Metal News for January 20, 2008
Last updated on October 4, 2025 at 3:07 AM ET
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Hot Topics
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25 news articles posted on this day.
Annihilator Guitarist Speaks On "Ripper" Owens
Chad Bowar from About Heavy Metal recently conducted an interview with ANNIHILATOR guitarist Jeff Waters. Here are some extracts from the conversation:
Chad Bowar: "Metal" has been out for nearly a year in Europe. What was the delay in getting a North American release?
Jeff Waters: "I've been away from the states since 1993. My home country Canada hasn't seen us tour there since '93, nor has the U.S. So we haven't really had a proper release there. This is more of a proper release, although it's not going to get us out front and get us in all the magazines there. But SPV will try to get us a little momentum. We've had a good following in Europe and Asia since the first record in 1989. The first three records did pretty well in North America, then in 1993 Metal went out and we decided stay overseas where we were doing well, and that's where we've been all this time. I've tried to get Canadian and U.S. deals for many albums over many years. This is the 12th studio album, and after the third one it was almost impossible because in the '90s traditional Metal went out. It was only in the underground. No promoters and clubs would book anything with 'Metal' in it. And now it's really tough for us, because we an 'older' band, and labels would rather sign the newer stuff. We don't have that guaranteed big sales thing, where overseas we keep getting resigned and getting good deals and doing good tours because we do have the sales over there."
Chad Bowar: You sang lead vocals on a track on "Metal" and you were actually the full-time vocalist for ANNIHILATOR for a while in the '90s. Do you miss being the vocalist?
Jeff Waters: "No. I did it on 'King Of The Kill' (1994), 'Refresh The Demon' (1996) and 'Remains' (1997). I just did it because I couldn't find anyone around where I was living. Friends of mine conned me into giving it a try. 'King Of The Kill' was a big album everywhere except North America, and we did three videos for the album. I was laughing because I was very insecure as a singer. I'm not really a singer. I just picked it up at the age of 26. But it worked well. Eventually it became too physically demanding. I wanted to concentrate on guitar and we brought back an old singer, Randy Rampage. Once in a while I'll sing on a record. It's fun to do, but I'm not great at it and it's very physically demanding. When we're doing touring, I do three or four songs if we're the opening act, and six out of 18 in a headline set."
Chad Bowar: What do you think about ICED EARTH bringing back Matt Barlow and replacing Ripper Owens?
Jeff Waters: "It's good and bad. It's good for Jon (Schaffer). I know where Jon's coming from, because sometimes you have to make decisions where half the people think it's a great thing and half the people don't. But there is a lot of stuff behind the scenes that you don't know go on, and Jon has to make decisions. I was very close to those guys on the ICED EARTH tour. We were all friends and hanging out for over a month. Everybody got along. Jon and Ripper were best of buddies. There was no negativity at all. It was actually one of the best tours I've ever done for getting along with the other band. It was a really close, cool tour and they are all nice guys. It's sad to see a great singer like Tim leave that gig. But at the same time Jon feels it's going to put some extra life in the band, a kickstart. It's cool to see Matt come back, too. I hope Ripper does some really good things, because he has one of the best voices in Metal."
Read the full article at About.com.
Ex-Obituary Guitarist Released From Prison
It has been confirmed that former OBITUARY guitarist Allen West was released from the Gainesville Correctional Institution in Gainesville, Florida on January 19, 2008 after serving eight months for driving under the influence (DUI).
According to Headbanger's Blog, West has had problems with alcohol abuse over the years and even quit OBITUARY for a time in August 2005 because he was unable to remain sober enough to play shows. OBITUARY originally hoped West would sober up enough to work on the band's latest CD, "Xecutioner's Return", but the guitarist couldn't pull it off, and on May 16, 2007 he was arrested and imprisoned after his fifth DUI offense.
"If you've followed OBITUARY's history, it really shouldn't be any surprise about West's absence," John Tardy said in a 2007 interview with The Metal Forge. "If you look all the way back to 'Cause Of Death', you could see he had certain issues at the time. If I had to sum up the two years since we released 'Frozen In Time', I would say that they've been a little challenging. His drinking was getting way out of hand. It was affecting us all personally, and affecting our shows with his poor performance onstage. It wasn't fun to be around him at times. It was bad. We would sit down and talk with him, and even beg with him to get his act together, and the very next day you would have a whole day where you simply couldn't get anything done because he was unavailable. There was something going on. His drinking got the best of him. In the end, he finally got himself one DUI (Driving Under The Influence) too many, and in front of a judge, who by all means probably did the right thing by him, put him behind bars for a little while. That's given him plenty of the time to think about the next time he gets behind the wheel of a car when he's been drinking. He could kill somebody next time. As much as I certainly didn't want to see that happen, I think it was all just coming to a head. I think this was the best thing to happen to him. He'll sober up to a point where he can finally think straight. I haven't really talked to him since they sent him to prison. It's not so easy getting contact with him, but I'm sure we'll talk when he gets out early next year. He has a lot of decisions to make, but I can't even begin to speculate what going to happen in the future with West. I don't know where his mind's going to be when he gets out. I don't know if being on the road is the best thing for him right now either. Whether you want to participate or not, every night on the road is like Friday night. You can't avoid being around that kind of atmosphere. It's one of those things. It's easy to get caught up in it too, but at the same we just have to keep focused on what we do. The most important thing right now is putting good shows on for the fans. It's an unfortunate situation West's in, and only in time will we know what's going to happen with that."
OBITUARY is currently utilizing the services of guitarist Ralph Santolla, who has previously played with DEICIDE, DEATH and ICED EARTH, among others. "We're just so excited to have Ralph and we get along great," Tardy said. "He lives a few miles from here and he comes over nearly every day and we're just messing around and writing all kinds of stuff."
Bahimiron Nearing Completion Of Moribund Debut
Texas war ‘n’ whiskey-mongering black metal cult BAHIMIRON are nearing completion of their Moribund debut, fittingly titled Southern Nihilism. Reports basher of wooden coffins Blaash: “As of now, we have five tracks complete, and two more that are going to be completed this Friday (vocals), and we expect to complete the last two tracks (vocals/bass) and entire mixing/mastering in February, hopefully, or March at the latest barring jail, death, suicide, 9/11 plane-hijacking, etc.”
Song titles so far include 'Pillz And 90 Proof', 'Shattered And Crowned In Deceit', 'Five Chambers Empty', and 'The Cauldron Borne'. For more war and whiskey, consult www.bahimiron.com and www.myspace.com/bahimiron.
Keep Of Kalessin Issue Studio Report
Norway's KEEP OF KALESSIN have issued their fourth studio report:
"Production of the new album is coming towards the end. Office and bar-area is almost finished, however Wizziac is still waiting for his bass-amp to arrive...." To view go to this location. Previous reports are also available.
Dominici Post New Music Online
DOMINICI, featuring former DREAM THEATER vocalist Charlie Dominici, are offering a third song from their O3: A Trilogy - Part 2 album for free dowload on their official MySpace page. Go to this location to download the song 'Nowhere To Hide'. The tracks 'Greed, The Evil Seed' and 'The Calling' are still available for free download.
O3: A Trilogy - Part 2 was released through InsideOut on February 23rd, 2007. The tracklist is as follows: 'The Monster', 'Nowhere To Hide', 'Captured', 'Greed, The Evil Seed', 'School Of Pain', The Calling', 'The Real Life', 'The Cop', 'A New Hope'.
For more information on Dominici go to this location.
Dream Theater Announce South American Tour Dates
Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER will embark on a tour of South America in March. The dates are as follows:
March 01 - Santiago, Chile - Pista Atletica
March 03 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Luna Park Stadium
March 04 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Luna Park Stadium
March 07 - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Credicard Hall
March 08 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Citibank Hall
March 09 - Belo Horizonte, Brazil - Chevrolet Hall
March 12 - Bogota, Colombia - El Coliseo
March 14 - Caracas, Venezuela – [to be announced]
End Of Level Boss Announce New Drummer
London-based anguish rock outfit END OF LEVEL BOSS has announced the addition of drum-battering Scotsman Neil Mackay Grant to the group's ranks. Neil replaces the recently departed Ben Hallett, having previously been part of Glasgow based-band THE MIGHTY RAAR. His arrival means that END OF LEVEL BOSS can now confirm their involvement in the upcoming Exile On Mainstream Records: Blisstrain European tour.
Along with EOLB, the Blisstrain tour will include Exile On Mainstream signings A WHISPER IN THE NOISE (USA), BEEHOVER (Germany), DYSE (Germany) and WE INSIST! (France).
Apart from the usual madness that a tour like this would contain, the bands will also be creating unique one-off collaborations throughout the tour, with the running order changing every night. An art exhibition created by Daniel Secker (who has worked on a large percentage of Exile's artwork) will be on display at all of the venues. More...
Domination Black Post Song Featuring Lordi Online
LORDI mainman Mr. Lordi has recorded guest vocals for the track "The House Of 1000 Eyes" which will appear on DOMINATION BLACK's "Haunting" mini-CD, due in February 2008 via Violent Journey Records. The song is now available for streaming on DOMINATION BLACK's MySpace page.
"Haunting" (cover artwork by Jarkko Vanhalakka) track listing:
01. The House Of 1000 Eyes (feat. Mr.Lordi)
02. Shadow King
03. No More Again
04. A World Without Heroes (KISS cover)
05. Evil Has Found A Home More...
Amberian Dawn Post New Song Online
Finnish female-fronted metal band AMBERIAN DAWN will release its debut album, "River of Tuoni", on January 30, 2008 via Suomen Musiikki. Another track from the CD, "Valkyries", can currently be streamed on the group's MySpace page.
Commented the band: "Our label, Suomen Musiikki, has defined AMBERIAN DAWN's music as fantasy metal, but as always, the genre borders are very thin and hard to define. Our music has definitely fantasy in its lyrics... but melody and rhythm are the key components."
"River of Tuoni" track listing:
01. River Of Tuoni
02. Wings Are My Eyes
03. Lullaby
04. Valkyries
05. Fate Of Maiden
06. My Only Star
07. Curse
08. Passing Bells
09. Sunrise
10. Evil Inside Me More...
Necrophobic Schedule Hometown Concert
Stockholm, Sweden-based death metallers NECROPHOBIC have scheduled a hometown concert on March 28 at Tantogården. Also scheduled to appear is DEMONICAL.
NECROPHOBIC hasn't played Stockholm in almost two years.
The band has been confirmed for the Kaltenbach Open Air festial, set to take place July 18-19 in Spital am Semmering, Austria.
NECROPHOBIC's latest album, "Hrimthursum", is available through Germany's War Anthem Records on special gatefold vinyl LP with a poster.
The follow-up to 2002's "Bloodhymns", "Hrimthursum" was recorded at the House of Voodoo Studio with engineers Anders Bentell and Fredrik Folkare (guitarist and producer of UNLEASHED) and was mastered at Tailor Maid Production in Stockholm with Peter In de Betou.
Avsky To Release "Malignant" In April
Swedish black metallers AVSKY will release their new album, "Malignant", on April 8 via Moribund Records. Says guitarist/bassist AE, "I think we managed to create a filthier, more hateful and darker feeling to this album compared to our earlier recordings. The goal with our music is, besides writing good songs, to recreate that feeling you got when you listened to black metal back in the early '90s, not necessarily to sound like those bands but to have the same feeling in the music, that black metal is something obscure and, of course, dangerous."
According to Moribund, AVSKY is "one of the most dangerous-sounding black metal bands the label's come across in many years."
For more information, visit their Myspace page.
Driller Killer Announce New Lineup
Brutal Swedish "crust core" act DRILLER KILLER has issued the following update:
"Well, 2007 turned out to be just as fucked up as the year before... It started of with a cancelled U.S. tour and a cancelled European tour.... All because of the 'promoters.'"
"However, we did play at Truckstop Alaska (RIP) in Gothenburg New Year's Eve 2006/2007 and did two gigs in Italy in May."
"Unfortunately we had to cancel our gig at the Party.San festival in Germany due to mental illness... Everything was total chaos and guitar player Adam decided to leave the band shortly after the Italy gigs and the band was sleeping for some months."
"But now we're back on crack with a new lineup." More...
Blood Freak Postpone Debut Performance
BLOOD FREAK drummer Shad has posted the following update:
“I’m sorry to say that I have a family emergency and will be leaving for Colorado tomorrow in the morning. This sucks big time for me all around for I am about to expierence a loss of a person that is very close to me and in turn have to postpone the BLOOD FREAK show until further notice. Please accept my apologies and forgive any inconvienences."
"For those of you that are traveling to see the show please contact your chosen airlines and get your flight postponed until we can reset the date for this show. Once again I’m truly sorry and wished this would of never happened.”
Nidrike Finish Recording New Album
Swedish metallers, Nidrike, issue the following update on their Myspace page
"Greetings,"
"Finally, the recording of "Blodsarv" is done! After several computer problems we managed to record all remaining Vocals this weekend! So, know its time for the mix, and I guess that I will be done with that within a couple of weeks. I have alot to do with other projects as well so I dont have the time to sit down and mix it all at once."
"9 brutal songs will be featured on this sick & fast Blackmetal album. I guess some of you will find alot of surprises as well, no were not original in any way, but theres some stuff you dont expect."
"As you might now the record is set to be released by Black Plague Records this Fall. Check our demo songs, that will be featured on the album on our myspace"
New Suicidal Tendencies Music Posted Online
Vocalist Mike Muir of the long-running Venice Beach, California thrash/punk band SUICIDAL TENDENCIES was the featured guest on BBC Radio 1's "Punk Show with Mike Davies" this past Tuesday night (January 15). During the broadcast Muir premiered a brand new SUICIDAL TENDENCIES song, "Crazy But Proud" plus a new track from his INFECTIOUS GROOVES project, "It's The Groove… Don't Fight It".
Listen to a replay of the program at this location (RealPlayer required).
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES has been working on its new studio CD with producer Paul Northfield.
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' current recording lineup is as follows:
Mike Muir - Vocals
Mike Clark - Guitars
Dean Pleasants - Guitars
Ron Brunner Jr. - Drums
Steve Brunner - Bass
Dark Tranquility Check In From Japan
Sweden's DARK TRANQUILLITY have posted this message on their official website:
"The Asian tour was a phenomenal experience, and yesterday's show in Tokyo really reminded us about how the Japanese fans are among the most dedicated and devoted in the world. Huge thanks to all that attended the shows, the excellent promoters/crew and of course to THE HAUNTED for being great as usual. "
Evergrey Fans Invited To Submit Questions
EVERGREY have issued the following update:
"Hey all,
It's time for another MySpace interview. The first two with Tom and Rikard went great so hopefully you all will help with this one too. This time the target is bass player Jari Kainulainen, who joined the band a few months ago. So basically this is your chance to welcome him to the band by making up some interesting questions for him to answer.
Here are the instructions on how to send a question for the interview:
-- Send a message to the Evergrey profile with the subject 'Jari interview question'
-- Write your question to the message body (only one question per friend accepted)
-- If you don't want your MySpace name to be mentioned on the interview, mention this on the message
-- And please, use as proper English as possible so we don't have to edit the questions a lot.
You have 8 days to send in the questions, the deadline is Sunday, January 27th. After that date the 20 best questions will be picked and sent to Jari for answering. After he is done answering, the interview will go up on MySpace and there will be a bulletin posted about it.
We are looking forward to getting some good questions again so start thinking and send yours in!"
Sonic Syndicate To Release New Album In Summer
Sweden's SONIC SYNDICATE have issued the following update:
"Sonic Syndicate has hit the rehearsal studio to prepare for their first shows of 2008. The band will go out on a short headlining tour before they begin to prepare for the recording of their 2nd album to be released on Nuclear Blast Records in late summer 2008.
Confirmed headline dates are as follows: More...
Obituary Drummer To Return To The Fold Tomorrow
Tampa-based death metal legends OBITUARY have issued the following update:
"Last night's show in Bergara (Spain)went well and we thank you all for the support! Hopefully, that should be the last show we have to do without Frank (Watkins/drums). We wish him safe travels.
I do have to appologize to anyone that may have emailed us through our fans email...the mail box got full and I just had delete a bunch of old shit to make room. If you emailed us in the last couple of days and got it back you can try to resend it and I will get back with you...my bad!
Today we have a day off, which is pretty much going to be consumed by driving, so it kind of sucks but...we are looking forward to getting to France. Our first show, the 21st, is in Rennes and the night after will be Paris."
Watkins is due to hit the stage with Obituary in Rennes. He had to fly home a few days ago to attend his grandmother's funeral back in Florida.
Upcoming Obituary, HOLY MOSES, AVATAR European live dates include: More...
Mike Patton Doesn't Rule Out Faith No More Reunion
Artisan News Service reports: Mike Patton, currently fronting MONDO CANE and about four other different bands, made his mark in the late '80s, early '90s fronting FAITH NO MORE. It was the band's "The Real Thing" album that created the funk-metal craze, opened the door for the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS brand of funk-rock, and tipped off what would become the nu-metal revolution. Bands as diverse as KORN and the MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES benefitted from their groundbreaking work, with songs like "Epic" and "From Out Of Nowhere". Throw in NIRVANA, and the alternative revolution was born.
Artisan News Service spoke to Mike Patton and asked him if he thought "The Real Thing" would be as influential to music as any album in the last 20 years.
On whether he is aware of "The Real Thing"'s influence:
Patton: "No, but it's not my place to criticize. I just make the music and put it out there. Where it fits in the world, how important it is, how important it isn't is up to people like you. I have nothing to say about it."
On how he remembers his days with FAITH NO MORE:
Patton: "Fondly. They were good years. It was a decade of my life. It was lots of ups and lots of downs, but ultimately that's where I learned my chops and learned the craft and the business."
With "The Real Thing" celebrating 20 years next year, is there a possibility of getting back together with the FAITH NO MORE guys?
Patton: "I wouldn't rule it out. I don't think we would need to reform the band, but maybe there's other things we can do together."
RATM Confirmed For Electric Weekend Festival
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE has been confirmed for the Electric Weekend, set to take place May 30-31 at John Lennon Auditorium in Getafe, Spain Also scheduled to appear is METALLICA. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, January 22, through Tick Tack Ticket net service, and a limited-time offer: two-day tickets priced at 110 euros plus distribution expenses, only until February 16.
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE — vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, drummer Brad Wilk and bassist Tim Commerford — released three politically charged albums: 1992's self-titled debut, 1996's "Evil Empire", 1999's "Battle of Los Angeles" and its 2000 covers album "Renegades".
It split in 2000 after the singer decided to record a solo album. The rest of the band formed AUDIOSLAVE with SOUNDGARDEN frontman Chris Cornell. The Harvard-educated Morello also recently released a solo album under the alias THE NIGHTWATCHMAN.
Rush Announce 2008 Tour Dates
RUSH have announced the following North American tour dates for 2008:
More...
Converge Reveal More Tour Dates
More dates have been released for CONVERGE’s upcoming tour with THE RED CHORD and GENGHIS TRON:
with BARONESS:
March 30 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
April 1 - New York, NY @ Blender Theatre
April 2 - Buffalo, NY @ Showplace Theatre
April 3 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
April 4 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
April 5 - Chicago, IL @ Reggies Rock Club
April 6 - Chicago, IL @ Reggies Rock Club
April 7 - Milwaukee, WI @ Richfield Chalet
April 8 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
April 9 - Sioux Falls, SD @ Nutty’s
April 10 - Iowa City, IA @ The Picador
April 11 - Omaha, NE @ Sokol
April 12 - Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
April 13 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
April 15 - Boise, ID @ The Venue
April 16 - Portland, OR @ Satyricon
April 18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory
April 19 - Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse
April 20 - Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse
with COLISEUM:
April 22 - Austin, TX @ Red 7
April 23 - Dallas, TX @ The Door
April 24 - Houston, TX @ Red Room
April 25 - New Orleans, LA @ The High Ground
April 26 - St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre
April 27 Orlando, FL @ The Social
May 1 Baltimore, MD @ Otto Bar
May 2 Pittsburgh, PA @ The School
May 3 Philadelphia, PA @ Starlight Ballroom
Twisted Sister Frontman To Appear On Reality Show
The following story is courtesy of Ken Tucker from Billboard:
The idea of bringing together strange bedfellows to entertain the masses is as old as Gilligan's Island and The Gong Show.
More recently, the concept has been effectively demonstrated by ABC's Dancing With The Stars, among a never-ending string of reality shows.
The latest mashup is CMT's Gone Country, which brings together '80s R&B star BOBBY BROWN, former American Idol contestant Diana DeGarmo, Latin artist JULIO IGLESIAS JR., Brady Bunch principal Maureen McCormick, R&B artist SISQO, TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider and singer/TV personality Carnie Wilson in a contest that nets the winner a country single release.
The ringmaster/pot stirrer/maestro/taskmaster for the show, which debuts January 25 on the network, is Big & Rich's John Rich.
Filmed in late October, Gone Country finds the contestants living together in the Plowboy Mansion, the 27,000-square-foot home north of Nashville co-owned by the Muzik Mafia, a genre-bending creative trust whose members include Rich, musical partner Big Kenny Alphin, Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy
Read the full article at this location.
Dream Theater Change Perth Venue
DREAM THEATER have announced a change to their upcoming Australian tour, with their January 26th show in Perth being moved from the Showgrounds to Burswood Theatre. IN additing, they have updated and confirmed their South American tour schedule. Dates are as follows: More...
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