I’ve taken their top ten beards and put them in a bracket according to their ranking in the video.  Each round will get a week of voting here at the Beard Coach.  Voting for each round will run Sunday to Saturday.  Look for the first round to be up for voting this Sunday.

Spread the word… get your whole beard crew to vote.  Let’s see who has the greatest NFL beard according to actual beard aficionados!

Click the bracket below for a closer look.

My name is Michael, and I am a beard enthusiast from London, England.  I am also a heavy metal music fan. I recently came across Beardcoach.com and Coach Adam on You Tube and read the Beardifesto.  I sent him a message, and he asked me to write a guest post based on beards in metal music. So here is my top ten. Should any metal fans stumble across this (or maybe someone newly discovering metal) note that it is a representation of my favourite beards and not bands.

10. Jonathan Davis (Korn)

What I like with this facial hair is the fact that he has gone for the absolute minimum possible. Jonathan Davis is the vocalist for the band Korn who are often described as the pioneers of what is known as the Nu-metal genre.

9. Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage, Times of Grace)

Ok, so maybe this isn’t technically a BEARD but it is facial hair, and those are some epic sideburns he’s sporting! Adam is a guitar player in the bands Killswitch Engage (KSE) and Times of Grace. Originally he was the KSE drummer but moved to guitar when they wrote the album Alive or Just Breathing which featured a two guitar sound, so they recruited a new drummer. KSE are referred to as the pioneers of the Metalcore genre. Times of Grace were formed by Adam and the original KSE vocalist Jesse Leach (also featured on the list).

8. Lemmy (Motörhead)

I like this beard as it’s a good example of the handlebar style. This band and man needs no introduction really, everyone knows the classic Ace of Spades! (Unless you’re really young or you’ve been living under a rock, which would probably suggest you’re not reading this anyway. I myself have never come across a wireless rock or a bearded toddler). Motörhead are a British heavy metal band formed in 1975, although Lemmy does not like this label. He classes Motörhead as a rock and roll band, usually opening live shows with the line “We are Motörhead. We play rock and roll.”

7. Jon Howard (Threat Signal, Arkaea)

The thing I love about this style is it’s just that! Stylish! This man has talent and style seeping from every pore. He is Threat Signal and Arkaea’s vocalist. I could write a whole essay on the reason why I love Threat Signal and Arkaea for that matter. Threat Signal is a Canadian metal band probably best described as a melodic death/thrash metal band. They started their career with the song Rational Eyes which they wrote before they were even a fully formed band and put it on a website known as Garageband.com and the rest is history. Jon Howard and bassist Pat Kavanagh later created Arkaea along with Fear Factory members Raymond Herrera and Christian Olde Wolbers

6. Jesse Leach (KSE, The Empire Shall Fall, Times of Grace)

I love Jesse’s beard because of its length and shape. Jesse was the original vocalist for KSE before he left in 2002 and was replaced by Howard Jones. Jesse’s lyrics are very strong in the sense that he says that we should be honest and question and challenge those around us who might try to cause us harm or create chaos.

5. Kerry King (Slayer)

Kerry king is metal personified! He is one of the guitarists for the thrash metal band Slayer. Although thrash was made popular by the band Metallica, Slayer are top of their class. I like this beard as its the classic goatee style but styled in a way you would expect from a character in a fantasy novel! The bands are known for their lyrics of war, death, and against religion.

4. Shavo Odadjian (System of a Down)

Although similar to the style of number five, he has gone for a longer, thinner style. He is the bass player and backing vocalist for System of a Down (SOAD). SOAD’s early work feels very experimental and unique. A lot of their lyrics are based around the corruption of governments and how we should stand against them and question them.

3. Dimebag Darrell (Pantera, Damageplan)

This style is a very unique, almost demonic style; I like it because of its originality. Two-tone beard that he’s clearly used a hairstyle product on. Dimebag is one of the most influential guitarists of his time. He was famously known for recording his guitars without a metronome or ‘click-track’. After Pantera split he then went on to form Damageplan with his drummer brother Vinnie Paul (also in Pantera). Sadly, a crazed Pantera fan who blamed Dimebag for Pantera’s splitting up jumped on stage at a Damageplan show and murdered Dimebag and other arena staff members (R.I.P). Pantera is considered one of metal’s greatest and most influential bands.

2. Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth)

EPIC. VIKING. BEARD! Enough said! Johan is the vocalist for Amon Amarth. Amon Amarth are often described as a Viking metal band but this isn’t accurate; they are a melodic death metal band with Viking lyrical content (bands are defined by their sound not their lyrical content). This, coupled with the fact that they have a really epic atmospheric sound, makes them unique.

1. Chad Gray (Mudvayne, Hell Yeah)

And so we reach number 1 in the top ten beards in metal. This is my number 1 because it is so unique, outlandish and very…… well, blue. Chad is the vocalist for both Mudvayne and Hell Yeah and occasionally performs with gothic styled makeup such as this. He also has an amazing vocal range from clean singing to low growling vocals.

So that concludes my top ten beards in metal music. Before I go I’d just like to show you one more beard.

This is me (right) at a gig where I met Jon Howard (#7 on the list) when his band Threat Signal were playing in London and some friends and I went to see them.

Thanks for reading,

Michael Bashford

]]> http://beardcoach.com/2011/07/top-ten-metal-beards/feed/ 1 http://beardcoach.com/2011/02/super-bowl-super-beard/ http://beardcoach.com/2011/02/super-bowl-super-beard/#comments Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:39:56 +0000 Coach Adam http://beardcoach.com/?p=841

Brett Keisel, you’re doing it right.

Here’s a great article from the NY times about what may be the greatest NFL beard ever.  They even interviewed my good acquaintance, World Beard Champion Jack Passion.

Read about the Super Beard here.

Maybe dress as one of these amazing characters.  You know… the ones that other people have to buy terrible fake beards for.

#1 Grizzly Adams

Items Needed

• Fur Coat
• Thermal Underwear shirt (henley style)
• Suspenders
• Brown wool pants
• Bear tooth/claw necklace
• Long hair wig (probably)

If you’re like me, you have a beard, are named Adam, and you get called this by pretty much every person over 35 that you meet.  You may as well go for it, dude!  The costume should be pretty easy to pull togther from a trip to the thrift store.  Just don’t forget that your beard is basically the star of this costume.  You can comb in some sticky hair gel and then dust with cornstarch to add some gray streaks to it.  Oh and don’t forget to do like Griz Ad and frickin part your beard!

#2 Uncle Jesse

Items Needed

• Red cap (ear flaps preferred)
• Tan work shirt
• Denim overalls
• Beard-graying materials mentioned above (if needed)

If you read “Uncle Jesse” and thought of Stamos, you are the wrong person for this costume.  We’re talking the original Uncle Jesse – played by the great Denver Pyle – the lovable curmudgeon from Hazzard County, people!  This one is a three-item special.  There’s pretty much no reason not to throw this costume together for Halloween.  Get your girl to dress up like Daisy Duke and you’ve got a couples costume that will surely please.  Or get your clean shaven friends to be Bo and Luke.  Hell, have a Dukes-themed party any time of the year!

#3 Grigori Rasputin

Items needed

• Black monk’s robe
• Long hair wig (if needed)
• Crazy look in your eyes
• Russian accent

Sometimes a bearded guy needs a creepier costume instead of a hilarious one.  Rasputin has one of the most insane life stories you will ever hear about.  Basically the guy supposedly had magic healing powers, was caretaker of the Tsar’s frequently-ill kids and BFFs with his wife, slept with too many women, drank way too much, and had to be killed multiple times in a row like Jason or Freddy.  What???  Legendary.

#4 Peter Griffin From The Episode Of Family Guy Where He Grows A Beard And Birds Nest In It

Items Needed

• Green slacks
• White button-up shirt
• Round glasses
• Blanket for stuffing (amount may vary)
• Fake (or real) baby birds

This episode of Family Guy is a classic!  People will instantly crack up at this costume, guaranteed.  Like the others, it’s pretty easy to assemble as well.  Note that I listed a blanket rather than a pillow for fat stuffing.  Based on my past experience of dressing as a fat middle-aged woman from a Richard Simmons workout video, I can attest that wrapping a blanket around your midsection is much more realistic looking than just a pillow stuffed in the front.  One more important tip… when affixing the birds to your beard, avoid the hot glue gun.

#5 Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Items Needed

• 2 by 4
• American Flag
• Spandex bibs or pants
• Knee high wrestler boots

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! What child of the 80s doesn’t fondly remember ol’ Hacksaw Jim Duggan?  This guy is the epitome of classic WWF wrestling.  Chants of “U-S-A” echoing from the rafters of the arena as he stomps his way down the aisle, American flag over one shoulder and a 2 by 4 over the other… Hacksaw jumps into the ring, lifts his right thumb high into the air and lets out his Hacksaw Howl… “HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”  He was always the guy taking on the Iron Sheik or any other character from a country we were being conditioned to dislike.  You could always count on Hacksaw to line up in his three-point stance and deliever the final blow, vanquishing the enemies of the good ol’ U S of A.

If for some reason, you don’t think these are the hit bearded costumes of the year, check out last year’s ideas.  Pick your favorite, suit up, and have a great Halloween!

Pop quiz!  Is this a stage name?  Answer… nope!  This dude was really named Wolf Blitzer by his mother and father.  And thank goodness he decided to be a beard wearer.  Because what good would a man named Wolf be if he weren’t hairy?

George Clooney

Man, you gotta love the Clooney beard.  Especially in Syriana… that was a big beard fit for the big screen!  Clooney comes off as a guy who looks like he was born to wear a beard, and I’d say it’s probably because he a Kentucky boy, just like yours truly.  Damn, Kentucky, you really do churn out some handsome bearded men!

Jack Black

Jack’s beard really helps him set off his trademark “slacker” look.  Would his wild-eyed antics be as funny without a wild beard attached to his face?  Here’s the answer.  It’s “no.”  I mean, have you seen Shallow Hal?

Jim Carrey

Here’s a good counterpoint to Jack Black’s beard.  While Jack’s beard enhances his hilarity, Jim Carrey’s beard lends a notable gravitas to his persona.  Can you believe this is the same guy who got famous stuffing asparagus in his upper lip as Ace Ventura?  He looks like your biology professor!

Jim Henson

All joking aside, Jim Henson had a huge impact on my childhood.  I was a rabid Muppets fan, not only watching the television show, but also regularly reading my copy of “The Muppet Show Book.”  Someone as gentle and caring as Kermit could only have come from a sensitive bearded gentleman like Jim.  In contrast to the sweet childhood memories, another Henson project “The Dark Crystal” was the film of choice for many freaky “enhanced” viewings in my college days!

Justin Timberlake

I’m loving that JT is rockin’ the beard nowadays.  I think it’s well agreed that he is the best thing to come out of the boy band blight of the late 90’s/early 00’s.  Bravo to JT for shedding his baby-faced past by doing the exact opposite of shedding and putting more hair on his face.

Morgan Freeman

Anyone watch The Electric Company back in the late 70’s?  That show taught me how to read, no jokes!  And Morgan Freeman was a part of it.  That’s right, Morgan Freeman taught me how to read.  And then he taught me what a black president would be like in Deep Impact.  When a seven-mile-wide comet is streaking toward Earth, I’ll rest easy knowing that Obama has a top-secret spaceship under construction in orbit, ready to go blow it up, and a National Bunker being prepared in the Ozarks.  I just hope I am one of the 800,000 lucky ones who get chosen to take shelter.  Anyway, you really do have to love that silver beard.

Mel Gibson

For a racist drunk, this guy has a pretty good beard!  That crazy white streak is about as crazy as he is.  It’s like his chin mated with the Bride of Frankenstein.  I have to say, though, that the uniqueness of the beard is pretty enviable.  I hope when I go gray in the beard that it happens in some unforeseen fantastic way.  Like the gray parts actually spell out the word “beard” on my beard or something like that.

Viggo Mortenson

Not only does Aragorn actually occasionally wear an awesome beard in real life, but he’s also considered to be a modern Renaissance man.  In addition to being a truly good actor, he is also a painter, an accomplished photographer, and a poet.  He even started a publishing house for artists who are struggling to find a way to take their art to the masses.  This guy and his beard are so impressive, I can’t even think of anything funny to say about them.  Damn.

Randy Moss

Love him or hate him, Randy can grow a great mossy beard.  He’s from West Virginia so he has some of that beard desire that seeps through Appalachian culture.  You have to admit, there’s just something awesome about a football player who keeps surprises like this hidden under his helmet.  It’s like some sort of nougat-y center inside a hard candy shell.  Only the nougat is made of hair.