Metal, Rated “XXX”: Roadrunner Marks Three-Decade-Plus Mark with Four-Disc Box Set

One of the top labels in straight-up rock and heavy metal, Roadrunner Records, will celebrate their more than 30 years in the business with a new box set, XXX: Three Decades of Roadrunner Records, in October.

From its inception in 1980, Roadrunner was often toward the forefront of metal, from traditional heavy and thrash metal in the 1980s and early 1990s to the fast-paced tracks and nu metal stylings of the late ’90s. Along the way, they’ve opened up their roster to all kinds of hard rock, serving as a solid home base for veterans and upstarts alike. Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Type O Negative, Dream Theater, Megadeth, Slipknot, Nickelback, Korn, Rush, Porcupine Tree, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Dresden Dolls and Heaven & Hell (the late ’00s project by Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice – essentially, the Dio-led version of Black Sabbath) have all called Roadrunner home at one time or another.

And of these and more will be featured on this themed, 54-track box set, divided into four discs: Foundations, featuring early heavy metal cuts from the label’s early days; Horns Up, a summary of Roadrunner’s output in the late 1990s and early 2000s; And Metal for All, featuring recent metal releases (including the 2004 label supergroup Roadrunner United) and Rock for the Ages, featuring everything that rocked in between. XXX: Three Decades of Roadrunner Records will also feature liner notes from Decibel writer Chris Dick, including interviews and quotes with label founder Cees Wessels as well as King Diamond, Max Cavalera of Sepultura and Soulfly, Matt Heafy of Trivium and more.

XXX: Three Decades of Roadrunner Records will be available October 1. Hit the jump for the usual full track list and (so far, just an Amazon U.K.) pre-order links!

Release Round-Up: Week of July 24

Booker T. & the MGs, Green Onions (Concord/Stax)

The 1962 album from the Stax legends is expanded with two previously issued, live bonus tracks from Los Angeles in 1965.  Read more here.

David Cassidy, Cherish / Rock Me Baby (7Ts/Cherry Red)

The Partridge Family star was on top of the world when he released his first two solo albums in 1972.  They arrive on American shores today as one two-fer!  Read more here.

The Guess Who, # 10 / Road Food (Iconoclassic)

Iconoclassic’s series of expanded and remastered reissues for the Canadian rockers continues with these 1973 and 1974 RCA albums.  Read more here.

Jerry Lee Lewis, The Killer Live! 1964-1970 (Hip-o Select/Mercury)

This limited edition 3-CD set compiles a bevy of live albums from the piano pounder: “Live” At The Star Club, Hamburg and The Greatest Live Show On Earth, both from 1964; 1966’s By Request: More Of The Greatest Live Show On Earth; and 1970’s Live At The International, Las Vegas.  A full 16 bonus tracks, including 10 previously unreleased tracks, round out the set.

Rodriguez, Searching for Sugar Man: Original Soundtrack (Legacy/Light in the Attic)

Never heard of Rodriguez?  Let Legacy and Light in the Attic spin this fascinating yarn about a musician who had no idea that his long-lost LP had acquired a new lease on life: as the soundtrack to a revolution taking place oceans away.  We’ll have more on the amazing story of Rodriguez later today!

Neil Sedaka, The Show Goes On: Live at the Royal Albert Hall (Eagle Rock)

A 2006 set of hit tunes from the “Calendar Girl” and “Laughter in the Rain” hitmaker arrives on CD for the first time.

Sugar, Copper Blue/Beaster (Deluxe Edition) / File Under Easy Listening (Deluxe Edition) (Merge)

American reissues arrive from Bob Mould’s Sugar in modified form from the recent Edsel deluxe editions.   All the DVD content from the Edsel sets has been dropped, along with the BBC session tracks that featured on Copper Blue. All the other copious bonus audio content will be retained, though, with Copper Blue and the Beaster EP brought together as one 3-CD package, and FU:EL as one 2-CD set.  Read more about these Merge Records releases here.

Various Artists, Country Funk 1969-1975 (Light in the Attic)

The anthology experts at Light in the Attic have put together this fun set exploring the crossroads of – yup! – country and funk.  Expect rarities from Bobby (then Bob) Darin, Mac Davis, Tony Joe White, Bobbie Gentry and more!

GZA, Liquid Swords: The Chess Box (Get On Down)

One of The Wu-Tang Clan’s great solo albums from the group’s initial wave, Liquid Swords is expanded with a bonus disc of instrumentals and a collectible chess set package. Read more here!

The Pharcyde, Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde: Expanded Edition (Delicious Vinyl)

The underrated alternative hip-hop group gets their debut album expanded 20 years later in a three-disc set featuring a deluxe box and two extra discs of B-sides, remixes and other bonus material.

Slipknot, Antennas to Hell (Roadrunner)

The nu-metal band’s first compilation, featuring either straight hits or a bonus live disc to match. Full story is here.

Jennifer Lopez, Dance Again: The Hits (Epic)

The former American Idol judge’s comeback comes full circle with this compilation of some of the hottest dance floor fillers of the past 15 years. Have a look here.

Before We Forget: Slipknot to Release First Hits Compilation

In the past decade, Slipknot were one of the most iconic and unforgettable faces of alternative metal in America. Next month, they will celebrate their tenure with the release of their first greatest hits compilation.

Though Antennas to Hell doesn’t contain any new tracks – the band has allegedly put together only tentative recordings since the death of founding bassist Paul Gray in 2010 – it will showcase 19 of the band’s “fan favorites, live classics and well-known radio hits,” including “Wait and Bleed,” “Duality,” “Before I Forget” and more. A deluxe edition of the album will also include a bonus CD of (sic)nesses, a portion of the band’s headlining set at England’s Download Festival in 2009. (In 2010, this concert was released on DVD.)

Antennas to Hell serves as the perfect teaser for the band’s summer concert activities, notably a headlining slot on the Mayhem Festival tour and Knotfest, the band’s first-ever music festival, a two-day outing to be held in August in the band’s native Iowa and Wisconsin. Knotfest will feature musical appearances by Serj Tankian of System of a Down, Deftones, Lamb of God and others, as well as an assortment of “dark carnival” attractions.

The set is due out July 24; an Amazon link has not gone live yet. Hit the jump to check out the track list.

Slipknot Return to “Iowa” for 10th Anniversary

Iowa is more than Johnny Carson and John Wayne’s home state. It’s also the name of one of the heaviest metal albums of the past decade, by the native sons of Slipknot. The landmark album is being reissued this fall by Roadrunner Records, adding a bonus CD of live rarities and a DVD of video treasures.

With their attention-grabbing wardrobe of numbered jumpsuits and off-the-wall masks, a frenetic musical style augmented by unique percussive elements and a rough-and-tumble live stage presence, Slipknot has long stood head and shoulders above the crowded alt-metal scene of the early 2000s. But sophomore album Iowa found the band at a bit of a crossroads: band tension was at an all-time high, and addiction, management conflicts and production delays only exacerbated the situation. “When we did Iowa,” drummer Shawn “Clown” Crahan told Revolver in 2008, “we hated each other. We hated the world; the world hated us.”

But that hate became significantly easier to work through upon Iowa‘s release. Fans were elated with hard-hitting tracks like “Left Behind,” “My Plauge” and “I Am Hated,” and the album was a strong commercial success, debuting in Billboard‘s Top 5, topping the U.K. album charts and ultimately earning two Grammy nominations. Slipknot would embark on a world tour and a three-year hiatus before coming back with the strong Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses in 2004.

Roadrunner’s 10th anniversary reissue is heavy with bonus material. In addition to brand-new artwork and a bonus track, a new mix of “My Plague,” a bonus CD includes all of the live performances as captured on the Disasterpieces concert video from 2002. A bonus DVD features Goat, a new hour-long documentary on the album and its aftermath directed by Crahan and four music videos. The new package drops November 1 and can be pre-ordered after the jump.