ALBUM REVIEW: Roadrunner United: The Concert – Roadrunner United
When it came to metal labels in 1990s, Roadrunner Records were pretty much untouchable, with many bands on the label shifting millions of units. The only other labels that came close in terms of influence were Metal Blade, Earache (both of whom defined the late 80s and early 90s metal/death metal/grindcore boom) and then later on Relapse. But Roadrunner had a more accessible edge, although still with their ear to the underground, which meant that an album released in the 1990s that had the Roadrunner stamp on it was a generally must listen; Chaos AD, Demanufacture, Cause Of Death, Burn My Eyes, Set It Off, Urban Discipline, Bloody Kisses… and that’s just for starters!
When it came to the label’s 25th anniversary in 2005, they celebrated by releasing Roadrunner United: The All Star Sessions, an album that paid tribute to its vast history with an ambitious concept (masterminded by the label’s Monte Conner and Mark Palmer) that saw four team captains (MACHINE HEAD‘s Robb Flynn, FEAR FACTORY’s Dino Cazares, the late, great Joey Jordison of SLIPKNOT, and TRIVIUM‘s Matt Heafy) make an album of new material with help of 57 musicians from 45 past and present Roadrunner bands. The album, released towards the end of 2005 was a great success and led to a live honouring at New York’s Nokia Theatre in December of the same year.
That concert is immortalised in this new reissue and it provides a brilliant reminder of how influential the Roadrunner back catalogue was and continues to be, almost 18 years on from the original live show. Metal, hardcore, death metal, gothic metal and so much more, there is so much represented to enjoy here, particularly if you were around in the 90s as an extreme music fan. The fact that Roadrunner were able to gather so many musicians to take part is particularly impressive – 39 musicians from 25 bands to be precise – how many other labels could have pulled that off!?
Kicking off with BIOHAZARD‘s anthem Punishment sets the tone nicely with a dream line-up of Billy Graziadei and Evan Seinfeld from BIOHAZARD themselves alongside Adam Duce (MACHINE HEAD) on bass, guitarists Dino Cazares and Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA), and Joey Jordison on drums. It quick shows just how amazing this night was, and following it up with MADBALL‘s Set It Off with Jamey Jasta of HATEBREED on vocals alongside other extreme music luminaries is just hardcore heaven.
After that blistering opening, the highlights are plentiful and show the broad nature of the label, from a stirring rendition of STONE SOUR‘s Bother by Corey Taylor and Keith (now Mina) Caputo from LIFE OF AGONY, to a great version of TYPE O NEGATIVE‘s Black No 1 with vocals courtesy of Ville Valo from HIM, to name a couple, as well as special treats like DEICIDE‘s Glen Benton blasting through OBITUARY‘s The End Complete and his own band’s Dead By Dawn and Robb Flynn tackling SEPULTURA‘s Refuse/Resist and Roots Bloody Roots as well as MACHINE HEAD‘s evergreen Davidian alongside a whole host of Roadrunner musicians that are far too plentiful to name. The Roadrunner United material that gets played adds to the special nature of the event too and the whole set has a truly celebratory and triumphant vibe throughout.
Ultimately, while the Roadrunner United project was a great celebration of the label, especially as it was such a massive undertaking, this live document serves as an even greater celebration and shows just how iconic the roster of Roadrunner has been over the years. Watching this now after the time that has passed, it acts as a timely reminder of how many great bands, songs and albums Roadrunner put out.
Rating: 8/10
Roadrunner United: The Concert is set for release on March 10th via Roadrunner Records.
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