Ahhh, the wacky world of touring, where we all know that shows and situations can change at the drop of a hat. What are we referring to this time? Machine Head and their upcoming U.S. headline tour in support of their latest release, Supercharger – the Supercharging America tour. So what’s the deal? This tour, originally slated to start on January 10th in Vancouver, will now be starting on January 20th in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Why? As frontman Robert Flynn tells, “I severely sprained my wrist snowboarding the other day”. Accordingly, playing guitar for the next couple weeks is out of the question…this is touring, live shows, the real deal – all members must be pumping on full cylinders…not like studio work when back in 1989 Whitesnake guitarist Adrian Vandenberg sprained both his wrists. Guitarist Steve Vai handled all the axe duties for the Slip Of The Tongue release and the band never missed a beat. Alas, we digress… NOTE – the original first eight dates of the tour WILL BE rescheduled and will take place on the back end of the tour, sometime in mid-February. NOTE II – Darwin’s Waiting Room and 3rd Strike will be the supporting acts (with the latter being the opener). NOTE III – let’s send a ‘cheers’ out to Machine Head, for they just won an ongoing 2 year court case wherein a commercial sound design company based in Venice, California (also named Machine Head) was trying to get our Machine Head to change their name. Congrats. Long live Machine Head…

MEN IN SPACESUITS? Our most recent email came in from longtime fan Terry Lum. Thanks for the write up! Terry is indeed a man in the know. “I was going to write to each of the crew at RR separately (& I still might), but since I saw this page I thought I’d take the opportunity to share a few tales about the tour: 1st up a massive THANK YOU to the RR crew, the MH Tour Manager, and of course the mighty MH, Ill Nino, Thumb, and Sugarcoma. Yet again I ventured to each of the UK shows & managed to get After Show passes (for myself & friends) to the VIP bar at Brixton. After mingling with band members, crew, and mad fans we all started to get kicked out at around 1:30 in the morning. But on our way to the exit I managed to collar Robb. Greeted in typical Flynn fashion “I wondered where that crazy Mother Fu#ker was!” (I guess he was pleased to see me again) Robb invited me and my missus back to the dressing room where I managed to set it up so that I could have AAA passes for each of the remaining gigs. Cheers Robb and Chris! As for someone reporting Human League being played after the Newport gig, that’s not the worst of it! You should check out some of the other CDs that Dave (McClain) owns. There’s some weird stuff done by guys, who (according to Dave) dress up in space suits and do strange covers of songs, leaving you going “Oh, I know that one what the hell is it?”. Also with regards to the Newport show, I just want to say a big “F#@k You” to the security guy that started to lay into a member of Ill Nino’s crew who was merely taking a load of video footage of the show for himself and the band members. That was totally uncalled for! But fortunately that did not stop what was to be an amazing gig, where I watched the show from the stage and went stage diving during the last song of the night, Supercharger. Boy that was fun. Sorry to all the people I landed on!!! By the way, did anyone see James (Sugarcoma drummer) stage dive into the barrier! Man that had to hurt! Probably the best gig overall goes to Brixton, where there is a great atmosphere in an unusual open top (but indoor) venue. Let’s hope the live recording comes out as well as the actual show when it is released. The best crowd response goes to Glasgow, where they know how to make a band feel welcome! But for me personally (and probably Sugarcoma as well, where Claire joined in playing “The Number of The Beast”) the great festive atmosphere at the Newport show where it was the final gig of the tour for the support bands was the most memorable. It has to be said that there were some long goodbye’s being said that night before Chris managed to drag MH off to the tour bus for a recording session with Radio 1 down in London the following morning. P.S. I’ve just got some photos developed today, so I might e-mail them in if anyone wants me to. Cheers, Terry Lum.” Our new friend Steve went to the London show, and found himself on TV camera! He writes, “I got to the venue at 1pm, and god the weather was freezing… while we were waiting outside, a whole group of us were interviewed for TV, we think it was the LWT area, but I don’t know if they used me in there or not, as I don’t get LWT!! So if you know if there was a program broadcast with a fatish guy with glasses and a Fear Factory jacket doing a lot of talking whereas everyone else just shuts up, then let me know!!!!” Cool story Steve, and we can tell you the TV programme was shot for Sky.. and should be on screens sometime around March. We’ll bring you more info when we get it. Check your postbox for a poster soon. It’s all good. Check out this cool tale from MH fan Tom Barker. “Hey RR!! Yeah I had a fucking ace time at the Machine Head show in Brixton aswell! Back in September I did a fan interview for Kerrang with Machine Head to launch Supercharger, so I was fucking overwhelmed when I heard I could go and meet Machine Head and Ill Nino again at Brixton. Not only did Ill Nino sign everything we put under their noses, but Robb from MH also somehow remembered my first name from the interview we did! Which was nice! The loverly Kirsten also somehow gave me and my matey, plus a load of hard working street team members some passes for the after-show party, with free alcohol! So all in all a quality night! Thank you Machine Head , Ill Nino and RRRecords!” And a poster will be winging it’s way to you too Tom. Glad you had a good night. We did too. Manchester First show of the tour, first ever Ill Nino UK show, lots of expectations to meet. The first day of a tour is always madly busy – at least for the crew and the tour manager who are running around trying to make sure that everything is in place not only for that night but the whole tour as well. All the hard work and effort paid off though, for all the bands have nothing but glowing reports of the show and fans they got to meet. The Mancunian hospitality triumphed again. London Did you know that the entire set at Brixton on the 8th was recorded live? Robert has been talking of a live album and/or a DVD release possibility and who knows where else it could show up. The band played a whole mix of catalogue – including old classics such as Ten Ton Hammer and Davidian to new songs Supercharger, and American High. Not forgetting a moving performance of Deafening Silence, dedicated to all the victims in the Sept 11 US terrorist attacks. Yes, there were plenty of lighters held aloft. With Robb introducing their encore shouting “I am Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden” the band launched into a medley of covers, including Number Of The Beast, Iron Man, Territory (Sepultura), and Sugar (System Of A Down)! But was the show good to watch? Oh yes… here’s a clip from an email we received afterwards… “hey i hope you don’t mind me emailing but i just got back from Machine Head and i had to say how fucking amazing it was, it was the best gig i have ever been to and the best live band i have ever seen, i was right at the barrier near the middle and nearly got my neck broken but it was all worth it!” Glad you had a cool time Bex, thanks for the email. Wolverhampton Mindee, RR gal on the road, tells, “it went really really well, the crowd went mad!” We guess you all had a good time then. Reports have been coming in of stage and crowd-diving Ill Nino crew during the Machine Head set, so we guess they were having a good time as well! Did you know some foolish guy threw a full pint glass at Robb during the set? And managed to hit him with it? What a waste of a good beer. Instead of being pissed off and walking off, Robb shrugged it off saying “I’m the dirtiest dog in here, covered in sweat and shit, and I haven’t showered in 5 days… I can pour my own beer over my head…” And so he did and another good beer got wasted. Just to top things off, when he threw a bottle back out into the crowd, some guy managed to catch it, without spilling it… nice one – we all know free beer is a good thing. Don’t think the pint-launching guy managed to stay in for the rest of the set after though, we hear he had a few beefy security guards keeping him company out back… Glasgow Aside from the band’s mirth at finding it impossible to understand much of the Scottish accents, we hear a massively rockin’ night out was had by all. Robb reports this was the best crowd the whole tour and that everyone just went crazy! So you Scots like Machine Head eh? Nottingham Ah, what shall we say about the “Nottinghamians”… these guys like to drink with Machine Head too. Did you know the band have been changing the covers medley slightly each night depending on whatever the hell they felt like playing at the time? Tonight was “British Metal Night”, and some time honoured old classics were belted out in fine form. If you were there, did you recognise them all? It all sounded great and the band said afterwards just what a fun time they have been having on this tour. Some of the most fun ever in fact. Post show, all the bands chilled out backstage a while, and then headed into The Rig, the downstairs bar part of Rock City, to join the remaining gig goers for a few Machine Head Brown Eyes at the bar! Oh yes, many a beverage was sunk this evening. And there everyone hung out and partied, til the tour managers chased the bands onto the buses and took them off into the dark night for the next venue. Newport Never mind the show, we heard the band made the most of the venue being a leisure centre, and spent all their spare time goofing off in the swimming pool, the jacuzzi, and bombing down the water slide! Joined by Ill Nino, our waterbabies were having such fun, they were still in there when the doors opened, and some rather surprised fans were greeted by some semi-naked, dripping wet band members hightailing it back to the dressing rooms double quick! The show, of course, was another tremendous effort, and even saw members of Ill Nino and crew crowd-diving from the stage through the set. As for the medley of covers, Sepultura’s ‘Roots’ were heard tonight, amongst others. We wouldn’t be lying if we told you we heard a trio from Machine Head and Ill Nino doing some backstage karaoke to a certain Human League song either. It’s true! That’s it. The UK tour is over. We’ll have photos up from the shows soon so keep checking back to see if you are in any of them! No more UK dates are confirmed at present although the band are hopeful of returning for festivals over the summer. In the meanwhile, content yourselves with a brand new Machine Head single ‘Crashing Around You’, complete with live tracks, to recapture the magic of the last few days in the comfort of your own bedroom.

MACHINE HEAD SINGLE – “Crashing Around You” is out now. The tracklisting is: 1. Crashing Around You 2. Silver (live) 3. Ten Ton Hammer (live) This CD contains the video “Crashing Around You” as an enhanced element. “Crashing Around You”: Produced by Johnny K. – Co-Produced by Machine Head – Mixed by Colin Richardson Live tracks: Produced by Leif Edling and Machine Head – Recorded and Mixed by Janne Waldenmark – Recorded at Cirkus, Stockholm on December 2, 1999 by Swedish Radio P3 Live “Crashing Around You” video: Directed by Nathan “Karma” Cox – Produced by Dave Robertson NEW VIDEO – The brand new video for Crashing Around You’ can be seen in the video section.

Remember hearing about Ten Ton Hammer, the famed Machine Head cover band, playing a show on Halloween? In fact, what was to be their second show EVER. Well, have you made the connection? Ten Ton Hammer IS Machine Head. Oh, such a grand tradition Halloween is…and much to the credit and creativeness of Machine Head, they played a hometown show on Halloween under the moniker Ten Ton Hammer. AND, they dressed up too. Like what? Check out the following Ten Ton Hammer review as written by US Road Crew member Natalie Fuellenbach: “Machine Head didn’t end up dressing in Star Wars costumes…they were an 80’s hair band….well Motley Crue to be exact. hehehe. They started the show out by playing an old 80’s song…and they ended the show with “Iron Man”… I had a great time! It was so fun….the drink for the night was the browneye heheheh. I have to say this was the best halloween yet.” ‘Anyway, that was how Machine Head spent Halloween. Pretty cool, huh. Check out the gallery for photos. Currently www.ESPguitars.com is running a couple interviews online – one with Dry Kill Logic bassist Dave Kowatch, and the other with Machine Head guitarist Ahrue Luster. Check em out…

IN THE VIDEO SECTION… WEB SERIES PART THREE….In this third and final installment, it is all about the touring – Machine Head confess what it is ALL about for them… As with the two previous segments, you will see interview footage of the band from the studio, plus actual footage of them playing in the studio. You will see them performing part of a new track, one that has never been played here before. WEB SERIES PART TWO… The Recording – As promised, today we jump back into the world of the making of Supercharger, the upcoming release from Machine Head. In this second installment, it is all about the recording of this effort. It includes interview footage of the band from the studio, plus actual footage of them playing in the studio. You will see them performing part of a new track titled “Crashing Around You”…yes, it is from the studio (in the one room they hooked it up with lights and what not…pretty cool…check it out, you’ll see). WEB SERIES PART ONE… Whilst Machine Head was touring Europe last summer, they basically had all the footage taped. Well, the same guy who taped that footage was also around for the recording of Supercharger. His name is Grail – he is Machine Head’s boy, did the Summer 2000 Euro tour with them, and was with them in the studio during recording over the past months. And now, the work of Grail and Machine Head is ready to be seen in a three part video series for the web based off all the above footage. Grail got in the head of the band and recorded them growing into the band that made Supercharger. This web series breaks down the aspects of Machine Head that forged Supercharger: writing (Pt I), recording (Pt II), touring (Pt III). In the upcoming weeks we will be taking you on a tour of the Machine Head that is to come, what to expect from these 4 men and their 4th creation. Sit back, relax, listen up and watch. As promised earlier, we have rolled out the first in a three part series based on the making of Machine Head’s Supercharger. In this first series, you will see interview footage with the band, see them in the studio, and hear some lines from the title track. This promises to be the quickest 2 minutes and 48 seconds you will ever experience.

SUPERCHARGED IN LONDON AT SOUND – On August 15-16, Robb & Ahrue paid a quick visit to the UK to promote the new album. Rather than spend the evening languishing in their hotel rooms, the guys popped down with us to the Kerrang! club night held every Wednesday at Sound, on Wardour Street in London instead! You could say we surprised a few happy clubbers… and a couple of Roadrunner street/e-teamers who called my mobile while en-route to the club only to find themselves having a chat with Ahrue & Robb! Taking a promo of the new album Supercharger to Sound, both guys did a little impromptu DJing and played 5 new tracks – American High, Bulldozer, Crashing Around You, White-Knuckle Blackout and Supercharger – all which went down a storm as you might imagine! How do you follow that? Robb did a little kareoke for some ‘Beautiful People’ before getting his goat (sorry, wrong band) and heading into the depths of Soho… Seeing as I had a camera with me, there’s a few pics for those of you who missed it in the gallery…

the band have given up the answers to some questions submitted via our US site. Thanks to all who submitted questions and thanks to Rob and Ahrue for taking time to do this. Enjoy! 1 – Who is the one most influential band that all of the band can agree on? Favorite City or Venue to play, other than your hometown? C.F. Sozio Rob Flynn: Why, none other than Machine Head of course!!!! ha-ha. As far as influencing us probably early Metallica. Favorite cities…New York, Chicago, LA, London, Tokyo, & Paris. 2 – You guys came into the scene with “Burn my Eyes” back in 94 which absolutely stunned everyone, using a unique approach of modern heaviness which just came out of the middle of nowhere. You released your second album “The more Things Change” in 97, attempting to prove to everyone that you can achieve perfection with your playing techniques. The latest album “The Burning Red”, appeared to be a more emotion oriented album, which might of been your way of saying “We’re all over with this darkness that we went through, and we’re ready to conquer life”. So with this upcoming new album being called “Super Charger”, what intentions do you guys have for this record? What exactly are you guys trying to achieve? As a die hard fan of your band, I’m really anxious to know. Satoshi Morikawa Rob Flynn: Our intentions are still to conquer life, always have been. The vibe in the band is just more charged up now, we felt calling it Supercharger just summed up the power in the music. 3 – Are their still plans for a Machine Head DVD home video to be released? I know you guys were talking about it, when you came to Houston last. And, is there a chance for a b-sides record to come out in the near future? Somewhat in the vein of “Blood-Rooted” by Sepultura? I have heard some Machine Head b-sides, which are extremely good, and the world needs to hear them. josh Ahrue Luster: We would love to release a home video. We have tons of footage from the last European tour we did. We had someone on the road with us who’s sole job was to film us. As for the B sides, there are no plans in the near future to release anything like that. The next thing to come out will be Supercharger. 4 – Hey machine head, loved that song *Block* with all the samples playing through. Are you guys going to do something like that again cause that was one of the best songs you guys did off that CD in my humble opinion. What do you think of this “new metal” scene? Do you want to be a part of it or stay away from it? Timmy O’ Toole Ahrue Luster: Our new record is going to have shit that makes “Block” sound like a picnic at Disneyland. As for the new metal scene, I personally like a lot of the new shit and so does everyone else in the band. We will always be true to ourselves no matter what is going on around us. 5 – What types of things influence you while you are writing new material, or lyrics? Sepultallica Rob Flynn: Well Sepultallica???? Things that sound different, weird riffs, “not” what everybody else is doing. I like to make guitar parts that sound like another instrument, keyboard, DJ, Satan. Lyrically, someone who’s saying something clearly, direct, to the point, not a lot of metaphors. 6 – Will Ahrue play a bigger part in the writing process this time around? And will we hear some solos from him? Josh Jackson Rob Flynn: He played a pretty big part in The Burning Red, and equally on Supercharger. You’ll be happy to know he’s brushing up on his Yngwie Malmsteen leads. 7 – I was curious if you all felt that metal is going to do a full circle returning to stuff of the early to mid 90*s? How long do you think the rap-metal trend will last? Brian X Ahrue Luster: I think history always repeats itself in one form or another but there will also always be new elements added to it. As far as mid 90’s metal. I couldn’t tell you. As far as rap metal, It seams as though it is already on the downslide although I think that rap itself has firmly established itself as a valid form of music and will be influencing other styles of music for years to come. 8 – Can you guys write one really fast, really heavy song for your next album? Like old school MH, but all down tuned like you are now? For all the mosh pit psychopaths down here in Florida… Burt hood/Jax FL Rob Flynn: We actually have, it’s called “Fluffy Bunny Rabbits hopping through the Flower Gardens” , but it’s REALLY fast and heavy. Ahrue Luster: There are more fast beats in Supercharger then there were on the Burning Red. There won’t be any that are fast from start to finish. I think you will love the song “Bulldozer”. 9 – I just wanna say that I saw you twice here and it was amazing, my favorite concerts! My question is. . “I’m Your God Now” and “The Burning Red” are very personal songs, were there true events that happened, and if not what inspired such breath taking songs? Brian Wardwell from FARGO, ND Rob Flynn: Thank You. Both songs are inspired by true events, our friend James Lappin passed away from drugs and that is what “I’m your God Now” is about. 10 – Dearest Machine Head, It’s common knowledge that the webmaster of www.machinehead1.com, Michael Parker, possesses one of the most glorious mullets ever grown since Billy Ray Cyrus. After seeing you guys live in a blistering set in San Francisco recently, I noticed what seem to be the beginning stages of a mullet on Mr. Flynn. My question is this…Robb, are you indeed busting out a mullet in support of your new disc “Supercharger”, and is the mullet the official hair style of the Machine Head Crew? Loving You Deeply, Primuswilliam Rob Flynn: Ahhhhh Primwilly, fan of the Horribly fated San Francisco Forty Niners , a team that suffered a devastating 34-28 loss, AT Candlestick, on Sunday, Oct. 8th 2000, to none other than The Oakland Raiders .Well well well , I tell you what, just to be a sport, and help you get over some of that bitterness, I promise to grow a mullet if the Niners win a playoff game….oh wait , they didn’t actually make the playoffs this year did they?…… oh well guess I won’t . HA-HA , FUCK OFF ) 11 – I’m sure a club tour will be in order to promote Supercharger (at least I hope so), but can we expect Machine Head to join one of the two major package tours this summer (Ozzfest, Tattoo The Earth)? Thanks, Kyle Kusy, Abingdon, Maryland Ahrue Luster: We are hoping to have Supercharger out in time to be on one of the summer festivals. We missed all of them with the Burning Red. 12 * Can I do the cover art? I’ll do it for free! Please, for the love of Satan! Please! Blake * a loyal Machine Head fan since 1994 Ahrue Luster: OK, you’re on. Just kidding. If you are really an artist, send your ideas to Mike P at our website (www.machinehead1.com). If they are good, we will see them. 13 – Do you guys like tube or solid state? Also, what amps and accessories do you guys use? Laine La Cava Robb Flynn: I prefer tube, it sounds fuller to my ear. I use Peavey 5150s and a lot of pedals. Ahrue Luster: I like both. I use line 6 Flexitone 2 heads (solid state) for everything when I’m on tour but in the studio I use an old Peavy 5150 head (tube) for my heavy tone and my Line 6 for everything else. Robb uses old 5150’s for everything. We both use Marshall vintage 30 cabs. 14 – Robb Flynn: How long ago did the band actually start? And which bands did you look up to as an early musician? MarianoVillanueva Rob Flynn: June, 1992. We played our first “house party” in August that year, my favorite records back then were Metallica- Black Album, Ice Cube-The Predator, Soundgarden-Badmotorfinger, 1st Cypress Hill, Pantera-Vulgar, Temple of the Dog. 15 – What do those three Japanese or Chinese symbols on the back of my Machine Head T-shirt mean? Rock on Mike Delano Ahrue Luster: They say “Kick Me.” Just kidding. Those are the Japanese symbols for Machine Head. 16 – My question is why did AHRUE cut his hair??? And who will PRODUCE and MIX SUPERCHARGER ?? And why did MACHINE HEAD chose to work with this PRODUCER???? Any B-sides planned for supercharger ? What about a digipak? A limited edition first pressing???? JASON GABELLA I was just tired of having dreads. I wanted to cut them for over a year but I had to wait ’till we were done touring. We haven’t decided on a producer yet. There will be B sides. The digipack and limited editions, we don’t know yet. 17 – Robb, on the MH1.com forum we’ve heard plenty of rumors about the new album. Some say the new shit sounds like the material on BME. I’m just wondering whether you’ve gone back to yer old style because of all the criticism? A lot of fans didn’t like TBR, because of the rapping and singing and the “nu-metal-riffs”. Does it have something to do with that or are you just tired of playing the “Nu-metal-riffs” yourselves? I’d say post one of the songs on the board…we’re all dying to hear it. And come to the board every now and then…we miss you! Rob Flynn: What do Nu Metal riffs sound like? Are they tuned down?, do they have harmonics and weird sounds ?, do they have lots of low single notes? kinda busier drum beats? hmmmmm???? No singing or rapping on our first album (??????) I guess if there’s no singing or rapping on BME then there’s none on TBR or Supercharger either. Do you see where I’m going with this? 18 – When are you guys coming to Hawaii? We been waiting to fucking long! Stop here before or after a Japan tour, GODAMMIT!! I didn’t buy your guys cd’s for nothing. I want to see you fuckers live!! Rob Flynn: We’d love to. We’ve been talking about going there soon, but we’re only playing for people who actually “did” buy our cd’s for nothing. ha-ha. Ahrue Luster: We want to come there just as bad as you want us there!!! I grew up in Waikiki. I went to Ala Wai grade school and Washington Intermediate school. If we don’t get to go to Hawaii on this tour, I am burning our booking agent’s office down. We also want to go to Australia just as bad. 19. – Is Mr. Flynn still drinking absolute Vodka and coke as his favorite drink? Or do you have a different drink that you favor these days? If so, will we see you enjoying that drink on stage, next time we see you guys on tour? Satoshi Morikawa Rob Flynn: Yes I am. 20 – When r u guys gonna come and visit us metal starved people in australia. The slipknot tour was sold out and u guys would easily sell out too. Just wondering when I could c one of the best bands live, that’s all! Liam Sutcliffe. Rob Flynn: We are defiantly gonna try to get there again soon, Australia kicks ass! Ahrue Luster: Hey Liam. Are you the contest winner that I talked on the phone with. If so, I hope you and your brother are doing good. We really want to get to Australia. Hopefully we will see you soon.

Exit Highland? Well following on from the name debate we’ve talked about before, the bookies favourite name is currently Exit Highland… although the race isn’t run yet. Rumbulfish/Rumblefish? Perhaps you shouldn’t get too attached to the name (it may be a changin’), but know that Dungis (bass) & company are slated to start recording their Roadrunner debut come mid-July. Where? L.A. The latest edition of the Roadrunner family comes to us from Los Angeles. Signed by Kevin Estrada – the same man who has brought us Spineshank, Chimaira and Anyone – we present to you Rumbulfish- a four piece outfit consisting of Possum Hill on drums, Jason DeCosta on guitar, Mike Ryan on vocals, and a man known only as Dungis on bass. Formed two years ago in Hollywood, Rumbulfish has already toured with or supported such national acts as Linkin Park, Crazy Town, Hed(pe), Soulfly, Mudvayne, and Kottonmouth Kings. What’s in a live show? Everything. That is the ultimate musical experience…Previously in 2001 on the annual Smoke Out mini-tour, a tour which saw Roadrunner’s own Fear Factory, Machine Head, and Ill Nino perform, Rumbulfish was there too. How? Cypress Hill, headliners of this annual tour, put together a contest consisting of local LA bands – a contest which would give the winner the opening slot on Smoke Out. Rumbulfish was invited to play the Fat Festival in San Bernardino, CA, with ten other bands, a competition for this opening slot. The band with the biggest crowd reaction got the slot on Smoke Out. In “old school Gong Show style” fashion, B-Real had the crowd cheer for the bands they saw that day…hands down, Rumbulfish took the prize. The actual day Rumbulfish signed? Well, actually a bit ago…as Rumbulfish actually signed to Roadrunner when we put them in the studio to record some demos for us – that was their signing to Roadrunner. It was a later date when the powers that be at Roadrunner heard the demos, and made everything final. Oh, the demos…speaking of which, after first hearing the demos and before delivering to Roadrunner, A&R Rep Kevin told the band “don’t worry, your signed – it’s done.” More recently he states “I am very excited about my new band, Rumbulfish. After working with the band on our demos, I realized that this band has more talent and more creativity than I had ever imagined…as a band and as individuals. I can’t wait to get started on the record, I know it is going to be amazing!” We know too…and soon you will as well. Next order of business: Hunt down Kevin Estrada and get one of those demo tracks up here on the site for you all to hear. Recording details and more news to come…including some interesting past facts on this band (yep, they have a previous history with RR) Rumbulfish, welcome.

And so we reveal the first of the new official Killswitch Engage photos – including new singer Howard Jones. More photos are on the way in the near future. So what’s new with the band? Getting set to go on tour some more in the US, although Lacuna Coil has dropped off the planned tour to be replaced by Dark Tranquility, tells Mike. And then coming to Europe for the first time, on the Roadrage tour – kicking off very soon! The band are excited, he says, “we can’t wait!” Tickets are on sale now – and damn cheap too. LYRICALLY YOURS… Ever wonder about the lyrics on the album? What they really mean to the person who wrote them? We’ve just uploaded an mp3 of Jesse talking about what the songs mean to him, shortly before he left the band. You can download it in the music section. All will be revealed… The band are coming to the UK. Check out the Roadrage microsite for tour details, competitions, downloads, and a whole lot more!

17/7/02: Killswitch Engage played their first ever show with new vocalist ‘the’ Howard Jones this past weekend at Hellfest. Initial report from Amy, from our US radio dept, tells, “Howard has fantastic stage presence and can sing and scream like a muther effer.” If you are int the USA, check it out for yourself. Killswitch Engage, with ‘the’ Howard Jones, joins the Kittie tour come July 23rd. In fact, REVOLVER Magazine presents three new dates on this tour. They are: Aug 2 – Colorado Springs, Co – Colorado Music Hall, 3 – Fort Collins, CO – Starlight, 6 – Boise, ID – The Big Easy. Note: All Ages – Kittie headlines, Poison the Well is direct support, Shadows Fall and Hotwire also appear. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE will play second on the bill. 10/7/02: As we mentioned earlier, Killswitch Engage has found themselves a new voice. Howard Jones, vocalist of Connecticut-area group, Blood Has Been Shed, will be handling vocal duties for Killswitch Engage on a permanent basis. “We’re very, very excited about having Howard in the band,” states bassist Mike D’Antonio. “Things have happened very quickly, but have really worked out for the best.” Jones’ addition to the band represents a huge step forward for the band. “I had heard that things were up in the air with Jesse so after a lot of tossing and turning at night I gave the guys a call,” says Howard. “It really clicked with the other guys and it was apparent right away how well this could work out. I can’t wait to put my own stamp on this band. I’m amped.” “We picked a singer that will enable us to grow as a band. That was the most important thing to us,” states guitarist Joel Stroetzel.