Well, it’s time to start getting more into the world of Trivium…really getting to know the band that is really gonna rock your metal world with the release of their Roadrunner debut next year. For this exercise, check out the latest video installment at MetalInjection.net. In this latest piece you’ll see Trivium at the RR holiday party (as well as Amy from RR US metal radio promotions), see Trivium at Generation Records in NYC, hear Trivium speak intelligently on sexual slang and message board bashers, and even see Jasmin St Claire. It’s true. Time to start getting more into the world of Trivium. What more could you ask for this Holiday season? Check out the new episode of Metal Injection HERE. Trivium Ascendancy coming March 2005

Have you read the recent answers from Cam from 3 Inches Of Blood in the Ask The Artist section yet? He’s just sent over a few more… Jon asks: What kind of warmups do you do before a show? A cold bottle of water is good. I just gargle it like mouthwash and it loosens up the phlegm. Jason asks: Why 2 singers? Saw you guys perform in Des Moines with Metal Church, one of the best shows I have seen in a long time. Keep Rocking! No reason really. It was just something everyone wanted to try out when they asked me to join the band. No one had any expectations of what it would sound like. James asks: How in the name of all that is holy do you manage to hit those high notes, and do you have any special tricks for beginning vocalists? I’m no expert in the matter because I’ve never taken vocal lessons. I just sing along to my favorite albums and attempt to do what they’re doing. Gargling with cold water before a show helps me warm up. Edward asks: What’s your opinion on your “New Guard of Metal” contemporaries such as Vehemence and If Hope Dies? I don’t really have an opinion. I’m not too familiar with Vehemence. We’ve played with If Hope Dies and they’re a good band. Otherwise I’ve never heard the term “new guard of metal” before. Jake asks: As a musician, starting out, what advice can you give about writing your own music and getting it heard? Play shows in your home town fairly often for a while to build up your chops as a live band. Eventually you should aim for playing most of your shows out of town because ultimately it’s the fans in other cities that will appreciate you more than your home town will. Trent asks: My balls hurt…..why? Sounds like they need to be serviced. Don’t let it go untreated.

Machine Head frontman Robert Flynn recently posted a piece on MH’s message board remembering Dimebag Darrell. This incredibly detailed and well-written remembrance on Dimebag is as follows: I still can’t believe it. To say that Machine Head were devastated…there aren’t even words. We found out about this unbelievable event while in Zagreb, Serbia. The sports arena we were playing had no phone lines, no internet, virtually zero cell reception, no TV, no heat. We had nothing but patchy info for the next few days as we played more shows in Eastern Europe, and frustration started to boil. It was impossible to call anyone, check e-mail, anything. It’s only now that I’ve finally been able to sit down and read everything surrounding what happened. That night, we dedicated ‘Descend The Shades Of Night’ to Dimebag, a man who inspired us in so many ways. I lost it on stage. We all lost it on stage. It’s horrible. Things like this just don’t happen. Musicians don’t get KILLED on stage… while they’re PLAYING… what the fuck? What the fuck is wrong with people? Dimebag was one in a million. He was the Randy Rhoads, the Jimi Hendrix of our time. I’m not gonna try and make it look like Dime and I were best buddies, we weren’t… but I would certainly call him a friend. I met Dimebag for the first time on Ozzfest in ’97. He invited Logan and I into their dressing room, and I remember being so fuckin’ stoked to be hanging out in the Pantera dressing room, like I had made it into some cool guy club. I loved Pantera, and tried my hardest to mask my excitement…I didn’t do a very good job, ’cause Darrell kept coming up to me and saying “Damn dude, you look like you’re doin’ all right!”, and all I could muster in the moment was “…yeah”. He offered me a gazillion shots of whiskey that day, and over the next couple of months we hung out…not a lot, as I tried not to be a fan boy, but I couldn’t help it, they were fucking amazing. Eventually they asked us to support them on their headline run for Trendkill. It was here that we learned that it was okay to treat your support bands like equals – something we continue to practice to this day. That tour was one of the funnest, craziest, greatest god damned tours we have ever done, and none of us have, or will ever forget the opportunity, nor the experience. Like it was yesterday, I remember one night, Dimebag got wasted (as he sometimes did)…but I mean, WASTED! …and during Coal Chamber’s set, he grabs my backup guitar, goes out on stage and starts “air guitaring” with them during one of their songs. Coal Chamber looked around nervously and just kinda went with it… he then proceeded to smash my guitar down on the stage, completely shattering the neck. I thought to myself, “uh… okay, we’re sorta on next… what do I do?” Then I figured, “eh, fuck it, I’ll worry about it tomorrow”. After our set, we go out to watch Pantera. And let me just say, that to watch this man, who literally could not talk backstage, thinking all the while, “oh my GOD, this is gonna be a train wreck”… we all just stood there with our jaws on the floor as that motherfucker went out and played a perfectly fucking FLAWLESS show. Every rhythm, every lead… just NAILED it. It was in-fucking-human. So the next day I go up to him and say “Hey man, do you remember what you did to my guitar last night?” He’s like “Uh… refresh my memory”… so I say, “You… uh… smashed the neck in half”…to which he says “No shit dude?! I’ll take care of you, no problem, don’t worry!” He then had his tour manager give us TWICE as much money as it would cost to replace / repair the neck. And then a week later, while we’re ON STAGE in Chicago, he comes out, and brings both Logan and I brand new, top-of-the-line Dimebag Darrell signature guitars – these things were worth probably 2500 dollars each – and he whispers in my ear, “Sorry about the neck, Carjacker” (a nickname he had for me)… I mean, COME ON!? The next time we saw him, he played us some “just finished” mixes for the then-unreleased Reinventing The Steel record at he and Vinnie’s Club. We were all worshipping. We drank shitloads, and he even rocked on the vodka with us, rather than the whiskey, just ’cause he remembered that The Head like vodka. A week later I get a package at our hotel in Pittsburg… he had sent 4 one-liter bottles of expensive-ass Ketel One vodka, all the way from Texas, with a note that read “Carjacker, it was killer hanging out with you the other night. Remember, it’s Goddamn Electric! -Your brother Dime”. That’s the type of guy he was, such a giving person. 200 bucks worth of vodka? Bah, no problem. The last time I saw him was at Download / Donington this year. He told me he was “blown away” by our new record. “Record of the year” he kept saying. To hear him say that really meant a lot. I mean it REALLY meant a lot. To be honest, and this is just a hunch, but I think it was the first record of ours that he really liked. My impression was always that he thought our other records were…good. So he’s backstage warming up on my Black V after his guitar was rushed onstage, and he promises to send me more vodka for letting him “warm up”…to which I reply “Dude, don’t even think about it”. Right after Download I got to thinking about he and Vinnie, and I ended up faxing him a letter to wish him well with Damageplan, remind him that he’d better not be thinking about sending me bottles of vodka, and to tell him how much of an influence Pantera was on me / us, and in particular, his playing, his guitar tone, the lyrics about unity – everything – had been on Machine Head, especially early on. It was something I’d always wanted to say to him, and even though we had toured with them, twice even…for some reason I always clammed up, or got insecure about saying it when I was around him. Right before we went out on this last tour, he calls me up around midnight, I’m driving home at the time and happen to be awake. He tells me he has someone who wants to talk to me, so I say “Oh, yeah?”, and he puts me on the phone with this HUGE Machine Head fan…apparently the kid had walked into this Mexican restaurant, ran into Darrell, and during their conversation they both got to talking about how much they loved Through The Ashes…, and the kid says to Darrell, “Robert Flynn’s my idol, I’d do anything to meet him”. So Dime whips out his phone and says, “Let’s call him!”. So there I am, talking to this kid for like 15 minutes, mostly about how much we both love Pantera…soon afterward he puts Dimebag back on, and we talk for another half hour or so, mostly about the aforementioned letter. He told me that he was genuinely moved by it. In retrospect, I’m really glad I that I finally got to say those things to him. He had more of an effect on the four of us than he could possibly imagine. Some people consider it “un-metal” to be a giving person, but I tell you what, that guy right there was one of the most giving people that you could ever meet, and he was as Metal as it fuckin’ gets. To Nathan Bray, the courageous fan who jumped on stage to perform CPR on Darrell and died trying to save his life…you are a true hero, and your death is no less significant than Dime’s, nor were the lives of Erin “Stoney” Halk or Jeffrey “Mayhem” Thompson. To James Niggemeyer, the policeman that shot and killed that twisted freak that had the gall to call himself a “fan”, I commend you. You deserve a medal of honor. To Blabbermouth.net, and the people that post there, you have all never stood taller in my eyes. The wealth of information that has been brought forward by the editor, and the class with which it has been presented, is truly unprecedented. In addition, the level of respect and empathy shown to each other – and especially to the mother of Nathan Bray, who wrote that heart-wrenching letter – was sincerely admirable. To the politicians who are claiming that this is what Heavy Metal breeds. You don’t know what the hell you’re even talking about. And lastly, to the hatemongering son-of-a-bitch named William Grim, from conservative website The Iconoclast, who wrote the most disgraceful, classless article I’ve ever read entitled “AESTHETICS OF HATE: R.I.P. DIMEBAG ABBOTT, & GOOD RIDDANCE”. You WILL burn in hell! What would YOU know about love or values? What would YOU know about giving to the world? All that you know is teaching prejudice, and your heart is as black as the “ignorant, filthy, and hideously ugly, Heavy Metal fans” you try and paint in your twisted, fictitious ramblings. It’s because of people like YOU, that there are Nathan Gale’s in this world, NOT the Dimebags and Metal musicians who work to unite people through music. You just don’t get it. You say, “Americans should aspire to greatness”. Well, Dimebag was an American that did more than “aspire” to greatness. He was an American that “achieved” it. And you will NEVER know what it is to taste greatness William Grim. Because in order to achieve greatness, you must first believe in the greatness of people, no matter how “ugly” or “fat” or “stupid” they are, on the outside…and Dimebag did just that. Long live Dimebag Darrell in the hearts of us all. -Robert Flynn

DevilDriver has spent the last few months recording their sophomore release. John Boecklin, drummer, checks in from the studio with this update: “The drum and guitar tracks are all done. There are 2-3 songs left on bass. As for the vocal situation, 6 tracks are done for now, and Dez is going to come back in the New Year to finish them all up. We’re all leaving for Cali on Wednesday (22/12) for the holidays, and we will resume recording in the New Year. “On the schedule for today: – Play old school Nintendo games – Finish bass tracks – Enchiladas for lunch.” John

After their recent crowd-pleasing support slots on the mighty Slipknot & Slayer ‘Unholy Alliance’ tour, HATEBREED return to the UK for their own headline shows in 2005. With their critically acclaimed album, ‘The Rise Of Brutality’ on a few Christmas lists in the wake of that spectacle, Jamey Jasta and his crew will be reminding everyone just how good they are live and stirring up a few circle pits at the following venues Sat 5th Mar í¢ä‰åäóì Leeds Cockpit Sun 6th Mar í¢ä‰åäóì Sheffield Corporation Mon 7th Mar í¢ä‰åäóì Glasgow Garage Tue 8th Mar í¢ä‰åäóì Newcastle Northumbria Uni Wed 9th Mar í¢ä‰åäóì Manchester University MDH Thu 10th Mar í¢ä‰åäóì Dublin Wheelan’s Fri 11th Mar í¢ä‰åäóì Cork Nancy Spain’s Sun 13th Mar í¢ä‰åäóì London Mean Fiddler Mon 14th Mar í¢ä‰åäóì Oxford Zodiac Tue 15th Mar í¢ä‰åäóì Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms Tickets are on sale now from box offices and all usual online agents, priced 퉌£10 regionally and 퉌£12 in London.

Before the Fear Factory tour, we decided to give one of our teamers the chance to interview Burton C Bell for the website. Jane Hawkes was the lucky gal, and below you can read her comments on the experience and her interview! Over to Jane… “Arrived at the Academy on a freezing Friday afternoon to be greeted by Byron Stroud chattering with fans that had been stood outside for ages in the cold. I thought this was cool because so many bands ignore their fans these days but he seemed really friendly and down to earth. Same can be said for Burton who was charming and funny from start to finish, it was almost like talking to a mate! Was ushered into a bizarre cell like room to do the interview with what looked like a psychiatrist’s couch to sit on! I even got to see what the band munch on when on tour! Their rider contained amongst other things… Hint of Lime Doritos Copious amounts of Jaffa Cakes Wensleydale with cranberries Enough Tango and Coke to fill a swimming pool! Man those guys must work up a thirst!! I’d like to say thanks to all at the Fear Factory camp for being so nice! Cheers guys!” Interview with Burton. C. Bell 10.12.04 at Manchester Academy What was it like recording Archetype after everything that went on did you feel the whole Dino thing was able to reinvigorate FF? It was a challenge that we were faced with to continue, to take care of business basically so we could continue our career and make the world believe we were still Fear Factory. We were invigorated for many different reasons. Do you see it as learning experience? Trial by fire (laughs). I learned a lot about many different aspects of myself, Fear Factory and the music business. What does it feel like to still after all these years be regarded as groundbreakers of the scene? (Laughs). I take it with a grain of salt. For me, I was influenced by many other bands without which I wouldn’t have been inspired to do what I did in Fear Factory. I think what we did was completely by accident but a lot of times, great adventure comes from a mere accident. When people say we did that I’m like ‘yeah that’s cool’. It’s a good type of recognition. A lot of people ask me the question ‘Do I feel ripped off that a lot of other bands a getting bigger credit?’ Honestly, no I don’t feel ripped off. The fact that Fear Factory are able to influence young minds and inspire young artists to follow suit, to me that’s what art is about, to inspire other talented people. To me that’s better recognition than platinum records, it would be nice, (laughs) but the fact that I will always be with someone in their mind is the best reward. What made you guys decide to re-release Fear is the Mindkiller at this point in time? That was Roadrunner’s idea, they approached us. Of course, they own the masters so they can do whatever they want but they do ask us. They want to know what we think and they allow us to give some input. They wanted to re-master it and make it beefier so we were like ‘OK, lets hear it’ so they did it and it sounded great. They wanted to add a bit more to it with the EP that came out right after so it was worthwhile. It’s cool we have a lot of young fans that had never heard of Fear Factory until Archetype or even Digimortal. So this way, they are able to hear this first actual album by Fear Factory recorded in 1992, and to me that’s killer. In a recent poll of us Roadrunner Teamers, Raymond was voted as being one of the top drummers ever. What do you think he would say about that? (Laughs) He’d be like ‘Cool!’ He has his favourite drummers as well. Pete Sandoval from Morbid Angel is one of his favourites and he really likes the drummer from Panzer Christ right now too. Raymond likes all different types of drummers, not just metal drummers. ‘Back the Fuck Up’ saw you working with B-Real from Cypress Hill. What made you decide to work with him for the song? Fear Factory became good friends with the Cypress Hill camp, B-Real, Sen Dog, Muggs even Bobo. We basically had an extra song and we asked B if he’d be interested in throwing some words down and he was like ‘Yeah lets do it!’ So B-Real and I got together one day in the studio and just kind of went for it and we had a good time. There are some rap artists I like, I’m not really in to hip hop but I like rap, there was some really good rap back in the 80’s and early 90’s. Cypress Hill was definitely ground breaking, B-Real is a great MC. My favourite though is Chuck D from Public Enemy, he is the be all and end all of rappers. Not only did he have a great delivery but he had a great message, and to me that’s what rap is all about. In Kerrang *issue 1033* recently it said Demanufacture and Edgecrusher are 2 songs you should have in a play list of 666 songs. Do you feel they are your best two songs or would you have chosen differently? That’s cool. But I don’t know there’s a lot of different songsí¢ä‰åŒ_ Demanufacture is a good song, Edgecrusher is a good song. I like all of the songsí¢ä‰åŒ_ a lot of the songs I like a lot because they have a different feeling or different message or remind me of a different point in my life. I would pick Demanufacture, that’s a strong title. Edgecrusher I might not have picked. Off that album I might have picked maybeí¢ä‰åŒ_ Freedom or Fire that’s the bastard song on the record! (laughs) Demanufacture is one of those albums that will live for ever kind of like Reign in Blood. When you created this masterpiece did you expect it to have the impact it did? Absolutely not. We were just doing the music we were trying to convey artistically our feelings like ‘This is what we are going through’. It’s a really great description of that time in my life musically and lyrically. Which famous song do you wish you had written? (Laughs) Let me thinkí¢ä‰åŒ_ there’s so many! I’m trying to think of one that would make the most money! (laughs) I guess the first one that came to mind was ‘New Years Day’. What are your opinions of talent shows like Pop Idol? Do you feel these shows are killing music? It’s the same old crap that’s been going on for years on TV. Before American Idol there was Starsearch, before that was Amateur Night. It’s just y’know TV offers nothing new. Once in a while there’s great drama or whatever but usually it’s the same old stuff. People like things like American Idol though it’s entertaining to see the underdog trying to win. That’s what people like to see. Where do you stand on the issue of downloading? I’m kind of on the fence about it. As a fan of music, I love music and I will pay 99c to download a song. As an artist, I feel that my art should not be freeí¢ä‰åŒ_I want fans to realise that when they are downloading for free, they are taking from my mouth. If you want to support your favourite band why do you want to steal from them? Who has the most annoying habits on the road? (Laughs) ME! Well, I’ll start with my hygiene…I mean, it’s not like its bad or anything (laughs) but I rarely take showers, showers at venues scare me! I’ve often wondered what rock stars do when they are not workingí¢ä‰åŒ_ At home, I go to movies and concerts just like everyone else. I’m constantly working on music and I try and stay creative. I write, I walk around the city and I try and find inspiration on a daily basis. As an artist, I think it’s important to keep your eyes open and check out the world around you. Name an item of clothing that best resembles your character? My leather jacket, I’ve had it since high school. It’s black, it’s coarse, it’s a little aged and it’s got some spikes on it that give it a hard edge. It’s comfy and lived in. Y’know, I’ve had it for over 18 years and it still fits!! What are you doing for Christmas? Actually after this tour is over I’m staying in Europe. My girlfriend is flying out and we are staying in Paris for a few nights. Then we’re going to Nuremberg for a couple of days to check out the Christmas markets. Christmas Eve we’re spending in Paris and Christmas Day we fly from Paris to New Orleans for four days because my brother is getting married there on the 27th. Ok, finally, what’s next for Fear Factory? Well this will be the last tour for this album. Christian and Raymond have already started writing new music, so I guess the goal is to have a new record out by festival season!

Have you checked out the site for 4QRadio? Go HERE for the Metal Show and check out video interviews posted up with Fear Factory, Throwdown, Caliban, Hatebreed, Chimaira, and Machine Head!

During the Eastpak tour dates here, we hooked up one of our street teamers, Jade Chau, to put some questions to Walls Of Jericho. Here’s what Mike and Aaron had to say… 1. How has the Eastpak Resistance Tour been? Amazing. Its such an honour to have the chance to tour with bands that I grew up listening to. 2. When you heard that you were on the tour, what was your initial reaction? Fuck yeah! Sick Of It All every night!! 3. Do you have any crazy or fun(ny) stories which happened on this tour to share with your fans? I got the flu or something and was puking onstage in the middle of a song. It sucked but I think it’s funny now…! 4. You recently toured Europe and UK this summer, how does it feel to be back so soon? I love it here. Everyone seems very supportive and it’s much better to look at than the US! 5. For those who saw WOJ only a few months ago, can they expect anything new to your sets? I don’t know, maybe a few different songs but pretty much we just do our thing. 6. Do you prefer playing the festivals, or club shows? I like it all, but clubs just have the right atmosphere for the energy to take the show to some place I can’t explain. 7. How does touring in America compare with the UK & Europe? (many bands prefer touring the States) I just like being able to be in contact with my family and friends everyday. I miss them more when I’m over here. 8. You’ve toured America and Europe relentlessly over the past year, any other places you want to tour in the near future? We would love to go to South America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Iceland. We have very loose plans to get all of them covered very soon. 9. What bands do who you want to tour with? Sick Of It All, Hatebreed, Killswitch Engage, and probably many more I am sure I am forgetting! 10. What should new fans generally expect from a WOJ show? If all goes well, there will be lots of energy. We love crowd participation so show up ready to sing along and stage dive. 11. Will you be recording any new material sometime in the near future? We haven’t written any new songs at the time but we start writing as soon as we get home. 12. If so, when? And how will it differ from your past two Trustkill releases? I have no idea right now. But, I’m sure it will be moshy and hopefully have some catchy sing alongs. 13. What was the reason for WOJ’s two year hiatus? For some bands that long of a time period means the end of a band. We split with our original drummer and had trouble finding a suitable replacement, so we quit until we were in a position to play at the level we wanted. In other WOJ news, head to the MUSIC section and download yourself a free MP3 from Candace. She recorded a little message for everyone before their London show.

CRADLE OF FILTH are set to release a special edition of their 5K rated album, ‘Nymphetamine’ on 21st February. The deluxe new package will feature new artwork and six extra tracks, including two brand new ones (‘Prey’ and ‘Soft White Throat’), a new version of the album’s title track (Deva-Fix version) featuring backing vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva, plus a cover of Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Mr Crowley’ and Cliff Richard’s ‘Devil Woman’. You’ve gotta hear it to believe it.

SOULFLY will be releasing their first DVD on 28th February. Entitled ‘The Song Remains Insane’, the package features 1 hour and 20 mins of interviews, live concert footage, behind-the-scenes stuff, film of the guys in the studio making the ‘Prophecy’ album and all the band’s promo videos. As an extra bonus, there are assorted out-takes and clips from Dynamo.