As this is being written, just a block away from Roadrunner New York HQ, Ill Nino is five tracks deep into their mix-down with mixing vet Michael Barbiero (Anthrax/lostprophets/Guns-N-Roses, doubleDrive). Truth be told, Barbiero is nailing each and every song – concentrating on the heavier songs on the album first, which are SLAMMING at this point (think “If You Still Hate Me” from Revolution…but HEAVIER). Some of you internet savvy types may have heard a song called “When It Cuts” that leaked out over the ‘net a few weeks to all our surprise. Well, wait til you hear how it’s gotten heavied up…we’re talking ELEPHANT GONAD heavy. What’s great to watch is the interaction between Barbiero and Confessions co-producer, Ill Nino drummer and all around ball-buster Dave Chavarri. On each mix Barbiero gets to a pretty amazing place and Dave will then come in and make suggestions which takes it up a notch. And of course, it’s great to hear all kinds of fantastic studio stories from Mike B….including tales from the mix session of Metallica’s …And Justice For All. Pretty fascinating stuff. At any rate, it’s been a whirlwind in Camp Nino. Mixing. Rehearsing. On Saturday, the band will be taking it to the streets of NY for their first photo session with new guys, Arhue and Danny. In a few days a video for “How Can I Live” will be shot, the lead single from the ‘Freddy Vs. Jason’ soundtrack and a teaser for Confessions. Shit is getting crazy once more…..

While working on the homestretch of recording their as of yet to be titled debut CD, DevilDriver was forced out of the studio as wild fire crept over the mountains and into the dry canyon on this summer afternoon. Everyone got out of the studio safely, including the owner and the two dogs residing there. Still waiting to find out if the fire actually hit the studio, as now helicopters and fire trucks now embrace the area in Canoga Canyon…and nobody in DevilDriver stuck around closely enough to find out. “The sky out here is usually bright blue,” tells singer Dez Fafara over his cell phone from the scene of the crime. “We looked up fifteen minutes ago and they whole sky was bright orange and black,” he continues. At that point, the owner of the studio simply rationed, “you guys get the hard drives and get the fuck out of here.” DevilDriver’s A&R Rep Kevin Estrada – also the A&R Rep for Chimaira, and if you remember, the set on Chimaira’s “Down Again” video shoot caught fire just a couple months back – was en route to the studio when he was stopped by a roadblock. After telling the cops why he needed to get up there, the response he got was, “Well, then they (DevilDriver) better get the fuck out of there.” Kevin, Chimaira, video shoot, fire…Kevin, DevilDriver, recording studio, fire. What is the one constant? Coincidence? Kevin had the following to say: “Can you believe this? Two records in a row plagued by fire. I can’t believe this shit. Now I gotta put fire insurance in all my budgets. Send more firefighters…The whole place is ablaze…it’s nuts…it’s crazy. Two projects, two fires.” It is still unsure as to whether or not recording will be able resume at the studio in Canoga Canyon. “We’ll see how long the fire lasts,” tells Kevin as he is working on a possible ‘Plan B’ to complete the album. Oddly enough, as if the Kevin tie wasn’t, DevilDriver was in the midst of recording a track called “The Mountain,” a track where the lyrics speak of the sky turning orange, and of a fire on the mountain. Well, as of right now, Canoga Canyon out in Cali is covered in smoke amidst orange skies, as fire is sweeping through the massive oak tree filled mountains on this 102 degree afternoon. “It’s one of those places you don’t wanna be if there’s a fire,” Dez asserts. Next? “We’re going back to Santa Barbara for a drink,” tells Dez. We’ll drink to that.

Have you ever checked out the STORE section on the site? It’s where we list all the stray rare/special items such as posters, CDs, keyrings, stickers and so forth. We even add a few signed things in there from time to time.. mind you, everything listed there is very limited, so it’s always first come, first serve! Even had a few Nickelback & Slipknot signed things in there a while back doncha know. At the moment, you can find signed goodies from the likes of Machine Head, Sepultura & Downthesun not to mention rare promo items for Nickelback, Slipknot, Murderdolls, Stone Sour.. in fact, more than a dozen RR acts. If you’ve been emailing us looking for posters of your favourite RR act… your search is over. Posters for almost every band available too. None of which you’ll be able to buy in your local shop! With most items priced for only a coupla quid, you better be quick!

Well, Type O Negative is seven dates deep on their European tour run. What to tell of the shows? “Peter (Steele) hit my friend in the face twice with a hand full of pasta! I nearly pissed myself! It’s so funny, I had tears in my eyes,” tells Simon of the first date on the tour in Manchester. Did You Know? Simon happens to be the cat who designed the new Type O Negative website. And speaking of which, he also just finished up designing a Type O Negative ecard. Check it out HERE. Thank you, Simon (and thanks go to Thredz at www.sensorstudios.com/ for the ecard’s main page). Back on the European tour front, the band’s set list from early shows appears to be shaping up as follows (give or take pending on the night): Trux Intro I Know You’re Fucking Someone Else Wolf Moon Everyone I Love Is Dead Sab/Christian Woman Love You To Death World Coming Down Kill Whitey Cornicopia Pain My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend I Don’t Want To Be Me Black #1 For those of you in the states, take note, as soon enough Type O will be touring the U.S. (starting 25 July in Worcester, MA). In fact, we now have a confirmed support act for the first half of this headline run – LACUNA COIL will be playing directly prior to Type O each night on the first half of the tour. Welcome aboard.

Well, the summer touring season officially starts today for Chimaira, as the band is packing up and hitting the road…TODAY. First stop, Toronto. Yes sir, Canada is the spot for the first two dates on their tour with In Flames and Soilwork, and then it’s back to the U.S. for the rest of July. First date of the tour is June 26th. After that tour, it’s onto the 2nd half of Ozzfest for Chimaira, starting July 31st. With the trip ahead, Chimaira frontman Mark Hunter was kind enough to write the following words for us: “What’s up fellow Chimairians?? We are stoked to get back out on the road again, and damn do we have a long ass schedule ahead of us. We are really excited about this next tour, all 3 bands we are touring with are fucking amazing, and we are fans of all of them. It will be a fun time for sure – getting to jam and kick back with some amazing dudes and musicians sounds like a fun summer to me. What a cool way to spend July. Then we head on to Ozzfest…finally right? Looking forward to playing with KSE, Shad, Sworn Enemy and tearing it up for that Ozzfest crowd who are so desperately looking for some real metal to come back to that tour…no worries, the wait is over! Take care everyone and we will see you this summer! Oh ya, stop by the FYE and Jager tent after we play at Ozzfest so we can meet all of you. Late” And speaking of other bands that Mark is a fan of, make sure to check him out in The Battle Of The Month this July in THE VAULT. He will be giving his top 10 picks from the Roadrunner catalog, being pitted against KsE’s A&R Rep Mike Gitter. And last, we shall leave you with a quote of the day, as said by Chris Spicuzza from Chimaira after yesterday’s practice: “I’m sure our backs and necks are about to go through hell. It’s the first week of touring.”

Come July 14th, head on down your local ‘Roadrage’ store, and get yourself a free Spineshank logo patch when you buy the new album ‘Self-Destructive Pattern’. Not sure of your nearest Roadrage shop? Check out the list HERE.

To celebrate the release of the new Spineshank album the following club launches have been announced: Newcastle Upon Tyne – The Stage Door – Monday 14th July Ipswich – Kartouche – Monday 14th July London – Metros – Tuesday 15th July Glasgow – Barfly (All Ages) – Tuesday 15th July Plymouth – Voodoo Lounge – Wednesday 16th July Southend – Menerva – Thursday 17th July Oxford – Zodiac – Thursday 17th July London – Electric Ballroom – Friday 18th July Bristol – Beir Keller – Friday 18th July Hull – Spiders – Saturday 19th July Edinburgh – Mission Junior (U18s) – Saturday 19th July Leeds – Turbulence – Saturday 19th July Nottingham – Rock City – Saturday 19th July Birmingham – Academy – Saturday 19th July Manchester – Jillys – Saturday 19th July Sheffield – Corporation – Saturday 19th July Southampton – Nexus – Saturday 19th July Liverpool – Krazyhose -Saturday 19th July Cardiff – Barfly (All Ages) – Sunday 20th July There will be special Spineshank & Chimaira Jagermeister shotglasses, posters, stickers and Tshirt givaways as well as the chance to win a RR goodie bag with the following in it: 1 X SPINESHANK T/SHIRT 1 X ROADRAGE DVD 1 X ‘NEW SHIT 6’ SAMPLER CD 1 X CHIMAIRA PATCH 1 X SLIPKNOT ‘HERETIC ANTHEM’ PROMO CD 1 X HEART OF ROADRUNNER COMPILATION CD 1 X ROADRUNNER LANYARD at each night! ‘Self-Destructive Pattern’ is released July 14th.

Alot of the attention on Type O Negative focuses around their singer, Pete Steele. Here, we’re gonna share with you a little more on the rest of the band behind the music… and Johnny Kelly, drums, is up first. Date of birth? “March 9, 1968” A touring memory? “That infamous toilet paper fight with Pantera!” One album that you think everyone should own? “Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti” Which famous person (dead or alive) would you most like to spend time with and why them? “John Bonham, so that I can ask him how he did those monster fills in ‘Achilles Last Stand’.” Best piece of advice you’ve been given? “Don’t quit your day job.” If I wasn’t making music I would be… “A bigger loser than I already am.” Tell us one thing about yourself: “I’m immature.” What’s one thing you hope to achieve, that you haven’t yet? “Perform at Madison Square Garden.” I am most proud of… “My daughter, Sophia.”

fresh from the email, after Type O Negative’s London show… “Hi, I’m sorry if you’ve had about a million e-mails from fans saying how well we think the new T.O.N album and tour is going, but I really felt that I had to e-mail to say that I was at the London Astoria gig last Friday and it was amazing. I ended up being shoved to the back by a group of “fans” who were slating T.O.N at the beginning, so I couldn’t see a lot, but after a couple of songs their slating stopped. Apart from those guys, I had an excellent time. The Astoria’s kind of small so it was quite an “intimate” gig where the band came across really friendly towards their fans and really didn’t seem like these big rock stars who distance themselves from fans. Pete Steele stopped mid-song to re-tune his bass, which I thought was nice to see as I have seen other bands who didn’t care whether they were in tune or not, they had already been paid, so it didn’t matter. It was great to see that the band appreciated that we had paid to see them play so they had to get it right. Musically they were very tight and probably the most professional band I have seen, without the arrogance that usually goes with that. I hope the rest of the tour and album sales continues to go well for them, and that we see them in the U.K. again very soon. Thanks for such a great show. Kelly. Xx.” Thanks for the mail Kelly. Glad you had a good time.. although to be fair, it was Type O Negative, so how could you not?!…”

Let’s see…first Ill Nino update of the day was all about the new boys – guitarist Ahrue and percussionist Danny…second Ill Nino update was about the band’s upcoming photo shoot and video shoot. And on the third update, it’s about the release and getting back on the road. Ill Nino’s sophomore release – titled Confession – is currently slated for a late September street date. However, the video which is to be shot in early July – for the track “How Can I Live” – actually has ties to the upcoming August soundtrack release for the horror flick Freddy vs Jason. “How Can I Live,” in fact, is slated to be the first single off this soundtrack. So, August brings the first Ill Nino track and September is currently to bring their full new album. What else might August bring? Hell, it might bring what Ill Nino is most best known for: TOUR. Yes, quite possibly the hardest working band on the road last time out (numerous countries multiple times over extended periods on the road) could be hitting the road as soon as August. What to expect? “The same beating (fans) got the first time around,” laughs Chavarri. “We can’t wait to get on the road with the new guys. We’ve been rehearsing every day for the past two weeks and it sounds better than ever. We can’t to get back out there in August.”