Hot news from the RR US press office… HONORS AT ROCK RADIO! BAND ON NATIONAL TOUR WITH STEREOMUD New York, NY: Roadrunner Records recording act ETHER SEEDS is off to a booming start at Rock Radio. Just one week after the band returned from a short stint on the road with Sevendust, the band’s first single, “Save Your Own Life,” went for adds at the Active Rock and Rock formats. Week 1 was a huge success, landing the Atlanta-based foursome at #2 Most Added at R&R Active Rock and Rock – just behind the Deftones, raking in 25 adds from quality call letters in major markets! Stations nationwide responded to the anthemic single right out of the box, picking up adds on WAAF/Boston, WCCC/Hartford, WKLQ/Grand Rapids, WAQX/Syracuse, WIIL/Chicago, KRZR/Fresno to name a few. More stations are sure to react to the song in the weeks to come, so keep your ears peeled. ETHER SEEDS are currently enjoying their first national tour, with Stereomud, Pacifier, and Fingertight. The quartet’s self-titled debut streets June 17.

Even more Junkie XL for you. We told you originally there was 17 tracks on the 3pm CD of the new Junkie XL double album ‘Radio JXL: A Broadcast From The Computer Hell Cabin’. Total so far: 17 tracks. Then we told you the 3am CD had another 11 tracks. Total so far: 28 tracks. Next we told you the 3pm had an extra 2 tracks added. Total so far: 30 tracks. Now, we’re telling you that the UK & Japanese editions of this double album will have yet another new track on it. This track is to be called ‘Tennis’. Total complete: 31 tracks.

For those of you that like a bit of VFM (that’s value for Metal), you’ll be pleased to hear that the Roadrunner/HMV/Metal Hammer Download card is making a welcome return this year. Available FREE with the issue of Metal Hammer that hits the stores on May 20th, the card will allow you 퉌£2 of a whole host of mentally brilliant Roadrunner releases this year exclusively from HMV. The first batch of titles are: Chimaira ‘The Impossibility Of Reason’ – out now Type O Negative ‘Life Is Killing Me’ – out now Spineshank ‘Self-Destructive Pattern’ – July 14th So grab your card, stick it in your wallet/purse and have all those rocking bargains close to hand.

You could pick up a rather tasty FREE Chimaira logo patch when you buy the band’s blistering new album ‘The Impossibility Of Reason’ from May 12th. The patches are available exclusively from the official ‘Roadrage’ Indie stores (click here for your nearest store). But be quick as they’re very limited!

Why are we giving you a Roadrunner history lesson? Today, May Day, whilst people riot on the streets of London, our US office has just launched the almighty Vault, which we’ve been talking about on both our music pages for some time. What is the Vault? The Vault is where you can buy digital files of all Roadrunner music – past and present, deleted and current. Yes, all Roadrunner music, even those obscure releases by Xentrix (25 tracks by Xentrix available in fact). Cool, yes? Currently, the Vault is only available to US residents – call it a roadtest. However, we hope to bring the Vault to the UK soon… so watch this space. Meanwhile, in celebrating the rebirth of Roadrunner ancients, Joey Jordison’s given us his lowdown on 10 old Roadrunner tunes. Joey’s quote: “No motherfucker knows more about the history of Roadrunner than me… Check this shit out…’ 1. Realm – “Slay The Oppressor” off the album Endless War. Reason I pick this is because this is the first band Monte (squirt) Conner ever signed. So this is a major step in moves that would shape Roadrunner history forever. I was never a big fan of Realm but I did own both Roadrunner releases “Endless War” (1988) and “Suiciety”(1990), and then the band broke up and teamed up later on w/ members of the funk/metal group Last Crack..which remind’s me…. 2. Last Crack – “Blood Brothers Of The Big Black Bear” off of Sinister Funkhouse #17 This is during the movement of underground metal/weirdshit/funk…like Into Another and Psykafunkupus and Mordred…I loved this band…they released another record after to since which I’ve lost called uhhhh…..shit….”Burning Time”….Buddo the lead singer split after this release teaming up with…. yes you guessed it…members of Realm (YES!!!!)….to form a band called White Fear Chain…never heard them though….long live Last Crack…they sounded like they might be on crack…anyway… 3. Buzzoven – “Unwilling To Explain” off the record Sore Fuckin’ total southern white trash, pissed off, mushroomed outta their minds sludgerock from Richmond, Virginia. This record smokes and is their one and only release on Roadrunner. They released another record called “AT A LOSS” on a independent called Off The Records…..I still enjoy listening to this…although it gives me occasional night terrors. 4. Star Star – “Science Fiction Boy” off the record The Love Drag Years The Murderdolls jam this album on a regular basis in our dressing room. This is the only glam band that the mighty Monte Conner ever signed… well until the Murderdolls… see even the mighty Monte that signed Disincarnate liked the glam at one point….BUSTED!!!! 5. Cerebral Fix – “Tower Of Spirit”…off the record Tower of Spirit Okay, I never got into this band all that much but no one has fuckin’ given them any props at ALL!!!…I did carry this cassette in my walkman for probably 2 weeks straight at one time while in High School trying to get into them fully….. this band is a big memory of mine for some odd reason and I don’t think I’ll ever understand why. 6. Artillery – “Khomaniak” off the record By Inheritance Thrash that Denmark sound!!!!!!….. I don’t recall any thrash bands really emerging from Denmark during the late eighties unless you count Mercyful Fate…but I never really considered them Thrash. Artillery was never the best thrash band on the scene, but was also never really given a fair chance like the American bands got….again this is the only release they did for Roadrunner….pretty odd vocals and quality playing…I liked it..Monte’s probably shitting that I know this one!!!! 7. Exhorder – “Desecrator” off the album Slaughter in the Vatican FUCK THIS IS HEAVY!!!!!!…This band hailed from New Orleans, and was arguably one of the best thrash groups of its time…this song here has more great riffs within it than most bands have altogether…..check it out if you don’t believe me. Awesome. 8. Amen “When A Man Dies A Woman” off the self titled debut. This is one of the most honest records I’ve ever had the privilege of hearing. You can literally see the sweat almost pouring out of the speakers throughout this whole album, one of my top 5 records of all time. Amen to that. 9. Type O Negative – “The Misinterpretation Of Silence And Its Drastic Consequences” off the record Slow Deep and Hard hahaha..now some people might think I’m slamming the band …but I’m not…. Type O Negative is a band that would appreciate me picking this, cause they have the best sense of humour I’ve ever seen (even though they might not consider it being a so called sense of humour). But how much balls does it take to put minute or so of SILENCE as a track on your DEBUT album …..on the contrary, Type O Negative stands as one of my favorite bands in all Roadrunner history, in my opnion they’ve never written a bad song. Never…. 10. Mercyful Fate – “Doomed By The Living Dead” off the compilation The Beginning What Roadrunner list would be complete without the fuckin’ KING? King Diamond, that is. I signed to RR almost for this fact alone.. LABLEMATES WITH THE KING. Anyway….Doomed is actually not on any full length release from the Fate (being Melissa and Don’t Break The Oath) but appeared as lead off track on “The Beginning” which is basically a best of…I got this album for Christmas 1990 and “Doomed…” is still my favorite MF track…so there you have it. I dedicate my vault picks to the man, the myth, the slam dancer, the squirt… Monte Conner…. for signing all the greats I grew up w/. When is that Realm box set comin’ out? Schools out… I hope you learned a thing or 10!…hahahaha…. see you soon…… see ya joey

Hey everyone, so this tour with Lamb Of God is fucking unreal. Packed houses, great crowds, and the new material is going over so fucking well live it is insane. We just saw the first batch of our UK dates and we could not be any happier to get over there and bring this live show over to you. We are 2 weeks into a 5 week stint of the US and the stand out shows so far have been Texas (as usual). Every time we play there it is pure insanity. I wish I could write more but we have been so busy, I need to get my head examined!! See you all very soon…. Mark, Chimaira

This past weekend, Killswitch Engage headlined the second stage of the New Jersey Skate And Surf Fest in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. What was the word? A complete report from a to-remain-unnamed Roadrunner employee reads as follows: “Ahhh, what can I say about the New Jersey Skate & Surf Fest? Well, it was in New Jersey – Asbury Park , NJ. Now, while it may seem redundant to call any particular town in the Garden State “the armpit of the universe”, Asbury Park is quite possibly the fungus that is growing in that armpit. It is the urban equivalent of the ghost towns of the Old West, complete with half-constructed buildings, dilapidated homes and an eerie sense of unrest. Either that or I had some bad sushi for lunch and it just made me bitter. Anyway, S&S wasn’t about the scenery or lack of, it was all about the jailbait. Yup, I done gone went and said it. The Asbury Park Convention Center was a pedophiles dream, complete with perky little girls in various forms of (un)dress. It was friggin’ cold there, right up on the water with the rain and the wind but does that stop the yunguns’ from showing off their bigguns’? I don’t think so. For the love of god, women, put some clothes on! But I digress. The New Jersey Skate & Surf Festival was all about the music . . . and lots of it. This year saw the most varied bill this particular event has ever assembled. Indie stalwarts Coheed & Cambria, major label headbanger Andrew W.K., next-big-thing Thursday, pop-punk grandaddies Goldfinger and flavor-of-the-moment The Used all represented in fine style. A cadre of local bands also showed their stuff and reaffirmed faith in the idea in that there is always good new music on the horizon. Ultimately though, I was there for one reason and one reason only – Killswitch Engage. By far the heaviest band to play the three day sold-out festival, Killswitch took the stage in the center hall at about half past eight, opposite Andrew W.K.. How did Killswitch fare? Well, quite frankly I think they scared some of the kiddies. As twee little indie kids parted like the Red Sea, the metal faithful hurled their bodies into the pit. As their set went on and they blasted through song after blistering song from Alive Or Just Breathing and their self-titled debut alike, kids from the other two stages emptied into the center hall to mosh along with KsE. But how was the band you ask? They were en fuego! Adam, playing both guitar and tambourine, riled the crowd while Mike D and Joel both pulled out their most metal rock poses. Howard, a stalking ball of sweat and pure unbridled energy, was the spark that set the room on fire. But for all of their intensity, the coolest thing about their show by far was the fact that Killswitch Engage actually look like they ENJOY rocking your world. The music speaks for itself and the band doesn’t feel the need to scowl and shout “fuck” a thousand times to prove they are as hard as nails – they just plain are.” FOR PICS FROM THE NIGHT, CHECK OUT KILLSWITCH ENGAGE’S PHOTO GALLERY.

In addition to the upcoming UK tour dates with Spineshank, you can also catch Chimaira doing a very special one-off show! The band have just announced the following extra date: 27/05/2003- Soundhaus, Northampton

Have you been watching the new Sky channel Scuzz? Seems like each week the selection numbers for videos change, so please be sure to check your choice on the Scuzz website before voting, else you might not get what you wanted! This week’s Roadrunner numbers are: Sinch ‘Something More’ #032 Stone Sour ‘Bother’ #037 Stone Sour ‘Get Inside’ #012 After 10 p.m. Slipknot ‘Wait & Bleed’ #002 Dry Kill Logic ‘Nightmare’ #003 Killswitch Engage ‘Fixation On The Darkness’ #004 Also, please note that all videos DO actually have 3 number selection codes. We’re received a few emails in about this, telling: “If you vote with a wrong number, the Sky system doesn’t seem to let you know you got it wrong, and then your call is wasted and you don’t get to see what you wanted!” Just so ya know…

Not one, but two CDs. We are talking about a special limited edition double CD version of the forthcoming Type O Negative album ‘Life Is Killing Me’. This special double CD will be released the same day, June 16th, as the single CD version but stores will only be able to order it on their initial stocking of the album! So once that runs out, that’s it. No more double CD. The tracklisting for the special bonus CD will be as follows: 1. “Out Of The Fire (Kane’s Theme)” Previously unreleased. 2. “Christian Woman (Butt-Kissing, Sell-Out Version)” Taken from the deleted “Christian Woman” single. 3. “Suspended In Dusk” Taken from the deleted “Bloody Kisses” digipak and the deleted “Christian Woman” single. 4. “Blood & Fire (Out Of The Ashes Mix)” Taken from the deleted “My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend” single and the Mortal Kombat soundtrack. 5. “Black Sabbath” Taken from the album Nativity In Black: A Tribute To Black Sabbath. 6. “Cinnamon Girl (Extended Depression Mix)” Taken from the deleted “Cinnamon Girl” single. 7. “Haunted” (Per Version) Previously unreleased.