On November 9, 2002 in Melkweg, Amsterdam, Max Cavalera made a spoken word appearance at the Crossing Border festival, widely known as one of the largest spoken word festivals in Europe in combination with music, literature, and film. Did you know? Max was also a guest there back in 1997. Festival goers were treated to approximately 30 minutes of Max talking about his life.. and you can listen to it via real audio HERE.

The latest update from the world of Spineshank by Tommy Decker: The SpineShank curse is back!!!! We had a string of bad luck this week…First of all, everybody has been sick. I was sick for about 2 weeks, and Mike, Rob, Gggarth, and Chris have all been sick. Jonny is sick now, so he had to take a week off from singing. To top that off we had these crazy winds that Southern California is famous for called “Santa Ana winds” the other day and all the power on the whole block was knocked out for over a day…and when the power came back on, all the computers crashed Needless to say, it has been a frustrating week, but things are going smoothly again. The songs are coming out great, some of the titles are: “Consumed (Obsessive Compulsive),” which is a really cool heavy song with a shit load of dynamics. It’s a little bit different from some of our other stuff, but it is an awesome song. “Violent Mood Swings” is my favorite song on the record (I think)…this song is gonna open the record because it just kicks your ass from the second it starts. We were going to name the record after this song, but decided against it. Then there’s “Beginning Of The End” which is a really dark and catchy song. This one will hopefully be a single, I think it’s the catchiest song we’ve ever written. “Smothered” is another catchy song, really straight forward and cool, should be a good live song. One song that actually surprised everyone is “Dead To Me.” It came out way better than we had hoped – it’s a really pissed off and fast song, this will definitely be in the live set. So that’s pretty much it for now, the never ending record is finally getting close to being finished!! I’ll keep you updated on anything new that happens. – TOMMY

Nickelback. Silver Side Up. Not got it yet? Want to buy it for a Christmas present? Get yourself down to HMV because at the moment you can pick it up for 퉌£12.99 or in their “2 for 퉌£22” special offer!

A few quick dates for you… Stone Sour are currently scheduled to shoot the new video for ‘Inhale’ on January 14th. Early March will see the release of the UK single for ‘Bother’. The band hit the UK for a slew of tour dates from February 9th… and tickets are on sale now.

Did you know? There’s a hidden photo gallery somewhere on ‘Disasterpieces’, the Slipknot DVD out now. Will we tell you where it is? No… because if you can find it you can win one of several signed Slipknot prizes in our FREE SHIT section. Happy hunting.

Did you manage to catch a show of either Ill Nino or the Murderdolls recently? We took a digital video camera to the London shows for each band and made ourselves some memories. Hit up the VIDEO section to see 2 live video clips from each band, exclusive to RR UK. Enjoy.

Brighton on Wednesday marked the last show on the European Roadrage 2002 tour with Killswitch Engage, 36 Crazyfists, and Five Pointe O. And the last show was a riot, let us tell you. It’s common knowledge that often on the last show of a tour, pranks are pulled. And the Roadrage tour was no exception. It was during the KsE set that things started getting playful. There was a brief interlude involving some very sweaty clothes from Thomas of 36CF being draped over Howard of KsE mid-song. (Howard retaliated by giving away the clothes to a lucky(?) member of the audience.) Tom on drums for KsE was constantly squirted with water by Thomas, drums for 36CF. All credit to him, he didn’t miss a beat. Various members of 36CF and Five Pointe stage-invaded more than once, trotting around the performing KsE like they were on horseback! Scottish tour manager Martin even came dressed for the occasion in a rather splendid kilt. It all came to a head during the 2-song encore, when nigh on all 36CF and FPO band members, label staff, crew, and even present journalists started a toilet paper war, throwing at least 30 rolls around the stage and into the crowd. Of course, KsE, the eternal professionals, played on mummified in toilet paper… and we’ll have all the photos here next week for you to laugh over. Show over, with bus call not until 5am, all the toilet paper cleared up, equipment packed away, there was norhing left to do but hang out with some fans, and celebrate stage manager’s Jeff’s birthday and going home! Spoke today to Brock from 36CF and Tom from KsE… both now back at home in the USA, appreciating home comforts and a real bed. What’s the very latest? Tom: “I just woke up and it’s snowing out. There was already like 6 inches when we landed yesterday! The tour as a whole was better than I expected but my favorite part was probably the last night. It was just fun trashing everything and getting water shot in my face!” Brock: “You guys were great no lie… it’s been a really amazing time! I’ll never forget it all my life. We really appreciate you guys. I’m here in Oregon for 4 days then off to Anchorage for a month for Christmas and New Years. I’m gonna do nothing, just hang out and party with my best friends and family.”

If you are were planning to go see the Murderdolls in London on December 7th at the Mean Fiddler, please note that due to public demand, the show has been moved to the Kentish Town Forum.

So next Monday December 2nd, turn your TV channel over to Kerrang! TV because it’s officially Slipknot Week. All next week you’ll be able to watch the videos for Wait & Bleed, My Plague, Wait & Bleed (animated version), Left Behind, and The Heretic Anthem (live). You might even catch Spit It Out in the Banned section. Not only that, during the week, you’ll have the chance to win a brand new DVD player, as well as all the DVDs that Roadrunner have ever released, and a personalised Slipknot double gold disc for ‘Slipknot’ and ‘Iowa’! Just keep watching K! TV for all the competition details. Here’s the selection numbers for you: Slipknot : (Daytime): 489 – ‘Heretic Anthem’ 458 – Left Behind 488 – My Plague 459 – Wait & Bleed Animated Version Slipknot Banned: 908 – Spit It Out 909 – Left Behind Others: 482 – Nickelback ‘How You Remind Me’ 461 – 36 Crazyfists 471 – Five Pointe O 476 – Killswitch Engage 481 – Murderdolls ‘Dead In Hollywood’

Chimaira have been busy in the studio working on their new album, ‘The Impossibility Of Reason’, which is tentatively set for release in April 2003. So you can stay up to date with the Chimaira camp during the whole creative process, they’ve completely redone their official website to include studio photos, a diary, and even video clips! Check it out at www.Chimaira.com.