Check out the review below of the upcoming Devildriver – The Fury Of Our Maker’s Hand from www.BlogCritics.org: “A lot of people applaud bands like Lamb Of God, Chimaira or Shadows Fall as the top new metal bands of the new millenium. All are good bands, but for me, the best of the best is Devildriver. Their debut album was ferocious, yet showed great lyrical ability as well as devasting heaviness. That album slayed, but unfortunately, all of the focus was on vocalist Dez Fafara and his decision to end Coal Chamber and form Devildriver. Thankfully, that time has passed. All of those questions have been answered, and Devildriver has soldiered on and recorded their sophomore release. Without question, they are back with a better album than the first. THE FURY OF OUR MAKER’S HAND is a seething dose of devastation designed to establish them apart from the rest of the pack. For my money, the key to FURY’s brilliant sound is the work of Devildriver drummer John-B. This guy’s fast footwork and blistering multi-faceted beats drive each and every song on fury. Be it the Chimaira-esque “End Of The Line” or the flurry of beats that fly at you during songs like “Driving Out The Darkness”, it’s clear that John-B has stepped up his game big time. The same can be said for the guitar tandem of Mike And Jeff. While their sound is very similar to the last record, their downtuned riffs fuel the fire from which Fafara launches his painful wails from. Speaking of Fafara, it’s clear that thoughts of his Coal Chamber past no longer fill his head when writing. This music, and specifically his sound, has developed away from the few similarities that the debut release had with his previous band. Instead, he’s screaming as hard as he possibly can on many songs, while mixing his deeper groans in for effect. In essence, this material comes off closer to sounding like his arch-nemesis band Kataklysm than anything his past musical life had to offer. Songs like “Sin And Sacrifice” and “Grinfucked” are brutal in their vocal approach. Other songs, like “Hold Back The Day”, even feature some black metal (aka Dimmu Borgir) influences in them. Overall, Fafara sounds better and his surrounding cast has really grown from their debut. RATING – 10/10 – I don’t go perfect often, but this one is destined to land in my top 2 at the end of the year. THE FURY OF OUR MAKER’S HAND is as close to flawless as anything I’ve heard in a long while. If this band is going to explode like Lamb Of God or Shadows Fall did last year, then this is definitely the vehicle to make it happen. Brilliant release!” REMEMBER: DEVILDRIVER – THE FURY OF OUR MAKER’S HAND – OUT JUNE 27th

ROADRUNNER’s TOP TEN REASONS TO GO TO DOWNLOAD Download Festival is this weekend, and it’s gonna be HUGE. In celebration of this we’ve put together a quick 10 reasons why you should not miss the festival this year. 1.)Still Remains 2.)3 Inches Of Blood 3.)Open Hand 4.)Everytime I Die 5.)Caliban 6.)Chimaira 7.)Trivium 8.)Wednesday 13 9.)Kilswitch Engage 10.)Slipknot ENJOY!!

Chimaira’s Mark Hunter is in NYC. Purpose of the trip? Chimaira is ready for mastering. In fact, after today, the release should be 100% complete, final, in the bag. True. Chimaira coming this August…new MP3 download “Nothing Remains” now available in our MUSIC section

Opeth unleash their new album Yesterday afternoon, a group of American press writers – along with an esteemed member of RR US press staff – boarded a plane to Sweden where they will all be spending a couple of days with Opeth in the studio. They will hearing the new album – which will likely be titled Ghost Reveries – and conducting interviews with the band. new Opeth coming this summer

NEW SLIPKNOT TONES/WALLPAPERS!!! Just uploaded on ROADTONES is the forthcoming SLIPKNOT single BEFORE I FORGET. In addition to the Truetone and Polyphonic tones, you can also get wallpapers for both of the exclusive 7″ singles. For more info on the single, and to hear the b-sides, check out the ECARD. Oh and did we mention that we will be giving away a signed SLIPKNOT GUITAR courtesy of our good friends at PLAYRECORD.NET REMEMBER: SLIPKNOT – BEFORE I FORGET – OUT JUNE 13th

Roadrunner is 25! In celebration of our 25th birthday we’ve teamed up with renowned retailer MVC to offer metal heads everywhere the chance to pick up some classic albums at a truly evil price. From June 6th, for 2 weeks, we will be offering a whopping 36 titles for the dastardly price of 퉌£6.66. A further 15 titles will be available at the slightly less evil fee of 퉌£7.99. This offer is exclusively available at participating MVC stores while stocks last. CLICK HERE to find your local store. The full list of titles & prices is as follows: BLEEDING THROUGH -THIS IS LOVE, THIS IS MURDEROUS = 퉌£6.66 CALIBAN – THE OPPOSITE FROM WITHIN = 퉌£7.99 CHIMAIRA – PASS OUT OF EXISTENCE = 퉌£6.66 CHIMAIRA – THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF REASON = 퉌£6.66 CRADLE OF FILTH – NYMPHETAMINE = 퉌£9.99 EVERY TIME I DIE – HOT DAMN! = 퉌£6.66 FEAR FACTORY – ARCHETYPE = 퉌£7.99 FEAR FACTORY – OBSOLETE = 퉌£6.66 FEAR FACTORY í¢ä‰åäóì DEMANUFACTURE = 퉌£6.66 HATEBREED – THE RISE OF BRUTALITY = 퉌£7.99 HOPESFALL – A TYPES = 퉌£7.99 ILL NINO – REVOLUTION/REVOLUCION = 퉌£6.66 ILL NINO – CONFESSION = 퉌£6.66 KILLSWITCH ENGAGE – THE END OF HEARTACHE = 퉌£7.99 KILLSWITCH ENGAGE – ALIVE OR JUST BREATHING = 퉌£6.66 KILLSWITCH ENGAGE – KILLSWITCH ENGAGE = 퉌£7.99 LIFE OF AGONY – BEST OF = 퉌£6.66 LIFE OF AGONY – RIVER RUNS RED = 퉌£6.66 MACHINE HEAD – THROUGH THE ASHES OF EMPIRES = 퉌£6.66 MACHINE HEAD – HELLALIVE = 퉌£6.66 MACHINE HEAD – THE BURNING RED = 퉌£6.66 MACHINE HEAD – THE MORE THINGS CHANGE = 퉌£6.66 MACHINE HEAD – BURN MY EYES = 퉌£6.66 MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD – OUR LADY OF ANNIHILATION = 퉌£6.66 MURDERDOLLS – BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE MURDERDOLLS = 퉌£6.66 NICKELBACK – THE LONG ROAD = 퉌£7.99 NICKELBACK – SILVER SIDE UP = 퉌£6.66 OBITUARY í¢ä‰åäóì ANTHOLOGY = 퉌£6.66 OBITUARY – SLOWLY WE ROT = 퉌£6.66 OPEN HAND – YOU AND ME = 퉌£7.99 QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE = 퉌£6.66 SEPULTURA – ARISE = 퉌£6.66 SEPULTURA – BENEATH THE REMAINS = 퉌£6.66 SEPULTURA – ROOTS = 퉌£6.66 SEPULTURA – CHAOS A.D = 퉌£6.66 SLIPKNOT – VOL 3: (THE SUBLIMINAL VERSES) = 퉌£7.99 SLIPKNOT – IOWA = 퉌£6.66 SLIPKNOT í¢ä‰åäóì SLIPKNOT = 퉌£6.66 SOULFLY – PROPHECY = 퉌£7.99 SOULFLY – SOULFLY = 퉌£6.66 STILL REMAINS – OF LOVE AND LUNACY = 퉌£7.99 STONE SOUR – STONE SOUR = 퉌£6.66 TERROR – ONE WITH THE UNDERDOGS = 퉌£6.66 TRIVIUM – ASCENDANCY = 퉌£7.99 TYPE O NEGATIVE – OCTOBER RUST = 퉌£6.66 TYPE O NEGATIVE – BLOODY KISSES = 퉌£6.66 TYPE O NEGATIVE – THE LEAST WORST OF = 퉌£6.66 WALLS OF JERICHO – ALL HAIL THE DEAD = 퉌£6.66 3 INCHES OF BLOOD – ADVANCE & VANQUISH = 퉌£7.99 36 CRAZYFISTS – BITTERNESS THE STAR = 퉌£6.66 36 CRAZYFISTS – A SNOW-CAPPED ROMANCE = 퉌£7.99 WEDNESDAY 13 – TRANSYLVANIA 90210 = 퉌£7.99

Ill Nino is currently holed up at Hi-Fi Recordings in Union City, NJ putting the finishing touches on their yet to be titled third album, which will apparently be titled One Nation Underground…. í¢ä‰åñOverall this is the strongest Ill Nino album ever,í¢ä‰åŒ says drummer Dave Chavarri, who is co-producing the album with Eddie Wohl (36 Crazyfists, Anthrax). í¢ä‰åñWe really stepped up the Latin attitude both musically and vocally. Not only is the album bi-lingual but Christian in particular is doing amazingly well. His lyrics are getting deeply personal while becoming more expressive than ever.í¢ä‰åŒ With deeper subject matter that tackles what is going on in society today, the album is much angrier than the last two. “This is the most progressive and in-depth record we’ve ever made,” adds singer Cristian Machado. “I think a lot of the youths/young adults are walking around without a sense of reality. They are being led by a immoral media who often guide you away from the truth.” Deeper in every way, the band experimented with African percussion and chants while making the riffs a lot more intricate. Says Machado, “we pushed each element further than ever before and actually became Ill Nino on this record. On the other records we were searching for our identity and on this record we pinpointed what makes Ill Nino special.” In addition there will be special surprises on the album including a track with Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed. Ill Nino will hit the road in the US this July in anticipation for an August 2005 album release.

Following on from the resounding success of the Roadrage 2005 tour, we are pleased to confirm that fast-rising metal stars TRIVIUM will now be appearing on the Main Stage at the Download Festival at Donington. 퉌æ Previously set to appear on Sunday, June 12th on the Napster Stage, the band will now open the Main Stage on SATURDAY June 11th at 11am. Matt Heafy (vocals) says, í¢ä‰åñWe can’t wait í¢ä‰åäóì we’re so excited! The support from everyone in the UK has been fantastic and to get upgraded to the Main Stage at the legendary Donington is just amazing. We hope everyone has as much fun as we plan to!í¢ä‰åŒ 퉌æ After their Download appearance, the band will play at the London Astoria for the Metal Hammer Golden God Awards on Monday June 13th, where they are nominated for the Incoming Award for Best Newcomer. Remember you can win tickets to this show by CLICKING HERE and going to the freeshit section of the site. 퉌æ In other TRIVIUM news, Matt Heafy has recently been confirmed as the 4th and final producer/composer in the almighty Roadrunner All Stars project, joining MACHINE HEAD’S Robert Flynn, Dino Cazares of FEAR FACTORY, and Joey Jordison of SLIPKNOT. 퉌æ All four musicians will not only play on the original songs they’ve written, but will assemble a team of past/present Roadrunner artists to record the tracks. In order to cover as wide a spectrum as possible, no musician will play for more than one writer/producer and each song will feature a different vocalist. The project is being overseen by longtime Roadrunner A&R man Monte Conner. Mixing duties will be handled by legendary hard rock producer Colin Richardson. The album is tentatively scheduled for release in the autumn of 2005.

As many of you may have been aware, to celebrate the ROADRAGE tour playrecord.net, Kerrang! & ourselves gave away the following: – Metal Axxe Wraith Guitar in a black flame finish – Metal Axxe Wraith Bass – Kustom KBG1200 Groove Bass Head – Kustom KBG215 Groove 215H Speaker Cabinet – Randall G2 Series RH100G2 100W Head With Reverb & 4 x 12 Cabinet – Ludwig Accent CS Custom Elite Drum Kit Total Value is over 퉌£3,500.00í¢ä‰åŒ_ GULP To enter you simply had to film you and your new band mates air guitaring, air drumming, er… air-singing – the lot to your favourite Roadrunner track!! So here is the winner, sit back relax and be prepared to laugh your arse off 🙂 we’ve even chucked in a couple of runner ups for your viewinf pleasure. ENJOY!! WINNERs – PARADOX – David Tan, Peter Shard, Liam Slaven, Blair Broadie RUNNER UP RUNNER UP