According to a posting at Blabbermouth, New York hardcore legends Most Precious Blood are in the studio recording what will be their third full-length release for Trustkill Records. The album’s tentative title, “Merciless”, encompasses both the lyrical themes and music found on this new release. “The songs are a culmination of years and years of life experience: Betrayal, loss, grief, abandonment but forever trudging on in the face of immortal adversity. Life is merciless as are all the new songs,” says guitarist Justin Brannan. Though it promises to be the most punishing Most Precious Blood release yet, the band has also expanded their musical repertoire to include orchestral and electronic sounds. The band, who produced this album themselves along with Dean Balutonis, plans to follow up the recording of the new album with a tour across the UK with Napalm Death and Diecast. Most Precious Blood’s mix of aggressive riffs and scathing social commentary have been an integral part of the hardcore scene, particularly New York hardcore, following in the footsteps of forbears like Agnostic Front and Sick Of It All, who they have toured and are good friends with. The band has always been adamant about bringing the message with hardcore. Working with PETA and the ASPCA, distributing literature, speaking out and generally living by the hardcore philosophy, the members of Most Precious Blood remain true to their roots and have not been afraid to court controversy for their beliefs. The cover of their last album, “Our Lady of Annihilation”, was released to furor from retailers everywhere who refused to stock the album which featured the Lady Madonna with a bomb strapped to her chest. “The ferocity of the songs on this album will cause the controversy this time,” Brannan says. “We’ve never been afraid to try new things and we’re not going to stop now, but we know what’s what and this will be a bonafide Most Precious Blood hardcore album – more pissed off than ever before and 100 percent justified.” Most Precious Blood are playing the following dates with Napalm Death and Diecast 31st May – Exeter, Phoenix 1st June – Bristol, Beer Keller 2nd June – Swindon, Furnace 3rd June – Edinburgh, Studio 24 4th June – Sheffield, club Zero 5th June – Milton Keynes, Pitz 17th July – London, Koko 18th July – Birmingham, Acadamy 2

As I’m sure you are ALL aware ROADRAGE is here. The tour that has brought you the likes of Chimaira, Ill Nino & Spineshank now brings you Trivium, Still Remains, and 3 Inches Of Blood. DAY 1 – SUNDAY 1st – DAY It’s always a bit daunting when you meet a group of people for the first time. Normally though when it comes to working with new bands, you are talking about meeting about 6 band members and two crew. Not so on Sunday in Wolverhampton! 16 band members and 4 crew!!. However, 20 introductions later, and everyone’s happy. Only 3 Inches of Blood have toured the UK before, so a trip with a selection of people from all 3 bands for smokes and booze is more of an event than you might think- “we just went to the UK version of Walmart! How cool was that?!!” All three bands took time out to meet the RR UK Street Team, and needed to be physically pulled away to get them ready for the show!! DAY 1 – SUNDAY 1st – EVENING Trivium are up first, opening the show the way they open Ascendancy – walking on to the the dulcet tones of The End of Everything and leading into the Crushing Rain. The Wolves crowd seem to know all the words and the band are overwhelmed, commenting after that “the crowd were way louder than any in the States”. Next up were Still Remains. Playing a day before the release of Of Love and Lunacy, they are the guys with the most to prove. Tight as fuck, they break into To Live and Die by Fire and its obvious from the off the guys put more energy into their show than Power Gen can ever muster, with Zach’s running head bangs being a sight to behold!! Tracks like Bliss, White Walls and The Worst Is Yet to Come sound immense live and coupled with such an amazing performance, the crowd show the guys they were glad they stick around to see the new skids on the block with a killer pit! Last up are 3 Inches of Blood. What can you say about 3 Inches? Well, I don’t think Judas Priest were this metal when I saw them last month! Cam has the single most amazing voice you can ever imagine. At points the dude goes so high I swear only dogs can hear him! Matt on drums beats the living crap out of his kit grinning like a loon and Brian on bass in quite frankly a man possessed! Axis of Evil, Destroy the Orks and Premonition of Pain are all included in the set, and raise the roof. However, the best reception is reserved for closer Deadly Sinners, and an axe being held aloft in the middle of a throbbing crowd sums up the set perfectly! Post show, vodka and JD flow, and some go hang out in a club (did you know they don’t have rock clubs in the US?) and then its off to introduce them all to kebabs before the bus leaves for Liverpool. DAY 2 – MONDAY 2nd – DAY Upon arrival in the ‘pool, we find the venue closed and as its a wee bit stormy we shelter in the porch. Brian from 3 Inches keeps is entertained customising a t shirt and using the sleeves as a dapper head band (Don’t worry there is photographic evidence of this and it will be up soon). DAY 2 – MONDAY 2nd – EVENING First up tonight are 3IOB, and tonight they own the crowd! In fact post show the guys are bought a ton of drinks in the bar by a very happy crowd! Trivium follow and again are greeted by fists thrown in unison and voices united in song, prompting Matt at one point to put down his guitar, grab the mike and share vocal responsibilities with people on the front row! Closing the show on this, their album release day are Still Remains. Still high from having people coming up to them all day to get their copies of their album signed (‘this is so awesome-people in the UK are buying our record!!!”) they throw their all into it and give yet another ass ripping performance! After the show, I am introduced to “shotgunning” beer by Cam (3IOB) whereby you puncture a hole in the bottom of the can which you wrap your laughing gear around before pulling the ring pull. Not advised unless you are able to swallow at a supremely fast rate! Whoever said Canadians were the quiet ones?! DAY 3 – TUESDAY 3rd – DAY Day three and the bands hit Manchester. Despite the drinking/partying the bands feel rested and ready to pull out their best. “It’s great over here having a tour bus and all, we’ve all got somewhere to sleep. On the states tour we were sharing driving duties, it was a real pain.” says Cam (3IOB) “The crowds over here are much more enthusiastic and supportive of the music, which is great”. The bands truly feel honored to play to such a great audience. “Although it’s early days, we’re all so happy to be here” SPECIAL THANKS On the road reporters Sami Westwood & Kirsten Lane REMEMBER Although the tickets are moving fast there are still a few available, so CLICK HERE to order your ticket online.

According to a posting at Blabbermouth, the New FEAR FACTORY is to be entitled TRANGRESSION and will be produced by Toby Wright (Alice In Chains, Korn, Soulfly etc), “We are all very, very excited about the collaboration with Toby,” says singer Burton C. Bell. In addition to Toby Wright, there will be a list of guest musicians collaborating on ‘Transgression’, including bass player Billy Gould of Faith No More fame. Burton explains, “Billy brings a different vibe to the music the way his bass lines move around the beat and drive the songs with a unique element.” Billy will contribute to two songs: ‘Echo of My Scream’ and ‘Super Nova’. Other working titles for ‘Transgression’ include ‘New Promise’ (co-written with Mark Morton of Lamb Of God), ‘Empire’, and ‘540,000 Degrees Fahrenheit’. “It’s really cool to be writing a new record,” says Burton. “We are all feeling very positive and it’s moving quickly since we have overcome some major obstacles. Now we can work on a fucking great album. 2005 is the year of ‘Transgression’ for Fear Factory!”

Looking back in RR history, what releases came out this week? Let’s have a look: Defiance – Beyond Recognition (05/05/92) Controlled Bleeding – Penetration (05/05/92) Bennet – Super Natural (05/06/97) Both Worlds – Memory Rendered Visible (05/05/98) Speaking of Both Worlds, Did You Know? Both Worlds frontman John Joseph organized a charity concert called HARDCORE FOR HUNGER back in 1998, which took place at the now-defunct NYC venue known as Tramps (which has since been turned into a techno club). The show benefitted the Krishna Soup-Kitchen in which Joseph volunteered. Tons of bands from the scene were on the bill (and backstage for the hang) – among them CIV, Sick Of It All, Madball, Throwdown, Both Worlds and a highly-anticipated Cro-Mags reunion. Even MTV News covered the event. The whole hardcore community showed…pure chaos, of course. True, true, and true. That being said, be sure to check out our Roadrunner Records 25 page for recaps on the classic releases from 1996 and 1997 (which have just been added)…releases from Sepultura, Type O Negative, and Coal Chamber. Enjoy.

STILL REMAINS – OF LOVE AND LUNACY – OUT NOW To celebrate the release of Love And Lunacy we are allowing you the oppotunity to hear the entire Still Remains album, a try before you buy if you will. The tracks will only be up for a couple of days. So CLICK HERE sit back and crank that SH*T UP!!!!

Check out this awesome live performance from KillSwitch Enagage on the Jimmy Kimmel show. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL STREAM

As you are probably aware, ROADRAGE is here!! Over the next couple of weeks Trivium, Still Remains, and 3 Inches Of Blood shall be causing havoc in the UK. 4qRadio managed to hook up with all the bands before their first gig on the ROADRAGE tour, CLICK HERE to see all three video interviews. If you haven’t got your ticket yet there’s still time CLICK HERE for more info.

Check out this studio update as posted on the MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD WEBSITE “Recording for the new record is well under way @ Atomic Studio in beautiful Brooklyn, NY. So far I’d say the best word to describe the new songs would be seismic. We’ve received so many awesome emails from Europeans excited to see us this summer. We can’t wait to get over there! Hardcore Lives! You have been briefed. Carry on.” REMEMBER: Most Precious Blood are playing the following dates with Napalm Death and Diecast 31st May – Exeter, Phoenix 1st June – Bristol, Beer Keller 2nd June – Swindon, Furnace 3rd June – Edinburgh, Studio 24 4th June – Sheffield, club Zero 5th June – Milton Keynes, Pitz 17th July – London, Koko 18th July – Birmingham, Acadamy 2

CHIMAIRA STUDIO UPDATE According to a posting at Blabbermouth, only ten of the recorded 13, will go on the bands forth coming self-titled album. Producer Ben Schigel recorded the follow-up to 2003’s ‘The Impossibility of Reason’ at Spider Studios in Ohio and has described the new material as having “more of an epic kind of vibe. The songs are a lot longer, but we found a way to make them long without being boring. Now that it’s coming together, it sounds way more brutal.” CHIMAIRA-CHIMAIRA-OUT THIS AUGUST

í¢ä‰åñThis is how hardcore is supposed to soundí¢ä‰åŒ í¢ä‰åäóì Kerrang! Hardcore traditionalists, TERROR are set for some long-awaited UK shows this June. Dates are as follows: JUNE 27TH – PONTYPRIDD ARTS CENTRE JUNE 28TH – GLASGOW BARFLY JUNE 29TH – SHEFFIELD CLUB ZERO JUNE 30TH – LONDON UNDERWORLD Tickets go on sale this week and are available from box offices and all usual agents.