The ground-breaking, Grammy Award-winning, Des Moines nine-piece, SLIPKNOT

have announced their first UK tour in over three years.

The tour rolls into the UK in December in support of SLIPKNOT’s fourth studio album, ‘All Hope Is Gone, which hits stores this coming Monday 25th August. Album reviews so far have been stellar across-the-board, with the likes of Q Magazine, FHM, The Observer Music Monthly and Metro all proclaiming the album a success. With around 10 million album sales racked up globally, SLIPKNOT transcend their genre and are set to land solid chart positions across the world next week for ‘All Hope Is Gone’.

Meanwhile, over in the US, SLIPKNOT have been nominated for an MTV Award at September’s VMA’s. The nod sees the band’s current ‘Psychosocial’ video line up against the likes of the Foo Fighters and Fall Out Boy in the ‘Best Rock Video’ category. The band also recently completed a headline stint on the Rockstar Energy Mayhem tour in the US, that saw them pulling in crowds of around 18,000 a night.

SLIPKNOT are now looking forward to bringing their live show to the UK this December. The UK tour dates line up as follows:

Mon 1st Dec LONDON Hammersmith Apollo
Tue 2nd Dec LONDON Hammersmith Apollo
Fri 5th Dec CARDIFF International Arena
Sun 7th Dec BIRMINGHAM NIA
Mon 8th Dec GLASGOW SECC
Tue 9th Dec MANCHESTER MEN Arena
Thu 11th Dec NEWCASTLE Metro Arena
Fri 12th Dec SHEFFIELD Arena

Tickets go on sale from 9am on 27th August from www.seetickets.com and via a credit card hotline on 0871 230 5576.

Special guests on the tour are Roadrunner Records labelmates MACHINE HEAD, who are still riding the wave of success for their award-winning album, ‘The Blackening’. Having picked up numerous ‘Album of the Year’ awards at metal and hard rock press for the release, Roadrunner Records will release a special edition of the album on 13th October. Included in the package will be a second disc of 13 extra audio tracks, plus an additional DVD of live and behind-the-scenes footage.

Completing the bill are CHILDREN OF BODOM, who will open the show each evening.

DRAGONFORCE release their long awaited new album ULTRA BEATDOWN on the 25th AUGUST and you can hear it

If you head to METALHAMMER.CO.UK you will be able to check out a new interview with John-Fred and Jon from Kentucky’s finest BLACK STONE CHERRY to mark the release of their new album FOLKLORE & SUPERSTITION, which hit stores TODAY (18/08)!!

You can check out the interview HERE!

Head back to RR UK on WEDNESDAY (20/08) for an EXCLUSIVE track by track with the same two fellas, where they run us through the album, talking about the influences behind each of the tracks on the album!

You can pick up FOLKLORE & SUPERSTITION online HERE.

Welcome back for part 2 of the studio updates from the guys in STAIND!

In this installment, we hear all about the bands new direction, as Aaron talks about channeling silk vests, billowing blouses, Barry Manilow and Spinal Tap…?

Pre-order THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS at THIS location.

Rocksound magazine are inviting TRIVIUM fans to submit questions to the band. All you have to do is email your question over to them by AUGUST 19th and then they will pick the best to be answered in a feature in the magazine (which will hit shelves October 8th)!!

Email your question to rsvp@rock-sound.net and then make sure you pick up the mag in October to see if your question made it to the band!!!

Trivium will be in the UK this coming October for a co-headling tour with Slayer. Mastodon will support. Tickets are on sale now and the dates are as follows:
Mon 27th Oct – Manchester Arena
Tue 28th Oct – Birmingham NEC Arena
Thu 30th Oct – London Hammersmith Apollo
Fri 31st Oct – London Hammersmith Apollo
Sun 2nd Nov – Cardiff CIA
Mon 3rd Nov – Glasgow SECC

The tour is in support of upcoming album SHOGUN, which hits stores on the 29th SEPTEMBER. You can pre-orderthe album HERE.

You can also check out the new single INTO THE MOUTH OF HELL WE MARCH at the bands Artists Page.

MACHINE HEAD guitarist Phil Demmelis ‘doing much better’ after his reported on-stage collapse at a show in the States on Sunday.

In a bulletin posted on the bands official MySpace page, Dave (McClaine, Drums) stated:

“That was a scary moment for all of us. Seeing your friend collapse like that is something that nobody wants to experience. He’s doing much better now and taking it easy on the bus.”

You can read the full statement / blog HERE

Machine Head are nominated for Best Live Act at this years Kerrang! Awards. The winners will be announced at the awards bash which takes place in London this coming Thursday (21/08). Watch this space for the outcome…

Machine Head’s current album, THE BLACKENING is available to order online at THIS LOCATION.

If you tune in to Radio 1’s Zane Lowe show next week, you will discover that SLIPKNOT’S new album, ALL HOPE IS GONE is his record of the week!

This means he will play a track a day from the new album!!! Add that to the fact that you will be able to hear 90 second snippets of ALL of the tracks exclusively on GETCLOSER.COM from Monday 18/08 too and it really is the week to get your taster of the album, which will hit shelves 25th AUGUST!

TUNE IN TO ZANE’S SHOW ONLINE HERE
(On air Mon-Thurs 7pm-9pm)

Register at GetCloser AT THIS LOCATION to listen to the snippets…

Oh, and you can pre-order ALL HOPE IS GONE HERE.

By about now you should have *just* finished reading update 1 (sorry Fred! Haha!) and so here we have the DRAGONFORCE bassists next installment from the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem tour…Day 8
Day off in Phoenix. It’s really REALLY hot, my eyes are burning so I spend 4 hours in the pool to try and survive (and eventually tan). In the evening, ZP and I walk to the supermarket, “one mile away” (every time we ask our way to the hotel guys, we are told the *supermarket/theatre/restaurant* is one mile away, but we always end up walking for hours…) and on our way, a car stops, a window opens, and a nice family which recognized us gives us a lift to the supermarket! Nice!
We buy chips, fruits, ZP buys a knife, and we walk back… It’s dark, but still hot as hell, and billions of pretty big insects jump on the sidewalk. I hate this!!!! Burger King, hotel, sleep.

Day 9
Show in Phoenix (well, near Phoenix actually). So it’s… HOOOOT! The show goes well but I really have trouble breathing, I complain and explain everyone that at-home-it-rains-and-I-don’t-like-the-sun-please-help-me. After the show, I’m in the VIP bar with Brann from Mastodon, and some random guy comes and tells me he likes me so much in Demoniac and that he does not like Mastodon because it’s too “Metalcore”…?!?!?!? And then he listed fantastic bands, such as Decapitated Lobotomy, or Satanic Postmortal Hate… Well, you know what I mean. We tell him we are fans of Laaz Rockit and Evil Dead, thank you good night. And then we hang out with Craig and Joey from Slipknot, and go to sleep (a bit drunk but not too much)…

Day 10
Denver. At the catering, the guy who takes care of security tells me that he loves my t-shirt (a white and gray t-shirt I was given somewhere…), that he sells t-shirts on Ebay, and that his best sale is a pink U2 t-shirt. Hmmm.
Since the beginning of the tour, I have not partied with Mike from Disturbed, and we both feel awkward about it: we run into each other, but the days he wants to party I can’t, and same on the other side. So TONIGHT, WHATEVER HAPPENS, WE’LL PARTY TOGETHER!!
The day goes smoothly, except for the heat. Now we are in altitude, so it’s breath-taking. Good show anyway, shower, I watch Disturbed, and end up in their dressing room, with a Jagermeister shot as a welcome, and then HERE WE GO! What if we mix Ouzo with Jager and Redbull? Go ahead, bro! Mmm soo good… Nope, it’s disgusting. But we have a blast. Then… Just across the hall, it’s the birthday of one of the festival’s boss, so there is a Jack&Coke fountain, except there is not that much of coke… I take two shots with Corey, and right after the second, I leave to freshen up myself a bit (meaning: pour some water on my face and in my mouth not to throw up). I chat a bit with two Kerrang! UK journalists, and go to sleep.

Day 11
Show in Oklahoma City… Well, guess what. Yep, it’s terribly hot… Tonight we headline, with Airbourne opening for us. The guys give it all, but during their show one of the P.A. dies. So, the sound was not very good… And so it will be for us. We explain it to the audience before getting on stage, like “the sound will be bad, but we don’t cancel because we love you so much” And yes, we love them, because they know all the songs, and everything goes really well. Smooth evening, I’m happy. 3 more shows before the next day off.

Day 12
Dallas: yep buddy, it’s hot ! So I stay a lot in the bus. The show goes well, and in the evening I stay in the bus drinking with Dave, listening to music. Everything goes by, Judas Priest, Memento Mori, Morbid Angel, Metallica, Thin Lizzy, DJ Fred is in the house! We laugh, we smoke a few cigarettes, I take a walk to the second stage, and the Machine Head boys have their ghetto blaster and an iPod. I check it, and put some Faith No More and Sepultura. Woohoo! We have a chat with Robb, and Phil, Corey is here too (he makes a bit of the metal fence fall, everyone laughs, the spirit is good) and I go on a golf cart with James Hetfield (it’s the security guy for Disturbed, his name is actually Jason, everyone calls him J-Lo except me because I think he looks like James Hetfield)(and yes, he DOES looks like James Hetfield). And I go to sleep drunk.

Day 13
San Antonio. My head hurts but it’s my fault, so I don’t say anything, I suffer in silence. A hero is dying…
Today, photo shoot for Rocktron (yes, I’m a half time model…) and HEAAAAAT! Very good show, and tonight it’s Slipknot’s BBQ! We all have an invitational poster, it’s very nice, there is even a sentence in French : “ne vous glissez pas sur le vomi des clowns” (almost meaning “don’t slip on a clown’s vomit”). Well, there is a mistake in it, but since I’m the only French guy here, I drop a tear… Charming attention. Or is it because everyone can behave except me who is so lame I actually might slip on vomit? Mhhh…
So BBQ, music (DJ Corey in the house: Madonna, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, everything goes through, and I love it!) Then, Mike and I get the Jager bottle, helped by the guys from Five Fingers Death Punch. Very good night!

Day 14
Houston. We wake up by a lakeshore. Oooo, sooo cute! Nice lake, nice ducks… I’m wandering around to observe the incredible love parades of… No actually I’m looking for the bathroom. We don’t have a dressing room today, catering is 15 minutes walk, same for the second stage… Everything is far away. The show is good. Before going on stage, I look at the audience, to observe the incredible love parades of people throwing plastic bottles at each other. I even see a TP roll flying around, followed by a general “haaaaaaa”, like a cheap firework. Nice show, avoiding getting hit by a bottle (some were flying our way), then shower (far away), and then I get back to the lakeshore to look at Slipknot’s show on the other side. Tomorrow, day off!!!

To be continued…

DragonForce release new album ULTRA BEATDOWN on the 25th August. Pre-Order HERE.

In a recent mailout to her fans AMANDA PALMER chatted about her recent solo shows in the USA and it’s frankly got us lot here

Roadrunner Records and GETCLOSER.COM present a UK EXCLUSIVE preview of SLIPKNOT’s forthcoming album. The Grammy Award-winning, ground-breaking, masked Des Moines nine-piece are set to unleash their fourth studio album, ‘ALL HOPE IS GONE’, on 25th August. To be one of the very first people in the UK to hear the new album, check out Slipknot’s Artist profile page on getcloser.com, any time after 00:01 on Monday 18th. They’ll have 90 second previews of all 12 tracks – an entire week before release!

Also, they will be INTERVIEWING SLIPKNOT at this year’s Reading Festival, and want YOUR QUESTIONS! If you have something you’d like to ask the band, just follow the link at the bottom of this mail to the ‘Got A Question for Slipknot?’ Room. They’ll put the best questions to the band at the August Bank Holiday event.

Submit your questions here

PRE ORDER ALL HOPE IS GONE HERE.