"We fully expect this to be the beginning of a new trend of bands turning away from such sites as MySpace and using ground-breaking sites like getcloser.com to reach their fans," said Gideon Lask, e-commerce director of HMV.

90 seconds of each song on Slipknot's fourth album All Hope Is Gone will be previewed until the record's release on August 25. HMV are claiming that the move is particularly significant because their website is only in public beta, ahead of its full launch later this year.

The website, billed as a "social discovery site," is particularly novel because of a 'gap analyser' tool which spots gaps in the user's iTunes collections and can offer suggestions.

Getcloser.com "connects people via their music preferences and allows them to plug their favourite tracks and bands to other users", according to Sami Westwood of Slipknot's label Roadrunner Records, claiming that "word of mouth" is now an ever-more powerful consideration for the music industry.