Headbangers Ball
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It's Saturday night. You're maybe 14, 15 years old. Your parents have gone to bed. You've got the TV on low so nobody hears it. It's 11:30, maybe midnight. And you're waiting. Not flipping channels. Not doing anything else. You know exactly what's coming. The riff kicks in. The logo hits the screen. And for the next two hours — sometimes three — the world made complete sense. That was Headbangers Ball. And this week on Metal Nerdery, we went back.
| Premiered | April 18, 1987 on MTV |
| First hosts | Lemmy Kilmister and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor of Motörhead |
| Total episodes | 410 across all incarnations |
| Running time | 90 mins (1987–89) → 120 mins (1989–2008) → 60 mins (2011–present) |
| Main host (golden era) | Riki Rachtman (1990–1995) |
| How Riki got the job | Personally recommended to MTV by Axl Rose |
| The set | Designed by Rob Zombie during the Riki era |
| Spawned a real tour | 1989 — Anthrax, Exodus and Helloween headlined a Headbangers Ball concert tour |
| Cancelled | January 1995 — no announcement, no farewell episode |
| How Riki found out | Phone call after filming what turned out to be the final episode |
| European version | Hosted by Vanessa Warwick, ran until 1997 — two extra years |
| MTV2 revival | 2003–2007, hosted by Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed |
| 2021 special | One-off reunion with Riki back as host |
For an entire generation of metal fans, Headbangers Ball wasn't just a TV show. It was the only place. No Spotify. No YouTube. No algorithm serving you Pantera at 2am because you listened to Megadeth once. If you wanted to see metal — actually SEE it, see the bands, see the videos, see what these people looked like — you had two options. You went to a show. Or you stayed up Saturday night and watched the Ball.
For a lot of kids, especially those who didn't live near a major city, Headbangers Ball was the entire window into the metal world. It's where you discovered bands you'd never heard of. It's where you first saw Pantera. It's where Metallica's "One" video destroyed your whole concept of what music could be.
And then one day in January 1995, without warning, without a farewell show, without a single announcement — it was gone. Riki Rachtman found out the show was cancelled by phone call after filming what he didn't even know was the last episode. After five years as the voice of metal on mainstream television, that's how it ended.
The Origin Story — April 18, 1987
By 1987, MTV had been on the air for six years playing pop, hair metal, Michael Jackson, and Madonna. Metal existed on MTV — but only the pretty kind. The kind with big hair and tight pants that teenage girls also liked.
And then somebody at MTV — and they deserve a trophy — said: we should probably do something for the people who actually want to see Slayer.
Headbangers Ball was born on April 18, 1987. And the very first hosts were not some leather-jacketed MTV VJs trying to look cool. It was Lemmy Kilmister and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor from Motörhead. Lemmy walked out for his first segment wearing swimming goggles and introduced himself as "Jacques Cousteau from Motörhead."
That is the most perfect beginning to a metal television program in the history of television.
Early guest hosts worth knowing about: The second episode was co-hosted by Howard Stern and Mountain's Leslie West — an absolutely chaotic combination. W.A.S.P.'s Blackie Lawless co-hosted early on. Ozzy Osbourne introduced his new guitarist Zakk Wylde on the show. Dio hosted. On Halloween 1987, HBB ran a special with concert footage of Helloween, Armored Saint and Grim Reaper. A very young Guns N' Roses destroyed a set at the urging of the host. GWAR ruined a couch just by sitting on it.
The Eras
Era 1 — Kevin Seal / Rotating Hosts 1987–1988
The hair metal era. Poison, Cinderella, Whitesnake, Dokken, Warrant, Ratt. This was when metal meant the Sunset Strip. The heavier stuff — Metallica, Slayer — occasionally sneaked onto the Ball but this was primarily glam's domain. The show hadn't found its identity yet, rotating through various hosts and VJs. Fun, chaotic, historically important, but not yet the show it would become.
Era 2 — Adam Curry 1988–1990
Curry was a polished MTV VJ who seemed genuinely uncomfortable with the material. The show expanded to two hours under his tenure and the music got heavier as thrash went mainstream (Metallica's ...And Justice for All era, Megadeth's So Far So Good). By 1988 and into 1989 the playlist was getting genuinely heavy. But the host/content mismatch was always visible. Riki was the correction the show needed.
Era 3 — Riki Rachtman 1990–1995 ⭐ The Golden Era
This is the one everyone remembers. Riki was a genuine metalhead — not a hired VJ. He knew the bands personally, owned the Cathouse (Hollywood's most notorious rock club), and was embedded in the scene. He got the job because Axl Rose personally recommended him to MTV. Under Riki, the show shifted from hair metal toward thrash, then death metal, then grunge-adjacent heavy rock. The years 1991, 1992, and beyond were the Ball's creative peak. Rob Zombie designed the set. The interviews were real. And then one phone call ended it all.
Era 4 — Jamey Jasta / MTV2 Revival 2003–2007
A completely different beast. Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed brought genuine extreme metal credibility — death metal, black metal, and metalcore all appeared. Heavier than the original ever was. But the cultural moment was gone. YouTube was emerging. MySpace was changing music discovery. The show felt like it was fighting a losing battle against the internet, and ultimately lost.
Era 5 — The 2021 Special and Beyond 2021–present
A one-off reunion special in 2021 brought Riki back as host — a moment fans had waited 26 years for. One episode. Then gone again. Jose Mangin now hosts a web-only version. Riki continues touring with his "One Foot in the Gutter" spoken word show, telling Cathouse and HBB stories to devoted audiences who never stopped caring.
The Most Iconic Videos Played on Headbangers Ball
These are the ones that defined the show — great for a "what do you remember watching?" conversation with your fellow metalheads.
Some Obscure Deep Cuts
Beyond the big names, Headbangers Ball played some genuinely obscure material — especially in the Riki era when underground metal was getting a rare mainstream platform. Some highlights from the deep cuts:
- Voivod — their cover of Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine" aired during the hair metal era, standing out as something genuinely alien in the rotation.
- D.R.I. — "Abduction" made it onto the Ball. Crossover thrash/hardcore on mainstream cable — nearly impossible to imagine today.
- Warrior Soul — "We Cry Out" aired in 1990. One of the most underrated bands of the entire era, basically unknown to most fans.
- Circus of Power — "Vices" appeared on the July 1990 episode. Gritty New York hard rock that never got its due.
- Killer Dwarfs — "Dirty Weapons" aired on Riki's birthday episode. Canadian hard rock cult band most people have never heard of.
- Manitoba's Wild Kingdom — "Party Starts Now" played. The post-Dictators project from Andy Shernoff — as deep a cut as the Ball ever aired.
- Scatterbrain — appeared as guests. NYC thrash/comedy band — genuinely obscure even among serious collectors.
The unexpected visitors: Stone Temple Pilots did an unplugged version of "Plush" on the show. When Nirvana appeared in 1991, Kurt Cobain famously wore a yellow ballgown. "It's Headbangers Ball, so I thought I'd wear a gown," Cobain said. Krist Novoselic replied, "At least I asked you out." The Ramones, The Offspring, and Rancid all got airtime at various points. Faith No More's "Epic" shared a 1990 playlist with Winger and D.R.I. That single playlist is one of the most gloriously unhinged documents in metal television history.
The Headbangers Ball Timeline — Year by Year
Every year of the Ball's run was a different metal world. Browse our year-by-year episodes to hear what was actually playing:
The Cancellation — Metal's Worst Corporate Decision
By 1994, grunge had taken over MTV's attention. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains were the channel's new obsession. Hair metal was commercially dead. But here's the thing: under Riki, Headbangers Ball had already evolved far beyond hair metal. It was covering thrash, death metal, and heavier music that had nothing to do with Sunset Strip glam.
MTV cancelled it anyway. In January 1995, with no announcement and no farewell episode, the show was simply gone. In typical corporate TV fashion, Riki Rachtman and the staff were called after filming the final episode and told not to come back. The timeslot was replaced by a show called Superock, and eventually by re-runs of The Real World. MTV had moved on from music entirely.
VH1 later ranked the cancellation of Headbangers Ball at #4 on their "40 Least Metal Moments" list. Even VH1 knew it was wrong.
Related Metal Nerdery Episodes
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!!!
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).
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.).
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.
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 NERDERY PODCAST!!!*** / #YearNumberSeven
(06:22): “Drinkin’ some #Ghoulade …” / “Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s not…it’s hit or miss…kinda like with sex…”/ “We never have mistakes, they’re unique performances” – Kirk Hammett / #happyaccidents #BobRoss / “Within 5 to 7 times, you kinda know…”/
“That was angry, and rapey…” / #keepitthrashy / “Speaking of which: where has that dude been?” / ***PATREON US AT patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast ***/ #Interceptor /
***EMAIL US AT metalnerdery@gmail.com *** / “We’ve got some Australian friends…”/
“It’s so good, I could feel it in my balls…” / #Shittah #spotifyplaylist / ***CHECK OUT www.metalnerdery.com/episodes for show notes, band and album info, and other goodies…***
(13:36): ***GIVE US A CALL AND VOICEMAIL US AT 980-666-8182!!!*** /
“What would you consider a Metallica classic that was released after The Black Album?” /
Thanks to American Dave from Ill-Noise for the voicemail! / “I don’t hate The Loads…”/ #SiriusXM #MaximumMetallica / “That’s low…it’s either a helicopter or a drone the size of this house, flying over…”/ #aliennews #UAP #UFOFiles / NOTE: It’s shit you HAVE before…on our inaugural Poony’s episode! / #UFO ROCK BOTTOM (Phenomenon – 1974) / NOTE: You absolutely HAVE heard this song before!!! / #RussellsRepetitiveReflections / “Get to the solo…”/ “Metallica Only is a better name…”
(25:26): “What’s the first #HeadbangersBall memory that comes to mind?” / #StormtroopersOfDeath MILANO MOSH (Speak English Or Die – 1985) / #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST CELEBRATES 7 YEARS IN PODCASTING EXCELLENCE & PAYS HOMAGE TO MTV’s HEADBANGERS BALL!!! / #HeadbangersBall #SaturdayNights / “That was still OUR show…”/ “I remember it being pretty long…”/ #markthetime / Earliest memories of “The Ball” / “Remember Killer Dwarfs?”
(31:34): #KillerDwarfs DIRTY WEAPONS (Dirty Weapons – 1990) / “Stand Tall, that was the one…”/ “You may remember this video…”/ #skatethrash /
#GothicSlam WHO DIED AND MADE YOU GOD (Just A Face In The Crowd – 1989) / “I think the drums are the most loud thing in the mix…it’s probably produced by Lars Ulrich…”/ “Would it work now?” / “It was the novelty, because that was the only place where you could get it…”
(40:10): “Didn’t Annihilator have one for ‘Alice in Hell’?” / #Annihilator ALISON HELL (Alice In Hell – 1989) / “I thought of another one…”/ “I got one that’s a deep one that’s gonna blow y’alls mind…do y’all remember Helloween?”/ #RussellsConcertReflections / #powermetal / #Helloween HALLOWEEN (Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I – 1987) / “Here’s some obscure ones…”/ #Voivod ASTRONOMY DOMINE (Nothingface – 1989) /
“Dude, you should have cupped…you wasted that!” / #cuppingASMR /
#WrathchildAmerica SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS (3-D – 1991) / “It’s in 7!” / “SEVEN!”/
“That reminds me of Scatterbrain…the funk, the fun, and the progression…”/
“Today is all about 7’s…”
(50:32): #Sepultura TERRITORY (Chaos A.D. – 1993) / “Funny seeing those two flags together, huh?” / “What was the first S.T. video you think you saw on Headbangers Ball?” /
“What was the first Slayer video you remember seeing on the Headbangers Ball?” /
#Slayer WAR ENSEMBLE (Seasons In The Abyss – 1990) / “This was prime for us…”/
“SEVEN!”/ “That should be Phil’s fill…”
(56:39): #GreenJelly (originally known as #GreenJello before Kraft Foods got all butthurt and bitchy about the name) / THREE LITTLE PIGS (Cereal Killer Soundtrack – 1993) /
#Scatterbrain DOWN WITH THE SHIP (SLIGHT RETURN) (Here Comes Trouble – 1990) /
“Here’s an obscure Megadeth one, I think…”/ #Megadeth GO TO HELL (Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey: Music from the Motion Picture – 1991 & Hidden Treasures – 1995) /
“Let’s go back old school…”/ “They’re not Injuns, they’re Native Americans…”/
#IronMaiden RUN TO THE HILLS (The Number of the Beast – 1982) / “If you like Iron Maiden after Paul Di’Anno, you’re a poser…”/ “When I listen to Floyd, it’s generally ‘Meddle’…”
(1:08:05): “That might have been the first time I saw Exodus…”/ “I remember seeing that on The Ball…”/ #Exodus THE TOXIC WALTZ (Fabulous Disaster – 1989) / “They all look like children…”/ “Maybe it is Zee-Tro…we’ve been fucking that up for years too?” / “Really?”/
“I don’t have to do anything…settle down, Beavis!” / “Somebody made a complete collection of the MTV Headbanger’s Ball playlist…”/ #Cinderella SOMEBODY SAVE ME (Night Songs – 1986) / “His lips are always out…”/ #Warlock FIGHT FOR ROCK (True As Steel – 1986) / “I would have liked to see her prime…”/ “This does look familiar…”/ #theangleofthedangle / #KillerDwarfs STAND TALL (Stand Tall – 1986) / “This is the video I remember…”/ “That one that one that one that one…”/ #Dio THE LAST IN LINE (The Last In Line – 1984) / “This is such a fucking 80’s video…”
(1:17:12): “That one had Milton Berle...”/ #Ratt ROUND AND ROUND (Out Of The Cellar – 1984) / “To make it in Hollywood, you’ve gotta wear the dress…”/ #Motorhead EAT THE RICH (Rock ‘n’ Roll – 1987) / #ACDC FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK WE SALUTE YOU (For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) – 1981) / “Get to the cannons real quick…”/ “Headbangers Ball taught us a lot…”/ “They weren’t trans then dude, they were 100% dudes and they were the Savatage Brothers…”/ #Savatage HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING (Hall of the Mountain King – 1987) / “I wonder if that’s Peter Dinklage?” / “It’s very left leaning…in the headphones.”/ #dungeonmetal / “Smooth Up In Ya is exactly what it feels like when you go inside…”/ “You wanna see The King?”/ “Wanna see my Dinklage?”/
“Probably got a tall boy Red Bull down there…”/ #KingDiamond WELCOME HOME (“Them” – 1988) / “Look how hot grandma gets…”/ “Seven years of podcasting excellence completed…”
(1:28:42): ***Ask The Metal Head***: You can only listen to one metal album for the rest of your life. What is it?” / “It’s between two, but technically it’s the same band…”/
“What’s the most overrated metal band of all time?” / “Here we go…”/ “Overrated or over popular?”/ “When you come out with a killer album, you get rated…”/ “First metal shirt you ever owned?”/ “I could have seen so many more shows, because they were pretty affordable…”/ THANK Y’ALL FOR JOINING US FOR OUR 7th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel