Cradle Of Filth’s debut release for Roadrunner Records – titled Nymphetamine, currently set for a late September release – is getting ever close to completion. Though a sit down with the band’s A&R Rep here at Roadrunner, Mike Gitter, we get a few more details on the project. As of Sunday night just past, after all your sweet family BBQs for the weekend were wrapped up and you were dreaming of sweet nothings, Colin Richardson and Dan Turner (engineer since the beginning of this sordid affair) had over half the record mixed. Not an easy feat, either, given that there is upwards of 100 tracks or more per song. A big sounding record, to say the least. Mixing should be fully complete come first week in July. “I would have to say without a doubt, it’s Cradle Of Filth’s best record,” tells Mike Gitter. “Not merely a great COF record, but a great metal record. Both longtime fans and casual listeners will be pretty fuckin’ surprised.” We assure you Mike’s convictions are spoken with the utmost objectivity. And, might we add, there will be a track called “Gilded Cunt” on the album. This is destined to be a classic.

The RR UK office has just been camped around the office TV watching, naturally, probably like yourself, the England vs Switzerland football match. Yes, congratulations are due to our boys, and also our Slipknot boys for their astounding prediction. If you have picked up Vol 3: (The Subliminal Verses) you will know of what we speak. The final score of the match… 3-0… the third track on the album… Three Nil. Spooky.

Chimaira are currently touring round the UK with labelmates Killswitch Engage. We caught up with Chimaira’s Spicuzza in Belfast before tonight’s show and he sent this word: “Greetings, So you want to know how everything is going?? Well…. We are a traveling gang of 3 buses and one milk truck. Not one of us has air conditioning that works in our vehicle. Besides that, we are having a grand ol time. All the shows have been insane. Every band on this tour has toured together before so it’s the same routine of drinking and hanging out every night. Nothing too crazy has happened yet. Oh yea… we added Sp lit and Down Again to our setlist only because you guys asked for it. Cheers… Spicuzza”

www.RoadTones.com is here!!! The one-stop shop for any self-respecting rock/metal fans mobile phone, where colour graphics through to the latest polyphonic & truetone ringtones are up for grabs! No more shit tones you can’t recognise! No more having to buy it before you’ve even heard it! You can play all our tones first! No more 5 minute phone calls where someone talks so slowly they might as well be dead! And who the fuck wants to pay 퉌£6 for a ringtone? Not us!! We’ve got lots of old classic art & tones for our bands, as well as the latest new releases! Don’t see what you want? Email us about it! Yes, even stuff that all your friends have forgotten ever existed. If enough of you love it that much, we’ll make it, even if it’s not sitting pretty in the charts with Britney. In addition to the mighty new ROADTONES site, we’re also planning the roll out of a new mobile ‘rock club’ that will let you download all of the latest Roadrunner content, win exclusive prizes (oh yes) as well as interact with your favourite bands for a bargain monthly subscription fee of just 퉌£3.00! Are you STILL reading this? Go check out ROADTONES now!!!

What’s going on in DevilDriver’s world? The band is rehearsing every day and getting ready to head out on this summer’s Ozzfest. Before heading out one the road next month, the new website should be up (thanks to John in Australia for doing this), and another DevilDriver video will exist. On the 27th of this month, a new video will be shot with friend of the band Joe Lynch. The video will be shot in the band’s rehearsal space in Santa Barbara, so people can get a feel of what the band does on a daily basis. Speaking of which, on that day, we plan on putting up a 15 second video clip up approx each hour of the progress of the shoot. Figure starting at around noon (California time) and running to early evening. Details to follow as the day nears. In other news, posted just yesterday on the band’s official website… “Hello everyone. We in DevilDriver would like to congratulate Evan on his recent engagement. We hope his marriage to come is happy and ever lasting. We’d also like to thank Mike Spreitzer for coming to Europe, playing on stage with us, and making the tour a success. Mike is going to continue with DevilDriver and join us on the Ozzfest tour this summer. So from all of us in DevilDriver – John Miller, John Boecklin, Mike Spreitzer, Jeff Kendrick, Dez Fafara – we will see you all at Ozzfest. And by the way, the new website is looking great. Keep checking back.”

Question: The first 3 Inches Of Blood photos to ever be put in the band’s PHOTO GALLERY on this site came from who? Answer: Mark Coatsworth from www.still-live.com. In fact, in addition to being responsible for getting us the first 3IOB pics on this site, he has also set us up with some great live pics from CHIMAIRA, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, and DEVILDRIVER. All pics were shot live in Toronto, hence the title of this story. Click on any of the above links to see the goods. As for the bands themselves, 3IOB will be hitting the road later this week for a few dates in Canada, Chimaira and Killswitch Engage are currently touring Europe together, and DevilDriver is rehearsing daily in Cali getting ready for this summer’s Ozzfest.

Hey ghoulscouts! Have you noticed the absence of the usual freaktastic Murderdolls site from www.murderdolls.com of late? Due to a ransom-demanding cyber-squatter, the band have been forced to move their site to a new location for the time being. Consider this as official notice: The official Murderdolls website is now located at www.Murderdolls1.com. Get on over there and happy spookin’.

Definitive ‘Best Of’ mid-price releases from the bands that have helped shape the label, with liner notes from musicians that have been heavily influenced by them. All CD’s are remastered and include many rare and unseen photos. Due out August 8th…. Nu-Metal innovators Coal Chamber specialised in raw, brutal, down-tuned sound a la Pantera and White Zombie that was tinged by influences like goth, hip-hop, and hardcore. They scored a U.S. Gold album and Kerrang! Award for í¢ä‰åñBest International Newcomerí¢ä‰åŒ with their classic 1997 debut. Coal Chamber – The Best Of 1. Loco 2. Oddity 3. Big Truck (Hand-On-Wheel Mix) 4. Sway 5. Clock 6. Not Living 7. El Cu Cuy 8. Tyler’s Song 9. My Mercy 10. Fiend 11. Watershed 12. Something Told Me 13. Dark Days 14. Beckoned 15. One Step (Chop Shop Mix) Canada’s answer to Metallica? The Eddie Van Halen of thrash metal? Both these terms could have easily applied to Annihilator and it’s mastermind, lead guitarist and songwriter Jeff Waters. Debut album ‘Alice In Hell’ remains a Thrash classic, while follow-up ‘Never, Neverland’ delivered Roadrunner’s first UK Top 40 album. Annihilator – The Best Of 1. Crystal Ann 2. Alison Hell 3. W.T.Y.D. 4. Wicked Mystic 5. Word Salad 6. Phantasmagoria 7. Human Insecticide (live) 8. The Fun Palace 9. Road To Ruin 10. Stonewall 11. Never, Neverland 12. Imperiled Eyes 13. I Am In Command (live) 14. Set The World On Fire 15. No Zone 16. Phoenix Rising 17. Brain Dance

FEAR FACTORY drummer Raymond Herrera has coordinated the music for the soundtrack to the fourth entry in Teckademics’ “Mischief” film series, “Mischief Invasion”, due on August 8 through Minneapolis’ Liquid 8 Records. A trailer for the film is viewable here. FEAR FACTORY are no strangers to the world of film soundtracks, as the band’s music has been featured on such blockbuster hits as “Mortal Kombat”, “Resident Evil”, “Freddy Vs. Jason”, and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. Herrera approached Teckademics to create a soundtrack for “Mischief Invasion”. Awestruck by the wild antics contained in the film, Herrera had to be involved, as he says that “watching people break the rules in real life is actually a lot of fun.” Likening the film to “the ‘Cannonball Run’ of 2004,” Herrera was immediately inspired and collected an assortment of cutting-edge and innovative artists to compose full-throttle material for the soundtrack. Herrera and FEAR FACTORY guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers also composed four tracks for the release in addition to including a new remix of the band’s new single “Archetype”, the title track to their latest album. “Mischief Invasion”, the film, consists of a European street race, starting in the U.K., and continuing through Spain, France, and Africa, before returning to the U.K. in only five days. The rally was filmed using the high-tech Autoxcam system, which puts the viewer in the driver’s seat and in the middle of all the chaos. “Mischief Invasion” also features street racing appearances by pro-skaters Josh Kalis and Kerry Getz. FEAR FACTORY vocalist Burton Bell, caught up in the frenzied automobile excitement, has even been bitten by the car enthusiast bug and has undertaken a full restoration project for a 1973 Buick Riviera, rebuilding the car from the ground up (including the 455 engine), strictly using original cherry, stock materials. blabbermouth.com

MURDERDOLLS frontman Wednesday 13 will enter the studio in July to begin recording his solo debut, tentatively due before the end of the year. U.S. dates are planned for August/September, to be followed a short time later by a European tour. Wednesday has also completed his book, “The Thirteen Dead Kids and other Gruesome Scary Tales”. “Mrs. 13 and I are currently trying to work out the publishing company for it, so the release date for it now is undetermined,” the singer writes on his web site. “I hope to have it out this summer. Also, coming soon – The Thirteen Dead Kids dolls!!! We are working with Bump In the Night Productions to make dolls of the kids!”