Two more new songs detailed by Spineshank’s Tommy Decker… Self-Destructive Pattern is OUT NOW. 5. Begining Of The End This song has the best chorus that we’ve ever written in my opinion. It’s really catchy with a dark vibe. Jonny came up with some awesome harmonies. The guitars in the chorus were tough to record because Mike is playing 3rds and the tuning has to be really precise but it definitely adds a darker vibe to it. Lyrically Jonny is talking about some really personal issues to him and I think it really comes across. 6. Forgotten Now this song was really different for us. This was on the 1st demo we did for this record. We weren’t sure if this song was going to make it on the record but it really compliments some of the heavier songs by introducing some really dark melodies. I think it also adds some depth to the record, we didn’t want to just bash our way through. We could’ve taken the easy way out and written H.O.C. part 2 but that wouldn’t have been a challenge! The album is indeed great. But don’t take his word for it, or even ours. Check out this awesome Album Of The Month review by Mark Hoaksey, editor of Powerplay magazine: “Remember the first time you heard Linkin Park’s “Hybrid Theory” in its entirety? Remember that barely controllable sense of excitement as stunning tracks followed on after another? Remember how after only a couple of spins, the melodies were permanently imprinted on your mind? And with such huge crossover appeal, it was little wonder that even Powerplay’s readers and writers – not known for their love of nu-metal – succumbed to its charms. Then along came “Meteora” which, although hailed as a triumphant return by LP’s fans, suffered badly in the crossover stakes due to an over reliance on rapping and scratching, and too few quality songs. Enter Spineshank and “Self Destructive Pattern” – a nu-metal album for all metal fansí¢ä‰åŒ_ I wasn’t actually paying much attention as I took the promo disc out of its sleeve and slotted it into the office hi-fi. One of a large stack of promos that I was ploughing through as I worked at my PC that day, I’d heard both of the band’s previous albums, “Strictly Diesel” and “The Height Of Callousness”, and while both were competent, neither had made any kind of lasting impression on me, so I wasn’t expecting anything startling from album number three. Sixty seconds into opener “Violent Mood Swings”, I switched off my PC, turned the answer phone on, cranked the volume up, and did nothing but listen to the album until it finished 40 minutes later. And as my ex wife will tell you (it being one of the reasons for her status as an ex) there are very few things that can distract me when I’m working. Produced again by GGGarth Richardson, the music positively spits, growls and tears its way from the speakers the guitars rip, the drums crack, and the vocals are beautifully prominent. And what vocals they are! One minute hurled abusively at the listener, the next they coax and cajole, positively demanding that you delve further. Elephantine sing-along choruses are backed by chants and death metal growls, such as on the first single, the dazzling “Smothered”, and the oh so perfect “Beginning Of The End”, which has enough kick to leave a lasting boot print on your arse. Then there’s “Consumed (Obsessive Compulsive)”, on which nu-metal aggression is taken to its limits and then tempered with stunning vocal melodies, seemingly delivered out of nowhere. But the best track of all, the album’s defining glory, the mid-paced masterpiece that is “Forgotten”, is buried deep in the middle of the album. A true hidden gem and a future classic for certain, it leaves you breathless and wide-eyed on every listen. Sticking with nu-metal comparisons: like Linkin Park’s “In The End” or Papa Roach’s “Last Resort”, this is one of those songs that has now become so ingrained in my psyche that I simply can’t imagine life without it. It’s that good. And I guarantee that album closer “Dead To Me” will have you chanting along and spinning the disc back for another play as soon as it has finished. I urge those of you who, like myself, turn cold at the mere mention of nu-metal to investigate this album because with its pained and disturbingly well-observed lyrics, ridiculously infectious melodies, and delivery with more crunch than Kellogg’s, it is the best all-round metal album so far this year by a mile. And from a writer and a publication with little tolerance for nu-metal, that’s one hell of an endoresement!”

Roadrunner Records is pleased to announce the launch of an ongoing series of CD releases, henceforth dubbed The Roots Of Roadrunner. On September 22nd, 2003, the intial 7 CDs will hit stores near you, each with introductory liner notes by a fellow musician fan of the band. Without further ado: the initial Roots and their tracklistings are shaping up to be (do note, that some changes may be made)… Best Of Deicide Liner notes by Joey Jordison (Slipknot) 1. Dead By Dawn 2. Carnage In The Temple Of The Damned 3. Lunatic Of God’s Creation 4. Sacrificial Suicide 5. Crucifixation 6. Satan Spawn, The Caco-Daemon 7. Trifixion 8. In Hell I Burn 9. Dead But Dreaming 10. Once Upon The Cross 11. They Are The Children Of The Underworld 12. When Satan Rules His World 13. Trick Or Betrayed 14. Behind The Light Thou Shall Rise 15. Serpents Of The Light 16. Bastard Of Christ 17. Blame It On God 18. This Is Hell We’re In 19. Bible Basher 20. Standing In The Flames Best Of Brujeria Liner notes by Hank Williams III (Superjoint Ritual) 1. Pura De Venta 2. Leyes Narcos 3. Matando Gueros 4. Castigo Del Brujo 5. Sacrificio 6. Padre Nuestro 7. Raza Odida (Pito Wilson) 8. La Ley De Plomo 9. Colas De Rata 10. Hechando Chingasos (Grenudo Locos II) 11. La Migra (Cruza La Frontera II) 12. Consejos Narcos 13. Brujerizmo 14. Vayan Sin Miedo 15. Pititis, Te Invoco 16. Laboratorio Cristalitos 17. Division Del Norte 18. Anti-Castro 19. El Desmadre 20. Ritmos Satanicos Best Of Life Of Agony Liner notes by artist TBC 1. This Time 2. River Runs Red 3. Through And Through 4. Bad Seed 5. Underground 6. Here I Am, Here I Stay 7. Damned If I Do 8. Lost At 22 9. Other Side Of The River 10. Let’s Pretend 11. How It Would Be 12. Tangerine 13. My Mind Is Dangerous 14. Weeds 15. Angry Tree 16. Honeycomb* *Bonus Keith Caputo solo track Best Of King Diamond Liner notes by Dave Ellefson (ex-Megadeth) 1. The Candle 2. Charon 3. Halloween 4. No Presents For Christmas 5. Arrival 6. A Mansion In Darkness 7. The Family Ghost 8. Abigail 9. Welcome Home 10. The Invisible Guests 11. Tea 12. At The Graves 13. Sleepless Nights 14. Eye Of The Witch 15. Burn Best Of Mercyful Fate Liner notes by Mark Hunter (Chimaira) 1. Doomed By The Living Dead 2. A Corpse Without Soul 3. Nuns Have No Fun 4. Evil 5. Curse Of The Pharaohs 6. Into The Coven 7. Black Funeral 8. Satan’s Fall 9. A Dangerous Meeting 10. Desecration Of Souls 11. Gypsy 12. Come To The Sabbath 13. Burning The Cross 14. Return Of The Vampire Best Of Malevolent Creation Liner notes by Deron Miller (CKY) 1. Eve Of The Apocalypse 2. Sacrificial Annihilation 3. Monster 4. Dominated Resurgency 5. Multiple Stab Wounds 6. Genetic Affliction (demo version) 7. Geared For Gain 8. Slaughter Of Innocence 9. Premature Burial 10. Decadence Within 11. The Way Of All Flesh 12. Iced 13. Carnivorous Misgivings 14. Remnants Of Withered Decay 15. The Coldest Survive 16. Thou Shall Kill! 17. Mindlock 18. Piece By Piece Best Of Madball Liner notes by Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) and Roger Miret (Agnostic Front) 1. Set It Off 2. New York City 3. It’s Time 4. Across Your Face 5. Down By Law 6. Smell The Bacon (What’s With You?) 7. Friend or Foe 8. Demonstrating My Style 9. Unity 10. Live Or Die 11. Pride (Times Are Changing) 12. Hardcore Still Lives! 13. Nuestra Familia 14. Ball of Destruction 15. Look My Way 16. Moment of Truth 17. Waste of Time 18. Been There, Done That 19. Talkin’ To Myself 20. Fools Die

Spineshank’s Tommy Decker’s continues his tun-through of the new record, out on Monday. 3. Smothered This song came together in less than an hour it was just me and Mike fucking around, we never thought it would go anywhere but the melodies were so catchy that we couldn’t deny it. We kept this one very simple and to the point and it really works well with this song. 4. Consumed (Obsessive Compulsive) This song was written in a weird way, I had an arrangment in my head but no riffs. So I played the beats for Mike and he came up with the riffs. The song is constantly changing from soft to loud and it surprises you a lot with some of the changes. It also has some different time signatures rather than just being 4/4 for the entire song, I think it makes it a little more interesting. more to come…

Review sent in by Gordon Menzies. Murderdolls, Stone Sour, & Elviss Glasgow Barrowland July 10th, 2003 Just got back from the gig. Soaking wet and sore, still hyper and decided to send a review just for the sake of it. A night of booze, kilts, and nakedness. First off Elviss. Crowd being assholes, is it so hard to just sit at the back if you don’t like a band? No need to shout abuse at them. They were ok nothing special but didn’t deserve the abuse thrown at them (was I the only one who thought the crowd were asses?). Next.. STONE FUCKIN’ SOUR.. Holy shit. They kicked ass. Corey was wearing a kilt the old fashioned Scottish way.. for people who dont know what that means… NO UNDERWEAR. Of course everyone saw his cock to the much satisfaction of girls and the guys behind me which was scary. Highlight of the SS set would be Inside The Cynic.. I love that song so much. Last but certainly not least.. MURDERDOLLS!! When they were getting set up The Adams Family was blaring out the speakers which made me smile. They came out and for almost every song Wednesday had something in his hands ie for I Love To Say Fuck he had the umbrella with FUCK written on it and for 197666 he had a GI Joe stuck on a crucifix etc. Unlike SS this was my first time seeing the Murderdolls and they definitely never let me down. My favourite song of the night was Die My Bride. The only downside to the whole night was crowdsurfers. I got kicked a lot in the head and I know there were more who got kicked. If you will crowdsurf.. DONT WEAR NEW ROCKS!!

Spineshank’s hotly-anticipated 3rd album ‘Self Destructive Pattern’ is released on Monday July 14th. Available as a limited edtion enhanced slipcase CD it will retail for around 퉌£11.99 from the following stores: HMV – 퉌£2 off with your ‘Download 2003’ discount card. Click HERE to order your FREE card. VIRGIN – 퉌£2 off with voucher in this week’s Kerrang! ROADRAGE STORES – Free logo patch while stocks last. Click HERE for details of your nearest store. Plus SANITY, MVC & MUSIC ZONE.

If you’re desperate to get your hands on the Murderdolls fab new version of ‘White Wedding’, then the wait is almost over. Released on Monday 14th July, the ‘White Wedding’ single is available as a limited edition digipack CD for only 퉌£1.99 from HMV, Virgin, Sanity and all good Indie Stores. Also, look out for a fab competition to win Joey’s mirrored guitar exclusively on this site from July 14th.

Over the next few days, we’ll be bringing you daily reports from Spineshank’s Tommy Decker. Tommy talks about every track on the new album ‘Self-Destructive Pattern’ (out on Monday) – what he likes, what he doesn’t like, how it was written, how it was recorded, and the end result. Today, tracks 1 & 2. 1. Violent Mood Swings This song is one of my favorite songs on the record and the only song that we even considered opening with. The best way to open up a record is with some anger and energy and this song definitely has that! We recorded the vocals on this 9 times!! We kept trying different approaches and none of them felt right. We had actually mixed the song and then decided that we wanted to do it once more. Jonny wasn’t too happy about this, but his anger worked. He did one pass, screaming at the top of his lungs and it was done. We still fuck with him and tell him that we’re gonna recall the song and sing it again. Good times. 2. Slavery This song is easily one the heaviest songs we have ever done. Definitely a live song, it’s got a good groove and it’s really fast. This was the very last song we wrote for the record and it was a bitch to write! Mike and I fought a lot while putting it together. We knew what we wanted but just couldn’t get the parts to work together. The lyrics didn’t even get done until the day Jonny sang it. It was a challenge but it was well worth it. more to come…

SOULFLY have been forced to postpone their previously announced tour of Russia due to last weekend’s suicide bombing at a rock concert in Moscow that resulted in the deaths of 14 people. A letter from the Russian police to the tour’s organizers requesting the cancellation of the dates reads as follows: “Considering the rising amount of mass riots among spectators during concerts and other big events which involve big gatherings of people, we insistently ask you to stop organization and promotion of the concerts and tours in the summer period, including the tour of the band SOULFLY that you have planned for July 2003. Otherwise we will not be able to guarantee safety of spectators and band members. Should you not follow the directions of this letter, the event will be cancelled.” SOULFLY are currently on tour in Europe, playing 10,000-25,000 seat festivals, with support at various dates coming from the likes of BURNING SPEAR and HATEBREED. The band will also open for CYPRESS HILL at two festival dates in Australia. In other news, SOULFLY have been invited to perform at the biggest show in Colombia’s history. 100,000 people are expected to attend the concert at a city park. The mayor’s office reportedly requested SOULFLY’s participation in the event because of Max’s status as “the only (and biggest) rock star ever to come from South America,” according to a press release. In other SOULFLY-related news, Christina Newport, daughter of SOULFLY manager and Max’s wife, Gloria Cavalera, will marry Bojan Stojanovic of Belgrade, Serbia on July 20 in a Serbian Orthodox ceremony in Belgrade (where the couple have been residing for several months). Max’s family will be attend the wedding, which will culminate at a reception in the mountains at a nearby resort. Christina is an employee of Oasis Management (SOULFLY’s management company) as an assistant manager, and Bojan is the product manager for Universal Records, the Balkans division. blabbermouth

Last night in Augusta, Georgia, doubleDrive hit Crossroads Bar on their current tour with Finger 11 and Echo 7. Before moving forward, let’s look back. Some random notes from the band on the past couple of weeks are as follows: Mt. Clemens, MI – first night of RA tour. Had a jam session in the lobby for radio cats on air in Detroit. Carolyn Stone – a DJ from Detroit – wants to do vox on a hard song next time we’re in town. Chicago Heights, IL – missed Jell-O wrestling by one night…their big weekly event. Would have been fun. Edgerton, WI – packed house. Venue is right on the river, shot off fireworks on the water – shooting for the boats, did not hit him. Got obliterated with RA (good supply of Crown Royal and such on their bus). Northampton, MA – great show. Packed house. Let’s see…what happened that night? Jessie Moss opened for us, we enjoyed the visuals…a lot. Hit a bar next door and had drinks with a bunch of people from the show. Hartford, CT – benefit show for the Rhode Island victims. With fans and family members of some of the victims (along with some other bands), we had an acoustic sing along in the dressing room. Various songs. It worked into ‘what songs do you know?’ with Fred Coury and Stephen Percy. We headlined, and had an all star jam afterwards – “Immigrant Song,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” “Whole Lotta Rosie,” and “Round And Round” were some of the songs played. A thanks to Kevin Wilson for the effort. Portsmouth, NH – Muddy Rivers (see upcoming Road Chow review), great bbq. Small, but intense crowd. Cool video stuff in the venue, hat goes off to production dude at the venue. Orono, ME – James from Manmade God shooting fireworks in a state where illegal, and drinking in the parking lot. Donnie threw an apple in the air as high as could, however it landed right behind a bouncer, missed head by inches (but did spray on him)…lucky he didn’t kick Donnie’s ass. Bouncer was smiling by the end. We live to throw apples another day. Albany, NY – Debbie’s Deli (see upcoming Road Chow review). If you go Albany for any reason, you must go. First show with Finger 11. Excellent band, good guys. The club people were cool, the pizza was awesome. Farmingdale, NY – friends from Roadrunner were out – Kaso and Elias. Troy voted the staff one of the most beautiful bar staffs. doubleDrive shirts handed out that night, and they were tight that evening. Troy won water bottle toss into trash cans over Echo 7…along with all the prestige that brings. Ortley Beach, NJ – Troy touched the water, Donnie never touched the sand. We were there literally three hours, in & out. Some fans that drove four hours to see us, missed the show (it was an early one)…but they were rewarded nonetheless. Today, we pick back up, looking forward to getting back in the groove…ain’t no smooties in Augusta.

Were you in Nottingham yesterday afternoon/evening? Perhaps you went to the Stone Sour instore signing session at Virgin? And then onto the Murderdolls & Stone Sour show at Rock City in the evening? Whether you did or not, check out some ‘interesting’ photos from Nottingham… Stone Sour at the instore, and both bands in the evening. Thanks going out to Roy Pirie for sharing the photos… yes, even the signed “adult toy” one (check out Corey’s reaction). You can see all of them in the STONE SOUR PHOTO GALLERY and the MURDERDOLLS PHOTO GALLERY. Enjoy. The Murderdolls & Stone Sour play Birmingham tonight. For full tour dates, check out the TOUR section. You can also win tickets to the London show right now in FREE SHIT.