As you all know, it has been a long time coming for what will be hitting the streets come June 16th…of course, we are speaking of Type O Negative’s Life If Killing Me release. Worth the wait? Of course, we will say yes…YES (and truthfully, it is worth the wait…). But, don’t take our opinion on it…we’re the fuckin’ scumbag, money grubbing, band-changin’, radio-hit-makin’, CD overcharging, not-enough-band supportin’, record label whores. We wanna screw YOU…the whole lot of ya. (of course, we say the above in the nicest possible way…and in jest, of course) Ah, back to our point…yes, don’t take our word for it. Go to an outside source, hear some of the album for yourself. The cats at HitThePit have officially posted their review of the upcoming Type O Negative album, quite possibly the first review up online on this album (and if you haven’t figured it out, click that HitThePit link above to check it out)…oh, and as for hearing some of the new album for yourself, that too is just a click away. Type O Negative themselves have already posted the track “The Dream Is Dead” on their website – if you’re gonna get it somewhere, get it directly from the source (that way you know the MP3 file is pure, uncut, and virus free). Oh, and the link for that is THIS ONE RIGHT HERE. Enjoy.

Remember last week when we told of the doubleDrive appearance on US radio station WAAF? Sure ya do…it was the update that mentioned Judas Priest, W.A.S.P., plus two hours of Chimaira on WAAF with Mistress Carrie. Well, doubleDrive played three songs acoustically in the studio that day, and all three have been posted online. Check out THIS LINK at WAAF’s site to hear “Big Shove,” “Imprint,” and “Freightrain.” Enjoy. oh, and if you hunt around a bit further on the WAAF site, you’ll find an audio link to some of the interview footage wherein a bit of the ‘ryche is sung (click here)

Sky officially launched their three new music channels last week on April 17th. Flaunt, Scuzz and The Amp broadcast on channels 469, 471 and 473. Sky’s head of music, Lester Mordue, who has been tight lipped on the channels, implied the formats would be akin to EMAP’s jukebox channel but with more remote control interactivity. He told reporters: “These channels will push the boundaries of music TV by allowing viewers to vote with their remote control for the next video to be played.” Check them out… currently running on Scuzz you can also watch an exclusive acoustic performance of Corey Taylor performing ‘Bother’.

Here’s the low down, direct from Metal Hammer… The Metal Hammer Awards Are Go! It’s been a long time coming but the Metal Hammer Awards, ‘Golden Gods’, are go! And this year’s event on June 3rd at the London Forum is shaping up to be an awesome night out! So what’s the diference between this and other rock awards ceremonies? The Hammer awards aren’t about lazy industry backslapping – this is a goddamn gig and what’s more YOU get to go – AND you get to vote in who gets what as well! This year those ghouls from the grave The Murderdolls will close the event but there will also be shortened live apppearances from three other top secret artists, plus a huge array of rock ‘n’ roll distractions and famous band types all strolling around within arms reach. For more info on the awards and how to vote, log on to the Golden Gods’ microsite at: www.MetalHammer.co.uk

Fresh off the email this morning… thanks for the line Jen. Did you “know”(tice)? “I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned this but in “The Rules of Attraction” (film with Dawson from Dawsons Creek, that’s an adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis book) one of the characters has a RR themed room! The whole scene he has a Chimaira poster right beside his head and every other band poster he has up is a RR band!”

“You guys gotta really stop playing Nickelback every time you put me on hold,” starts off Chimaira frontman Mark Hunter over the phone earlier this afternoon. Yes, if you call the Roadrunner US office and are put on hold, you will hear a mix CD of RR music being played…Mark’s luck of the draw today, he got put on hold whilst Nickelback was a crankin’. As for a bad luck of the draw, we have confirmed reports that the “Chimaira Curse” has struck yet again. First, the set for the band’s video shoot catches fire, and then a month later – after just a week’s worth of tour dates in support of their upcoming The Impossibility Of Reason release – crash. Earlier on April 21, Chimaira’s bus slid out of control crashing into construction barricades. Somewhere outside of Pittsburgh – en route from the tour’s sixth show (Showplace Theater in Buffalo, New York) to the next in Springfield, Virginia – in heavy rain, Chimaira’s bus hit oil causing a chain reaction of events: loss of control, brakes locking, skidding into a construction barricade, getting airborne, and all windows exploding. Recalls Mark, “at around 5:00 in the morning, for some reason I woke up and grabbed onto my bunk, grabbed onto anything I could hold. (It just) felt like something was gonna happen, like I subconsciously knew, and then all the sudden…” And then all the sudden the slip, crash, wheelie. “With so much weight in the back of the (45 foot) bus including a fifteen foot trailer, the bus did a wheelie at one point and the front end clipped a barricade coming down, taking some of the concrete with it,” Mark continues. And apparently ‘said’ concrete jammed the door, leaving the new exit/entrance point of the bus being the front window. Thankfully, nobody was hurt and no other cars were involved in the wreck. All are just a bit shaken up… But there is a lighter side as Mark goes on, “Funniest thing, right after it happened was seeing everyone’s head pop out of their bunks in unison.” Oh, and about a half hour after the fact, one of the band members questioned, “What should we do now?” The answer? “Two chicks at the same time, man,” replied Chimaira’s drum tech in the unmistakable voice of Lawrence from the movie ‘Office Space.’ But of course! At last word, somehow the bus was able to carry on, and the band was heading towards Butler, Pennsylvania in the jalopy with no windows. The bus was then to be dropped off for repairs and the band would jump into a van in order to try and make the show in Springfield. No confirmation they will make the show. “(Will) do our best to make it to the show, should be there…will be there for the rest of the tour.” “The Chimaira Curse strikes again,” concludes Mark. “We’ve never done a tour without some huge vehicle fiasco yet.” For all upcoming Chimaira tour dates, check our TOUR section. New album The Impossibility Of Reason in stores May 12th.

Hey everyone, we’ve just finished mastering the new Spineshank record and I have the final track listing for you… 1. Violent Moodswings 2. Slavery 3. Smothered 4. Consumed (Obsessive Compulsive) 5. Beginning Of The End 6. Forgotten 7. Self-destructive Pattern 8. Tear Me Down 9. Stillborn 10. Falls Apart 11. Fallback 12. Dead To Me We are also shooting a video for “Smothered” which will also be on the record. That’s all for now- TOMMY

doubleDrive is five dates into their US tour with Seether and Trapt. So how have the first few dates on the tour been going? í¢ä‰åñGoing good,í¢ä‰åŒ tells frontman Donnie from outside of Bugaboo Creek. The bands are getting along, including a body slamming contest with Seether in the hotel just the other night. This tour run started off with a 18-20 hour drive to the first show, and since then has featured drives late at night after each show until 5, 6am the next morning. Some words from along the way: Show 1 í¢ä‰åäóì The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY. Poughkeepsie was great. Rock is ALIVE. Show 2 – Clarkston University in Pottsdam, NY. Played inside their hockey arena…actually surprised to see so many doubleDrive fans…people singing alongí¢ä‰åŒ_ Show 3 í¢ä‰åäóì Mulcahy’s in Wantaugh, NY. Just us and Seether that night, very enjoyable show and pizza. Looser kinda show for both bands…chilled and hung out with crowd a lot. A lot of drinks. Show 4 í¢ä‰åäóì Crocodile Rock in Allentown, PA. Club owner was amazing, fed everyone a 2, 3 course meal. Now that’s down home… Show 5 í¢ä‰åäóì Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI. Providence last night…why can’t I see that club? I was just there last night? í¢ä‰åŒ_some more thinking… Ahhh, Lupo’s was great. They (the fans) all wanted to rock pretty good. They (the fans) brought a good thing into the room with them. Great time with that last night… í¢ä‰åñI think we’ll be coming back to all these places,í¢ä‰åŒ Donnie adds. í¢ä‰åñThis tour has a great vibe to it.í¢ä‰åŒ That brings us to today. After a morning doing some press via phone with a cat in Italy (with hoarse morning voice), the band went over to WAAF for an on air interview with Mistress Carrie. They played some acoustic tracks (í¢ä‰åñImprint,í¢ä‰åŒ í¢ä‰åñBig Shove,í¢ä‰åŒ and í¢ä‰åñFreightrainí¢ä‰åŒ í¢ä‰åäóì the last song which they just worked up the acoustic version earlier in the day)… í¢ä‰åñCarrie accommodated us and our desire to hear some Priest (Judas Priest), playing ‘The Hellion’ and ‘Electric Eye’ back to back on the airí¢ä‰åŒ…And at some point during the on air interview, apparently Donnie was singing W.A.S.P. acapello, and he and Troy (guitar) even played the beginning of Queensryche’s í¢ä‰åñTake Hold Of The Flame.í¢ä‰åŒ At the end of it all, they were on the air for 2 hours. A day that started with morning voice and culminating with Geoff Tate’s (Queensryche) í¢ä‰åñTake Hold Of The Flameí¢ä‰åŒ scream. doubleDrive Blue In The Face in stores April 28th

At some point during the very wee hours of this very early morning, the boys from camp Chimaira hit the road…their first tour travels with their new album – the upcoming The Impossibility Of Reason – under the belt. First stop on this first tour for the new album, Albany, New York. And this tour be rounded out by headliner Lamb Of God and openers 18 Visions and Atreyu. Back to Chimaira…the first tour is now happening for this new album, so how about the first review of this new album? It’s in…and courtesy of the folks at www.HitThePit.com, it is as follows…read on: Artist: Chimaira Album: The Impossibility Of Reason Label: Roadrunner Records Reviewer: Derek Mark Hunter – Vocals, Matt DeVries – Guitars, Rob Arnold – Guitars, Jim LaMarca – Bass, Chris Spicuzza – Electronics, Andols Herrick – Drums Slayer’s Kerry King recently said “Yes it’s that %$#^&%& hard! No rapping! No guest appearances! Just 100% undiluted heavy metal”. And as you might guess he was indeed talking about Cleveland’s own Chimaira! Ok, reviews over…go buy the CD! If Kerry likes it, then you should like it! Ok…I’ll tell more! All I can say is wow!!! I have been sleeping, cumin, and poopin with the CD for the last 3 days. The best way to describe this metal masterpiece is to say it is Mark Hunter and Rob Arnold’s coming out party. Vocally Mark expands his vocal extravaganza to include a lulling voice in the vein of Layne Staley, while Rob has been taking notes in class from Kerry King himself. Both band members have stepped up their game to the point where you could classify Mark as the head of the class. The means by which all modern day front men should be judged. As for Arnold, he could be positioning himself as heir apparent to the likes of King and Dime! That is right kiddies, the changing of the guard is upon us metal minions, and the new ruler is Chimaira! I feel like I am forgetting an old warhorse is not mentioning the fury of Herrick. He is lights out as always, and his precision skill is never more apparent then on the diabolical “Cleansation”. In your face and loud, the track rips at a tiring pace. Hunter mouths off in a variety of ways. At times it is a low end death metal growl, and at other times he takes a raspy hardcore approach to hammering his point through your skull. After a short build up Arnold makes his statement with his strings. Can you say Slayer…holy 1988 guitar solo! Fuckin A! The chants that follow from Hunter is full out death metal vocalization……. tremendous! “The Impossibility Of Reason” falls somewhere in-between old Pantera (Vulgar Display Of Power & Far Beyond Driven years), Slayer, and Fear Factory! Hit someone’s grandma! Once again I thought of old Pantera and Slayer at the beginning of “Power Trip”. Herrick unleashes blast beats and speed like a winged demon behind the kit. The annihilation is unyielding….think Pantera’s “Slaughtered” meets Slayer’s “Dittohead”. Mad fast! I wasn’t sure what I thought of “Down Again” when I first listened to it. The track starts off with a piano, and then leads to the usual Chimaira face smashing! But then Mark breaks out a lulling voice that is eerily like Layne Staley from Alice In chains. Even the structure of the song takes on a heavy AIC feel. At first it threw me for a loop, but after getting used to it I think it adds to the listening experience! And the piano piece functions as the oasis of pretty naked women surrounded by blood shed. An interesting track…and Alice in Chains fans will either love it or be offended by the effort. Either way it signifies growth musically! “Pure Hatred” is the crowning moment of the record. This track will forever be filed away as one of my favorite songs! From the first scream to the last beat of the drum…. the guitars, drums, bass, vocals play at a blinding speed with little disregard for the destruction the track will cause. When Hunter screams “And I hate everyone” repeatedly, you will pump your fist and scream right along! Yet again, think of Slayer meets Pantera from their hay day! I guarantee you will listen to this track repeatedly. Play it for Dad…he will hate it! When I first heard “The Dehumanizing Process” I thought of stop and go NASCAR. Speed stops at a split second, only to be reignited and flying…only to stop instantly again! The result of the this masterful display of musicianship is one of the heaviest, and brooding tracks ever. I want to see Mark stand over a pool of kid killing each other and bark this track out….fucking bad ass! This is like old Napalm Death heavy at times! Chimaira has graduated from “the future band” to “the band” with The Impossibility Of Reason. It is one of those few record you can’t wait to get out of work and pop in your CD player for your drive home. Every track has its own identity, message, while still giving honors to the band’s forefathers! Amazing effort! Whether you like Metal, Hardcore, Swedish, or Death…The Impossibility Of Reason covers all of those subgenre’s……and is one of the strongest releases of 2003. Pit Scale: 10, masterful production, amazing musicians, destructive song writing. Everything in one package! Spin it! Suggested Tracks: All 12! Track Listing: 1) Cleansation 2) The Impossibility Of Reason 3) Pictures In The Gold Room 4) Power Trip 5) Down Again 6) Pure Hatred 7) The Dehumanizing Process 8) Crawl 9) Stigmurder 10) Eyes Of A Criminal 11) Overlooked 12) Implements Of Destruction Chimaira The Impossibility Of Reason in stores May 12th

“This band is very much no nonsense,” tells vocalist Dez Fafara of his new project Deathride. The band – the whole band – is currently holed up together in one hotel room out in L.A. whilst tracking the tunes that will become their debut release. No nonsense, indeed. Well, many a photo has been taken over the course of this project thus far, with many more to come. In fact, they have been put to words in a QuickTime slideshow. Very cool piece, showing this band as they are…no nonsense. Please do check out the Deathride slideshow (just click on that there link). Enjoy.