VH1 Prays to the Altar of Rock

For the Month of May VH1 Goes Metal With a Slate of All-New Series, Documentaries, Specials And Movies

"Super Group," "Behind The Music: Ratt," "Behind The Music: Pantera," "Heavy: The Story Of Metal," "40 Greatest Metal Songs," VH1 Classic's "Decades Rock Live: Heart" and the first annual "Rock Honors" Highlight VH1's Metal Month

NEW YORK, April 24 -- From the rocking sounds of Metal music and the stories behind the men & women who created them to the continued legacy that is Rock and Roll, VH1 debuts all-new series, documentaries, specials and movies this May that will leave you praying at the altar of rock.

Premieres:

"40 GREATEST METAL SONGS"

PREMIERES MONDAY-THURSDAY, STARTING MAY 1 AT 11 PM*

Hosted by Sebastian Bach, "40 Greatest Metal Songs," brings you the 40 most notable metal songs of all time in four rockin' half hour episodes. Whether epic, political, scary or downright silly, these tunes have one thing in common: they will rock your friggin' socks off. Who could resist jumping into the pit during Pantera's 'Walk,' banging your head 'til it hurts to Metallica's 'Master of Puppets,' or throwing up the devil horns to Iron Maiden's 'Number of the Beast'. VH1 will count down the greatest metal songs that made a whole generation turn the volume up, way up. If you can't get enough of VH1's "40 Greatest Metal Moments" then tune in to VH1 Classic Monday, May 1 beginning at 11:30 PM.* to see a sneak peak of episodes two, three and four.

"BEHIND THE MUSIC RATT" & "BEHIND THE MUSIC PANTERA"

PREMIERE THURSDAY, MAY 11 STARTING AT 9 PM*

This special edition of "Behind the Music: Ratt" contains exclusive behind the scenes footage of the band, as well as a never before seen interview with Robbin Crosby, conducted three years before his death. In the beginning, the band crawled up from the Sunset Strip's hair metal scene in the early '80s to record a fistful of multi-platinum albums and fill arenas around the globe.

Then at 10 PM, "Behind The Music" returns with the story of hard-hitting band Pantera. In the early 1990s, when hair metal was being sheered from the charts by grunge and earnest hard-rockers like Guns N Roses, Pantera, righteously flew the hard-edged heavy metal flag, almost single-handedly saving the genre from extinction.

"SUPERGROUP"

PREMIERES SUNDAY, MAY 21 AT 10 PM*

VH1's "SuperGroup:" Ted Nugent, Scott Ian, Sebastian Bach, Evan Seinfeld and Jason Bonham, are poised to re-conquer the rock world (and hopefully spread a little debauchery in the process) in the ultimate musical experiment. "SuperGroup" will bring together these five hard rocking icons and present them with the opportunity to create the heaviest 'SuperGroup.' Ultimately viewers will see whether or not the band will come together as hard rock's saviors or simply implode.

"HEAVY: THE STORY OF METAL"

PREMIERES MONDAY-THURSDAY, STARTING MAY 22, AT 9 PM*

What Ken Burns did for jazz, VH1 does for heavy metal - only a lot louder. VH1's New "Rock Doc," "Heavy: The Story of Metal," traces the evolution of heavy metal music and culture, from its dark, grim beginnings in Birmingham, England to the worldwide force that it remains to this day. In a series of four chronological hours, "Heavy: The Story of Metal," explores four decades of music, each hour examining this powerful and often misunderstood genre, from metal's pioneers to its love of glam and excess; from the fight for metal's rebellious soul to its storied flirtation with the devil. VH1 Classic will sneak peek the second, third and fourth installments of the series on Monday, May 22 beginning at 10 PM.*

"VH1 ROCK HONORS"

PREMIERES WEDNESDAY, MAY 31 AT 9 PM*

VH1 debuts the first ever show to pay homage to the legends who influenced the sound of hard rock with the first annual "VH1 Rock Honors." This year's celebration will honor the music and influence of KISS, Queen, Def Leppard and Judas Priest. Additional performers, presenters, and special guests will be announced as they are confirmed. Premiering on Wednesday, May 31 at 9PM*, "VH1 Rock Honors," will be taped at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Thursday, May 25. The 2-hour tribute will salute the groundbreaking bands of rock, the once in a lifetime events and the influential people who made a lasting mark on the history of hard rock.

For more information on all these shows, please log on to http://www.vh1.com. For additional show and music content, log onto VSPOT (http://vspot.vh1.com), VH1's broadband channel.

On VH1 Classic:

"DECADES ROCK LIVE" CONCERT

PREMIERES ON FRIDAY, MAY 5 AT 8PM*

The third installment of "Decades Rock Live" honoring Heart will include an Alice in Chains reunion and special guests Dave Navarro, Carrie Underwood, Rufus Wainwright and Gretchen Wilson.

For more information on Metal Month on VH1 Classic and to learn more about these classic artists visit http://www.vh1classic.com.

Metal Month on VSPOT at VH1.com and VH1 Mobile

VSPOT at VH1.com (http://vspot.vh1.com) will create a "Metal Month" channel to all things metal beginning May 1. The dedicated channel will include exclusive interviews with "VH1 Rock Honors" honorees, presenters and performers and select video clips from the month's on-air metal programming slate, including raw VSPOT interviews and outtakes with artists like Sebastian Bach, Scott Ian, Ted Nugent, Dee Snider, Lars Ulrich, and Rob Zombie of the new VH1 Rock Doc, "Heavy: The Story of Metal."

VH1 Mobile will have the metal bands you love in the palm of your hand with one-of-a-kind metal wallpapers, original metal ringtones/ringbacks recorded exclusively for VH1 Mobile, and must-see video content from live metal and rock concerts from legendary bands such as Judas Priest and Poison. Additional video content will include interviews with metal bands from the VH1 Classic archives. VH1 mobile will also offer a rock-themed episode of the made-for-mobile series "Dingo Ate My Video."

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in over 87 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, and VH1 Uno. Connect with VH1 at http://www.vh1.com

VSPOT at VH1.com (http://vspot.vh1.com) - VH1's broadband channel - brings viewers the richest music and pop-culture video content while it's happening: live events, series sneak peeks, exclusive celeb Q&A's, movie trailers, in- studio performances and original series, not to mention thousands of music videos, customizable playlists and artist interviews.

VH1 is a registered trademark of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom International Inc. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.

*All times ET/PT

SOURCE VH1
Web Site: http://www.vh1.com http://vspot.vh1.com/