In a continuation of the series we began here at Roadrunner UK last year, we are giving YOU the opportunity to put YOUR questions to another of our bands.

Whilst we put together the answers from our last session with LAMB OF GOD, here’s your chance to put a question to our home-grown progressive legends PORCUPINE TREE. If you have a burning question for the band, then you can email rrguest@roadrunnerrecords.co.uk with your question NOW. You MUST title the email ‘Ask Porcupine Tree’ and include your full name. The best questions will then be put to the band.

The band’s current album The Incident is in stores now. Pick it up online HERE

Airbourne are for real and they’re here to stay, I’m sure you will agree once you listen to next months release “No Guts No Glory”. Raise your horns now and keep reading, to find out a bit more about one of the best rock albums of 2010…

When ALTSOUNDS met with AIRBOURNE’S Ryan, they were left in no doubt about how much passion there was behind forthcoming album No Guts, No Glory, as you can clearly see in the above introduction from their recent interview.

“I think if you take some time to listen to the band you will see that we’re very very very serious!” says Ryan, “Listen to “Stand Up For Rock ’n’ Roll” and songs like that. Airbourne is a very serious rock’n’roll band. We’re all having a good time, but we take rock’n’roll very seriously.”

You can read the full interview AT THIS LOCATION.

No Guts, No Glory hits UK stores on Monday (March 8th) and you can pre-order the release HERE.

And don’t forget the band are in the UK at the end of the month on a full UK headline tour. Get tickets online HERE. Dates are as follows:

Mon 29th Mar – PORTSMOUTH Guildhall
Tue 30th Mar – BRISTOL Colston Hall
Thu 1st Apr – LONDON Hammersmith Apollo
Fri 2nd Apr – LIVERPOOL O2 Academy
Sat 3rd Apr – MANCHESTER Apollo
Mon 5th Apr – EDINBURGH Picture House
Tue 6th Apr – GLASGOW O2 Academy
Wed 7th Apr – LEEDS O2 Academy
Thu 8th Apr – NEWCASTLE O2 Academy
Sat 10th Apr – WOLVERHAMPTON Civic Hall
Sun 11th Apr – NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Tue 13th Apr – BELFAST Mandela Hall
Wed 14th Apr – DUBLIN Academy

‘Dirt’ is an absolute monster of an album. It sounds huge. Pretty much every single song is a potential single. Aled has never sounded better, hitting notes that most vocalists could only dream of. Singles ‘Matters At All’ and ‘Young Blood’ are huge, huge hits, while ‘Hunt The Haunted’, which was given away as a free download, has become one of my favourite KIGH songs. While the band do their patented pop-rock thing really well, it’s the variety that makes this album so damn good. Opener ‘Artbreaker I’ sounds like Lostprophets with energy and exuberance in abundance, while ‘Lilli Rose’ and ‘The Morning Afterlife’ are slower and more considered, without falling into ballad territory. Tell the truth I prefer the band when they’re a bit quicker, but you cannot deny the album as a whole works better with a quick chance to catch your breath….

So say PUNKTASTIC of forthcoming album Dirt from KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES, which is due in stores on March 19th.

The full 5/5 review can be seen HERE.

Check out the bands Official YouTube for behind the scenes footage from the recording of the album and watch this space for news on when you get your first listen of the album….

Have you checked out the new video from Aussie rockers AIRBOURNE? Those crazy mo fo’s trash their way through record company execs offices like men possessed in their promo for current single No Way But The Hard Way! It was one hell of a blast to shoot and if you head on over to the bands NEW OFFICIAL WEBSITE you will be able to see behind the scenes footage, out-takes and interviews with the band members on set!!

Point your mouse HERE to check it out now!

You can catch the video itself in the player below and if you dig the track, that’s available now as a digital single at all the usual spots including iTunes!

the track is the first single from forthcoming album No Guts, No Glory which hits stores March 8th. That can be pre-ordered online HERE.

In the second of our new series ‘Gear Nerd’, we chat to LAMB OF GOD guitarist Willie Adler about how he got into playing guitars, his passion for the instrument and his set-up on stage.

Below is part one of this two part interview with the shredder. Here we learn how he got into playing the guitar, his influences and his career thus far. Head back on Friday (March 5th) for part two, where we learn more about his endorsers, set-up and his tips for budding guitarists…

RR UK: How old were you when you started playing guitar, and why did you choose guitar?

WA: I was 11. I don’t know why I chose guitar. I’d grown up playing piano from when I was about 6 years old and my brother had a guitar. I can’t remember where we were on vacation, but he brought it with him and I picked it up and just started playing and it felt great and natural, so it continued on.

RR UK: What styles have inspired you over your career, thing that you’ve toyed with and tried out?

WA: Definitely all metal, and I was a huge fan of Kirk Hammett back in the day, and Marty Friedman when Megadeth did the ‘Rust in Peace’ record. His style was just impeccable and just the runs he would use the crazy disseminate lines that were completely out of the box. I had never really learned any type of theory, so to me that was great because he was going all over the place. Even though they were actual scales, it wasn’t like major scales or just minor scales, he was just all over. That was definitely something I took with me.

RR UK: Now you’ve toured with many of the bands who originally inspired you and you’re considered at the same level as a lot of those people, who inspires you now?

WA: There’s so many young bands coming out now with dudes who can play circles around me, and it’s great to see. I guess part of it’s inspiration, but a lot of its like, “Damn, I can’t have these kids stealing my shit!” But yeah, it’s more of just keeping me on my toes, all these new bands coming out and doing this crazy stuff. It’s cool.

RR UK: You mentioned to me earlier that you didn’t really learn much theory, so were you self-taught or have you actually had guitar lessons?

WA: I had one guitar lesson and then I told my mum I wasn’t going back. I don’t think the guy wanted to rock and I wanted to rock, that’s all I wanted to do! So she let me cos I was enthusiastic about the instrument, it wasn’t like I was done with it. She knew that I would continue to play on my own for hours and hours a day.

RR UK: So what’s your practice and warm-up regime?

WA: Before a show? I’ll probably start warming up an hour before the show and I’ll just have a series of riffs of different songs from the set that are difficult to make, that I’ll just practice over and over again. Those riffs, they kind of embody every part of every riff we do, you know jumping around or going down the neck. There’s no finger exercises that I do or anything like that. I just play riffs.

RR UK: How often to do practice?

WA: While I’m on tour? Just that hour [when we’re on stage]! When I’m at home, I’ll pick up the guitar after I’ve been home for a little bit, I’ll just play for hours. You know just sit there and either be writing something or going through riffs. I spend a good amount of time playing guitar.

RR UK: So run us through your playing career, just briefly, first band you played in? How long between picking up the guitar and playing in your first band etc?

WA: I think it was in high school when we started messing around playing music together. So that was about 4 years after I started playing the guitar. After that, I started playing in a band my buddy had going on. I joined and I think we did 2 or 3 basement shows. Jennifer, the bass player in that band, went on to be in the band Kittie. After that I went to college, came back from college and joined Burn The Priest. And I was probably 22 or 23. We did some shows with Burn The Priest up in Philadelphia, then we changed the name to Lamb of God in 2000. The first national tour as Lamb of God was with Gwar in 2000. So at that point I was around 24 or 25, and then we just kinda did all of those crazy death metal tours, like Cannibal Corpse and Six Feet Under, where we had to open. We would go on 15 minutes after doors so we’d go off stage and walk outside and there’d be a mine of people trying to get in. Basically just paying our dues. So it’s been a long road and now we’re here.

RR UK: Do you remember your first guitar?

WA: I know my mum rented me an Aria Pro 2. It was blue, but I didn’t own it so we had to give it back. But my dad bought a BC Rich Bich as my first real guitar for Christmas and I was so excited, I couldn’t believe it. I still actually have the receipt; he got it from a pawn shop for $275. I played that guitar on the first tour with Gwar. I played it on other tours too, cos it was the only guitar we had. We weren’t making any money, there was no endorsers, no nothing. That guitar is still hanging up in my house, beat to shit!

Lamb of God are currently in tour in mainland Europe in support of current album WRATH which is in stores now. Pick it up online HERE.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE have recorded a brand new track! Titled ‘My Obsession’, the track can be found on the GOD OF WAR EP, the soundtrack to the 3rd part of the award winning computer game.

You can check out the track NOW in the player below. The full tracklisting for the release is as follows, and it will be available digitally on the 8th March:

1. Killswitch Engage – My Obsession
2. Trivium – Shattering The Skies Above
3. Dream Theater – Raw Dog
4. Taking Dawn – This Is Madness
5. Opeth – The Throat Of Winter
6. Mutiny Within – The End

A little over a week ago, the heavy metal juggernaught that is The Black Procession tour hit London. We wandered backstage to have a quick catch-up with our old friend and HATEBREED vocalist Jamey Jasta.

In part 1 of our 2 part interview, Jamey tells us how he went about getting on the tour and the new Self Titled album which is in stores now. Click on the player below to check it out! We will bring you part 2 this Thursday (04/03).

The album is in stores now. You can pick it up online AT THIS LOCATION.

When he was in town recently, Kris of DOMMIN fame sat down with KERRANG to have a chat about their debut album Love is Gone, their first visit to the UK with Lacuna Coil and about working with 30 Seconds To Mars.

You can see the video podcast by clicking HERE.

Dommin will be back in the UK in just a couple of weeks- from March 13th- this time in support of H.I.M. Dates and ticket links can be found on our TOURS PAGE.

Love is Gone is in stores now. You can pick it up online HERE.

TRIVIUM’S new music video for ‘Shattering The Skies Above’ from the God Of War EP is ready to be unleashed, and members of Trivium World, Trivium’s official fan club, will be the first to see it!

The video will be exclusively available for Trivium World members later today (2/26) at 3 PM EST (that’s 8pm UK time) at Trivium.org. If you are not a Trivium World member, you can sign up today HERE and check out the video.

In other news, bassist Paolo has confirmed some BC Rich signings during the bands UK tour. Paolo will commence signing at 4pm at the following stores:

March 16th
Nevada Music
Unit 12
Fitzherbert Spurt
Farlington
Portsmouth
PO6 1TT

March 23rd
Big Deal Music
128 Salop Street
Wolverhampton
WV3 0RX

On the day, each store will give away a bass guitar signed by Paolo as well as some Roadrunner Records UK goodies! So, whether you’re a Trivium fan, bassist or both, these are some tasty looking events!

Mike Portnoy, drummer with prog-metal legends DREAM THEATER, has written a blog for Decibel about the band recording a brand new track from the forthcoming God Of War EP:

It’s pretty amazing that in our 25-year career, this was the first time we were asked to contribute a song to a soundtrack! Film directors and TV producers take note!

In any case, when we were asked to contribute a song to Roadrunner’s God of War 3 soundtrack, the initial reactions of “But we don’t have any leftovers from the last album” or “But we are in the middle of a tour” quickly turned to “Hey, this could be cool” and “Hmmm. Why the hell not?”

Dream Theater has been in the traditional ‘write, record, tour, write, record, tour’ pattern for almost 20 years straight now and there’s no question that the days of ‘traditional’ approaches in this industry are disappearing quickly. Bands can now record and release individual songs—especially via downloads—much like it was it was in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.

Not that I necessarily would want to work that way full-time with DT, as I am very much an ‘album-oriented’ artist…however, in the case of this soundtrack offer, it seemed to be very doable…

Click here to read the full interview…

The EP has 6 new tracks from Roadrunner heavy weights (check that track listing below) and will be available digitally from tht 8th March.

1. Killswitch Engage – My Obsession
2. Trivium – Shattering The Skies Above
3. Dream Theater – Raw Dog
4. Taking Dawn – This Is Madness
5. Opeth – The Throat Of Winter
6. Mutiny Within – The End