“OH MY GOD! How fuckin’ amazing are Chimaira? Well let me tell ya. If you missed out on their tour around the UK then you have really missed out. But if you did manage to go then you were in for a real treat. I went to see them in Cardiff Engine Rooms and wow, the venue was tiny! I stood outside waiting with the other street-teamers eagerly waiting to get inside and meet the band. It was freezing cold and we could hear the band sound-checking for what seemed like hours! We eventually got in for the meet and greet and managed to talk with the band for about 10 minutes and I got both their albums signed and I got pics with band. As soon as this had finished we were whisked back outside where I met up with some mates and began queuing again! As soon as I got inside I made sure that I was right at the front against the barrier and that’s where I stayed for most of the evening! Every Time I Die kicked off the gig. As I hadn’t really heard much from them before I wasn’t sure what to expect, but wow they were truly amazing and blew me away! I was quite shocked as well because there was a guy standing next to me and he sang EVERY single word to all the songs they played and then he disappeared off as soon as Chimaira came on! Anyway, Chimaira’s set was gut-busting. ‘Implements of Destruction’ could be heard roaring around the building as the band came on stage and then they suddenly burst into ‘Power trip’ with Mark’s vocals piercing all ear drums within the radius of several miles around the building! It was an awesome set, much better than the one at Roadrage because they played for much longer (about an hour and a half). They mostly played songs from their new album such as ‘Cleansation’, ‘The Impossibility Of Reason’, ‘Pictures In The Gold Room’, ‘Eyes Of A Criminal’ and ‘Army Of Me’, but I was glad because they also played songs from their first album like ‘Let Go’, ‘Dead Inside’ and ‘Severed’. Now then, half way through the song ‘Severed’ the whole band went silent and all the lights went out and a spotlight focused in on their new and brilliant drummer-Ricky Evansand-then he burst into a 5 minute plus drum solo which was indescribably amazing! The gig was so thrilling that I didn’t want it to end and as it finished I could hardly breath because it got incredibly hot in there. As the doors opened at the end you could see clouds of sweat bursting out into the air! It was definitely worth it! All I can say is CHIMAIRA. Truly amazing.” Jonny Bayes

Four questions for Chimaira’s vocalist at the end of the tour…. How does this tour compare to your other UK dates? I like it more because we are headlining. The fans deserve a long set and that is what we are giving them. Best show in your opinion this tour? Mean Fiddler, London. I thought that was the best performance we have given to date. We were a perfect 10 the crowd was an 11. Check out our 5 K review in Kerrang! Worst show this tour? Liverpool. There were sound problems, I twisted my knee and Matt got jumped by ASSFUCKS who had nothing better to do. Chances of us playing there againí¢ä‰åŒ_slim to none! Any special standout moments? Ricky’s drum solo in London, seeing Ireland, Jim and the Hammer getting arrested. A circle pit at the Northampton in store. Jagermeister or Absinthe? This will get me in trouble either way I answer it. I will say Absinthe is very dangerous and good, but Jager is the band favorite.

Name: Jordan Buckley Occupation: Every Time I Die, guitar Date Of Birth: November 15, ’81 A tour memory: One time we stayed at a haunted hotel and went to the haunted floor to look for zombies. We found one too. It was a toothless hooker zombie with a knife. We tried to get away and she grabbed our merch guys arm. A week or two later 4 illegal aliens hit our van and he broke that same arm. The hooker zombie must have put a curse on him. One album that you think everyone should own: Stone Temple Pilots – Core Which famous person (dead or alive) would you most like to spend time with and why them? Famous Dead. I’m not really picky, I’ll hang out with any person. Not someone like John Ritter though, because he probably looks decent. Indeed someone that’s fallen apart, like Ernest P Wurl. That way I can bring my zombie into the stores and steal stuff while he distracts everyone. I’d also like to spend time with a dinosaur. Best piece of advice you’ve been given: Stand 2-3 marks to the right of the head pin and when you throw keep your shoulders parallel to the fowl line. If I wasn’t making music I would be… The laziest member of the band. Make that the second laziest. Tell us one thing about yourself: I’m an inconsistant bowler. What’s one thing you hope to achieve that you haven’t yet: A perfect game. I am most proud of: My sanity.

With the UK Chimaira tour now over, here is the final installment from Chris Spicuzza’s tour diary. Feb 16th: Belfast I had DSL and a Guinness today. Feb 17th: Northumbria I woke up early because of the instore signing. My crabbiness can be overwhelming in the morning. Warning: don퉌_t come near me if it looks like I just woke up. This time my mood turned around when I saw Matt퉌_s bright and shiny face in our dressing room. We headed out to the signing. It was a long one. I picked up a few CDs including Ministry퉌_s Greatest Hits then we headed back to the club. The crowd was just as great as the last time we came through Newcastle. We decided to play Sex Type Thing again since it was being broadcasted that night on the radio. After the gig I attempted to shower with a hose missing the nozzle. Sticking my thumb in the hole I was able to create enough pressure to wash off the soap. Fucking sad. Feb 18th: Edinburgh This city is beautiful. Driving to the signing we saw castles, cathedrals, and other old piles of bricks. The weirdest thing I signed today was two girls faces. Somehow I managed to scribble my name on their chins. I walked around in the cold with Thredz (RR’s good web buddy extraordinaire). We stopped at McDonald’s for some of America퉌_s finest garbage cuisine. Then off to the Virgin Megastore and HMV where I picked up the new Kerrang (Chimaira London KKKKK review) and a Dimmu CD. The only thing I remember about tonight’s show was the fans chanting Ki-FUCKING-Meera before we went on. Classic. Feb 19th: Northampton To describe this city to New Yorkers I’d compare it to Poughkeepsie. With that in mind my day was packed with a whole lot of nothing. The highlight of my day is definitely the circle pit started by Andy Williams (Every Time I Die guitarist) outside Spin-A-Disc Records. A few people video-taped the event so maybe it will surface. For food I walked to Millenium Kebabs not once, but twice. That was basically my only option to eat besides the shifty sandwiches we were offered earlier. A prawn and mayo sandwich doesn’t sound like something I could eat without throwing up. This basically wraps up the Spicuzza Sessions of this tour. There isn’t anything else to say and I’m sick of rambling. Before I forget… Best Show: London. Anyone who witnessed the carnage would understand. Go get the current issue of Kerrang for the official KKKKK review! We thank every single fan for coming out to these shows and to the signings. Chimaira as a whole is blown away by the love received in the UK. We can’t wait to come back in June. I personally want to thank the entire RR UK staff for being simply amazing and a dream to work with. It’s been an unforgettable two weeks. Finally, thank you for reading this crap. Rock.

We are pleased to officially confirm that SLIPKNOT will be performing on the main stage at this year’s Download festival at Donington. SLIPKNOT will also be appearing at the Scottish Download in Glasgow. Tickets are available now.

As you know, Adam D from Killswitch Engage has recently been over here in Derbyshire, mixing new record The End Of Heartache with Andy Sneap. Whilst there, we paid Sir Sneap & Adam D a little visit, for a quick tour and a chat on the new record. Head on over into the KsE PHOTO GALLERY and check out some of the photos we took of Adam D, and of Sir Sneap’s studio in general. Not only that, when you are done, visit the VIDEO section, for a special From The Studio video report to you from Adam D.

EMAP have kicked off a one month RSL (restricted service licences) broadcast delivering their Kerrang radio service to the people of Manchester. Kerrang radio will broadcast across the city on 97.6FM for the next month. The RSL demonstrates EMAP’s ambitions to make the most of those new FM analogue licences OfCom plans to make available – taking the Kerrang service about to launch in the West Midlands to other urban centres. EMAP’s Shaun Gregory says: “Kerrang! proved to be the winning formula for the West Midlands licence and we are confident that there is an appetite for Kerrang! across the country. We see the use of RSLs around the country as an excellent way of trialing our formats and is a statement of intent that we will be pursuing new FM licences when they are advertised.”

Name: Andrew J Williams Occupation: Guitarist, Every Time I Die Date Of Birth: 12/12/77 A tour memory: In Florida once I chased a panther. It ran and started chasing a possum. They jumped into a bush. So I chased them to the bush and I was swiped to see if it would charge! It didn’t, a badger did and I got scared and ran! One album that you think everyone should own: Wolverine Blues by Entombed – the best record ever! Blues, Death, and Rock n’ Roll all in one! Simply breathtaking! Which famous person (dead or alive) would you most like to spend time with and why them? Miles Davies because he took timing in music and just fucked it up. Beside Ornette Coleman, Davies was the only other person to do that in a musical forum. Plus he introduced the world to my favorite guitarist John McLaughin! Best piece of advice you’ve been given: Sometimes when you can’t eat for the love of food, you just got to eat to make a turd. – My Dad! If I wasn’t making music I would be… Probably working at a sewer plant. I had a job working at a shit factory before, so why not! Tell us one thing about yourself: Me and my friend Wes, are planning on dressing like Vikings and we’re going ride an iceberg over Niagara Falls! What’s one thing you hope to achieve that you haven’t yet: To catch a Channel Catfish over 40lbs! It’s a fish in the USA. I love fishing! I am most proud of: My father! He’s come a long way and he turned into a man. It feels good. Sorry for that emo answer there! Bonus Round: RR: So, your video for ‘Ebolarama’ is currently melting TV screens across the UK. What was the idea behind the video shoot? A: To write a serious video about rollerskating! RR: Loadsa people in it. Who are they? A: Mostly friends. But some miscreant kids showed up and made it even more awesome. RR: So, you got loadsa people, on rollerskates, moshing around, and falling all over eachother. What was the worst injury sustained during the video shoot? A: This dude Dave XXX just was getting pummeled. I think just his ego was bruised… but I’m not sure!?! It was great! RR: Nice. And you’ve just finished shooting a brand new video, right? Any more rollerskating? A: We just did one for ‘I Been Gone A Long Time’. It was directed by Greg Kaplan. No rollerskating! We haven’t actually seen it yet, so all I can say is that I play a bartender!!

Alas the UK part of the Chimaira ‘Pure Hatred 2004’ tour is now over. A monster 18 UK shows in 18 days! Last Friday, Chimaira & Every Time I Die left the UK for a few shows in Europe, before they head back to the USA. However, if you want to relive that fabulous live experience, check out our live photos posted from the Oxford, Cardiff, London, and Northampton shows in the CHIMAIRA and EVERY TIME I DIE photo galleries. There’s even a few pics from the Chimaira instores up there as well. And of course, you can read some of your reports of the shows in the TOUR or artists sections! We’ve also got 2 very special exclusive new downloads for you. 1) A brand new exclusive MP3. Not just ‘Pure Hatred’ but ‘Pure Hatred (Live)’ – recorded in Antwerp. Get it HERE. 2) A message to all of you, from Mark Hunter, Chimaira’s singer. Recorded outside at the Northampton show (are you in it??), download the MPG video HERE.

Earlier today in Cali, the line-up for the US Ozzfest 2004 was officially announced. “Might be one of the best Ozzfest line-ups ever,” someone could be overheard saying earlier today at RR US… Slipknot will be returning to its roots this year, playing the 2nd stage of the festival (headlining this time around). That means, Slipknot will be doing the Jager tour (throughout all of April and half of May), then touring Europe starting the last week of May with Metallica (running through June), and then to Ozzfest for the rest of the summer. Speaking of which, the rest of the Ozzfest line-up fills out as follows: Main Stage OZZY OSBOURNE JUDAS PRIEST SLAYER DIMMU BORGIR SUPERJOINT RITUAL BLACK LABEL SOCIETY Second Stage SLIPKNOT HATEBREED LAMB OF GOD Rotating (second stage): ATREYU BLEEDING THROUGH LACUNA COIL EVERY TIME I DIE UNEARTH GOD FORBID Enjoy.