AN EPIC RUN AT ROCK

Epic Records, arguably best-known as the home of platinum crooners like Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Sade and Shakira, is looking at making some noise in the Q4 with an impressive lineup of metal luminaries, including a couple of grunge legends.

Said Epic Records President Polly Anthony: "Rock and roll forms the spine of this record company, and we’re proud of that. This company’s emotional age is about 17 right now, and it feels fantastic."

* Good Charlotte’s The Young and the Hopeless got things off to a slammin’ start with its release last week (10/1), culminating in a remarkable #6 bow, with almost 125k sold. The Maryland-based band, featuring identical twin brothers, used more than a year of relentless touring, including an appearance on the Van’s Warped Tour, to help launch the single, "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," at PoMo and Active radio. They hosted MTV’s TRL last Thursday (10/3). A headlining tour starts Oct. 15.

* Pearl Jam’s new album, Riot Act (11/12), has already produced the band’s most active single in their career with "I Am Mine," which has instantly climbed into the Top 10 at PoMo radio. The album was produced by Adam Kasper and the band and mixed by longtime collaborator Brendan O’Brien. The first track was previewed on AOL First Listen Sept. 13, and will be available at retail on Oct. 8 as a two-sided vinyl single with the non-LP b-side "Down." There won’t be a video, but the group’s slated for two appearances on David Letterman (11/14-15) the week of release. A world tour is planned for 2003, which will produce yet another bootleg reissue series. Upon release of the album, a special online area will be made available, where music and additional content can be accessed.

* Audioslave, the supergroup formed by ex-Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, along with Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, releases its self-titled Epic/Interscope debut Nov. 19. The first single/video, "Cochise," exploded out of the box at Rock and PoMo radio. The video was directed by Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo).

* Chevelle’s Wonder What’s Next, the band’s sophomore album after its debut on Squint, came out on Tuesday (10/8), preceded by the first single, "The Red," already Top 10 Rock/ Top 15 PoMo. The Chicago-based band’s video has received extensive play on MTV2. The band is currently on tour with Stone Sour and Sinch and featured in Rolling Stone’s "New Face" section.

* Mudvayne’s The End of All Things to Come hits retail Nov. 19, with first single "Not Falling" already making inroads at Active Rock radio. The track will also be featured in the upcoming Warner Bros. film Ghost Ship.

* Korn’s Untouchables is now over a million sold and has been revitalized by the new single, "Thoughtlesssness," with a hot video directed by the Hughes Brothers.

Added Exec. VP/GM Steve Barnett: "Rock is a huge global priority for us, both for our superstar bands and our breaking new acts. We want to be at the forefront of its worldwide emergence."

Sr. VP Promotion Joel Klaiman added, "These are promotion-minded projects, with a couple of the most anticipated records of the year in Audioslave and Pearl Jam. We’ve done tons of setup on Good Charlotte’s first record. We’ve been on the Chevelle track for 18 weeks… We just rolled up our sleeves week after week and went at radio and now it’s paying off. Mudvayne’s next. Another band that’s delivered on the road, given us a great album and their most palatable radio track yet."