Roadrunner Records Latest News

Trivium Reach 1 Million Facebook Fans, Give Away Guitar

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:09:00 GMT

Trivium recently surpassed 1 million Facebook fans, and they're giving back - giving away an Epiphone Les Paul Custom guitar, to be precise! The winner will be chosen at random, and you can enter at this link! Good luck!

Trivium are on tour right now in North America, supporting their latest album, In Waves; visit our tour page to find a show near you.

Killswitch Engage Announce New Singer: Jesse Leach

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:52:00 GMT

Killswitch Engage are pleased to announce that they have filled the singer vacancy in the band and they have done so with a familiar face: original vocalist Jesse Leach.

Leach sang on the band's first self-titled album, which came out in 2000, and on their landmark 2002 Roadrunner debut Alive or Just Breathing. He left the band in 2002, but his work on Alive or Just Breathing has always been revered by diehard, longtime KsE fans. Things have come full circle a decade later, and Leach and the band couldn't be more pleased about this reunion.

The band revealed that Leach auditioned for the job he once held and pretty much blew everyone away and then some. The band stated, "After much deliberation and careful consideration, we are pleased to announce that Jesse Leach has rejoined Killswitch Engage. Our job was to find the best person to fill Howard's shoes: a decision based on talent and not familiarity."

The band further said, "Truth be told, Jesse blew us away in auditions. The room seemed charged with electricity. He commanded both new and old material, and proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he wanted to do this. The choice became very clear and apparent."

The band also is psyched to share the news with fans, saying, "This change is very exciting. We know you're going to love it. This is truly a new era in KsE history and it is ready to shred your face off. So, please help us in welcoming Jesse back into the KsE family; he is a rare and great talent, a fact that older KsE fans have known for years. Here is to a killer new record and a bright future. The five of us cannot wait to write this record and play shows together and bring that feeling to our fans. It's been far too long."

The "new" guy himself also commented on his return to the band after a decade-long absence, saying, "It is a great honor to rejoin my brothers after all of these years. After some discussion and much reflection, it was obvious to me this was the path I was meant to take. We got together and jammed on the 'Howard-era' songs, as well as some Alive or Just Breathing-era songs and we all felt the synergy."

He continued, "I look forward to writing the new record, since the demos sound absolutely amazing, as well as breathing new life and getting comfortable with the soulful songs Howard has written. It is a new chapter of my life filled with new and exciting challenges. I will give all that I can to honor the position I have been given and take nothing for granted. I will sing every note with all of my soul. I am very blessed and very thankful to be back in the KsE family! All things happen in their due time and now is the time for this reunion and new direction."

KsE remain hard at work on their latest album, which follows 2009's second self-titled album.

The band will perform at the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest on April 22, 2012. Leach last performed with KsE in March 2010 in New York City, Clifford Park, NY, and Wallingford CT.

Tour dates are as follows:

4/22 Worcester, MA @ Palladium (New England Metal and Hardcore Festival)
6/1-6/3 Rock Am Ring/Rock Im Park
6/8 Nickelsdorf, Austria @ Pannonia Fields II (Nova Rock)
6/15 Copenhagen, Denmark (Copenhell)
6/16 Gothenburg, Sweden (Metaltown)
6/22 Milan, Italy @ Arena Fiera Milano (Gods Of Metal)
6/24 Dessel, Belgium @ Festival Park ‘Stenehel’ (Grasspop)

More tour dates will be announced shortly.

Soulfly's Max Cavalera Interviewed In Australia

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:03:00 GMT

Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera was recently interviewed by the Australian website MetalObsession.net when he was in Australia with his other band, Cavalera Conspiracy. He talked about the forthcoming Soulfly album Enslaved, how the new lineup came together, and more.

Says Cavalera, "This new Soulfly album, Enslaved, is its own thing. It's definitely a Soulfly record because all the trademarks are there, but it's probably the most extreme so far. I'm very proud of that. I specifically hand picked death metal orientated riffs and beats, because David Kinkade comes from a death metal school of drumming and he can play that stuff really well...I made those beats and those specific parts with David in mind, so the new Soulfly album could be the most extreme we have ever written. I mean, take "World Scum" for example. That's probably the most extreme song that I've ever done and I'm very happy that's the first single. It announces the record in a great way, it's so heavy and so brutal. It's like 'YES! We're back with a vengeance.'

Regarding the selection of new bassist Tony Campos and new drummer David Kinkade, he says, "Tony is a guy I was in contact with during a Static-X tour with Soulfly a couple of years ago. Tony used to come sing with us all the time doing backing vocals and he is a really cool guy. I saw Tony perform with Prong and I knew he was playing with Ministry as well. I thought he’d be a great bass player to have on the record and I approached him and asked if he’d like to be apart of the new Soulfly lineup and he loved the idea. From the beginning, he liked the idea of being in the band and accepted pretty much straight away...David was a little different. David came in contact with me via email. He said he was an extreme death metal drummer and played with a Norwegian black metal band called Borknagar. He sent me over some tracks and they sounded killer. Blast beats and stuff like that. At the time I thought I’d really like to try something really brutal for the new record. I originally had the idea to make an extreme kind of record, so I flew David to jam with me in Phoenix, Arizona. As soon as we started jamming we locked in perfectly. He played the double bass while I played a couple of the riffs and I thought we were on the same page. So perfect."

Read the whole thing!

You can pre-order Soulfly's Enslaved right now, and if you're one of the first 400, you can get a signed booklet and three digital bonus tracks!

Roadrunner Signs Storm Corrosion!

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:04:00 GMT

Roadrunner Records is pleased to announce the signing of Storm Corrosion.

Storm Corrosionis the long-discussed and highly anticipated collaboration between two of the modern progressive rock scene's most innovative and multi-talented artists: Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson and Mikael Åkerfeldt< of Opeth. The pair will release Storm Corrosion on April 24 via Roadrunner Records.

A little background information on the genesis of this project: Wilson and Åkerfeldt have been friends since the late '90s, when Wilson co-produced Opeth’s revered Blackwater Park album. Over the years, they’d often spoken of working on a project together, but it wasn’t until recently that they managed to make something happen, when Mikael flew over to visit Steven in the U.K. and they ended up in Wilson’s home studio throwing ideas around. That visit was the nascence of a whole self-titled album, written and produced by the pair, and mixed by Wilson.

The sound of Storm Corrosion can best be described as enchanting, orchestral, ambient, epic (half the album’s tracks clock in around the 10-minute mark) and nothing short of surprising to the new ear. However, the musicians’ respective fanbases will be primed to appreciate the new output, with Wilson’s recent solo album, Grace for Drowning, and Opeth’s Heritage having brought them to a logical place to understand Storm Corrosion. This eponymous collection is almost viewed as one side of a musical triangle.

Says Wilson, “If you'd asked me three months ago about the music, I would have said, 'Expect the last thing you would expect.' But actually, now that Heritage and Grace for Drowning have come out, I don't think it's going to be that much of a shock to people, because it's almost like a third part of the trilogy, in a way. If anything, it's even more orchestral, even more stripped down, even more dark, twisted and melancholic…but it certainly feels like it comes from the same place as Heritage and Grace for Drowning, which indeed it does because it was written during the same period.”

“Some of the music on this record I think is the most beautiful music I have participated in ever,” adds Åkerfeldt. “There's some magical sections on there. Musically I think we've created something earthy, a bit frightening, exhausting, profound and rather intense. All at the same time. I can safely say I don't know any other band or artist that sounds anything like Storm Corrosion. I guess that was also one of our goals, so to speak.”

Roadrunner Senior VP of A&R Monte Conner welcomed Storm Corrosion to the Roadrunner family, commenting, “I am honored to have the Roadrunner logo on the Storm Corrosionalbum. Steven Wilson and Mikael Åkerfeldt have demonstrated time and time again that they are two of the truest and most important artists working today, and it is not often that I get to work with musicians of this caliber. This album is a beautiful piece of work that will appeal to fans of Steven and Mikael’s past records, while at the same time exploring new avenues for both artists."

Killswitch Engage

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:10:00 GMT

http://killswitchengage.com/

Dream Theater's John Petrucci Featured In Guitar Player Magazine

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:02:00 GMT

Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci is featured on the cover of the February 2012 issue of Guitar Player magazine. The lengthy feature includes an extended interview with Petrucci about technique, the band's new album A Dramatic Turn of Events, production, and much more. It's also accompanied by a transcription of a section of the song "Outcry," from the new album, and a sidebar in which Petrucci answers questions posed by students from the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles.

Here's another recent interview with John, recorded by GuitarTV back in September:

Photos: Megadeth Live In NYC

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:53:00 GMT

Megadeth brought the 2012 iteration of Gigantour to New York on January 28, and our photographer was there! Check out this exclusive gallery of images now!

Gigantour continues to roll across North America; visit our tour page to find a show near you!

Rob Zombie Paints Cover For John 5's New Solo CD

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:23:00 GMT

Rob Zombie has painted the cover for guitarist John 5's latest solo CD, God Told Me To, which will be released April 10 (not on Roadrunner). The CD is all-instrumental, half-acoustic and half-heavy, and includes a cover of Michael Jackson's "Beat It."

Here's some footage from 2009 of John and the rest of Rob's band rehearsing for the Hellbilly Deluxe 2 tour:

Korn Performs On Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:55:00 GMT

Korn performed two songs last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live! During the show itself, they played "Narcissistic Cannibal" with Kill the Noise as special guests, and at the end, they played "Get Up!" Video of both songs is below.

Here's "Narcissistic Cannibal":

And here's "Get Up!"

Korn will be launching a nine-date US tour in support of their latest album, The Path of Totality, later this month; visit our tour page to find a show near you!

Korn To Play Jimmy Kimmel Live Tonight!

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:25:00 GMT

Korn will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight, Feb. 2. Tune into your local ABC affiliate to enjoy the band’s performance of “Narcissistic Cannibal” after 12 midnight. They will be joined by very special guest Kill the Noise.

Young The Giant In Paste

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:05:00 GMT

Young the Giant frontman Sameer Gadhia was interviewed by Paste recently, and discussed the band's upcoming tour, new songs, and more.

Fans will be pleasantly surprised at what they get from the band on its upcoming tour. Says Gadhia, "I’m looking forward to playing new material. We’ve been writing a lot and trying to change up the set list. It’s our first time doing a full hour and 30 minutes every night. Some of the nights we’re doing two nights in a row in the same city…so it’ll be challenging for ourselves to do this."

He also offers some hints as to what the band's second album (yet to be recorded) might sound like, saying, "We don’t want to betray that we’re a band and incorporate too many keyboards and [other instruments] that get us lost, but at the same time I think the material is going to diversify; it’s going to be kind of far reaching."

Read the whole thing!

Young the Giant's tour begins next week; visit our tour page to find a show near you!

Dave Mustaine Interviewed Backstage In NYC

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:22:00 GMT

When Megadeth came through New York with the 2012 edition of Gigantour this past Saturday, January 28, we sat down with Dave Mustaine for an exclusive interview. In the clip below, he discusses whether he still gets nervous on the first night of a tour, how set lists come together, the band's pre-show preparations, and much more. Enjoy!

Megadeth are on the road in North America right now; visit our tour page to find a show near you!

DragonForce To Release The Power Within April 17

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

London-based metal superstars DragonForce will release their fifth studio album, The Power Within, on April 17. The 10-track, highly varied disc (cover below) marks the band's first release with new singer Marc Hudson.

Says guitarist Herman Li, "The last two years have been the most fun we ever had making an album. Through writing, jamming and touring together, we have built this incredible energy and it has been fully captured on the new album.

"This time around we’ve really brought our metal side to the surface and made some of the best music of our career. From the fastest song we’ve ever recorded to the slower songs, and some things you would never expect from us, this is by far the most diverse DragonForce album yet."

The full tracklisting for The Power Within is as follows:
1. Holding On
2. Fallen World
3. Cry Thunder
4. Give Me the Night
5. Wings of Liberty
6. Seasons
7. Heart of the Storm
8. Die By the Sword
9. Last Man Stands
10. Seasons (Acoustic Version)

There will also be a digital-only special edition featuring the bonus tracks “Cry Thunder (Live Rehearsal)," "Heart of the Storm (Alternative Chorus Version)" and "Avant La Tempête (Instrumental)."

Roadrunner Artists Kick Ass In Guitar World's Readers Poll!

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:05:00 GMT

The March 2012 issue of Guitar World includes the results of their 2011 Readers Poll, and Roadrunner artists were extremely well represented. Here's the rundown:

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine and Chris Broderick won Best Metal Guitarists, with Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt and Fredrik Åkesson coming in third;

Dream Theater's John Petrucci came in second in the Best Shredder category, with Rob Zombie's guitarist, John 5, coming in fifth;

Megadeth's TH1RT3EN won Best Metal Album, and Dream Theater's A Dramatic Turn of Events came in third;

John Petrucci also took second in the Most Valuable Player category, with Dave Mustaine right behind him;

Kenny Wayne Shepherd was voted the #3 Best Blues Guitarist;

Rush's Alex Lifeson was the #5 vote-getter for the Guitar World Hall of Fame;

and the magazine's November 2011 "Big Four" issue, which featured Dave Mustaine alongside members of Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, was voted Favorite Guitar World Cover!

Congratulations to all!

Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt Interviewed In Canada

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt was interviewed by the Canadian site WatchMojo.com when the band was last up there on tour. It's an interesting conversation, in which Mikael gives a capsule history of Opeth, talks about the idea that not every band labeled "progressive" is truly deserving of the label, and much more. You'll also learn why you should never ask to borrow his iPhone!

Opeth will be on tour with Mastodon and Ghost beginning in April; visit our tour page to find a show near you!

Machine Head's Robb Flynn Interviewed In Buffalo

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:52:00 GMT

Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn was interviewed by Rick Horton and Randy Smith of the upstate New York radio station WEOX when the band played Buffalo, NY on January 29. It's a long interview - almost a half hour - and well worth your attention. He talks about the band's back catalog, previous members, and much more. The footage is ridiculously dark, so just treat it like a radio interview. Enjoy!

Machine Head are on the road right now in support of their latest album, Unto the Locust; visit our tour page to find a show near you!

Corey Taylor Talks About Working With Dave Grohl

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:42:00 GMT

Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor recently went into the recording studio with Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen. It's all part of a documentary revolving around the board from Sound City Studios, where Grohl recorded Nevermind with Nirvana, and Slipknot recorded Iowa. Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini of Ratt also recorded with Grohl for the same project, which has no title or release date at this time.

Here's a video of Taylor talking about it:

Pre-Sale For Opeth Tickets Starts Today!

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:23:00 GMT

The Heritage Hunter Tour, featuring Opeth, Mastodon and Ghost, is going to be one of the best shows of the year, without question, and if you miss your chance to see it, you're going to regret it. So if you want to be first in line for tickets, here's your chance!

Opeth’s fan presale for the Heritage Hunter Tour begins today at 3 PM EST. Click here to get your tickets before they’re gone! See you there!

Roadrunner Artists Locking Down Festival Shows!

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:13:00 GMT

The spring and summer are when major rock and metal festivals can be found all across America and Europe, and some of Roadrunner's biggest artists are going to be playing them! We've already told you that Slipknot will be headlining the 2012 Mayhem Festival tour, and now two more major shows - one in the US and one in the UK - have been announced as well!

From May 18-20, the Rock on the Range festival will take over Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, and among the bands on the bill will be Megadeth, Trivium, Rob Zombie and Black Stone Cherry.

The following month, from June 8-10, the Download Festival will be held in Donington Park in England, and the bill there will include Megadeth, Trivium, Machine Head and DevilDriver.

Start making your travel plans now!

Neil Peart Pays Tribute To Rush's Official Photographer

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:46:00 GMT

Rush drummer Neil Peart has posted a tribute to the band's longtime photographer, Andrew MacNaughtan, who died suddenly on January 25. It reads, in part:

"From our first meeting in 1985 until his tragic and unexpected passing (the day after what we never suspected would be our last photo shoot together), Andrew and I shared a lot of history, from the best to the worst. With Rush, we had toured together all over North America, South America, and Europe, and Andrew and I also spent a lot of 'family time' in our various homes in Toronto and Los Angeles, at the MacNaughtan cottage on Georgian Bay, and at ours in Quebec. Andrew’s path first crossed mine when we both lived in Toronto, and continued when we both lived in Los Angeles—in my case, entirely because of Andrew.

"But to begin at the beginning...

"Andrew’s photographs first caught my eye in 1985, when I was assembling material for the tourbook to accompany Rush’s Power Windows tour. At that time the band didn’t employ any exclusive photographers, so Pegi Cecconi at our office sent me a big pile of submissions from numerous people—mainly plastic pages of slides, in those days.

"Andrew’s live shots really stood out from the rest; they were more vivid, somehow—highlighting both the drama of the rock stage and the personalities of the players. That was an unusual quality, and I chose several of his images for the book.

"In later years, Andrew became the band’s near-exclusive photographer, in concert, formal portraits, and documenting our rehearsals and recording sessions. He even served (suffered) as our personal assistant for two tours, Presto and Roll the Bones. As other assistants we have employed over the years would agree—were they not bound by strict confidentiality agreements—it was not a glamorous or easy job.

"Throughout that turbulent time, all of us remained friends. Though Andrew was something of a self-confessed neurotic, he had a terrific sense of humor, and like me, he could laugh himself into helplessness—especially over the antics of Alex, who Geddy and I have long described as 'the funniest man in the world.'"

Read the whole thing.