Not content with playing only a couple of headline shows last month, OPEN HAND have lined up another 7 before their Download Festival appearance on June 11th. So if you missed their atmospheric rock n’ roll stylings before, now’s your chance! Friday 3 June퉌æ- Wolverhampton Little Civic Sunday 5 June – Stoke Sugarmill Monday 6 June – Manchester Roadhouse Tuesday 7 June – Glasgow Cathouse Wednesday 8 June – Nottingham Rock City Thursday 9 June – Leeds Cockpit 퉌æ For the eagle-eyed amongst you, do note a special London show will be confirmed next week. 퉌æ Tickets are priced 퉌£7 for all shows.

In yesterdays installment of our ROADRAGE TOUR UPDATE we were lead to believe that the wildest crowd in the UK was Manchester, but i’m afraid to say, I think Cardiff may have done it again… But hey, why not send in your Roadrage pics and we can all see for ourselves… DAY 6 – FRIDAY 6th – DAY “Glasgow was off the chart! There were insane numbers of crowd surfers last night I swear!”. Remarks Trivium frontman in the aftermath of King Tuts A throbbing King Tutts greeted their metal cousins from Florida, Michigan and Vancouver with open arms, shots and, erm, lip biting! Last night saw a sold out Cardiff Barfly, who really were not expecting such a rabid response to the evenings performers. Still Remains took the stage and threw themselves into a roaring performance. The crowd went so wild, after their set we were warned by security that if the crowd continued to push the monitors front of stage forward so much the show would be pulled! Enter 3 Inches complete with Tour Manager Martin constantly having to ensure the gear on stage didn’t move! A hard job when there is a packed Barfly going insane on the other side of them!! By the time Trivium come on stage its apparent there would be a riot if the show were pulled and so security link arms and form a human barrier front of stage. Kids are being pushed back constantly, prompting Matt to plead with them to leave people alone, “they are being pushed by the pit. It’s not their fault! Leave them be! People! This is a show of love not show of hate! Let’s all move back and have some fun!” After the show I buy some of the guys a drink or two and we chat about the shows so far. “We’re loving it over here.” says Still Remains front man TJ, “the kids over here are the best! Just so insane and really into their metal! It’s awesome!” At midnight, the guys finish off loading their gear into their bus and we say our goodbyes as they prepare to head off to catch their ferry into Europe to play some festivals. They return to the UK on the 10th to finish their UK run, starting in Leeds. SPECIAL THANKS On the road reporters Sami Westwood & Kirsten Lane REMEMBER Although the tickets are moving fast there are still a few available, so CLICK HERE to order your ticket online.

Around The World In 80 Raves, featuring the Arse of Murderdolls Bassist “ERIC GRIFFIN” It’s 11pm on election night, and ROADRUNNER employee The Sprinkster strives for some televisional entertainment that doesn’t envolve Peter Snow in a 50 ft virtual Swingometer. At around 11.05 (she’s very fast with the remote control) shes stumbles upon Around The World In 80 Raves, a documentary following six men and women from Leicester on an 80 day international bender. You can imagine her surprise though as the girls end up at a house party with Murderdolls Bassist, Eric Griffin. If this wasn’t enough excitement, the shows finale shows a “fully naked eric” (I’m sure that goes against ITC standards), skinny dipping. Stay tuned for some for video and photographic evidence.

The London show will now be held at The London Mean Fiddler As I’m sure your all aware ROADRAGE MANIA is taking over. Over the last couple of days some of you may have been lucky to witness it. “Oh my god this shit is beyond words” – Matt (Singer of Trivium). If not, then what are you doing? Don’t worry it’s not too late there are still a few places left, and due to the massive demand the London show has been moved up to the Mean Fiddler. So more tickets will be available from today!!! DAY 4 – WEDNESDAY 4th – DAY Roadrunner staff who went to the gig last night (Manchester), are still buzzing “I haven’t been to a gig that good for months”, It seems the gig was something to behold… “Last night was one of the best gigs we’ve ever played” remarks Trivium frontman, Matt Heafy. “The kids were going metal, they were crowd surfing, stage driving, the works man”. And of course Matt had to get involved! Now fashioning bloody Lips, bruises and cuts, the singer seems satisfied that he gave as much as the crowd. The band even threw in some classic covers, including early Metallica, but i’ll leave those surprises to the shows. One would think that all the hype around Trivium would have gone to their heads, but nothing could be further from the truth. “We are truly appreciative to the UK fans for showing their support”. All i can advise is that even you haven’t seen this first hand, go out and get your ticket today. As previously mentioned the London Date has been moved up already due to the massive demand. So to avoid disappointment book your tickets as soon as possible. In the ironic words of Matt Heafy “this shit is beyond words”. SPECIAL THANKS On the road reporters Sami Westwood & Kirsten Lane REMEMBER Although the tickets are moving fast there are still a few available, so CLICK HERE to order your ticket online.

The London show will now be held at The London Mean Fiddler As I’m sure your all aware ROADRAGE MANIA is taking over. Over the last couple of days some of you may have been lucky to witness it. “Oh my god this shit is beyond words” – Matt (Singer of Trivium). If not, then what are you doing? Don’t worry it’s not too late there are still a few places left, and due to the massive demand the London show has been moved up to the Mean Fiddler. So more tickets will be available from today!!! The remaining dates are as follows: 05/05 – CARDIFF Barfly GET TICKETS 10/05 – LEEDS Cockpit – GET TICKETS 11/05 – NOTTINGHAM Rock City – GET TICKETS 12/05 – STOKE Sugarmill GET TICKETS 13/05 – OXFORD Zodiac GET TICKETS 14/05 – BRIGHTON Concorde 2 GET TICKETS 15/05 – COLCHESTER Arts Centre GET TICKETS 17/05 – PORTSMOUTH Wedgewood Rooms GET TICKETS 18/05 – LONDON MEAN FIDDLER GET TICKETS

ROADRUNNER claimed victory in this years Revolver magazine Annual Readers Poll. Slipknot cleaned up receiving the #1 slots for BEST BAND, BEST ALBUM (Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)), BEST SONG (“Duality”), and BEST LIVE ACT. Also under the BEST SONG category was Slipknot with “Vermilion, Pt. 2” at #3 and Killswitch Engage with “Rose Of Sharyn” at #4. DevilDriver clocked in at #3 for BEST NEW BAND and at #5 for MOST UNDERRATED BAND. Keepin’ it real, Chimaira was voted the 4th MOST UNDERRATED BAND, and received a duly deserved spot on the BEST BAND DVD list, #2 with The Dehumanizing Process. Ill Nino’s Live From The Eye Of The Storm DVD was #3. FULL ROADRUNNER STANDINGS -Best Band = Slipknot -Best Album = Slipknot for ‘Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses’ -Best Song = ‘Duality from ‘Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses’ -Best Live Act = Slipknot Runners up in the Best Song category were: -#3 Slipknot ‘Vermilion Pt II’ -#4 Killswitch Engage ‘Rose Of Sharyn’ Runners up in the Most Underrated Band category were: -#4 Chimaira -#5 DevilDriver Runners up in the Best New Band category were: -#3 DevilDriver

According to a posting at Blabbermouth, New York hardcore legends Most Precious Blood are in the studio recording what will be their third full-length release for Trustkill Records. The album’s tentative title, “Merciless”, encompasses both the lyrical themes and music found on this new release. “The songs are a culmination of years and years of life experience: Betrayal, loss, grief, abandonment but forever trudging on in the face of immortal adversity. Life is merciless as are all the new songs,” says guitarist Justin Brannan. Though it promises to be the most punishing Most Precious Blood release yet, the band has also expanded their musical repertoire to include orchestral and electronic sounds. The band, who produced this album themselves along with Dean Balutonis, plans to follow up the recording of the new album with a tour across the UK with Napalm Death and Diecast. Most Precious Blood’s mix of aggressive riffs and scathing social commentary have been an integral part of the hardcore scene, particularly New York hardcore, following in the footsteps of forbears like Agnostic Front and Sick Of It All, who they have toured and are good friends with. The band has always been adamant about bringing the message with hardcore. Working with PETA and the ASPCA, distributing literature, speaking out and generally living by the hardcore philosophy, the members of Most Precious Blood remain true to their roots and have not been afraid to court controversy for their beliefs. The cover of their last album, “Our Lady of Annihilation”, was released to furor from retailers everywhere who refused to stock the album which featured the Lady Madonna with a bomb strapped to her chest. “The ferocity of the songs on this album will cause the controversy this time,” Brannan says. “We’ve never been afraid to try new things and we’re not going to stop now, but we know what’s what and this will be a bonafide Most Precious Blood hardcore album – more pissed off than ever before and 100 percent justified.” Most Precious Blood are playing the following dates with Napalm Death and Diecast 31st May – Exeter, Phoenix 1st June – Bristol, Beer Keller 2nd June – Swindon, Furnace 3rd June – Edinburgh, Studio 24 4th June – Sheffield, club Zero 5th June – Milton Keynes, Pitz 17th July – London, Koko 18th July – Birmingham, Acadamy 2

As I’m sure you are ALL aware ROADRAGE is here. The tour that has brought you the likes of Chimaira, Ill Nino & Spineshank now brings you Trivium, Still Remains, and 3 Inches Of Blood. DAY 1 – SUNDAY 1st – DAY It’s always a bit daunting when you meet a group of people for the first time. Normally though when it comes to working with new bands, you are talking about meeting about 6 band members and two crew. Not so on Sunday in Wolverhampton! 16 band members and 4 crew!!. However, 20 introductions later, and everyone’s happy. Only 3 Inches of Blood have toured the UK before, so a trip with a selection of people from all 3 bands for smokes and booze is more of an event than you might think- “we just went to the UK version of Walmart! How cool was that?!!” All three bands took time out to meet the RR UK Street Team, and needed to be physically pulled away to get them ready for the show!! DAY 1 – SUNDAY 1st – EVENING Trivium are up first, opening the show the way they open Ascendancy – walking on to the the dulcet tones of The End of Everything and leading into the Crushing Rain. The Wolves crowd seem to know all the words and the band are overwhelmed, commenting after that “the crowd were way louder than any in the States”. Next up were Still Remains. Playing a day before the release of Of Love and Lunacy, they are the guys with the most to prove. Tight as fuck, they break into To Live and Die by Fire and its obvious from the off the guys put more energy into their show than Power Gen can ever muster, with Zach’s running head bangs being a sight to behold!! Tracks like Bliss, White Walls and The Worst Is Yet to Come sound immense live and coupled with such an amazing performance, the crowd show the guys they were glad they stick around to see the new skids on the block with a killer pit! Last up are 3 Inches of Blood. What can you say about 3 Inches? Well, I don’t think Judas Priest were this metal when I saw them last month! Cam has the single most amazing voice you can ever imagine. At points the dude goes so high I swear only dogs can hear him! Matt on drums beats the living crap out of his kit grinning like a loon and Brian on bass in quite frankly a man possessed! Axis of Evil, Destroy the Orks and Premonition of Pain are all included in the set, and raise the roof. However, the best reception is reserved for closer Deadly Sinners, and an axe being held aloft in the middle of a throbbing crowd sums up the set perfectly! Post show, vodka and JD flow, and some go hang out in a club (did you know they don’t have rock clubs in the US?) and then its off to introduce them all to kebabs before the bus leaves for Liverpool. DAY 2 – MONDAY 2nd – DAY Upon arrival in the ‘pool, we find the venue closed and as its a wee bit stormy we shelter in the porch. Brian from 3 Inches keeps is entertained customising a t shirt and using the sleeves as a dapper head band (Don’t worry there is photographic evidence of this and it will be up soon). DAY 2 – MONDAY 2nd – EVENING First up tonight are 3IOB, and tonight they own the crowd! In fact post show the guys are bought a ton of drinks in the bar by a very happy crowd! Trivium follow and again are greeted by fists thrown in unison and voices united in song, prompting Matt at one point to put down his guitar, grab the mike and share vocal responsibilities with people on the front row! Closing the show on this, their album release day are Still Remains. Still high from having people coming up to them all day to get their copies of their album signed (‘this is so awesome-people in the UK are buying our record!!!”) they throw their all into it and give yet another ass ripping performance! After the show, I am introduced to “shotgunning” beer by Cam (3IOB) whereby you puncture a hole in the bottom of the can which you wrap your laughing gear around before pulling the ring pull. Not advised unless you are able to swallow at a supremely fast rate! Whoever said Canadians were the quiet ones?! DAY 3 – TUESDAY 3rd – DAY Day three and the bands hit Manchester. Despite the drinking/partying the bands feel rested and ready to pull out their best. “It’s great over here having a tour bus and all, we’ve all got somewhere to sleep. On the states tour we were sharing driving duties, it was a real pain.” says Cam (3IOB) “The crowds over here are much more enthusiastic and supportive of the music, which is great”. The bands truly feel honored to play to such a great audience. “Although it’s early days, we’re all so happy to be here” SPECIAL THANKS On the road reporters Sami Westwood & Kirsten Lane REMEMBER Although the tickets are moving fast there are still a few available, so CLICK HERE to order your ticket online.

According to a posting at Blabbermouth, the New FEAR FACTORY is to be entitled TRANGRESSION and will be produced by Toby Wright (Alice In Chains, Korn, Soulfly etc), “We are all very, very excited about the collaboration with Toby,” says singer Burton C. Bell. In addition to Toby Wright, there will be a list of guest musicians collaborating on ‘Transgression’, including bass player Billy Gould of Faith No More fame. Burton explains, “Billy brings a different vibe to the music the way his bass lines move around the beat and drive the songs with a unique element.” Billy will contribute to two songs: ‘Echo of My Scream’ and ‘Super Nova’. Other working titles for ‘Transgression’ include ‘New Promise’ (co-written with Mark Morton of Lamb Of God), ‘Empire’, and ‘540,000 Degrees Fahrenheit’. “It’s really cool to be writing a new record,” says Burton. “We are all feeling very positive and it’s moving quickly since we have overcome some major obstacles. Now we can work on a fucking great album. 2005 is the year of ‘Transgression’ for Fear Factory!”

Looking back in RR history, what releases came out this week? Let’s have a look: Defiance – Beyond Recognition (05/05/92) Controlled Bleeding – Penetration (05/05/92) Bennet – Super Natural (05/06/97) Both Worlds – Memory Rendered Visible (05/05/98) Speaking of Both Worlds, Did You Know? Both Worlds frontman John Joseph organized a charity concert called HARDCORE FOR HUNGER back in 1998, which took place at the now-defunct NYC venue known as Tramps (which has since been turned into a techno club). The show benefitted the Krishna Soup-Kitchen in which Joseph volunteered. Tons of bands from the scene were on the bill (and backstage for the hang) – among them CIV, Sick Of It All, Madball, Throwdown, Both Worlds and a highly-anticipated Cro-Mags reunion. Even MTV News covered the event. The whole hardcore community showed…pure chaos, of course. True, true, and true. That being said, be sure to check out our Roadrunner Records 25 page for recaps on the classic releases from 1996 and 1997 (which have just been added)…releases from Sepultura, Type O Negative, and Coal Chamber. Enjoy.