BW&BK; has received the following press release:

This Memorial Day weekend VH1 Classic documents more than thirty years of one of music's most passionate genres with Metal Weekend. Beginning on Friday, May 23rd the network “for classic music lovers” sets the stage for a heavy metal marathon including some of the most memorable concerts, chilling documentaries, and all-access looks at the artists behind this powerful and often controversial music genre. Throughout the weekend metal fans everywhere can saturate themselves with music from KISS, Metallica, Judas Priest, Pantera and more.

VH1Classic.com will also join the metal madness with extensive programming online. In addition to premiering My Playlist: JUDAS PRIEST simultaneously with the on-air premiere on Friday, May 23rd, the online home to all things classic music will offer a massive amount of metal playlists including 40 Greatest Metal Songs, 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, Box Set: METALLICA, and Box Set: KISS.”Additional video compilations, playlists and video content will rollout online at the beginning of the weekend.

My Playlist: JUDAS PRIEST Premieres on VH1 Classic and VH1Classic.com Friday, May 23 at 8 PM ET/PT. The show features the band’s top ten videos of all-time. In a new and exclusive interview, viewers will hear from the band about the videos they loved back in the day and the ones that still get them excited today. Videos that will be featured include 'Rock You Like A Hurricane,' by the SCORPIONS; 'Practice What You Preach' by TESTAMENT; 'Ace Of Spades' by MOTÖRHEAD, and 'Breaking The Law' by Judas Priest.

Classic in Concert: MÖTLEY CRÜE - Carnival Of Sins premieres on Friday, May 23rd at 9 PM ET/PT. The premiere of the newest installment of Classic In Concert captures the original Crue members Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee in 2005 in a stage show that sets a new standard. This “circus gone bad” concept takes place under a circus tent stage complete with demonic clowns and a fire-breathing midget, seductive aerialists and demonic clowns that will keep you roaring for more. The Crue prove themselves still more than capable, playing a mixture of old favorites and new songs to a crowd of equally mixed ages as the crowd goes wild for songs like 'Dr. Feelgood' and 'Girls, Girls, Girls.'

Behind The Music: PANTERA airs on Saturday, May 24th at 10 PM ET/PT. In the early 90s, when hair metal was being sheared from the charts by grunge and earnest hard-rockers like GUNS N' ROSES and Pantera righteously flew the hard-edged heavy metal flag, almost single-handedly saving the genre from extinction. On the road, Pantera's traveling show was legendary for its debauchery. Vinnie Paul and the late “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott were known to imbibe a cocktail or ten before, during and after gigs. This look at the band uncovers the true story of this resilient, hard rocking band.

VH1 Classic Rock Docs: Metal - A Headbanger's Journey airs on Sunday, May 25th at 9 PM ET/PT. The film follows 30-year old anthropologist and avid metal music fan Sam Dunn’s journey into the heart of heavy metal to study the plight of a different culture, one he has been a part of since he was a 12-year old: the culture of heavy metal. Dunn sets out on a global journey to find out why this music has been consistently stereotyped, dismissed and condemned and yet is loved so passionately by its millions of fans. Throughout the film, fans weigh in, as well as metal gods including RUSH’s Geddy Lee, RONNIE JAMES DIO, ALICE COOPER, Motörhead’s Lemmy, musician and horror icon ROB ZOMBIE, Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil and IRON MAIDEN’s Bruce Dickinson about the stereotypes of heavy metal music and why this music genre is still loved so passionately by millions of fans. This documentary is the first of its kind. It is both a defense of a long-misunderstood art form and a window for the outsider into the spectacle that is heavy metal.

Rock and Roll Picture Show: Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster airs on Sunday, May 25th at 11 PM ET/PT. Award-winning filmmakers Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger (of the Paradise Lost films on HBO) direct this documentary about rock stars in therapy. After twenty years of heavy metal, a few members of Metallica decide to hire psychologist Phil Towle to work out some group tensions during the making of their album St. Anger. Band members Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett work through the difficulties of the group’s dynamics, personal demons and relationship issues. The film also features recording sessions, the recruitment of bassist Robert Trujillo, the much-publicized controversies of Internet file-sharing, and Hetfield's drug rehabilitation.

Heavy: The Story of Metal airs on Monday, May 26th at 8 PM ET/PT. What Ken Burns did for jazz, VH1 does for heavy metal - only a lot louder. This show 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, it 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.

Launched in May 2000, VH1 Classic is a 24-hour network that present videos, concerts and music specials all day long, featuring the best of rock, soul and pop artists from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, including THE BEATLES, ROLLING STONES, TINA TURNER, LED ZEPPELIN, MARVIN GAYE, THE WHO, STEVIE WONDER, THE POLICE, MADONNA and many more. Learn more at VH1Classic.com.