Amen fans have taken to the web in hopes of forcing Virgin Records to either release the new Amen album or release control of the master tapes for the album to the group. Amen had reportedly completed recording the material for their third album and turned the master tapes over to Virgin Records but it appears that the album will not see the light of day.

The trouble started when the band was informed by Virgin Records that the label did not plan to release the new album because they felt the group was not �commercial enough� to make it worth their while. The label released the band from their contract but refused to give them back the master tapes to the material the group had recorded for the new album. Virgin reportedly will only release the master tapes back to the band if the group reimburses the label for $200,000 they laid out for the recording of the new material. 

Now Amen fans are hoping to force Virgin to release the master tapes back to �cash strapped� band so they can release the new recordings either on their own or through another record label. To do this fans have set up an online petition at PetitionsOnline.com. As of this writing 3894 people have signed the petition. 

Below is the text of the petition fans are being asked to sign. [note � the text is reprinted exactly as Posted)

To:  Virgin Records 

SAVE AMEN!!!

The most volatile and amazing punk/metal band in the world today, 'Amen', is in jeopardy. Upon the recent completion of their 3rd (and as of yet, unreleased) album, the band 'Amen' have come to a dead end. 

Having invested a sum of $200,000 into the recording (enough material to fill nearly three albums) Virgin Records told them that the album would not be released by them due to the band not being a 'commercial enough proposition to pursue'. 

Virgin then further insisted that the band could leave the label, but could not take the recorded material with them, because of the fact they had paid to produce said album. In order to gain back the recorded material, they said the band would have to pay back the recording cost. 

The Problem is, the band does not have the money in order to pay Virgin for the material. Due to significant delay in the album's release, the band have had no money coming
in for months. 

Amen have a record ready to release, but cant release it until they come up with the money Virgin is asking for. 

This problem is jeopardising the future of the band, and frontman 'Casey Chaos' has even gone as far as saying that 'its a mess that could quite easily force the band to call it a day.' 

I know I, and many other people, do not want to see one of the greatest bands in the world today to be forced to part ways, only because of a money hungry record label. 

Not only will it mean the death of 'Amen' its also another sign that the worlds music industry is destroying creativity and only cares about record sales and not real innovation or talent. 

Therefore Id like to send a wake up message to 'Virgin Recordings' tosay that by releasing this album and taking the band back into the fold, they will be making a lot of people very happy and also showing that creativity and innovation is as important to them as record sales. 

Thanks for your time, 

Sincerely, 

Max Harper.

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