Some of you guys reading this will know me, others won’t. My name is Sarah, but my nickname is Nickel Kittie 🙂 I suffer from Agoraphobia, which means I sometimes have difficulty leaving the house, and going to busy places, but not anymore! Through Nickelback I have been able to move on and have gained so much confidence! On Sunday I got to see and meet Nickelback thanks to R.R. Records! I’ve been on the street team for a while, and was teamer of the month a lil while back 😀 Meeting Nickelback was so special for me, and this is just some of what went on that night! We got to Brixton about 5pm, bit early, but oh well! We walked round for a bit, and around the building and we saw 4 tour buses! The bus driver of one of the buses waved, but no one came out lol About 7.10pm or so, the R.R. rep came and got us all, there were 13 in all. There were a few comp winners and a few people had arranged to meet the band via Treana. We went into this kind of bar area and we were told Nickelback would be along soon! I got to meet the other guys from the street team, they were all very cool! Soon after the band arrived! I saw Ryan 1st, then Mike, then Nik then Chad. They all looked fantastic, even tho Chad said he had Jetlag! I was the 1st in the queue to get my stuff signed 😀 Me and Chad had a quick chat, and he signed my CD as did Nik. Nik was ever so sweet he asked me how I was 😀 Next I moved onto Mike, we had a bit of a quick chat, he was def the most loudest in the band! We asked each other how we were doing, and he said he was good, but its a bit dark! And it was! The bar had really bad lighting, they had to get a torch for the guys to sign our stuff! Next of course, is Ryan! I said to him “I’ve heard your into your web stuff?”, and he looked at me puzzled, then looked at Mike fairly worried! I dunno what he thought I was gonna say LOL But I just told him about my website, and as soon as he found out I was Nickel Kittie he shoved his hand out! He wanted to shake my hand!! Like he was pleased to meet me, and I was like, “no Ryan, it’s the other way around!!” He said he had def heard of my website, and was going to check it out soon!! Next we had our photos taken with the guys. I squashed myself in-between Chad and Ryan possibly the most 2 good looking guys on the earth! I had both Ryan and Chad’s arms around me, and mine around them!!! Sorry, girly moment there?. ) Next I got to talk to Ryan alone 🙂 1st I got a hug from him, then I told him about my agoraphobia. I told him how Nickelback’s music has changed my life, and has helped me to do all the things I can do today. He totally understood and was very sympathetic. He said he knew where I was coming from, and that he understands it can be hard for people to relate 🙂 Ryan had to have pics taken with the other fans, so we didn’t get to finish our conversation. He held me close and kept checking on me in-between photos. Once he was finished with the photos we carried on talking. He said I was not to worry, and he was so pleased I was able to do the things I can do now. He said I would really enjoy the show and he said to me ‘come here’ and grabbed me! I mean he had his arm around me before I knew what was happening! He gave me a hug without even asking! I just held him it was a long hug. It was beautiful. Ryan has to be one of the most special people you could ever meet, all of Nickelback are. They made my dreams come true, and taken them beyond. At 1st I felt silly for telling Ryan about how Nickelback have changed my life, but he was so understand and considerate, I was totally at ease. Not nervous once. I got to see Hawk too, he tried to get in on a few of our photos! But Chad told him off ) Also we got to meet Timmy outside. It was really funny, as he was just standing there, with loads of Nickelback fans around him in the queue waiting to get in, and none of them said anything!! I recognised him tho!! The gig was absolutely amazing. You will never see a show like that with any other band! The pyro was literally on fire, and Chad kept making jokes and getting the crowd really up for it! The only thing wrong was it had to end! I could have stayed forever singing along 😀 When they played Someday it really got the crowd going, I don?t think there was one person in that venue that wasn’t singing along! I could only go and see Nickelback because of Nickelback, if you get what I mean. I could have never done the things I have done for any other band, no one has touched my heart and my life like Nickelback have. I have been able to meet many wonderful people through Nickelback’s music, and without them I could not have done any of what I have achieved. And of course the support from Nickelback, especially Ryan! I couldn’t say I’m raring to go for my next gig, it will take time for me to totally be at ease with situations like that, but to have Nickelback as my 1st gig, what more could I ask for? Thank you Nickelback!!! Sarah, aka Nickel Kittie You can check out Sarah’s Nickelback website at www.nickel-kittie.tk.

More of your questions to Machine Head’s drummer Dave McClain… Q. Which albums do you think have most shaped Metal over the last decade and why those? Lee 1. A Vulgar Display Of Power – Pantera Best metal band ever. That album is everything a metal band should be. 2. Reign In Blood – Slayer Need I say more? 3. Roots – Sepultura Q. We all know that Robb loves the vodka and coke…what’s your poison? Jez Tequila shots! Q. Do you agree with the reviews mostly saying this is the best Machine Head album since Burn My Eyes? Bacon YES! Through The Ashes Of Empires… out now

This December 11th (TONIGHT) Nickelback is in Holland to perform at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam as part of the European leg of the ‘Long Road World Tour 2003/2004’! You can see and hear this show as it happens tonight exclusively through the following links: http://www.heineken-music-hall.nl http://www.heineken-music-hall.nl/index2.html?flash=1&item=webcasts http://www.planet.nl The LIVE WEBCAST will start at 8pm (CET) as the support act F33L3R will also be broadcasted. Nickelback will go onstage at 9.15pm (CET). For UKers, that means Nickelback will be onstage live at 8:15pm UK time. Don’t miss it!

Have you checked out our live photos of the tour yet? Check em out in the Machine Head PHOTO GALLERY. And here’s what you had to say about the Machine Head show in Manchester…. BlueToGray: “We want head We want head We want head We want head………. Manchester….manchester…. manchester…. wow fuck cunt wow bollocks shit wow Machine Head is king biggest circle pit ever ….. multiple slam pits ……METALLICA…. faked manchester accents….. seams of chicks …. Uber loud metal at its best……… ears still ringing almost 12 hours later……. so close i could touch the speakers…………. body beaten but not broke YEAH WOO WHO Machine Head we love you what a fucking night.” petermh99: “yeah fuckin too right. my head is fuckin killin and my ears are ringin like fuck.” slayeraregods: “OH MY FUCKING GOD! 2 HOURS OF MACHINE HEAD! That was the best night of my entire life man! i got there around 6:20 met sum guys from roadrunner records for a meet and great, we walked around the back of the venue and went in, we were waiting in the bar then over walks MACHINE FUCKIN HEAD i felt really nervous over walks phil and we were chattin for a while and he signed sum stuff, then dave he was talkin to me and i was gobsmacked, then i walked over and started talkin to rob. i asked him how the tour was goin he said ” FUCKIN “A” MAN” then sum1 asked what cover songs they were gonna play, he sed its a surprise, we asked him to play a good charlotte song which followed him singing “LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND THE FAMOUS” lol fuckin killer. Later, the lights went down and i heard some orchestra music, i was so pumped i’d bin waiting for this night for so long, i hear the beginning of imperium “HERE ME NOWWWWWWWWW” the whole of fuckin manchester went apeshit! absalutely amazing! noone was stood still, the pit was brutal and that was just the first song, then take my scars, killer song! ” Manchester!! this song is called THE BLOOD THE SWEAT THE BEERS! another huge pit formed in the center and my god it was brutal! i think they then played left unfinished, great song! i heard ten ton hammer, i ran in the pit only to be greeted with a punch in the nose, it didnt hurt too much though coz i was havin a great time! i dont remember what they played next, but then i heard the bass intro for trephination and when it kicked in the whole place was like a fuckin warfield, there were bodies everywhere! they went off i think then, people were screamin ” WE WANT HEAD, WE WANT HEAD!” rob came on looking pritty emotional sayin ” we havn’t herd that in a fuckin long time! u guys rule” then i think they played an acoustic song i think it was ” descend the shades of night” and a lot of people started crowdsurfing in that song! then i just remember hearing the beginning of territory by sepultura and me lovin sepultura runnin straight to the pit and goin apeshit, fucking brilliant, then they play METALLLICA! and the whole place goes even crazier! also a couple of guns and roses riffs and rob played the beginnin of walk if i rememebr rightly only for like 5 seconds though! ” LET FREEDOM RING WITH A SHOTGUN BLAST!” a pretty big circle pit forms in the middle again, i mean huge! DAVIDIAN! brilliant! This got the crowd goin the pit was brutal people were running in all direction there were people on the floor and other people falling over them it was just chaos!……. i cant quite remembr what they played next but i just remember hearin rob sayin, i want everyone to move to the sides and make a pit the whole size of this place, he then said i want the old machine head fans to show the new ones how its done, and i swear the whole fuckin floor was 1 huge open space with bodies crushed around the sides he then screams “BBBBLLLLOOOOCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK” followed by a hell of a lot of of smiles on peoples faces, it kicks in and everyone i mean everyone was in this pit, it was fucking huge i tihnk i got some pictures of it im just hopin it turns out good! so all in all i give this 10/10 FUCKING BRILLIANT GUYS! U GUYS FUCKING RULE! MACHINE FUCKIN HEAD , MACHINE FUCKIN HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!” Farmer317: “Fuckin A is all I have to say about that gig, this is the fourth time I’ve seen The Head live, not only were the first 3 the best gigs I’ve ever bin to this fuckin kicked all their asses. This was the best Machine Head gig I’ve ever bin to, it was sooooooooooo good. I’ve bin a MH fan pretty much from the beginin and it was fuckin well good to see a lot of younger people there, Machine Fuckin Head is the way forward. Wot the fuck though the pits were fuckin mental, I mean I know manchester is THE BEST CROWD but he didn’t have to tell us. lol. The circle pit was fuckin amasin n the fact that Rob (the man) was really fuckin emotional he was fuckin lovin it the fuckin chants n everythin. I can’t belive how much cool old stuff they played it was soooooooooooo fuckin cool to hear that shit live again. There are no fuckin words that describe how mental the pits were for DAVIDIAN it was truly amazing. FUCKIN A to THE HEAD.” Nitrate: “Any fuckin way – The Head never disappoint!!!!” william haven: “Am achin all over, I think I have discovered new muscles…” Darcat: “fucking bruised and battered,what better way to remember a fucking Machine Head gig!??!?!?!?” SilentBen: “I’ve never seen the academy with so many people in there and all going totally fucking apeshit, thank you Machine Fuckin’ Head!”

Best night of your lives? Machine Head, Glasgow. shotgunblast1: “Just got back from what was probably the single best night i’ve had this year…i’m still running from the adrenaline from the gig so i’ll try to make this a good review… First and foremost i met the band, got my flags and cd covers signed plus some Dirt style pics of me with Dave, Phil, Adam and Robb (you can see shotgunblast1’s pics & comments on the support acts HERE) Finally the lights went out and through drunken cheers, Machine Head’s opening theme began and continued for what seemed to me like ten minutes but was probably closer to 30 seconds, then the stage lit up showcasing a massive banner showing the front cover of TTAOE, in the centre of which was Dave McClain’s elevated drum kit and to either side of this were 8-foot high MH diamonds and various amps. The band then took to the stage and the opening chords of IMPERIUM rang out through the whole venue, Imperium was perfection, the crowd went from calm to chaotic and back again with every tempo change, the sound was incredible and everyone was shouting along. After a brief ‘hello Glaswegians’ from the Robb the unmistakable harmonics of TAKE MY SCARS encouraged a deafening roar from the front part of the crowd before the guitars kicked in and madness ensued, this continued from the end part of the intro until the bridge where Robb’s solo was simply stunning, even Phil looked impressed. At this point weaker members of the crowd left the ‘pit’ and Robb asked who was drinking in the crowd which led to his usual introduction of THE BLOOD, THE SWEAT, THE TEARS which induced four or five small circle pits to open around me, after the first chorus these became one massive circle pit. The crowd hardly had time to catch a breath before Robb had explained the next song was from BME, this was followed by a deafening roar from the crowd and the opening notes of NONE BUT MY OWN, a song which gave the crowd chance to cool down during the verses and raise hell in the chorus and breakdown, and if anything it raised the intensity of the pit formed during TBTSTT just by the sheer contrast shown in different parts of the song. The pit unfortunately dissipated when the music box introduction of LEFT UNFINISHED started up, which received a surprisingly loud cheer from the crowd who swayed and sang along to the chorus whilst the verses seemed distant and with the exception of the fast part near the end, acquired much less of a reaction from the crowd. With no hesitation whatsoever the band thundered their way through TREPHINATION which had much the same effect on the crowd nd myself as the previous song, not to say that this was a bad thing, as it provided much needed respite from a largely energy draining set. Good show structure came into play at this point as just when i was thinking of moving out of the centre in search of some cool air, THE BURNING RED began giving the crowd a chance to cool down and catch their breath, to the gentle chords and haunting melody several lighters ignited round the hall and swayed to the infectious rhythm before disappearing in the sweaty haze gently hovering over the masses. Now that the crowd had had time to recooperate, feedback drowned the hall and the unique drumbeat of IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES began, live this is a different song, it has an awesome ferocity that had the crowd in the palm of it’s hand for it’s entirity…i even remember thinking the riff near the end, after the solo was the single, most metal riff i’d ever heard. the lead was perfect, Phil seems so at home in Machine Head it’s almost as if he’s been there forever, him and Robb were constantly side by side, Status Quo style headbanging in unison and the mass sing along of “On your grave…” was extremely powerful and gave the song an added something that just made it altogether breathtaking. Before ITPOME Robb asked for a circle pit, we gave him one, afterwards he said that it was the largest circle pit he’d seen all tour. He went on to announce that “This is a song from our first record, Dave on the drums and Adam on the bass are gonna start it for yas…” exclaimed Robb before the brilliantly constructed intro to BLOOD FOR BLOOD echoed and screeched through the PA system, when the main riff began the crowd lost all composure and chaos reigned supreme, definitely one of the highlights of the night. Robb then exclimed that they were going to play the opening track from TMTC-half the crowd cheered-followed by the opening riff of TEN TON HAMMER which was answered by a much louder cheer from the crowd, this seemed to catch Adam off guard because he looked up in a dazed look of confusion from his usual permanent look of forceful aggression. The sheer power and drive behind TTH live is awesome to say the least and this was reflected in the crowds reaction which involved another large circle pit evolving in the centre of the hall…the lights went out and almost immediately Machine Fucking Head was being chanted by every mofo in the house. The lights and Machine Head returned this time with two acoustic guitars proudly adorning the stage, after a brief introduction in which Robb dedicated the song to people who like to ‘smoke a bit of weed, grab a beer and chill out to some good music’ Phil strummed the first chords of DESCEND THE SHADES OF NIGHT, which sounds unbelievable live. The lead was awesome, better than even on the cd and Robb’s voice complimented the guitar perfectly. At this point i got very, very excited…i knew what was coming next, DAVIDIAN…i don’t remember too much of it because i went fucking crazy, and i’ve never shouted so loud in my life…my throat still hurts now…five hours later…and Phil’s new lead is just as appropriate if not moreso than the original. One of the guitarists from Sikth played on Davidian which meant Robb had the freedom of the stage, which he used expertly to whip the crowd up into the largest circle pit of the night so far. The next song Machine Head played was Sepultura’s TERRITORY, which i thought was fucking great…they got it exactly right but it seemed unappreciated by most of the crowd. Next up was Metallica’s CREEPING DEATH, which was well received by everyone, and you could tell at this point MH were fucking loving it. Phil then went on to play a section of a Judas Priest song, which Robb thought was hilarious. They then played a very famous Iron Maiden song…the name of which escapes me, before halfway through stopping and going into Iron Maiden’s NUMBER OF THE BEAST. Robb then brought all the support bands onstage before announcing that their next song was their last and that Glasgow concerts havn’t changed since they came on the BME tour, that’s why they love it here so much…Dave and Adam then exploded into the intro of BLOCK, and Robb instructed the whole crowd to form a circle pit…wall to wall, then it went fucking mental when the guitars came in, i sang every fucking word through being elbowed in the teeth and falling onto a heap of people on the floor, but that’s what made it so fucking good…it was the perfect way to conclude a perfect night…far better than two years ago in support of Supercharger, there is no doubt in my mind when i give the gig a rating of 10/10 and i firmly believe that Machine Head is the best heavy live band in the world…long live Machine Head.” theograth: “I confess, I had only heard a few of the older MH songs before going to this gig and have only got one album (Through The Ashes Of Empires) but I’m totally hooked. I would not hesitate in paying to see them again. We certainly got our money’s worth and more. It’s not often you see a band who genuinly seem thankful to the crowd but MH without a doubt are.” Perratt:”Those Machine Head ‘Diamonds’ were amazing! I was stood with my mate wondering what they were, then just before Sikth came on I hear hit shout “Fuckin hell, their halfstacks! How did I not see that?!’ if you looked closely it was 4 halfstacks put together a kinda 45 degree angle to the right. Never seen anything like it before, I was well impressed. As far as MH are concerned – AWESOME. One of my best gigs. I was right down the front until I literally thought I was having an asthma attack so had to get out. Then as I just get out of the crowd, what does Rob say? ‘This is BLOOD FOR BLOOD!’…just my fucking luck. Although if I had stayed in the crowd I’d probably of collapsed! The highlight for me was probably Ten Ton Hammer or hearing the entire crowd shout ‘HEAR ME NOW!’ at the start of Imperium. The whole band was one fire but Dave was unbelievably immense. Overall it was amazing. It was a great night!” StevenCaZ: “I was right at the front, with red spikes… and all I can say is, oh my fucking god. Imperium was word for word, note for note, perfect… and It even made me set in stone my belief that it’s pantera style breakdown is the best riff they’ve ever done. The blood the sweat the tears was one of 4 songs I was seriously looking forward to on the night. Imperium was the first, the blood the sweat the tears was in-fucking-sane, everyone around me and me went crazy. Left unfinished was odd, but very very cool all the same. TEN TON FUCKING HAMMER as said before, this song is just simply increadable live. In-fucking sane, and as my third most loking forward to song, it didn’t dissapoint! The encore was so goddam cool, with the covers of maiden, sepultura and metallica. BUT the single song i was looking forward to the most, rocked my socks off, davidian, what can I say, in fact, I think it would be more appropriate if I just didn’t say anything, the little riff at the start is just so insane, and the pit to it was insane. The circle pit for block is the single biggest circle pit Ive ever seen, oh my god, seriously. All in all, there’s no doubt in my mind, this is the greatest band and indeed gig I’ve ever been to in my life and I’ll be fortunate if anything ever surpasses it. Machine head ARE the best metal, live band, on the go at the moment. LONG LIVE MACHINE FUCKIN’ HEAD!” scottishmachineheadchic: “OH MY FUCK*N god that has got to be one of the best gig i have ever been to in my life!!!!!!!!!!! From start to finish, just totally amazing. First time seeing machine head, but a big fan, they just blew me away-I didnt want them to finish, although as i was right at the front, my legs were killing me and i was soaking!! sooooo worth it tho!! i got 2 plectrums and a set list aswell(thank u to the security gaurd tht got me the setlist btw+the roadie that gave me a bottle of water as i was dying!) Loved the “im bruce dickinson, goodnight” line from rob after the maiden songs(classic!) and soooooo wish i had a lighter when they played descend. so glad i was there!” StivMcLMachinehead1666: “omfg……that was prob the best night of my life….machine head were fecking great!!!!!i broke my nose and fecked ma back and neck from headbanging…” Have you checked out our live photos of the tour yet? Check em out in the Machine Head PHOTO GALLERY.

Your thoughts, comments, and shoes at the Machine Head show in Birmingham…. DSM: “Last night was fucking immense. The circle pit we got going for Davidian had to be one of the best things ever. Highlight: going back to 1994 ONE MORE TIME and fucking things up like crazy to Block.” richthebeast: “Machine Head were fuckin AMAZIN. I lost my shoe in the pit to Davidian.” seeker23uk: “My friend said a shoe hit her in the head, I said don’t be daft no-ones going to throw their shoe.” Diabouls84: “Last night Machine Head fucking kicked ass!!! The show was imense from start to finish, I was batted in the face about 5 times within a minute of “Imperium”…it was awesome. I didnt think they would play “Descends…” but it was great seeing everyone really getting into it.” rob flynn the second: “that was a killer gig. i havent seen them this good since the tmtc tour. block was killer. and oh my god blood 4 blood fuck yes. i met the band after the gig. robb is the man i spent an hour just chill with him. dave was cool as fuck. the pit was evil.” s8n James: “Second night in a row and what can I say except, in the words of Robb Flynn, “FUCKIN A!!!” To all those poor, unfortuate folks who missed it, you REALLY are poor and unfortunate, and for all those people who have yet to catch them on this tour, boy, are you in for a good night. With Phil Demmel, the band are revving on all cylinders again, and I haven’t seen them play a better, more hungry set since, well, ever.”

Nickelback get a 4* review in today’s Guardian newspaper…. Adam Sweeting Wednesday December 10, 2003 The Guardian Maybe it’s because they’re from Vancouver, but Nickelback are a different species from the current wave of fashionable US metal. Whereas the likes of Korn or Staind sound so dark and diabolical that you could only imagine that they were saved in the nick of time from hanging themselves before they went onstage, Nickelback seem cheerful and well adjusted, and actually enjoy communicating with the crowd. It’s amazing they’ve come as far as they have, but they’ve been canny enough to exploit a few reliable old tricks – like writing tunes and not playing everything so fast and heavy that it’s like being crushed by a steel avalanche. The Nickelback biography is littered with statistics and superlatives (the Silver Side Up album sold 40bn copies in 15 minutes, the band had to buy a new bus to keep all their Grammys in, blah blah), but their mega-anthem How You Remind Me is one of those songs you know backwards without having made any effort to listen to it. They played it tonight as an encore, and vocalist Chad Kroeger found he had no further use for his microphone since the crowd did all the work for him. The ‘Back have a useful batch of beefy, anthemic rock songs, among which we might pick out Breathe, Do This Anymore or the rather skilful Someday, and they can get heav-yyyy, as in the battered-wife saga of Never Again. But they also work hard to give the punters a value-added showbiz experience. Huge blasts of flame kept shooting up from the drum riser, threatening to incinerate both sticksman Ryan Vikedal and the lighting rig hanging above him, and the set was peppered with ear-splitting flashbombs. They sprayed the sweat-soaked front rows with water, and lobbed plastic glasses of beer into the balcony. The unplugged acoustic segment was prefaced by an interlude of darkness filled with some dialogue samples from Spider Man. When the lights came back up, the band launched into Hero, from the movie soundtrack. Kinda hammy, but was it brain surgery you were after?

This past weekend, on Saturday, December 6th, four lucky US Slipknot fans made their way out to the Houdini Mansion in LA to meet the band, and hear the new music. The four contest winners (as picked previously from a RR US competition), were picked up by Roadrunner’s LA press person (Maria Gonzales) at 3:30pm sharp, in the lobby of the Hyatt on Sunset Blvd. At said time, she blindfolded all four contest winners, and along with John (gent who has been filming many-a-moment from the recording of Slipknot’s new album in the mansion), stated making their way to the Houdini Mansion. “It was cool…yet kinda weird,” tells Matt, one of the contest winners about the beginning of the journey. After driving around for a about 15 minutes, Maria hung up her cell, turned back, and snarled, “Slipknot ain’t ready for ya, yet.” At said point, Matt relays his thoughts turned to “thinking what are they gonna do??? Line us up in a corner and throw shit at us?” Ahh, the initiation into the world of Slipknot? Around 4pm, the van pulled into the Houdini Mansion, where Slipknot has been recording their third studio album over the past few months. Greeted by Corey, Joey, Mick, Jim, Craig, and Chris, the four unsuspecting souls were taken out to the back, where they were tied up, thrown into the pool on the estate grounds, and left submerged under water until they could free themselves, like the great Houdini himself. Actually, strike that last line. At said point, the four were taken into the mansion, behind the mixing board, where all the magic has been happening. There, these four guys were the first people outside of camp Slipknot to hear the new music the band has been writing and recording. They heard 4-5 new tracks. “The new stuff, dude, sounds phenomenal,” tells Matt. “Not only is the music better, but the sound is better,” he continued. “(The first song played) was an into, I think, very ominous…but maybe it was a full song, it was like 3 minutes long. Then they went into some fast stuff. Then Mick said, ‘wait till you hear the heavy stuff.'” At which point, apparently all in the mixing room laughed…”because this WAS heavy,” explained Matt. “But he (Mick) was being serious.” Matt’s last words on the new music, “it’s way more intricate, heavy, sounds way better than anything they have done before.” Another winner, Edgar, remembers the day a bit differently: “Saturday was quite an exquisite afternoon. We were blindfolded…raped by Maria…it was filmed by this short white-dude named John…and we were forced to listen to country music inside the Houdini Mansion…oh…and did I mention that in order to get inside they had to perform and enema on all four of us?” In all seriousness (though Edgar did indeed write the above words), Edgar – who happens to play guitar himself – finally tells, “it was a great feeling to see that I am not the only 6’4″ jolly-green-giant that is playing music professionally. Mick Thompson and Jim Root have now become my muse. Everything I do musically now will be because of their musical influences. Thank you all for the opportunity of a lifetime…” There you have it. It is real. New Slipknot is on the way. To the four winners, glad you had a great time, thanks for participating. You have the distinct pleasure of being the only four people in the world outside of camp Slipknot to have heard any of the new Slipknot. For the rest of you, you can check out Slipknot’s PHOTO GALLERY for 14 pics from the day. This is just the beginning. new Slipknot coming early 2004

So, it’s after midnight and technically that makes this update on December 9th. However, having not been to bed yet, and the Roadrunner office internet & email connection taking an early Christmas holiday (making an earlier update impossible), we shall pretend it is indeed still December 8th. And so, that brings us to this. Slipknot’s Corey Taylor hits the mighty 30 today! Did you know that one of his birthday presents was a rather awesome set of Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington Christmas lights? No, we didn’t think you knew that. As for what Corey is doing to celebrate, “working” we hear… still holed up in the Houdini mansion. …Happy Birthday Corey!…

For those of you keeping track, the nominations for the upcoming US Grammy Awards come February are in…Roadrunner Records artists clock in with the following: BEST ROCK ALBUM: Nickelback (The Long Road) BEST ROCK SONG: Nickelback (“Someday”) BEST METAL PERFORMANCE: Stone Sour (“Inhale”) and Spineshank (“Smothered”) for a list of all nominees, click HERE.