As much as I disdain giving “that band that starts with the letter M” coverage, this story was just too weird to pass up:

Metallica may be a cool name for a heavy metal band, but a Swedish couple is struggling to convince officials it is also suitable for a baby girl.

Michael and Karolina Tomaro are locked in a court battle with Swedish authorities, which rejected their application to name their 6-month-old child after the legendary rock band.

Part of the story that I do think is of concern to the average real metalhead is this:

Although little Metallica has already been baptized, the Swedish National Tax Board refused to register the name, saying it was associated with both the rock group and the word “metal.”

Ok fine, you can’t name your kid after a rock group (wait a minute, what about Cinderella?), but what’s wrong with having “metal” in the name?

Fight the urge to read the full story here.

Telegraph.co.uk has confirmed what we’ve known all along:

Intelligent teenagers often listen to heavy metal music to cope with the pressures associated with being talented, according to research.

…

Researchers found that, far from being a sign of delinquency and poor academic ability, many adolescent “metalheads” are extremely bright and often use the music to help them deal with the stresses and strains of being gifted social outsiders.

The full article in all its glory can be read here.

It looks like coverbrowser.com has put together a list of the worst album covers of all time. I’m not sure how they came up with the list, but some noteworthy metal shows up:

#8: Stryken - First Strike
#11: Wolf - Wolf
#23: Manowar - Anthology

See them all here.

An amusing list, but where’s Pink Bubbles Go Ape? And Anthology should definitely get replaced with Into Glory Ride.

What would you add?

Being a metalhead with a daughter on the way, I find this to be even more disturbing that you will.

What would happen if The Wiggles met Rob Zombie backstage at a Gwar concert and decided to form a band together? I’m not really sure, but I’d bet they would sound a lot like The Thunderlords! The Thunderlords play loud, heavy music with goofy, fun lyrics that everyone can enjoy. Except those looking for some peace and quiet.

And yes, they even have a video:

Three words: W, T, F?!

From telegraph.co.uk:

A teenager who was stabbed in the eye during her school lunch break said a “gang mentality” singled out pupils for their music and fashion tastes.

The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, narrowly escaped losing her sight in the attack last November.

She had been the victim of a string of attacks, threats and had even received prank calls at home because she is what is known as “a metaler”, Guildford Crown Court heard today.

…

The victim explained in a police interview shown to the court how she had been “forced into a category” on her first day at the school.

“Somebody asked me on the first day what kind of music I listened to, so I said AC/DC.”

She said that, as a result of this, she was told she was a “metaler” and found herself being shunned by other classmates.

Read the full story here.

Come on, AC/DC? I mean, at least she didn’t say Kiss…

In other news, this is my first post in over 2 months, does anyone still read this? If so, I apologize.

From Style Weekly:

[Susan Greenbaum] and lead screamer of Lamb of God are planning a duet on Greenbaum’s Christmas album. The two met while Greenbaum was recording the album at Sound of Music Studios at Third and Broad streets. She was working on her project downstairs and Blythe was doing preproduction work on the upcoming Lamb of God album upstairs.

“I have a very nice baritone voice, so I said I wanted to sing a duet with her,” says Blythe, who calls the project “just weird enough for me.”

For Blythe and guitarist Mark Morton, who will also play on the track, the collaboration is a hoot. “It’s going to be awesomely retarded, especially since I f—ing hate Christmas and she’s Jewish!” Blythe wrote on his MySpace Web page.

Blythe says he doesn’t know or care what his fans will think. “It’s a fun thing as a musician,” he says.

Jewish folk singer + Randy Blythe + Mark Morton + Christmas = WTF!!?

Ok, this is still just a rumor, but it seems that a reliable source is saying that DragonForce will be on this year’s Sounds of the Underground tour!!!

I really hope this is true.

I just caught their first ever show in the US this weekend at the NEMHF, and it was beyond incredible. I’ll talk about it more during the next TEL.

Update: Confirmed! Although, only for “select dates”.

Update 2: Retracted?!

Mark your calendars!

From nationaldayofslayer.org:

6.6.06 isn’t a date that comes around very often (once per century, to be exact), and while plenty of stupid horror movies and terrible albums will be released for the hype value of the day that bears “the number of the beast”, we here at NDoS decided that this would be a perfect day for Hessians across the country to come together and engage in something upon which we can all agree - listening to Slayer!

Official Statement on Participation

• Listen to Slayer at full blast in your car.
• Listen to Slayer at full blast in your home.
• Listen to Slayer at full blast at your place of employment.
• Listen to Slayer at full blast in any public place you prefer.

DO NOT use headphones! The objective of this day is for everyone within earshot to understand that it is the National Day of Slayer. National holidays in America aren’t just about celebrating; they’re about forcing it upon non-participants.

I accept.

And of course, don’t miss the Unholy Alliance tour!

Hey, when is the new Slayer album supposed to come out anyway??

From the NYT (thanks Pawan!):

HELSINKI, Finland — They have eight-foot retractable latex Satan wings, sing hits like “Chainsaw Buffet” and blow up slabs of smoking meat on stage. So members of the band Lordi expected a reaction when they beat a crooner of love ballads to represent Finland at the Eurovision song contest in Athens, the competition that was the springboard for Abba and Celine Dion.

…The lead singer, Lordi — a former film student who goes by his real name, Tomi Putaansuu, when not wielding a blood-spurting electric chain saw — is philosophical about the uproar.

The affair, Mr. Putaansuu says, has exposed the insecurity of a young country whose peculiar language is spoken by only six million people worldwide and whose sense of identity has been dented by being part of the Swedish kingdom and the Russian empire until gaining independence in 1917. Most Finns, he adds, would rather be known for Santa Claus than heavily made-up monster mutants…

…Dragging on a cigarette, Mr. Putaansuu added, “Finns nearly choked on their cereal when they realized we were the face Finland would be showing to the world.”…

…”Even if we lose the contest, we have already won,” Mr. Putaansuu said. “Many Finns would rather have sent someone boring and acceptable than to be represented by freaks like us.”

Fantastic! I hope they win!

Update: It looks like the original article was published here.

Update: THEY WON!!

And it’s on YouTube!

Update 2: Follow-up

From Century Media:

Century Media recording artists Angela Gossow (Arch Enemy) and Barney Greenway (Napalm Death) have been nominated for PETA2’s (People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals) sexiest vegetarian of 2006, vote here.

Interviewed in 2005 for the PETA2 website (here), vocalist Barney Greenway and Napalm Death will be the first band to lend their image to PETA2’s new anti-vivisection campaign, “Save #99,” more info here. Calling vivisection, “the ultimate act of disrespect”

From PETA2.com:

Get those index fingers ready, gang, because it’s time for peta2’s second annual “World’s Sexiest Vegetarian” poll. We’re not sure if it’s all the antioxidant-filled veggie burgers or the tofu that gives vegetarians that certain glow, but whatever it is, it’s workin’ in their favor, because there are some mighty tasty meat-free folks out there.

We gotta warn you: Picking a winner from this year’s crop of sexy vegetarian nominees is gonna be tough. More of your favorite actors, musicians, athletes, and general celeb types are cutting meat out of their diets every day—in fact, new veggies are popping up so quickly that we can barely keep up! So check out the list, click away, and get your friends in on the act too.

Not sure exactly what to make of this… Do we have any vegetarian readers? Speak up!