Who hosted MTV’s 1987 program Headbangers Ball when it first premiered?

Kevin Seal hosted Headbangers Ball when the MTV program first premiered in 1987.

Headbangers Ball began as a heavy-metal music-video program on MTV. Seal was its original host, introducing metal videos and interviewing artists before later presenters became more strongly associated with the show.

Riki Rachtman hosted the program during its best-known early-1990s period, while Dee Snider hosted the separate MTV metal show Heavy Metal Mania. Those connections explain why viewers often remember another name as Headbangers Ball’s original host.

The series became an important television outlet for hard rock and heavy metal, genres that received limited exposure on mainstream music television. Its interviews, performances, and video premieres helped connect metal audiences with bands from the United States and abroad.