Search Results for: Slipknot

Following its unprecedented 49 Grammy Award nominations, The Island Def Jam Music Group continues its winning momentum this week with four records in the Top 10 of the nation’s Top Albums chart (source: Soundscan). Propelling this success were the multiplatinum releases from Ludacris (Word of Mouf; no.4), Nickelback (Silver Side Up, no.5), Ja Rule (Pain Is Love; no.6) and the hit soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou (no.10). The Island Def Jam Music Group also scored thirteen albums in the Top 100 with releases from seminal hip-hop artist JAY-Z (MTV Unplugged), alternative rockers Hoobastank (Hoobastank), country icon Willie Nelson… Read more »

The more time Wes Borland spent in Limp Bizkit, the more things around him turned black. First his wardrobe – draping cloaks that brought to mind one of his favorite characters, Darth Vader. Then his eyes – gripping contacts that, next to his flaring nostrils, made him look like a guitar-toting monster. His heart was the next to go. “Bells start going off, like, ‘This is what it feels like to sell out,’” Borland recalled. “I’m enjoying all the perks of [Limp Bizkit], but I feel my heart is going black, because this is not what I’m called to do.… Read more »

Papa Roach will release the follow-up to their triple-platinum debut, Infest, on June 25th. The album, lovehatetragedy was produced by Brendan O’Brien, who’s worked with Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine. Next month, the band will head to Atlanta, where singer Coby Dick – who is now going by his birth name, Jacoby Shaddix – will finish recording his vocals. The track listing is still tentative, but the album is expected to be finished by March. According to Shaddix, many of the album’s songs were written while touring with Ozzfest. “Decompression Period” is about the pressures of being in… Read more »

Paul McCartney and Rolling Stones singer-guitarist Keith Richards are among those paying tribute to Johnny Cash on an upcoming two-disc career retrospective. The Essential Johnny Cash, due February 26 from Columbia/Legacy Records, features more than 30 testimonials to Cash from artists including McCartney, Richards, Bono and the Edge of U2, Elvis Costello, former Vice President Al Gore, and even Shawn Crahan of the heavy metal band Slipknot. The Essential Johnny Cash, part of a campaign to celebrate the ailing Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer’s 70th birthday on February 26, compiles 36 digitally remastered tracks recorded not only for Columbia… Read more »

System of a Down are on a Los Angeles soundstage shooting a video for the title track to their near-double-platinum second album, Toxicity. Bassist Shavo Odadjian is taking his first turn as director with the aid of veteran Marco Siega, who, in addition to helming clips for Blink-182 and Papa Roach, also crafted System’s TRL standard, “Chop Suey.” The prog-metal quartet has recalled the 200 black-clad fans who populated the “Chop Suey” video to mosh on command for this latest clip. The notion of fan involvement in a video is nothing new to Odadjian. Back in 1993, a young Shavo… Read more »

Jim Caparro, the man who helped build the Island Def Jam Music Group into the third-biggest record label in the U.S. through aggressive consolidation and savvy A&R, has decided to resign as chairman of the Universal Music division after three years on the job. Caparro, whose duties will be taken up by his longtime colleague, IDJ president Lyor Cohen, said the timing was perfect for his departure, with the label group at its peak performance and a strong cadre of execs to take up the reins. “People in this position normally leave because they get fired,” Caparro told Daily Variety.… Read more »

In the downtime between their recently wrapped Pledge of Allegiance tour with Slipknot and a series of December radio festivals, System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian has recorded a full-length collaboration with noted Armenian multi-instrumentalist Arto Tuncboyaciyan. The tentatively titled “Serart” is slated for release next year on Tankian’s own Serjical Strike Records. Fans who dug Tuncboyaciyan’s curious noisemaking on System’s newly platinum Toxicity will surely enjoy “Serart,” a collection Tankian says is a marked departure from that band’s prog-metal barrage. “It’s really crazy world, jazz and experimental,” he says. “With some rock and hip-hop, beats, dance beats, electronic… Read more »

Early ’90s superstar Vanilla Ice is back with a new album, Bi-Polar, which came out last week. Ice produced the set, which features guest appearances from Chuck D, La Tha Darkman, Insane Clown Posse, and Josh Brainard, formerly of Slipknot. Bi-Polar features eight hardcore tracks and 17 hip-hop tracks. LAUNCH recently spoke with Ice, who explained why he decided to return to the musical arena. “What brings me back to music is just, you know, I played a lot of shows since October ’98. October ’98 is when I released Hard To Swallow, which was an album I did with… Read more »

While concert ticket sales have begun to rebound for top-level acts since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, it’s the medium-range and niche bands that have felt the pinch and are likely to suffer further, industry insiders said. Ticket sales for such mainstream acts as Madonna, U2, Elton John, Bob Dylan and Jimmy Buffett continue to be strong, while tours catering to a niche teen demographic are not selling as well. Notable examples, according to sources, include the Family Values Tour, featuring Linkin Park, Staind and Stone Temple Pilots, and the Pledge of Allegiance tour, which… Read more »

PressPlay, an online music venture between Universal Music and Sony Music, said on Thursday it signed licensing deals with six independent record labels that offer music by a wide variety of acts, from rappers 2 Live Crew to country singer Kenny Rogers to jazz legends Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. PressPlay, set to launch its service to subscribers this fall, noted that its latest deals with Madacy, Navarre, OWIE, Razor & Tie, Roadrunner and Rounder will add music from hundreds of artists to its already large catalog of music for streaming and downloading. The company said the six labels were… Read more »