Here we've got two of metal's more modern acts going at it in the first round. Avenged Sevenfold's winged skull, aptly named the Deathbat, is up against another winged figure in Kataklysm's Heartbeast. This is a battle of brains and brawn to see who will outlast the other to advance in our March Metal Mascot Madness tournament!

Deathbat is certainly one of the most recognizable metal mascots in modern times, appearing on every one of the melodic metallers' albums. The mascot was originally drawn by Micah Montague, a longtime friend of the band. This mascot is typically a flying skull, but does have an actual body as seen on the City of Evil album cover. Forget proper anatomy, wings on a skull is cooler.

The Heartbeast made its debut in 2007 on Kataklysm's eight studio album In the Arms of Devestation. The band was so enamored with the figure on the album cover that they decided to make it the official mascot of the northern hyperblasters. While Deathbat might be hard to track down flying all over the place, Heartbeast has two faces on one head, ready to smash the competition.

Deathbat or Heartbeast? Cast your vote in the poll below!

Voting for this round ends on Monday, Mar. 23 at 8AM ET. Fans can vote once per hour, so keep coming back to make sure that your favorite metal mascot wins!

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