SLIPKNOT Frontman Partners With FACECAGE To Launch GREAT BIG MOUTH RECORDS

SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor and Iowa-based metal act FACECAGE have joined forces to form a new Midwest-based record label, dubbed Great Big Mouth Records. The label has just released two tracks ("The Weakness Inside You" and "The Beautiful Tragedy") from FACECAGE's upcoming release, "Facecage III", which was produced by Taylor.

FACECAGE is described by Taylor as containing "the heaviness of SEPULTURA, the groove of [BLACK] SABBATH, the dark melodies of the Midwest and the drive of one hundred bands from either coast." Said Taylor of the band, "I've seen them work very hard, go through various changes, pay their dues and become a great band over the years. I'm very proud of them. Success doesn't come without sweat."

Last summer, Taylor was approached by longtime friend and collaborator Denny Harvey about the possibility of producing FACECAGE's next album. Harvey and his (515) Management Group have managed FACECAGE since 2003.

Said Harvey: "Corey has been a friend and confidant to FACECAGE for some time and he was ecstatic to be a part of this. He has watched FACECAGE go from playing clubs and paying their dues to becoming a Midwestern success story. This is really the next step for the band and a chance for them to work together, something Corey has been interested in for awhile now."

Recorded in Taylor's hometown of Des Moines, Iowa thoughout the fall and winter of 2005, "Facecage III" marks the evolution of the band and the growth of their songwriting.

When asked about the final product, Taylor commented: "I think it's the perfect result of a tremendous band’s evolution from being in the basement with dreams to expanding, learning and honing their craft as an organic musical entity. In layman's terms, they kick ass like never before on this album." Taylor added, "There are so many great moments on this album that it's hard to pick out a single track. 'Weakness Inside You' has that epic feeling from top to bottom, 'Drill Bits' makes you want to drive your car into a fucking wall, and let's not even DISCUSS what 'Nothing But Contempt' makes me want to do!"

In an unusual arrangement for the music industry, Corey and FACECAGE are partnering in an independent, grass-roots label with a focus on Midwestern music and artist development.

When asked why he and the band decided to release the album via Great Big Mouth and base the label in the Midwest, Taylor replied, "Because it's FROM the Midwest. It was born here, it grew here, it has thrived here, the fans have carried it here and it has spread from here. Nobody in the so-called 'industry' had the fuckin' balls to do it, so it's going to take someone with Midwestern balls to release it." Taylor added, "If I've learned anything, it's that the industry has to be led by the fucking hand to what kind of music people want. And that's what we’re trying to do."

(515) Management's Harvey agreed: "There has been a movement throughout the Midwestern United States that has been all but ignored by the mainstream music industry. Thriving music scenes like Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City, Chicago...the list goes on and on. In Iowa alone there are at least a dozen talented, amazing bands that can't get the time of day from the mainstream labels. It's wrong, it's short-sighted, and we are going to change it."

Harvey outlined the business model as "Grass-roots yet high-tech. We are going to combine the D.I.Y ethics of the older independent labels with the new technology available to us today. Eventually, we hope to make a big enough dent to secure major distribution. Until then, we will focus on Internet sales and independent promotion." He continued, "You are talking to the guys that flyered telephone poles at 3:00 a.m. for SLIPKNOT and hung bedsheets from highway overpasses to promote STONE SOUR, all while people told us we were crazy. Corey now has a Grammy to show for it. We didn't invent D.I.Y. but we sure did master it. In the end, I really do believe we will have the last laugh."

Summing up the sentiment, Taylor offered a blunt description of where FACECAGE is headed in the coming year: "Anywhere they want. Not anywhere they NEED, any-fucking-where they want. The sky's the limit, the time is now and god help anyone who gets in their fucking way." Taylor added, "July 15th — write it down. The day the Midwest took over again."

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/gbmrecords.