A&R man and legend Monte Conner, has signed countless bands to Roadrunner over the years including the likes of Annihilator, Biohazard, Brujeria, Jerry Cantrell, Cavalera Conspiracy, Chimaira, Coal Chamber, Cynic, Death, Deicide,DevilDriver, Fear Factory, Gojira, Gorguts, Life of Agony, Machine Head, Malevolent Creation, Murderdolls, Nailbomb, Obituary, Pestilence, Porcupine Tree, Rush, Sepultura, Slipknot, Solitude Aeturnus, Soulfly, Stone Sour, Storm Corrosion, Suffocation, Times of Grace, Trivium, and Type O Negative.

It’s safe to say Monte has helped to shape Roadrunner into what it is today and it’s with great saddness that he has now left after more than 20 years. The office in the US decided that they couldn’t let his last day go by without incident so they organised for Monte to be visited in his office by a special guest – Troy Norr, vocalist for the King Diamond tribute act Them. You can check out the video below:

The guys in our US office got BLACK STONE CHERRY’s Chris Robertson on the phone the other day to grill him about how he and Jon Lawhon were involved with the writing of the track ‘Life’s Twisted’ from LYNYRD SKYNYRD’s upcoming album ‘Last Of A Dyin’ Breed’. The BSC guys are lifelong fans of LYNYRD SKYNYRD so it should come as no surprise that the guys were blown away when the track was selected for the album. Check out what Chris had to say below.

How did you come to write a song for Lynyrd Skynyrd?

Well, what happened was, we had some time off and Jon[Lawhon] went down to write a song with a guy named Blair Daly, who we wrote with for Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea. None of the songs we wrote with him ended up making the cut, but Blair’s a great guy and we wrote some great songs with him. Jon went down and wrote the song with him, and they wanted me to play the guitar solo on it, and have Jon record it at my house, since I’ve got a small studio. When Jon brought me the song, he was like, “man, is there anything else [you want to add]?” I said, “I’ll tell you what, if you’ll split it with me, we’ll make it however you wanna make it.” So we went in and rearranged and restructured the song a little bit. It’s funny, because you spend all this money doing demos, but we ended up doing it in GarageBand on a Mac, just to make it quicker. We made it a little heavier, changed the vocal melody here and there. And then out of the blue we got a phone call and an email from Blair saying Skynyrd’s cutting “Life’s Twisted,” and I’m like, “Holy shit.” My favorite band of all time, hands down, is Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the fact that from now until the end of time one of their records is gonna have my name on it as a songwriter – that just blows my mind.

So it wasn’t something you intended for them when it was being written?

When the song was originally written, we were thinking about the modern contemporary country artists that dabble in rock ’n’ roll, like Eric Church or Jason Aldean, or someone like that. When Jon brought the song to me, for me to help out with, we were thinking more along the lines of something like that. It just so happens that a lot of the modern country is very Skynyrd-esque, with the distorted guitars and stuff like that. So it ended up working for them. Bob Marlette produced the Skynyrd record, and I called him when I heard, because Bob’s a great friend, and he said it was funny, because the Skynyrd guys are fans of ours, which is awesome to begin with. They’re great friends and they seem to like the band, and Bob said, “They didn’t believe me at first, but I was like, ‘I know that voice, I’ve recorded that voice. That’s Chris from Black Stone Cherrysinging that song.’” And they were like, “but it came from a guy named Blair Daly,” and then they looked at the writing credits and saw that Jon and I were on there. So for us, the band that people say are the new wave of Southern rock, or whatever they wanna say, the fact that we got the band that started it all to cut a song that a couple of us wrote on…it’s pretty fuckin’ miraculous, in my opinion.

Do you know the Skynyrd guys? Have you shared a bill in the past, or hung out with them?

Oh yeah, yeah. We did a tour in 2009, it was us, Skynyrd and Kid Rock. And to see the guys from Skynyrd watching the show every night – that’s something you can’t take for granted, you know? The first song I ever remember hearing as a kid was “That Smell” and when I learned how to play guitar, I learned how to play to Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd. So for me, this is one of the biggest honors. Other than the fact that in Black Stone Cherry, we’ve been able to be very successful overseas and sell out tours and got ourselves a silver record and stuff like that, this is the biggest accomplishment in my musical career.

We premiered a clip yesterday that the guys from LYNYRD SKYNYRD shot whilst in the studio. The clip covers the track ‘Life’s Twisted’ and you can check it out below:

The official lyric video for LYNYRD SKYNYRD new single and title track from their upcoming album ‘Last Of A Dyin’ Breed’ is now up online and you can check it out below:

MASTODON and indie rocker Feist announced yesterday that they have released a digital version of their Record Store Day 7″ vinyl single, ‘A Commotion’ / ‘Black Tongue’. The digital release also includes a special interactive ‘A Commotion’ music video directed by Vice Cooler.

The video premiered on www.mastodonrocks.com yesterday and is launched by an HTML5 ‘Feistodon’ video app that allows users to crossfade between Feist and MASTODON‘s versions of the ‘A Commotion’ to make their own unique versions. Click here buy ‘Feistodon’ and to try out the app.

The split-single was one of the most in-demand exclusives during Record Store Day with only 5000 color vinyl 7″ singles pressed up and all 5000 an instant sell out.

Click here to pick up a copy of MASTODON’s latest album ‘The Hunter’.

With the release of SLIPKNOT’s ‘Antennas To Hell’, we’ve gone a bit nostalgic and have been posting our favourite memories on a timeline and collecting fan photos of their favourite SLIPKNOT memories for our ‘Antennas To Hell’ photo book. SLIPKNOT has played a massive part in fans lives but this also extends to fellow musicians. ARTISTdirect have collected a series of thoughts about the band from other musicians and you can check out what the Roadrunner artists past and present had to say about the band:

When did you first hear or see Slipknot and what made you a fan?

James “Munky” Shaffer // KO퐌¿N

“I came off of a tour and heard their first record [Slipknot (10th Anniversary Edition CD/DVD)]. Ross Robinson gave it to me in 1999. He said, ‘Listen to this. It will change your life.’ I couldn’t believe some of the riffs I was hearing. That level of intensity and anger was something I always wanted my own band to accomplish. We played a European festival with them, and I remember them walking around backstage in their masks. They were super intimidating, even though they’re just normal guys [Laughs]. Paul Gray was probably one of the nicest most down-to-earth people ever. I can’t say enough good things about that guy. Having Ross Robinson as a producer early on, we all come from the same family as far as similar ideas about music. It’s unspoken, but we had some kind of connection because of that. When Joey Jordison was playing with us, he brought a different feel to it altogether. Actually, Clint Lowery [Sevendust] was playing with us at the time doing background guitars. He brought up that maybe Joey would be available, and I thought it would be the coolest thing. We found out he was down to do it. There might be some video footage of me freaking out and saying, ‘Yeah, I can’t believe it!’ [Laughs] The first time he came in and jammed with us, there was a lot of excitement, especially after the ups and downs we had been through. I like Iowa. There’s something raw and real about that record. People could take a lesson from that album. That record is my favorite. Everything about that album is incredible. It has all of the elements that make a great metal album. What those guys through, their process, and dedication shines right there on Iowa. We’d love to tour with them! A boy can only dream [Laughs].”

ROB ZOMBIE

“The first time I was aware of them was OZZfest. They were on the second stage, and we were on the main stage. It was in 1999 with Black Sabbath. I didn’t see them then though. I would always see these guys walking around afterwards without their masks, and they would have the black stuff around their eyes. I was like, ‘What the fuck is up with these guys?’ [Laughs] I never saw the show! For whatever reason, I could never get over to the stage. Their live show is phenomenal. Joey was in our band for a couple of tours, so I feel like I’ve toured with Slipknot, but I’ve actually never toured with them [Laughs]. I just had some of Slipknot in the band. That would be a great tour.”

Aaron Lewis // STAIND

“I don’t remember the show, but I saw Slipknot, and I was completely blown away by the magnitude of aggression. It really redefined heavy aggressive music in a manner that had never been fucking witnessed before.”

John Boecklin // DEVILDRIVER

“The first time I heard Slipknot was in 1999, smoking weed in my friend Rob’s bedroom. Looking at the cover of the first album, I was immediately thrown off by the masked army, expecting hear something in the form of Insane Clown Posse. I was wrong. Of course, we all know what they sound like now, but it was such a rare moment when you’retruly surprised on a first listen. The drums and vocals spoke to me immediately. They just sounded like all-out war—plain and simple. Iowa has come to be my favorite release by them. Many bands reach that high plateau very first as Slipknot did with their first record. However, almost none truly break the sophomore slump curse like Iowa did. That record did not let me down one fucking bit, and it was ten times heavier than their debut. Iowa let everybody know you couldn’t fuck with them. It’s one pissed-off little ditty.”

Alex Varkatzas // I Am War & ATREYU

“What made me a fan of Slipknot was touring with them when they headlined the second stage of OZZfest several years ago. The show didn’t need any smoke or mirrors—just the band rocking so damn hard the earth had moved. My favorite record is Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses. It’s a diverse, mind-blowing record. It doesn’t do what you expect it too, except kick ass.”

Chris Shelley // AT THE SKYLINES

“Fuck yes! I love Slipknot. After listening to Slipknot and reading the lyrics, I was like, ‘Shit, these guys are for real. Their music is awesome’. That was three or four years ago. Ever since then, I’ve been a huge fan of them. The lyrics are brilliant. I’d love to tour with Slipknot. It’s a high hope. The fact we’re on the same label is awesome because I love that band. My favorite record is All Hope Is Gone. All of Slipknot’s albums are incredible which makes them awesome. You can go and listen to the first, and it’s just as good as the newest one.”

Mike Hranica // THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

“I first heard them in fifth or sixth grade, and plainly, it was the heaviest thing my friends and I had ever heard.”

Mark Hunter // CHIMAIRA

“I first heard Slipknot in 1998. I wasn’t quite sure what the hell I was hearing, but I knew I was hooked. I loved that the band was doing something fresh musically. When I saw them live, it was like a twisted evil religious experience. The intensity was beyond electric. No band can top the insanity that is a live Slipknot show. I love the first album and Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses the best. They’re great songwriters and amazing talent. The guys have always treated the Chimaira camp like family.”

Click here to read the full article on ARTISTdirect – they spoke to a ton of awesome musicians in so many different bands!

Pick up a copy of SLIPKNOT‘s new album ‘Antennas To Hell’ from the below retailers:

Special Edition:
Play.com
iTunes
Amazon

Standard Edition:
Play.com
iTunes
Amazon

There are no words for how awesome this new MACHINE HEAD video is. Instead of giving you a breakdown of what happens though, we’d like to direct you to the video below to make up your own minds. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Machine Head – Darkness Within on MUZU.TV

Click here to pick up a copy of MACHINE HEAD’s latest album ‘Unto The Locust’.

DREAM THEATER have come top in a poll of Rolling Stone readers. Music fans were asked to vote for their best prog rock albums of all time. The mag said that they received ‘a ridiculous amount of votes’ for DREAM THEATER‘s ‘Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory‘ followed by RUSH’s ‘2112’, Yes’ ‘Close to the Edge‘ and Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon‘.

Check out Rolling Stone’s top 10 favourite prog albums below:

1. Dream Theater: Metropolos Part 2: Scenes From a Memory (1999)
2. Rush: 2112 (1976)
3. Yes: Close to the Edge (1972)
4. Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
5. Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)
6. King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)
7. Genesis: Selling England by the Pound (1973)
8. Rush: Hemispheres (1978)
9. King Crimson: Red (1974)
10. Rush: Moving Pictures (1981)

Click here to read more on RollingStone.com.