Roadrunner unites for a heavy metal anniversary

12/14/2005 3:11 PM, Reuters
Gelu Sulugiuc

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, heavy metal label Roadrunner Records has hatched all-star gatherings that make USA for Africa's "We Are The World" seem like a modest garden party.

In October, Roadrunner released a compilation of 18 original songs featuring 56 musicians from 45 of the label's past and present bands. Then it assembled an all-star band that will perform classic Roadrunner songs with dozens of special guests from groups like HIM, Slipknot and Anthrax on Thursday at Nokia Theater in New York's Times Square.

"We wanted to come up with a unique idea," said Monte Conner, Roadrunner's chief artists and repertoire (A&R) man. "We didn't think kids could afford a box set, plus nobody would listen to it."

For the compilation, named "Roadrunner United: The All Star Sessions," Conner picked four "captains" to write original songs and lead other musicians in what a critic called "an all style rage-on."

Machine Head vocalist/guitarist Robert Flynn and former Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares were chosen to represent the label's early 1990s releases. Drummer Joey Jordison came from Grammy nominees Slipknot, currently the biggest metal band on Roadrunner, while vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy from hot new thrash band Trivium represented the label's future.

Each song used a different vocalist, who had to come up with lyrics and melodies.

"The singers could do whatever they wanted, as long as it was brutal," Cazares said.

They ranged from classic metal heroes like Mercyful Fate's King Diamond and Sepultura's Max Cavalera to up-and-commers like Mikael Akerfeldt from Swedish progressive metal band Opeth.

"The reason I accepted doing this was to get to meet and play with these incredible musicians that enhanced my life growing up," said Jordison.

The label's current chart-topper, Nickelback, which offers considerably lighter fare, was not included on the compilation, but participants went through great pains not to disparage the critically panned but commercially hugely successful band.

"I'm not necessarily a fan of Nickelback, but that guy can write a song," Jordison said of Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger. "But I come from more of an old school Roadrunner."

Jordison will lead the Roadrunner band at Thursday's concert, playing with Cazares, bassist Adam Duce (Machine Head) and guitarist Andreas Kisser (Sepultura).

Guest singers will include teenage heartthrob Ville Valo from Finnish goth rockers HIM, Corey Taylor from Slipknot and Jamey Jasta from hardcore band Hatebreed.

UNDERGROUND METAL

Roadrunner started in 1980 as a European distributor for American heavy metal acts like Slayer. It soon started signing its own bands and it opened a U.S. office in 1986.

Conner, promoted to A&R 10 days after getting hired out of college, quickly signed heavy metal legends Sepultura and Obituary to the label.

But his early good instincts didn't mean he always got it right.

"We sent demos directly to Monte and got rejected like five times," Jordison said.

Eventually, the label hit the jackpot with Slipknot and Nickelback, but had its share of missed opportunities, such as declining to sign the now hot-selling emo band My Chemical Romance.

So to celebrate a quarter of a century of downs but mostly ups, Roadrunner reunited musicians old and young, happy and disgruntled.

"My relationship with Monte Conner is killer... I would kill him," said keyboardist Josh Silver, who appears on the compilation but whose band Type O Negative left Roadrunner after seven albums. "Art and business are always tough to combine... You're not supposed to sell art, but they do."

DevilDriver vocalist Dez Fafara, sitting next to Silver for an interview, told a different story.

"They've stuck by me through think and thin, so I owe those people a great deal," he interjected. "You should've stayed on Roadrunner, man, I just bought a new car."

Reuters/VNU