Members:
- Ben McMillan - vocals, guitar
- Norman Scott - drums
- Tim Paul - bass
- Tom Niemeyer - guitar

Last Saturday in Seattle, Washington; fans, friends, and loved ones joined together to say goodbye to the legendary Ben McMillan of Gruntruck. Ben fought an 8 year battle with diabetes and passed on this January, 2008.

A memorial/ benefit concert was held in Ben's honor. The survivng members of Gruntruck and other Seattle rock luminaries played an assortment of tributes and memorial projects in his name to say a final farewell and help raise money for the funeral costs. The event was held at King Cobra in Seattle. A gallery of the show was posted, click on the picture below to view it.




Listen to "Tribe" by Gruntruck in remembrance of the talented late vocalist, Ben McMillan here.


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As Blabbermouth.net reported yesterday, Benjamin Scott McMillan, legendary vocalist for Gruntruck and Skin Yard, died in his hometown of Seattle, Washington at age 47 after an eight-year battle with diabetes.

Roadrunner Records released two albums from Seattle-based Gruntruck: 1991's Inside Yours and their 1992 follow up Push. The latter was, up to that point, Roadrunner's highest-selling non-metal album due to the track "Crazy Love" being featured on MTV's Beavis & Butthead.

Roadrunner's Monte Conner (A&R) and Kathie Merritt (Sales) had the following to say in response to Ben's passing.

Monte Conner:

All of us here at Roadrunner are very saddened to learn of Ben McMillan's passing. Gruntruck's second album "Push" is still one of my all-time favorite Roadrunner releases, and it still sounds as great today as it did back in 1992. Songs like the swaggerig riff-fest 'Tribe," "Crazy Love" (a Beavis and Butthead mainstay back in 1993) and the epic "Above Me" (which really featured Ben's unique voice) are three of the strongest songs Ben and the band ever wrote. "Push" was quite a trailblazing record for Roadrunner as it was our biggest selling non-metal record to date in 1993. This is not to say that Gruntruck didn't haul a very large amount of ass, but they were one of our first forays into something more mainstream. Let's all crank this ass-kicking MP3 of "Tribe" while we remember Ben McMillan and the great music he made.

Kathie Merritt:

It's sad to hear that Ben McMillan has passed away. During his Gruntruck days at Roadrunner , Ben was a breath of fresh air, a guy who seemed to handle himself well with the industry folks, but never seemed to really enjoy the Industry part of the Music Industry. I recall after a day of running him & Tommy around a music convention in LA what a pleasure it was to work with them, they had both been through the ropes , so they handled the media very well. But both seemed much happier at the end of the day to be hanging in the bar with other band guys, just talking music. During a time when everyone in Seattle was painting themselves "Pearl Jam plaid" and going grunge, Gruntruck bucked the trend and made more punk edged music with a groove. "Beavis and Butthead" brought the band's music to the MTV audience and that opened up the music to radio, they will forever be remembered as part of that marketing phenomenon. But Ben's music with SkinYard and Gruntruck will always have a place in the history of the Seattle music scene, that guy could rock. And "Above Me" was such a cool tune....RIP Ben.

A pair of photos from the convention Kathie mentions are located here.

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Believe it or not, there were as many people who thought we were April Fooling about the launch of our new Bulletin Board as did the Avril Lavigne gag!

Yeah, yeah, we know a RR BB upgrade was long overdue, but what do y'all take us for? Never mind, don't answer, just get on over there and sign up already, will ya?

You may also have noticed we have an outrageous number of incredible contests (free iPod, free PSP, free V-Cast cellphone, etc.) going on in our Free Shit section, so if you feel lucky (well do ya...punk?) sign up now!

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We have a new page for you to bookmark alongside our main hub here at RoadRunnerRecords.com...

Our newly revamped and relaunched official home on MySpace - come take a look at www.myspace.com/roadrunnerrecords.

Once there, you can join our network of friends, make new ones to talk music and whatever else you please with, and enjoy everything from pictures, to banners, to videos and jukeboxes, to special promotions and prize giveways for all your favorite Roadrunner artists.

We're looking forward to seeing you there and welcome your feedback to help us make Roadrunner's MySpace page the best that it can be.

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This past Thursday (12/15), will go down as one of the greatest shows in Roadrunner's history. Many great artists got together and performed some classic Roadrunner tunes with once in a lifetime dream pairings.

If you missed it, our friends in METAL Injection got you covered. They captured the night in over 200 photos, including photos of members of SLIPKNOT (unmasked), KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, MACHINE HEAD, TRIVIUM, DEICIDE, BIOHAZARD, HATEBREED, HIM and many more. The photos are available for viewing by CLICKING HERE.

Roadrunner United:The All-Star Sessions is in stores now

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Jamey Jasta, host of MTV2's Headbanger's Ball and frontman for Hatebreed, has been confirmed to MC Roadrunner Records' 25th Anniversary concert.

The show will take place on Thursday, December 15th at the Nokia Theater in Times Square, NYC, and tickets are available now through www.ticketmaster.com, at their outlets across the country and via phone by calling 212-307-7171.

Some of the special guests confirmed to perform include members of Slipknot, Machine Head, Killswitch Engage, Biohazard, Life of Agony, Fear Factory, Sepultura and Trivium who will join the already announced "core band" comprised of Joey Jordison (Slipknot) - drums, Andreas Kisser (Sepultura) - lead guitar, Dino Cazares (ex Fear Factory, Brujeria) - rhythm guitar, and Adam Duce (Machine Head) - bass.

Additional Roadrunner and non-Roadrunner affiliated special guests will be announced shortly.

ECARD

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Roadrunner Records has put together a groundbreaking record to mark the label's 25th Anniversary. Roadrunner United The All-Star Sessions is IN STORES NOW and it  is a master-class in hard rock/metal.

'Captains' Joey Jordison ( Slipknot ), Dino Cazares (ex- Fear Factory/Brujeria ), Robert Flynn ( Machine Head ) and Matthew Heafy ( Trivium ) play on the songs they have written and have also assembled a unique team of artists to appear on each track. I n cluding contributions from such metal luminaries as Corey Taylor, Paul Gray and Jim Root of Slipknot, Howard Jones and Mike D. from Killswitch Engage, Peter Steele and Josh Silver from Type O Negative, Dez Fafara of DevilDriver/Coal Chamber fame, Mark Hunter of Chimaira, King Diamond and members of Opeth, Machine Head, Fear Factory, Trivium, Sepultura, Soulfly, Deicide, Life of Agony and many, MANY more - this is an album in which the whole is even greater than the sum of it's parts.

If you are a fan of METAL - be it black, death, thrash, trad, 'core or whatever the hell you want to call it - pick this album up because it is truly a testament to 25 years of the best metal has to offer all on one CD. Also includes an hour long bonus DVD on the making of the album.

Click here to preview music from the album, in stores now.

YOU COULD WIN A ROADRUNNER LOADED APPLE IPOD
How well do you know your Roadrunner history? In celebration of this landmark release, we are holding a Roadrunner Trivia Contest, and the top 4 winners of the contest will recieve brand-new Apple iPods with engraved signatures of all 4 captains, as well as the entire Roadrunner discography loaded onto it! So, what are you waiting for, start playing today.

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Today we give you more music from the upcoming Roadrunner United The All-Star Sessions release, one of the songs from captain Joey Jordison, a death metal track titled "Annihilation By The Hands Of God." The line-up for the track is as follows:

Glen Benton (DEICIDE) - vocals
Matt DeVries (CHIMAIRA) - rhythm guitar
Rob Barrett (CANNIBAL CORPSE, ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION) - rhythm guitar
James Murphy (ex-TESTAMENT, DEATH, OBITUARY)- solo
Steve DiGiorgio (TESTAMENT, SADUS) - fretless bass
Joey Jordison (SLIPKNOT) - drums

"I had the idea of using Glen Benton on the song before even writing anything," tells Roadrunner United captain Joey Jordison. "However, instead of writing a typical death metal song, I wanted to do something a little more structured, even hooky, while still maintaining death metal and blast beat aspects."

The result, a technical piece of death metal filled with the individual personalities of members from the bands Deicide, Chimaira, Malevolent Creation, Death, and Sadus...and of course, Slipknot, as Joey himself had written the song prior to the members from the above bands coming to town to record.

"Steve (bass) comes out of left field, he's one of a kind. Rob (guitar) contributed greatly to a black metal tone of the song with his guitar parts over the blast beat sections, and Matt (guitar) with his picking style. Each guy had their own staple on how their parts of the song should go, all of which helped with the overall feel of the song," Joey praises.

When asked for a favorite part of the song, Joey has no comment. "I write songs as a whole, with sections that move from one part to another and all make sense together in some way." That being said, he does say to check out the searing breakdown, crunch section, right before the last pre-chorus.

As for the lyrics, they were all written by Glen himself, so you should have an idea of the lyrical content. If you have trouble following the words for now (lyrics will be posted online upon release of the CD), do know you get four "Satan's" in a row during the bridge of the song.

"I couldn't be happier with it," Jordison tells of how "Annihilation By The Hands Of God" turned out. "Probably the favorite song I did...though, hard to pick as each of the four are so different from one another." With that in mind, check out "Annihilation By The Hands Of God," now in our MUSIC section, and come October 11th (release date for Roadrunner United) you'll be hearing all songs to have come from captain Jordison, and decide first-hand which is your favorite.

Enjoy.

Roadrunner United The All-Star Sessions coming October 11th

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It's our 25th Anniversary here at Roadrunner Records, and to celebrate, the Roadrunner United The All-Star Sessions release is coming, and here are more details on the tracks...in fact, the track listing along with the players on each song. As follows:

4 team captains, 56 artists, 45 bands


01. The Dagger

Howard Jones (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) - vocals
Robert Flynn (MACHINE HEAD) - rhythm guitar, vocals
Jordan Whelan (STILL REMAINS) - rhythm guitar
Jeff Waters (ANNIHILATOR) - solo
Christian Olde Wolbers (FEAR FACTORY) - bass
Andols Herrick (ex-CHIMAIRA) - drums

Music written by Robert Flynn
Lyrics written by Howard Jones and Robert Flynn

02. The Enemy

Mark Hunter (CHIMAIRA) - vocals
Dino Cazares (FEAR FACTORY) - rhythm guitar
Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA) - solo, acoustic guitar
Paul Gray (SLIPKNOT) - bass
Roy Mayorga (ex-SOULFLY, MEDICATION)- drums

Music written by Dino Cazares and Roy Mayorga
Lyrics written by Mark Hunter

03. Annihilation by the Hands of God

Glen Benton (DEICIDE) - vocals
Matt DeVries (CHIMAIRA) - rhythm guitar
Rob Barrett (CANNIBAL CORPSE, ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION) - rhythm guitar
James Murphy (ex-TESTAMENT, DEATH, OBITUARY)- solo
Steve DiGiorgio (TESTAMENT, SADUS) - fretless bass
Joey Jordison (SLIPKNOT) - drums

Music written by Joey Jordison and Rob Barrett
Lyrics written by Glen Benton

04. In the Fire

King Diamond (KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE)- vocals
Matthew K. Heafy (TRIVIUM)- lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
Cory Beaulieu (TRIVIUM) - lead and rhythm guitars
Mike D'Antonio (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) - bass
Dave Chavarri (ILL NINO) - drums

Music written by Matthew K. Heafy
Lyrics written by King Diamond

05. The End

Matthew K. Heafy (TRIVIUM) - vocals, lead guitar
Dino Cazares (FEAR FACTORY) - rhythm guitar
Nadja Peulen (ex-COAL CHAMBER) - bass
Roy Mayorga (ex-SOULFLY, MEDICATION) - drums
Logan Mader (ex-MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY) - melodic guitar harmonics
Rhys Fulber (FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY) - keyboards, programming

Music written by Dino Cazares
Lyrics written by Matthew K. Heafy

06. Tired 'N Lonely

Keith Caputo (LIFE OF AGONY) - vocals, piano
Matt Baumbach (ex-VISION OF DISORDER) - rhythm guitar
Tommy Niemeyer (GRUNTRUCK) - rhythm guitar
Acey Slade (MURDERDOLLS, TRASHLIGHT VISION) - rhythm guitar
James Root (SLIPKNOT) - solo, harmony guitar
Joey Jordison (SLIPKNOT) - drums, bass

Music written by Joey Jordison
Lyrics written by Keith Caputo

07. Independent (Voice of the Voiceless)

Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, ex-SEPULTURA) - vocals
Robert Flynn (MACHINE HEAD) - rhythm guitar, 3-part guitar harmonies, keyboards
Jordan Whelan (STILL REMAINS) - rhythm guitar
Jeff Waters (ANNIHILATOR) - solo
Christian Olde Wolbers (FEAR FACTORY) - bass
Andols Herrick (ex-CHIMAIRA) - drums

Music written by Robert Flynn and Phil Demmel
Lyrics written by Max Cavalera

08. Dawn of a Golden Age

Dani Filth (CRADLE OF FILTH) - vocals
Matthew K. Heafy (TRIVIUM) - lead and rhythm guitars
Justin Hagberg (3 INCHES OF BLOOD) - rhythm guitars
Sean Malone (ex-CYNIC) - bass
Mike Smith (SUFFOCATION) - drums

Music written by Matthew K. Heafy
Lyrics written by Dani Filth

09. The Rich Man

Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR) - vocals
Robert Flynn (MACHINE HEAD) - rhythm guitar, keyboards
Jordan Whelan (STILL REMAINS) - rhythm guitar
Christian Olde Wolbers (FEAR FACTORY) - bass
Andols Herrick (ex-CHIMAIRA) - drums

Music written by Robert Flynn
Lyrics written by Corey Taylor

10. No Way Out

Daryl Palumbo (GLASSJAW, HEAD AUTOMATICA) - vocals
Matt Baumbach (ex-VISION OF DISORDER) - guitar, bass
Joey Jordison (SLIPKNOT) - drums, bass
Junkie XL - programming, synths

Music written by Joey Jordison and Matt Sepanic
Lyrics written by Daryl Palumbo

11. Baptized in the Redemption

Dez Fafara (DEVILDRIVER, ex-COAL CHAMBER) - vocals
Dino Cazares (FEAR FACTORY) - rhythm guitar
Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA) - solo, wah wah guitar
Paul Gray (SLIPKNOT) - bass
Roy Mayorga (ex-SOULFLY, MEDICATION) - drums

Music written by Dino Cazares and Roy Mayorga
Lyrics written by Dez Fafara

12. Roads

Mikael Ã…kerfeldt (OPETH) - vocals
Josh Silver (TYPE O NEGATIVE) - keyboards, backing vocals

Music written by Josh Silver
Lyrics written by Mikael Ã…kerfeldt

13. Blood & Flames

Jesse David Leach (SEEMLESS, ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) - vocals
Matthew K. Heafy (TRIVIUM) - lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, vocals
Josh Rand (STONE SOUR) - rhythm guitars
Mike D'Antonio (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) - bass
Johnny Kelly (TYPE O NEGATIVE) - drums

Music written by Matthew K. Heafy
Lyrics written by Jesse David Leach

14. Enemy of the State

Peter Steele (TYPE O NEGATIVE) - vocals, keyboards
Steve Holt (36 CRAZYFISTS) - rhythm, acoustic and slide guitar
Dave Pybus (CRADLE OF FILTH) - bass
Joey Jordison (SLIPKNOT) - drums
Josh Silver (TYPE O NEGATIVE) - keyboards, samples

Music written by Joey Jordison and Matt Sepanic
Lyrics written by Peter Steele

15. I Don't Wanna Be (A Superhero)

Michale Graves (ex-MISFITS) - vocals
Matthew K. Heafy (TRIVIUM) - lead and rhythm guitars
Justin Hagberg (3 INCHES OF BLOOD) - rhythm guitars
Mike D'Antonio (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) - bass
Dave Chavarri (ILL NINO) - drums

Music written by Matthew K. Heafy
Lyrics written by Michale Graves

16. Army of the Sun

Tim Williams (BLOODSIMPLE, ex-VISION OF DISORDER) - vocals
Robert Flynn (MACHINE HEAD) - rhythm guitar
Jordan Whelan (STILL REMAINS) - rhythm guitar
Christian Olde Wolbers (FEAR FACTORY) - bass
Andols Herrick (ex-CHIMAIRA) - drums

Music written by Robert Flynn and Dave McClain
Lyrics written by Tim Williams

17. No Mas Control

Cristian Machado (ILL NINO)- vocals
Dino Cazares (FEAR FACTORY) - rhythm guitar
Souren "Mike" Sarkisyan (SPINESHANK) - harmony guitar
Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA) - harmony solo
Marcelo Dias (ex-SOULFLY) - bass
Dave McClain (MACHINE HEAD, ex-SACRED REICH) - drums

Music written by Dino Cazares and John Sankey
Lyrics written by Cristian Machado

18. Constitution Down

Kyle Thomas (ex-EXHORDER, FLOODGATE) - vocals
Matt DeVries (CHIMAIRA) - rhythm guitar
Rob Barrett (CANNIBAL CORPSE, ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION) - rhythm guitar, trade-off solo
James Murphy (ex-TESTAMENT, DEATH, OBITUARY) - intro solo
Andy La Rocque (KING DIAMOND) - trade-off solo
Steve DiGiorgio (TESTAMENT, SADUS) - fretless bass
Joey Jordison (SLIPKNOT) - drums

Music written by Joey Jordison
Lyrics written by Kyle Thomas

Roadrunner United The All-Star Sessions in stores October 11th

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We've been talking about it all week, and now it's here, the first track from the upcoming Roadrunner United The All Star Sessions release (coming October 11). The song "The Dagger" (unmastered) is now available for download in our MUSIC section.

Go ahead and download, and rather than us tell you about the track and more on the release, read the words below from the writer of "The Dagger" (and Captain of the team that recorded the song), Machine Head's Robert Flynn:

"Hey Fuckers!

"Greetings from Derka Derkastan! And as we say there, "Fuck...derk, derk, allah...sherpa, sherpa...Muhamed jihad" (Yes, I've been watching WAY too much "Team America"). Just got back from doing a bit of press for the Roadrunner United album. RR flew me down to LA for a couple of days, and then to London, England to do some international press. As I'm sure most of you have read or heard by now, Roadrunner have decided to take on the seemingly ridiculous challenge of gathering, organizing and managing 60 musicians for a giant collaborative metal all-star effort.

"Brainchild of Senior VP of A&R (and longtime Machine Head champion) Monte Conner, these all-star sessions would follow a few basic "rules". Roadrunner would choose four "Captains", each Captain would write 4 songs, then assemble a "band" for each song comprised of other RR artists, past and/or present, currently on or off the label. Each Captain would record the 4 songs they had written with their chosen group, and then choose four different singers, one for each song.

"When Monte originally left me a voicemail about this, I thought to myself, "Oooo-kaay...Monte's back on the crack again". I figured if I simply didn't return the call, it would all just disappear into the ridiculously complex crack-pipe haze that it had emerged from. But lo and behold, that guy managed to pester and prompt nearly 60 of us self-absorbed fuckers to be a part of this, and god damn if he didn't make shit happen. Hails and salutations to Monte Conner!

"Team Flynn was comprised of 5 main musicians: Andols Herrick (ex-Chimaira) on drums, Christian Olde Wolbers (Fear Factory) on bass, Jordan Wheland (Still Remains) aka "The Pick Slide King" on rhythm guitar, Jeff Waters (Annihilator) on face-peeling shredder solos, and myself on rhythm guitar, keyboard and vocals. I wrote the music for 2 songs myself, "The Dagger" and "Rich Man", Dave McClain co-wrote the song "Army Of The Sun" with me, and Phil Demmel contributed a riff for "Independent". I produced and arranged all of the tracks at the same location used for the recording of Through The Ashes Of Empires (Sharkbite Studios) along with the honorable Sir Markus O'Keatonus on Lead Pro Tools. We rehearsed and recorded the songs in a week and a half, and I want to give a special shout-out to Andols for being the burger worshipping, drum-part-writing-out, saving the day super-slayer! He WROTE all of his drum parts out in drum-ese (drum-erican, drum-ish, drum-adian) and ate burgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, every day for 3 days...FUCK YEAH!!

"When it came to the songs, I began writing them based around who I would like to sing them and then catering it to the singer. There was no guarantee that I would get the singers I wanted, as they could obviously go with any of the other Captains for whatever reason. But, being the humble fella that I am, I figured I'd go for the biggest and best singers on the label... why not huh? All that they could do was say no. I started envisioning Max from Soulfly/Sepultura on an old school Chaos A.D.-style thrash track, I imagined Corey from Slipknot on a long, slow, eerie, Sabbath-heavy track, I imagined Howard from Killswitch on a More Things Change-style track, and I imagined Tim Williams of VOD/Bloodsimple fame (and one of my favorite singers of all time) on a melodic but heavy, Muse-style track. Well, lo and behold, I got all four singers I wanted, and I haven't the slightest fuckin' clue how I managed to pull that off.

"Max, Corey and Tim recorded their parts near their hometowns of Phoenix, Des Moines, and New York respectively, while Howard asked me to produce his vocals here in Oakland. Mr. Jones flew out to Sharkbite for a couple of days, and we bounced ideas around while grubbing on bomb-ass vegetarian-chicken fried rice from Golden Lotus and ass-kickin' pollo adobado burritos from Cancun Taqueria. I had written a vocal melody and some lyrics for a melodic part that he loved, and as we were banging ideas back and forth, he asked if I'd sing on the track with him. At first I was like, "Nah, this is all you dude!", and he was like, "No man, I really want you to sing on this with me", but I was still like, "I don't know man", then he was like, "Dude, I really want you to sing on this with me", and ya know...Howard is a very large man, who just happens to be built like a brick fucking shithouse...so, I enthusiastically said "OK!" and we rocked the fuck out. I ended up singing some of his lyrics on the pre-chorus, we both sang the melodic hook, did some screech trade-offs, and basically kicked that fucker's ass! So much so, that at one point, we joked that this duet was the frickin' "Ebony and Ivory" of Metal. For me, it was probably the toughest song to part with musically, since it could have easily been a Machine Head song, but Mr. Jones fucking KILLED IT, so if it had to go, at least it went in supreme style. Amazing singer, really good dude, killer vibe.

"I gotta say, all of their contributions were phenomenal. Max's voice sounds hard as fuck, Tim's vocals are incredible and so damned original, and Corey Taylor just sounds fucking PISSED - very politically charged, and his voice has that mesmerizing quality that takes me back to something like "Bother" from Stone Sour, before kicking into that satanic vocal heaviness, like something off of the first Slipknot album. I LOVE this song!

"The coolest thing about this is that, as amazing as everything had turned out going into the music stage of it all, I think it's the singers who really brought the final touch to the table and made these songs come alive. I feel like I gave them some good songs, and these guys made them great songs. Even though it felt like I was cheating on my band the whole time, I'm really stoked with the results, and want to thank my guys for patiently allowing me to take part in this very unique project. Having heard many of the other tracks from the other Captains, this record is going to be fuckin' awesome for a metal fan."

Cheers, Fuckers!

-Flynn

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