helloween, Heavier alternative rock acts, spearheaded by the likes of
The Cult,
Faith No More,
Primus and
Jane's Addiction, were finding increased residence on
Headbangers Ball at the turn of the decade, In mid-February The Ball was replaced by the short-lived
Superock, a show featuring videos and interviews with metal, alternative and rap artists.
Rebirth After nearly a decade of the show being off the air, MTV2 started up the series again on Saturday, May 10, 2003, at 11 p.m. The revived
Headbangers Ball initially had the same type of playlist as its latter "sister shows" in MTV Europe, as well as interviews with metal artists (current and classic). The debut episode was hosted by
Metallica, a trend which continued with various artists. Later on,
Hatebreed vocalist
Jamey Jasta became a permanent host. However, the show still continued to have guest host artists at times. The show eventually returned to its roots (in types of music) of showing
underground music, as well as
metalcore,
Hardcore death metal and
thrash. During VH1's
40 Least Metal Moments countdown, musicians criticized the 2003 incarnation of
Headbangers Ball in comparison with the original, citing its "scripted" studio feel and lack of excitement. The new version mostly shows only music videos and in-studio interviews, which was not true of the original show. When asked in September 2015 about a possible return of
Headbangers Ball, former host
Riki Rachtman stated, "It's not gonna happen. I tried, I told them I would do it for free, they never even returned my calls." Although the show has not been on the air for years, there have been European tours called "MTV Headbangers Ball" since 2016, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic; this tour package traditionally takes place from late November to mid-December, and features four metal bands. The European "MTV Headbangers Ball" tour has included mostly thrash metal bands such as
Exodus,
Overkill,
Death Angel,
Sodom,
Vio-lence,
Artillery,
Xentrix,
Whiplash and
Suicidal Angels ‒ as well as other acts like
Max +
Igor Cavalera,
Iced Earth,
Kataklysm,
Insomnium,
Ensiferum,
Unearth, Deserted Fear,
Whitechapel,
Fleshgod Apocalypse and Dyscarnate ‒ as a headlining or opening act; the only band so far that has taken part of the tour more than once is Kataklysm. The concept of the MTV Headbangers Ball Tour in Europe was possibly inspired by the 1989 US tour with the same name that included
Anthrax,
Helloween and Exodus.
Removal of the show from Headbangers Ball Since the January 13, 2007, episode,
Headbangers Ball simply became the title for a block of metal videos, rather than an actual show. However, the June 23, 2007, episode went behind the scenes of the induction of
Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott at the
Hollywood's RockWalk, including segments covering the event in between music videos. Also, brief interview segments still frequently air before and after commercial breaks, typically re-airing on several consecutive episodes for a long period. On April 14, 2007, MTV2 began to air the show from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. and put
Saturday Rock the Deuce, a hard rock–alternative show, at 10. The week's episode was also re-aired on Tuesday mornings from 4:00 to 6:00 a.m. Starting in 2008,
Headbangers Ball had been aired erratically, sometimes airing several hours later than its normal airtime or not being aired at all. Its last on-air time slot was Tuesdays 3AM-4AM. On July 21, 2011,
Jose Mangin took over as host of
Headbangers Ball, which is now a web-only show.
The Ball On March 17, 2021, it was announced that Rachtman would be hosting
The Ball, airing on Gimme Metal TV and presented by
Knotfest.com. The show has Rachtman playing classic heavy metal music videos from bands like
Megadeth,
Metallica and
Power Trip. The first episode premiered on March 27, 2021. ==Discography==