Metal News for July 21, 2005
Last updated on October 4, 2025 at 12:08 AM ET
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Hot Topics
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41 news articles posted on this day.
Arch Enemy From Ozzfest Doomsday Machine Out Tues
Swedish/German extreme metallers ARCH ENEMY kicked off their first U.S. tour in support of "Doomsday Machine", their highly anticipated new album, last week on Ozzfest to rave reviews. The dynamic offering was mixed by acclaimed producer Andy Sneap (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, NEVERMORE, OPETH) and features striking cover art by renowned artist Joachim Luetke (DIMMU BORGIR). A video for the track "Nemesis", shot by renowned director George Bravo (who also shot the group's "We Will Rise" clip), is now complete; look for it to make its "Headbanger's Ball" and "Metal Asylum" debut early next month. Be sure to also check out Decibel magazine's striking Angela Gossow cover feature, which is currently on stands.
Daniel Erlandsson (drums) checks in with a report from the road: "We are now back on track again after having missed the Camden, N.J. show, which was very disappointing, but shit happens and tour busses do break down. We ended up drinking ourselves silly while listening to old SCORPIONS albums in a parking lot.
"We just played another Ozzfest show today, this time in Darien Lakes, which is close to Buffalo. It was a great show, and we received an amazing response. We are playing one new song, 'Nemesis', off our new album, 'Doomsday Machine', and it is great to see the fans' amazing responses. A big thank you to all the people getting it on in the moshpit and all the people attending the FYE and Jägermeister signing sessions after our set, you all rule! Tomorrow we're playing another off-date show in London, Ontario with IN FLAMES and TRIVIUM, which should be another good one. We are looking forward to seeing all the fans there.
"No more groundbreaking news from here apart from me witnessing a couple of famous faces in the catering area. I'll have to leave you guessing."
Nightwish Get Special Guest For Europe Show
John Two-Hawks, a Native American hailing from Arkansas, will appear on the stage to perform the song "Creek Mary's Blood" with NIGHTWISH during their special concert at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki on October 21, 2005.
John Two-Hawks is a multi-instrumentalist who is devoted to spreading the culture and mentality of Native Americans. He has published six solo albums, and although he is constantly touring the U.S., Two-Hawks is very rarely seen on European soil.
"Creek Mary's Blood" was composed by NIGHTWISH keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and the song was featured on NIGHTWISH's platinum-selling (in Finland) "Once" album. On "Creek Mary's Blood" John Two-Hawks plays the flute and reads a poem translated to his native language. The song has never before been performed by its original recording lineup.
"Once Upon A Tour 2004-2005" has been selling out venues around the world for nearly 18 months and the group are now keen to end the tour on their home turf. At more than 150 shows on all continents, more than one million spectators have witnessed the NIGHTWISH spectacle. The Hartwall Arena show will be their last before NIGHTWISH take a lengthy break, estimated to last for at least 18 months, during which they will compose and record the follow-up to their highly successful "Once" album.
NIGHTWISH will be filming the Helsinki show for future release as a full-length DVD. The director will be Antti Jokinen, who has previously worked with the group on the "Nemo" clip. The show will be recorded with 20 cameras, which is unheard of in Finland. But then again, not many bands have sold 2.5 million records and are able to present a spectacle featuring such an arsenal of sound, light, visuals and pyro effects.
Tickets for the show go on sale on Monday, July 25 at 9:00 a.m. through Lippupalvelu and Menolippu.
The concert will be presented in cooperation with Radio City, whose metal program, "Rautakanki", will offer special features and contests regarding this event, as well as Sue magazine, the biggest music magazine in Finland. Also appearing on the bill will be SONATA ARCTICA.
Decpaitated Enter Studio w/ New Vocalist
Polish death metallers DECAPITATED will enter Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland on August 1 with producers Slawek and Wojtek Wieslawski to begin recording their new album, entitled "Organic Hallucinosis". The follow-up to 2004's "The Negation" will feature artwork and layout by Seth (ROTTING CHRIST, PARADISE LOST) and is tentatively scheduled for release in January/February 2006.
DECAPITATED will embark on a European headlining tour in September, with support from GOREROTTED, DETONATION and DAM. A U.S. tour with VADER and DEW-SCENTED will follow in November.
DECAPITATED recently parted ways with vocalist Sauron and replaced him with Covan, formerly of ATROPHIA RED SUN.
Foo Fighters to Collaborate with Herb Alpert
Dave Grohl was so pleased with the results of the acoustic half of the Foo Fighters' recent 'In Your Honor' double album, he now plans to ditch the band's trademark hard rock in favor of a bizarre collaboration with jazz guitarist Herb Alpert.
Grohl is already planning the next Foo Fighters disc and is determined to pull out all the stops this time, with some surprising guest stars.
He says, "There is something so powerful about the quiet dynamic. To me it is much more powerful than a f**king wall of amplifiers sometimes. It's funny how much that has changed our band.
"We're so jazzed that we're talking about the next album we're going to make. The names of producers are getting really out there. The kind of album we want to make next time will surprise anyone.
"It should be really interesting. We're really excited about it, mainly because we felt so liberated by making the acoustic record - now the possibilities are endless.
"We're not afraid of anything, whether it's having f**king Herb Alpert or (Kiss frontman) Gene Simmons on it, who f**king knows."
Drowning Pool Announce Official Vocalist
Through sources close to the band, that former SOiL frontman Ryan McCombs is officially DROWNING POOL's new lead singer. McCombs will be "unveiled" on August 25 on the main-stage of OZZFEST 2005 in Dallas, Texas, a city where he has recently been spotted spending a lot of time. The band will perform a full set at the Smirnoff Music Centre.
In other news, DROWNING POOL's second (and now former) lead singer, Jason 'Gong' Jones, is actively involved in the recording process with his new band AM CONSPIRACY in Orlando, Florida, and a re-energized SOiL, with their new leadman AJ Cavalier, have posted up their first video for the song 'Give it Up' online - it can be viewed at either SOiLMusic
Korn Lands Ex-Otep Guitarist Rob Patterson
Former OTEP guitarist Rob Patterson, who was fired from the group in December 2003, will be acting as fill-in axeman for KORN when they hit the road later this year. Patterson, who has also acted as touring guitarist for VANILLA ICE in years past, will be filling in for the recently departed Brian "Head" Welch, who officially left KORN earlier this year to pursue the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
10 Years Picks Single Shoots Video
10 Years have tapped director Chris Sims (Eighteen Visions, Lamb Of God) to film the video for their current single "Wasteland". The shoot will take place shortly with the bands Republic/Universal debut "The Autumn Effect" set for an August 16th release date.
The Haunted Annihilating Fans At Ozzfest
Swedish thrash titans THE HAUNTED are currently annihilating crowds at Ozzfest, which is the group's first U.S. run since wrapping up the "Devastation Across The Nation Tour" alongside SHADOWS FALL and DAMAGEPLAN last year. They recently completed a new video for "No Compromise" with acclaimed director Roger Johansson (IN FLAMES, SOILWORK); look for it now on Fuse's "Metal Asylum" and on MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" next weekend.
Peter Dolving (vocals) checks in with the following report from the road, after playing two shows in twelve hours: "It's going to be a long hot summer. My mind is slowly accepting it. I've gone soft in the time that we've been off tour, but now I am paying for it. My body is prepared, but the mind has no way getting ready for the complete assault on the senses a tour like this is. Outside it's in the nineties, and inside it's freezing, causing all the muscles to ache, while my sick libido pushes me hard.
"The show in Hartford was amazing, and it was great to see the kids embracing us. This feels new, but unfortunately I did a stupid thing going on stage with no shoes, and now my feet have two aching sores. I need these types of physical rewards. After the show I was so pissed off — we played 21 seconds too long, so the stage manager came screaming in my face the moment I walked off stage. I went running for an hour until I collapsed, drank water and fell asleep. We just played a killer off-date in Burlington, VT at 9:00 p.m., only to take the stage twelve hours later in Camden, NJ. Still, for some twisted reason, I really dig the self-torture involved in this."
Throwdowns Video Burn On This Weeks HBB
THROWDOWN's new video for "Burn" will premiere on this weekend's edition of Headbanger's Ball, airing every Saturday at 10 PM EST on MTV2. Hosting the show will be BLACK SABBATH's Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler.
A Dozen Furies New Album Pushed Back Again
A DOZEN FURIES will release "A Concept From Fire", their Sanctuary Records debut on September 13th. After numerous delays, this is hoped to be the last setback the 'Battle for Ozzfest' winners will have to face. The tracklisting is as follows:
1. The Burden
2. Awake And Lifeless
3. The Everlasting Grudge
4. Push Away
5. A Concept From Fire
6. Idea And Some Rope
7. Lost In A Fantasy
8. Into Another Life
9. The Cycle
10. Nightmare Of A Martyr
11. 138
12. Ill Will
H.I.M. Internet Only Dark Light Album Details
HIM's new album, "Dark Light", will also be available in an exclusive internet-only special edition. It will come in a tin box, with two extra tracks, a 32-page book with singer Ville Vallo's handwritten lyrics and a HIM-logo flashlight keychain. More details will be available shortly. "Dark Light" will be out on September 26 internationally and September 27 in the US.
As previously reported, the band will be embarking on a full Full US tour with SKINDRED and FINCH in tow.
Unearth Frontman Says Megadeth Is Total Horseshit
Abrasive Rock recently conducted an interview with UNEARTH frontman Trevor Phipps. An excerpt from the chat follows:
Abrasive Rock: With all the reunion shows going on right now is there one that really excites you?
Trevor Phipps: "I'd love to see TESTAMENT. I guess they're back together with Alex Skolnick, and the all original live up. I did just have the honor to see ANTHRAX play in London at the Download Festival. We played the same day as them about 3 weeks ago. That was killer. It was a favorite of mine back when I was a kid, so that was really cool to see, but I think the two main bands ANTHRAX and TESTAMENT.
Abrasive Rock: Is there one that you think is a complete joke?
Trevor Phipps: "MEGADETH, I would say, because it's just him. There's no Dave Ellefson, there's nobody. It's just Dave Mustaine. It's kinda ridiculous. Nick Menza's not there, it's just Dave Mustaine. It's a joke. It's not really MEGADETH. I think it's a total horseshit joke."
Read the entire interview at AbrasiveRock.com.
Mudvayne To Appear On Rockline
MUDVAYNE will be the featured guests on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" airing Monday, August 22. The live show begins at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET, and fans are encouraged to call in with questions during the program at (800) 344-ROCK (7625). To find a station near you, check out www.rocklineradio.com.
MUDVAYNE's latest album, "Lost and Found" (Epic Records), has sold 450,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The follow-up to 2002's gold-certified "The End of All Things to Come" was recorded at The Plant studio in Sausalito, California with producer Dave Fortman (former UGLY KID JOE guitarist), who has previously worked with SUPERJOINT RITUAL and EVANESCENCE, among others.
New Obituary Video Online
The video for the new OBITUARY song, "Insane", coming off the band's forthcoming album, "Frozen In Time", has been posted online for viewing at this location.
Listen To Cold's "God's Song" Online
Cold have posted new track 'God's Song' up at www.myspace.com/cold. This comes from the album 'A Different Kind Of Pain', to be released in late August.
John5 New Album Songs For Sanity
“Songs For Sanity” is a follow up to last year’s critically acclaimed “Vertigo.” On this phenomenal new record, 5 exhibits incredible diversity as a writer and guitarist. The album also further showcases him to be one of the most technically advanced guitarists in the business today. Fans of driving rhythms and ear-catching, over the top, guitar work will keep this in their CD player for months on end.
John 5 offers a fresh approach to guitar instrumental music on his new CD, which features a guest guitar solo from two of legendary guitarists - Steve Vai and Albert Lee. “With these two particular guitar players, they were both, from the first time I heard them, was a life changing experience for me. It is a true honor to have on them on record, ” explains John 5.
John 5 came to the Shrapnel label after creating a worldwide following as a widely respected guitarist with such platinum artists as Marilyn Manson, David Lee Roth, and Rob Halford. These prior gigs were before taking his notoriety to the next level with the release of “Vertigo”, an album that many guitar fans described as “the guitar album of the new millennium”. John 5’s eclectic influences combine for a truly unique guitar oriented record that once again sets new standards in the genre. With guitar sales near an all time high and last year’s “Vertigo” still among Shrapnel’s current best sellers. ‘Songs For Sanity’ is sure to be the next top seller.
No Gigantour Second Stage At San Antonio or Cincy
There will be no second stage at either the San Antonio show, or the newly announced Cincinnati show. So that makes four venues - San Diego, San Antonio, Cincinnati, and Boston - where there will be no second stage.
Amon Amarth Explain Croatian Festival Chaos
The following is Amon Amarth's official statement concerning the chaotic MMS Festival in Croatia:
Background:
End of April this year, we were contacted by the organizers of MMS festival in Croatia to play at the MMS festival and possibly do a bonus show in Hungary in connection to this festival. As the organisation seemd serious and professional, we accepted the deal they had for us. It was agreed that the organizer was to book and pay for the plane tickets, for the band plus sound engineer.
As the months went along, no tickets turned up and there was no news on the Hungarian show. Eventually, we realized that there wasn't going to be a Hungarian show at all, and we were beginning to doubt whether there would be any tickets for us to fly down to Croatia.
What happened:More...
Vote For Bands Competing To Play Hellfest
The final list of "contestants" competing for the chance to play the Hot Topic stage at Hellfest is as follows:
No Roses
Bled Across The Miles
Driving In Silence
Bloodlined Calligraphy
Crash And Burn
Post Break Tragedy
The Classic Struggle
Hence Reverie
Choose Your Weapon
Nerve Gas Tragedy
The contest will be featured Hellfest tour page.
The contest will go live Jul. 19, and will end on Aug. 05. The goal now is for each of you to get as many people as you can to vote for your bands. Please note that the system is set up to accept only one vote per person.
Primal Fear Prepare For Earthshaker Fest
Primal Fear has posted this message on their official website:
We're back from the Tuska festival in Helsinki, Finland and we had a blast. We really loved the loud & screaming audience at our first show ever in Finland. Thanks to our scout Holle, Fleisch & Jouni. We met a lot of good friends there. The gallery is updated with some pictures and impressions, plus some pics done at our videoclip session for "Seven Seals" & "Evil Spell", we shot last week in Munich with director Volker Hannwacker from AVA Studios! We're preparing this week for our next show on Saturday at the Earthshaker Festival near Wuerzburg/Germany! Hope to see you there!
Here's for the first time a new picture from the "Seven Seals" session by Katja Piolka! We will post the new cover artwork of the album and the single "Seven Seals" during the next days!
Blind Guardian Announce New Drummer
German epic metallers Blind Guardian have announced a replacement for drummer Thomen Stauch, who left the band in April after 20 years.
The new man behind the kit is fellow German Frederik Ehmke, so far fairly unknown in the world of Metal.
The band released the following statement:
The seemingly endless time of waiting for a new drummer and speculations who could possibly be the new one has finally come to an end. We have found what we have been searching for…
A few weeks ago an unknown guy who introduced himself as Frederik Ehmke applied for the job as a drummer in a fairly firm manner. His vital, expressive and skillful performances of some B.G. classics ('Journey Through The Dark', 'Time Stands Still' and 'And Then There Was Silence') blew us away completely . Pretending not to be convinced we invited him to do a shoot out recording session under real production terms to check out if the creative chemistry would also work out fine. After finishing these recordings it was obvious to us: Frederik is going to be our new drummer!
It was essential for us to find a musician, who on one side would be able to integrate old Guardian trademarks in his playing, but on the other side would also be confident enough to bring in his own vision of the Blind Guardian drums in a tasteful and, for the music, suitable way. Frederik is a calm and handsome fellow, who's aware of his abilities and who also knows what he wants. For us he is the lucky draw.
We are convinced you will be as impressed by his drum performance as we are. Now we are looking forward to starting the next album production. There is a good amount of work ahead of us but we are absolutely ready to go. You can expect a very interesting album with strong songs. We will keep you informed.
The production of Blind Guardian's debut on Nuclear Blast will start soon with the help of Charlie Bauerfeind. No album title has been set as of yet, but it looks like there will be a total of ten songs. Some working titles, which might be kept, are: "Carry The Blessed Home," "The Edge," "In Search For The Lionheart," "Market Square," "Another Stranger Me," and "Otherland." The release of the first single is planned for February 2006, the album will follow in April, before the band embarks on an European tour in September.
Liv Kristine Busy Producing Second Solo Album
Leaves' Eyes frontwoman Liv Kristine is busy producing her second solo album. The well-expected follower to "Deus ex Machina" will be called "Enter my Religion".
"The recordings are going very well. We have produced so many new songs that it will be hard to make a decision concerning the final album tracks. The songs are very diverse - you will hear soft ballads, cadanced pop songs and also rocking tracks. It's all so interesting for me as we are working with some very exotic instruments. This is a new challenge for me as an artist because I can realize so many new ideas I've been dreaming of for a long time." says Liv.
"Enter My Religion" is due late October.
New Opeth Music Available Online
New music from Opeth's upcoming "Ghost Reveries" (due out August 30th) is now available to hear. 10+ minutes of music in the form of the track "The Grand Conjuration." Check it out online now at www.roadrunnerrecords.com/opeth.
Century Media Launches Special Nevermore Site
Century Media Records has launched a special Nevermore site with some interesting features. Check it out here.
Nevermore will embark on Megadeth's Gigantour. Check tour dates at this location.
Nevermore have recently announced their first European tour for This Godless Endeavor. Support will come from Dew Scented and Mercenary. Tour dates are as follows: More...
Cyanotic Announces Summer Tour Dates
Cyanotic will be touring beginning August 4th. Tour dates confirmed so far:
Aug 04 Washington, DC - Nation (w/ Dismantled)
Aug 05 Trenton, NJ - Conduit
Aug 06 New York, NY - Nikki + Sam's (w/ Dismantled)
Aug 10 Ithaca, NY - The Haunt (w/ Dismantled and Process of Elimination)
Aug 12 Milwaukee, WI - Miramar Theater (w/ Dismantled and Das Ich)
Aug 19 Indianapolis, IN - Radio Radio (w/ with Form 30 and DJ Coppertop)
The band is working on booking some more shows, possibly Rhode Island, Maryland, Ohio and Illinois. If you have interest in helping book said shows, contact jg_a12@juno.com immediately with info.
Children of Bodom Japanese Tour Dates Revealed
Finnish metallers Children of Bodom will be embarking on a Japanese headlining tour in October. Confirmed dates are as follows:
Oct. 07 Nagoya, JPN @ Zepp Nagoya
Oct. 08 Osaka, JPN @ Zepp Osaka
Oct. 09 Fukuoka, JPN @ Zepp Fukuoka
Oct. 11 Tokyo, JPN @ Shibuya Ax
Oct. 12 Tokyo, JPN @ Shibuya Ax
Oct. 16 Hiroshima, JPN @ Club Quattro
Oct. 17 Sendai, JPN @ Zepp Sendai
Oct. 18 Sapporo, JPN @ Zepp Sapporo
Every Time I Die Lock Up Guest For Video
Every Time I Die have locked in actor Michael Madsen ("Kill Bill", "Sin City", "Resevoir Dogs", etc.) to star in the video for their track "Kill The Music". Shooting for it will commence tomorrow, July 20th at the legendary "Spartacus" backlot of Universal Studios, complete with real live lions and tigers. Director Darren Doane (Deftones, Poison The Well) will be at the helm with the clip expected to begin airing next month. Every Time I Die will issue their new album "Gutter Phenomenon" through Ferret on August 23rd.
The Black Dahlia Murder Tour After Ozzfest
The Black Dahlia Murder, Between The Buried And Me, Cephalic Carnage and Into The Moat have unveiled the first batch of dates for their coming tour together. Here's the schedule:
September 23rd Buffalo, NY - Icon
September 24th Worcester, MA - The Palladium
September 25th New York City, NY - Knitting Factory
September 26th Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of Living Arts
September 28th Richmond, VA - Alley Katz
September 30th Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
October 01st Iowa City, IA - Gabe's Oasis
October 02nd Minneapolis, MN - Ascot Room
October 03rd Kansas City, MO - El Torreon
October 04th Denver, CO - Rock Island
October 05th Salt Lake City, UT - Lo-Fi Cafe
October 24th Nashville, TN - Exit/In
October 26th Indianapolis, IN - Emerson Theater
Latest Unearth Album Surpasses 100,000 Mark
As of July 20th, 2005, record sales for Unearth's latest release "The Oncoming Storm" have passed the 100,000 soundscan mark in the United States. "We couldn't be happier to hit this enormous goal and we want to thank all of you for going out and picking up the record," the band writes on their website.
"We are still out on the road pushing the record because it is one we are proud as all hell of. After we finish up The Sounds of the Underground we will have two more HUGE tours to finish out the year and the album cycle. Stay tuned for those tour announcements."
"Also, Headbangers Ball has our new video for ENDLESS and will 100% air it this Saturday night at 10 pm EST."
Soilwork To Embark On European Headlining Tour
Sweden's Soilwork will be embarking on a European headlining tour in October. Confirmed dates so far are as follows:
Oct. 05 Tampere, FIN @ Pukkahone
Oct. 06 Jyväskylä, FIN @ Lutakko
Oct. 07 Oulu, FIN @ TBA
Oct. 08 Helsinki, FIN @ Nosturi
Oct. 11 Stockholm, SWE @ Klubben
Oct. 12 Malmö, SWE @ KB
Oct. 13 Hamburg, GER @ Markthalle
Oct. 14 Essen, GER @ Zeche Carl
Oct. 15 Amsterdam, NETH @ Melkweg
Oct. 16 Vosselaar, BEL @ Biebob
Oct. 22 Salzburg, AUT @ Rockhaus
Oct. 23 Vienna, AUT @ Planet Music
Soilwork are continuing to tour in support of their latest CD, "Stabbing the Drama", available now on Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2003's "Figure Number Five" was recorded at Fascination Street studios in Örebro and Dug-Out Productions in Uppsala, Sweden with producer Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames, Stuck Mojo).
In other news, a photo of the band with Will Smith on Ozzfest has been posted at this location.
Watch It Dies Today's New Video Online
It Dies Today's video for their track "Severed Ties Yield Severed Heads" is now online, check it out here. The video was directed by Darren Doane (Norma Jean, Thursday).
Marduk Announces Ukraine & Russia Tour Dates
Marduk has announced one show in Ukraine and two in Russia:
Oct. 08 Kiev, Ukraine - TBC
Oct. 09 Moscow, Russia - Tochka Club
Oct. 10 St. Petersburg, Russia - Port Club
Other upcoming Marduk tour dates: More...
Arch Enemy Misses Camden Ozzfest Show
Swedish/German metallers Arch Enemy have posted the following message on their official web site:
It's been a bad day today — in the early hours of Tuesday morning (July 19) as the band were heading back to New Jersey from a successful off-day show in Burlington, VT, the bus broke down with transmission trouble. This had to get fixed properly which took some hours. Meantime, all efforts to get the band to the site on time to play their 2nd stage slot failed as there was just no way the distance could be covered in time, not even by plane.
At the time of writing this the band are heading to the site to try and complete their signing and promotion commitments and hopefully they will at least be able to meet some of the fans who missed seeing them play today.
Sincere apologies to all the fans at Camden, NJ who turned up today hoping to see Arch Enemy.
Arch Enemy later posts another message on their site saying they will not make it to the Ozzfest in New Jersey either.
Maiden Causes Scandinavian Chart Phenomenon
Iron Maiden played an enormous show in Gothenburg on Saturday 9th July at the Ullevi Stadium to 57,000 fans, breaking box-office records. It was broadcast live on national terrestrial television across the whole of Scandinavia - the first time this has happened since Live Aid in 1985. As a result, the Swedish charts which have just been published for this week, show the most remarkable chart placings ever seen for one band.
Sweden divides its albums into 2 charts - brand new full price albums and catalogue mid-price albums. Iron Maiden now hold 9 of the Top 10 albums in the Swedish catalogue albums chart - a feat unequalled in chart history. The official chart looks like this...
1 Iron Maiden - Number Of The Beast
2 Iron Maiden - Edward The Great (Best Of)
3 Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
4 Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind
5 Iron Maiden - Killers
6 Iron Maiden - Powerslave
7 Iron Maiden - Live After Death
8 Lars Winnerbäck Och Hovet - Söndermarken
9 Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
10 Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark
Iron Maiden are currently in the US as special guests of Black Sabbath on the OzzFest tour. In addition to their Reading & Leeds shows they play an 'intimate' gig at Hammersmith Apollo on Sept 2nd to raise money for Clive Burr, their ex-drummer, who suffers from MS.
Taproot Team Up With Billy Corgan For Third Album
The Ozzfest veterans Taproot teamed with the former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan for writing songs for their third album "Blue-Sky Research," due on August 16th release.
"We heard Billy was working with Breaking Benjamin so we knew that it was possible that he might be interested in working with us," says Taproot frontman Stephen Richards. "We sent a couple CDs to his people, and he thought we had a lot of talent but wanted to point out some habits that he thought we were falling into that he wanted to help us break. We kind of fell into a comfort zone with the way we wrote songs, going heavy to quiet, not really exploring how to keep the song interesting all the way through."
Corgan is giving his advices and chipping in the occasional guitar parts and vocal melodies on the tracks "Lost In The Woods," "Violent Seas" and "Promise."
"At first it was just a feeling-out process," Richards says. "We weren't quite sure if we were going there to sit down and write songs together or if we were just going to tear some of our existing stuff apart and rework it with him. It ended up being a little bit of both. He was really honest with us like, 'I see what you're doing there, but it doesn't really do anything for me. Gimme something else you guys are really psyched on.'"
Corgan's critiques helped focus the group. "We used to throw in extra beats and use odd time signatures just to f--k with your head," Richards says. "This time, we wanted to have more straight-ahead, good songs, and I think we do."
Taproot will spend the summer on the road. They are currently on tour with Chevelle. The trek - which kicks off on July 9th in Indianapolis - also features support from 30 Seconds To Mars. Confirmed tour dates, as well as the additional info, can be found at RollingStone.com.
Founded in 1997, Taproot made their Velvet Hammer Music/Atlantic debut with 2000's "Gift," which featured the Active Rock radio hit, "Again And Again." They followed that success two years later with the Toby Wright-produced "Welcome," a collection which spawned the major rock smash "Poem."
Boston Herald Incurs Wrath Of Sharon Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon is livid with Boston Herald editorial director Ken Chandler for ignoring her ban on photographs of her husband at the Ozzfest music event, according to a report in Wednesday's Boston Globe.
The former lead singer for Black Sabbath suffers from debilitating and potentially humiliating body tremors. After the Herald published his picture last year, Sharon Osbourne called Chandler to complain. The Globe reports that Chandler hung up on her.
This year, Ozzfest publicist Shazila Mohammed told the Globe that the Herald was denied photo access but published a picture of the "Crazy Train" singer in its Saturday issue anyway.
Chandler was unavailable for comment but Herald managing editor Kevin Convey told the Globe, “No one is going to tell us what pictures we're going to put in the paper.”
He added that Clear Channel has revoked the paper's Tweeter Center summer review tickets.
Cradle Of Filth Celebrate Hallowe'en With Novel
Cradle of Filth will celebrate Hallowe'en this year by releasing a book which tells a fictional tale about the band's supernatural adventures.
The currently untitled novel, written by music journalist Gavin Baddeley, includes popular myths about the group and each chapter is loosely based around one of the metal outfit's nine albums.
Frontman Dani Filth says, "It's going to be a coffee table book, the sort of thing you can just flick through.
"Gavin's really well-versed in the occult and black metal and everything. I've read the first part and it's excellent.
"The opening's about the rise of the evil British Empire. It references why Hollywood always places a quintessential English gentleman in the role of the bad guy - people like Alan Rickman."
Chton Announce New Drummer
CHTON, the Norwegian death metal band featuring Kenneth of KEEP OF KALESSIN and Torstein of MANES, have announced the addition of drummer Vegar "Vyl" Larsen (KEEP OF KALESSIN) to the group's ranks. "He is now our permanent drummer, and has already contributed to the songwriting process," the band write on their web site.
"For those of you who saw us in Bergen, Oslo, Kristiansand or Trondheim in 2004, [you] may be familiar with his skills, since he filled in for Vidar all through last autumn...
"We have two songs done already plus lots of loose riffs and parts, and we feel it'll be our strongest material ever! Dark, brutal and totally Chtonian death fucking metal!!!
"On a different note; we signed to Retribute Records for only one album, and we've chosen not to resign with them for our next album. Our plan is to have material for a full new album ready by late autumn 2005 and we're currently on the look-out for a label daring enough to release it..."
CHTON's debut album, "Chtonian Lifecode", was recorded, mixed and mastered at Godt Selskap Studio between April and June 2004 and was released last August through Retribute Records. The album includes guest vocals by Attila Csihar (MAYHEM, ex-TORMENTOR) and Frediablo (NECROPHAGIA, GRIMFIST). A full-length MP3 of the album track "Unholy Communion" can be downloaded at this location.
CHTON's next live appearance will take place on Saturday, July 23 at the Fosen Rock festival in Bjugn, Norway. Also scheduled to perform are GRIFFIN and TRIOSPHERE, among others.
Evergreen Terrace Tour Dates
Evergreen Terrace have solified the remainder of their summer touring plans, including stints with Silverstein, then Winter Solstice. Here are the tour dates:
dates w/ Silverstein, I Am The Avalanche, Scary Kids Scaring Kids
8/15 Buffalo, NY @ Buffalo Icon
8/16 Farmingdale, NY @ Downtown
8/17 Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East
8/18 Philadelphia, PA @ North Star
8/19 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
8/20 Trenton, NY @ Hellfest
8/22 Detroit, MI @ Alvin's
8/23 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
dates w/ Winter Solstice, As Cities Burn, and The Burning Season
8/27 Milwaukee, WI @ Mad Planet
8/28 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
8/29 Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground
8/30 Kansas City, MO @ El Torreon
8/31 St. Louis, MO @ Creepy Crawl
9/2 Oklahoma City, OK @ Coservatory
9/3 Dallas, TX @ Club Clearview
9/4 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
9/5 Houston, TX @ Mary Jane’s Fat Cat
9/8 Birmingham, AL @ Cave 9
9/9 Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder
Agnostic Front, Napalm Death Euro Tour Dates
Agnostic Front, Napalm Death, Bleed The Sky, and A Perfect Murder will be touring Europe late this year. Here are the dates:
11/25 Berlin, GER @ TBA
11/26 Dresden, GER @ Alter Schlachthof
11/27 Amsterdam, NET @ Paradiso
11/28 Stuttgart, GER @ LKA
11/29 Nurnberg, GER @ Lowensaal
11/30 Wien, AUT @ Arena
12/1 Wiesbaden, GER @ Schlachthof
12/2 London, UK @ Astoria
12/3 Essen, GER @ Fun Box Amalie
12/4 Brussels, BEL @ Ancienne Belgique
Ignite Signs To Abacus Recordings
Abacus Recordings continues to diversify their roster as they have now signed punk/hardcore band Ignite to a worldwide deal. Originally formed in 1993, the group has released albums with Revelation Records and TVT Records. According to singer Zoli Teglas, "It feels good to get the deal we wanted with a great label like Abacus, who give us complete creative control and the ability to get our music everywhere." Ignite will enter the studio in September with engineer/producer Cameron Webb (Social Distortion, Motorhead) to begin recording a new full-length, which will hit stores in early-2006.
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