Roadrunner Records announces the signing of multi-platinum alternative rock band The Cult, the influential UK group who have built an extensive global fan base with hits such as “She Sells Sanctuary,” “Rain,” “Wild Flower,” “Love Removal Machine,” “Edie,” “The Witch” and “Rise.” A new studio album, the first since 2001, is currently being recorded in London with producer Youth (Verve, Primal Scream), who will be adding final touches and mixing. The expected release date for the yet untitled album is 25 September 2007 and will be released in conjunction with The Cult’s imprint label, New Wilderness.

The Cult, led by founding members vocalist Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, will embark on a series of European arena shows with rock legends The Who starting June 5th. The band will be adding headline dates and festival appearances along the route, building on the overwhelming reaction to their 2006 sell-out world tour.

“We have always dreamed of finding a label that allows us artistic freedom and has the muscle to get the music to the people,” comments Astbury. “At the heart of this recording is an urban directness of savage rawness and an earnestness that is the centre of any great rock and roll band.”

“What’s especially great about The Cult,” A&R men Derek Oliver and Dante Bonutto state, “is their instinctive ability to live in the present, not just reflecting current taste but actually helping to shape it – something you can hear in Ian’s contributions to the UNKLE project. They have a magnificent and hugely influential history, but when you bring the classic and the contemporary crashing together in the way that Ian and Billy can, it gives real potential for this new album to be their most exciting ever.”