Interview

Interview with Nightwish

On Thursday, August 19th I had the pleasure of interviewing Marco (bassist) and Emppu (guitarist) of Nightwish. I brought my friend, Marina, along with me cause she wanted to ask some questions too... and for support. We arrive about 40 minutes later than we probably should have due to traffic, we left like 3 hrs before scheduled time. We were lucky because the people who helped put this together were nice and very helpful. The interview was conducted in a conference room. most of the conversation was between Marco and I, but Emppu and Marina had some important comments. It seemed like they were nervous and excited as well as us. Overall I had a great time even though they aren't the lead members of the band. I actually think this was good because I got a different perspective of the band. They were funny guys and there was laughter throughout the whole interview. It was definately a positive experience. I hope you enjoy reading it. More...

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Nightwish At BBKings, New York, NY

On Sunday, August 22nd I saw Nightwish perform at BBkings in New York City, NY. I have decided to share my thoughts and opinions of the show with you. More...

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Motorhead Announces US Tour Dates

The Motörhead legend roars on in 2004 with the unleashing of the new studio album "Inferno.'" U.S. tour dates are now scheduled to promote this Metal-Is/Sanctuary Records release. It's the first album of new, skin-peeling material from vocalist/bassist Lemmy, guitarist Philip Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee since 2002's "Hammered" and it's the first Motörhead release since last year's critically acclaimed, five-disc, career-spanning box set "Stone Deaf Forever."

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Preview Shadows Fall's New Album

Shadow's Fall new album, "The War Within," is being promoted on an E-card, featuring an audio preview of the new tracks "What Drives The Weak" and "The Power Of I And I," online here.

"The War Within" is scheduled to be released on September 21 through Century Media Records.

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Unearth Vocalist Issues Tour Report

Unearth vocalist Trevor Phipps has issued this tour update:

We can't thank people enough for making the entire summer kick ass so far. The shows have been amazing, the bands have all fucking ruled and there has been plenty of dice rolling, golf cart mishaps and classic metal barbeque parties. We have under two weeks left on Ozzfest and we will soon be gearing up for our full US headlining tour starting September 23rd with Terror, The Black Dahlia Murder and Remembering Never. Dates for that tour will be available this week. See you all on the road soon.

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Tour Update From Vehemence

Vehemence have issued this band update:

The mini tour we just headlined went extremely well and we thank all the extremely talented bands that we played with for their support. The tour proved to us that we can now do our own headlining tours really at anytime. We now urge bands to contact our booking agency if they think they are suitable for touring or setting up various shows with Vehemence. Playing Mexico was a blast and wasn't really a culture shock, it was more like Hollywood meets Las Vegas in a way. The metal heads are hungry for extreme metal and it was our pleasure to perform for the audience. We will be back in Mexico soon, and thanks to the crew that took us down there. The Houston off date Ozzfest show with Superjoint Ritual went very well, around 600 people attended and Vehemence ended up earning the respect from all the bands on the bill and from comments we have heard backstage. Look forward to our tour with Crematorium, All Shall Perish, and Animosity in September on the west coast. Also look forward to seeing us on month full U.S. tours with Mortician, Akercocke in Sept/Oct and Vital Remains in Oct/Nov. Please check our tours and shows page for more updates! The Thoughts From Which I Hide has officially sold out, so we will not be taking any more orders for it. We urge you to download the album from wherever possible, we have mp3's featured on our website. Thanks to all those that purchased this album from when it was released till its extinction and we might be re-releasing it in the near future.

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Dimmu Borgir Frontman Speaks To Las Vegas Mercury

Norway may seem like a quiet, peaceful land of fishing villages and ski hamlets, but beneath its icy charm lurks a long history of pagan rituals and Viking bloodlust. Although not always obvious to outsiders, this dark history has had a profound influence on Norway's national character, feeding the collective anxiety and terror reflected in Norwegian artist Edvard Munch's all-too-familiar painting "The Scream."

Perhaps this same angst fueled the development of black metal--the sonic scourge of the country since the early '80s. Influenced by the quasi-satanic (but largely theatrical) heavy metal of British acts like Black Sabbath and Mercyful Fate, black metal festered in Norway's winter darkness and eventually became the inspiration for countless church burnings and a series of grisly murders. Although Dimmu Borgir was not at the center of the movement, it did survive much of the chaos and destruction reaped by bands such as Emperor, Burzum and Mayhem.

Yet as a recent interview with the Mercury revealed, Dimmu Borgir frontman Shagrath isn't particularly troubled by the wanton destruction reaped by his fellow Norsemen. In fact, Shagrath is disarmingly blase about the series of events that virtually held Norway hostage at the beginning of the '90s.

Mercury: Since you witnessed it firsthand, how many of the stories about the black metal underground in Norway were true and how many were just legends?

Shagrath: You mean, as far as the criminal activities? Most of it was true, I think. A lot of churches were burned. A few people were killed. It was really a lot of hassle for us because we were always in for questioning with the police.

Read the full article at Las Vegas Mercury.

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Agathodaimon Pre-Sales Hype

Surging forth from the metal underground scene in 1995, Agathodaimon quickly established themselves as a blunt force to be reckoned with, punishing ears with their grim, abrasive sound and devastating stage performances. Agathodaimon's unique sound is a cohesive fusion of modern metal, doom and goth, with their emphasis firmly enrooted in black metal. Serpent’s Embrace showcases Agathodaimon's musical evolution and stylistic diversity and the album is a must for metal-gourmets that are looking for something special in this crowded and highly competitive scene!

The Campaign:
The band have already shot a music video for the first single& title track of the album, "Serpent's Embrace," which will be serviced to MTV2’s Headbanger’s Ball, Fuse’s Uranium as well as hundreds of regional video program directors.
Internet banner campaign will kick off within the next couple of weeks - banners will be featured on the following sites forstarters: Metaljudgment.com, Uranium.com, Metal-Rules.com, ShatteredSilence.com and DigitalMetal.com!.
A track from "Serpent’s Embrace" will be featured on the September "KnuckleTracks" CD (free CD sampler inserted into every issue of BW&BK magazine - 20,000 in circulation).
Priority servicing to all stations on the CMJ Loud Rock, CMJSpins, FMQB and R&R panels as well as relevant metal magazines like BW&BK, Metal Maniacs, Metal Edge, Pit and Revolver.

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40 Below Summer Initial Tour Dates Released

40 Below Summer have announced the initial dates for their upcoming trek with Slitheryn, they are:
September 10th Farmingdale, NY - Downtown (Feat. Bully)
September 11th Hartford, CT - Webster Theater
September 12th Clifton Park, NY - Northen Lights
September 13th State College, PA - The Crowbar
September 17th Detroit, MI - Harpo's (Feat. Black Flood Diesel)
September 18th Milwaukee, WI - The Rave (Feat. Black Flood Diesel)
September 20th Sauget, IL - Pop's
September 21st Columbus, OH - Al Rosa Villa
September 22nd Allentown, PA - The Crocodile Rock
September 23rd Philadelphia, PA - The Theater of Living Arts
September 24th Norfolk, VA - The Norva
September 25th Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade

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New American Head Charge Video & Tour Dates

American Head Charge have posted the video for their track "Cowards" online, you can check it out in the following formats:

Quicktime
Windows Media
Real Video

The song will be featured on both the groups upcoming new album "The Feeding", which is now due out in November; plus the "UFC: Ultimate Beatdowns Vol. 1 Metal" compilation release, which lands in stores tomorrow. In other news, the band have lined up the following dates supporting Motorhead:

September 10th Los Angeles, CA - House of Blues
September 11th San Francisco, CA - Warfield
September 12th Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
September 14th Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
September 17th Austin, TX - Backroom
September 18th Houston, TX - Meridian
September 19th Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
September 21st Chicago, IL - House of Blues
September 28th Cleveland, OH - Agora
October 02 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
October 03 Sayreville, NJ - Starland
October 05 Baltimore, MD - Thunderdome
October 06 New York, NY - BB Kings
October 08 New York, NY - BB Kings
October 09 Hartford, CT - Webster Theatre

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System Of A Down To Release New CD In Nov/Dec

System Of A Down are now said to be eyeing a late November/early December release date through American/Columbia for their upcoming new album

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The Red Chord Select Producer For Next Album

The Red Chord have chosen producer Zeuss (Shadows Fall, Hatebreed) to helm their upcoming new album "Clients". The group are expected to spend the first three weeks of November at Planet Z Studios recording the effort. An early 2005 release through Metal Blade/Black Market Activities is being planned.

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Bleeding Through First Dates Released For US Tour

Bleeding Through will be hitting the road this fall for a full US tour with Walls Of Jericho, Martyr AD and It Dies Today in tow. The first dates announced are as follows:
October 09th Ft. Collins, CO - Starlight
October 10th Denver, CO - Rock Island

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Nightwish Bus Breakdowns and Crazy Crowd Reactions

Nightwish keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen has spoken to Finland's Sonera Plaza about the group's current U.S. tour, which kicked off last Friday (August 20) in Worcester, MA.

"Everything has been going really well, except with the tour buses," Tuomas said. "And of course we were extremely disappointed that we had to cancel some dates on this tour but we will compensate those shows later.

"We are travelling with two busses," he continued. "We have one bus and Lullacry (support band) and technicians are travelling with other one. There have been a lot of problems with the other bus. Our bus has been working well but other one hasn't. We have actually had to change the bus already three times and the tour has just started! The first driver was also a bit strange. We just couldn't get out of New York as the driver didn't find the right road. It took many hours to find the right way but we made it in time for the next show. That's good...

"I have been really surprised because of the crowd reactions! We have done some tours in the South America earlier and the fans are totally crazy over there. But North American fans seems to be almost as crazy as well! I really didn't expect this, especially because this is our first tour over here.

"Our show in New York was really, really good. The barrier between the stage and the crowd broke down during the second show and people seemed to like the show! There were also lots of Roadrunner people present so I'm glad that we were able to deliver great show for them too.

Read the full article at Blabbermouth.

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First 2 Tour Dates For Fear Factory, L.O.G. Tour

Two dates have been unveiled for the upcoming Lamb Of God, Fear Factory, Children Of Bodom and Throwdown tour, they are:
October 11th Norfolk, VA - The Norva
October 15th Worcester, MA - The Palladium
More will be unveiled shortly.

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Rammstein Post New Video For "Amerika" Online

RAMMSTEIN's video for their new single, "Amerika", has been posted online at Viva.tv. Check it out: Windows Media (Dial-Up, Broadband), Real Media (Dial-Up, Broadband). The clip was directed by Jörn Heitmann, who has previously worked with RAMMSTEIN on the videos for "Sonne" and "Ich Will".

The "Amerika" single is scheduled for release on September 6, according to Herzeleid.com. The complete track listing for the single is as follows:

01. Amerika
02. Amerika (English Version)
03. Amerika (Digital Hardcore Mix)
04. Amerika (Western Remix)
05. Amerika (Andy Panthen & Mat Diaz's Clubmix)
06. Amerika (Electro Ghetto Remix)
07. Amerika (Jam & Spoon So kann's gehen Mix)
08. Mein Herz brennt Orchesterlied V (Album Version)

RAMMSTEIN's new album, "Reise Reise", is scheduled for release on November 2 through Universal Records. The follow-up to 2001's "Mutter" was recorded in Spain and Germany. Production duties on the CD were handled by Jacob Hellner, who worked with the group on "Mutter".

RAMMSTEIN's last single, "Mein Teil", entered the German singles chart at position No. 2.

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Entombed's Next CD To Document Royal Opera Show

ENTOMBED's next CD release will be "Unreal Estate", a document of the band's live appearances at the Royal Opera Hall in Stockholm, Sweden as part of a show of the same name. An early 2005 release through Threeman Recordings in Scandinavia is expected. A U.S. release through Candlelight will follow.

As previously reported, ENTOMBED completed a number of performances in 2002 as part of the above-mentioned show, with the band doing a 45-minute set of original material while surrounded by 30 ballet dancers and a 10-year-old kid.

Incidentally, these performances marked the first time in the history of the opera house that earplugs were being away to the attendees at the door.

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Kerrang! Music Awards Nominations Released

SLIPKNOT, METALLICA, THE DARKNESS, H.I.M., RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and BLINK-182 are battling it out for the "Best Band" award at the Kerrang! Awards 2004, according to the BBC News.

The nominees for Kerrang! were revealed at a live gig in London on Tuesday (August 24), where bands like the LOSTPROPHETS, BIFFY CLYRO and MINUS performed for 500 delighted rock fans.

Previous big-name winners include FOO FIGHTERS, BON JOVI, MARILYN MANSON, AC/DC and IGGY POP.

Seven of this year's awards have been voted for by the public, with the remainder judged by the Kerrang! team.

The awards themselves will take place at a top-secret location on Thursday.

Kerrang! Awards 2004 nominees:

Best British Newcomer:

AMPLIFIER
YOURCODENAMEIS:MILO
REUBEN
OCEANSIZE
THE GLITTERATI

Best International Newcomer :

THE RASMUS
VELVET REVOLVER
BRAND NEW
MINUS
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE

Best Single:

ASH – "Orpheus"
LOSTPROPHETS – "Last Train Home"
THE RASMUS - "In The Shadows"
H.I.M. - "Funeral Of Hearts"
LINKIN PARK - "Breaking The Habit"
EVANESCENCE - "Going Under"

Best Album:

SLIPKNOT -"Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)"
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE -"The End of Heartache"
MUSE – "Absolution"
LOSTPROPHETS - "Start Something"
BLINK-182 – "Blink-182"
THE DISTILLERS - "Coral Fang"

Best Video:

THE OFFSPRING - "Hit That"
BLINK-182 - "I Miss You"
SLIPKNOT – "Duality"
NEW FOUND GLORY - "All Downhill From Here"
H.I.M. - "Funeral of Hearts"

Best Live Band:

THE DARKNESS
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
METALLICA
SLIPKNOT
MUSE
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

Best Band On The Planet:

SLIPKNOT
METALLICA
THE DARKNESS
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
H.I.M.
BLINK-182

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Marduk Recording Update

Marduk has just completed the recording of the drums, guitars and bass for the forthcoming album at the Endarker studio. The band will soon return to the studio to begin recording the vocals and so on. More news will follow as we recive them. A show has also been announced at the Headbangers Ballroom - Hamburg,Germany at the 19th of September. There is a possibility that a few more shows will be done before the tour starts in December.

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Wacken Open Air Festival DVD Info

Armageddon Over Wacken
Various Artists
Street Date: October 19, 2004
Catalog Number: CMU 61127

Wacken Open Air is a yearly metal festival held in the small farming town of Wacken, Germany.The festival started out 14 years ago and has now amassed an attendance up to 35,000 people and is the largest metal gathering in Europe. Crash Music is proud to release the live concert two DVD set.

The DVD includes performances by many well known metal gods such as Twisted Sister, Saxon, Nile, The Crown, Testament, Vader, In Flames, Gamma Ray and many more. Also includes backstage and behind the scenes footage of the Wacken Open Air festival. The DVD was shot in 5.1 Surround Sound for exceptional audio quality.

Artist & Song Listing: More...

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Doro Single Enters German Charts

The new Doro Single "Let Love Rain on Me" entered the official German Media Control Single Charts in week 33 on #65 and is staying the 2nd week now. So "Let Love Rain On Me" is the most successfull Doro Single ever and the first single in the German Charts since 1993.

Doro and AFM Records like to say "thanks" to all people who supported us in the last months, especially you, the fans, who made this success possible.

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Steve Tucker Comments On Leaving Morbid Angel

German zine www.metal1.info has posted a new interview with ex-Morbid Angel vocalist/bassist Steve Tucker where he comments on this departure from the band.

I didn't feel that I wanted to be a part of Morbid Angel any longer. There were some issues I had with people's commitment and desire. I play from the heart and could never do anything that wasn't 100% real to me. So I felt it was time to go do something else.

Read the full article at www.metal1.info.

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Enslaved Announce New Album

It’s with great pride we announce the new studio album from two time Grammy Nominee Enslaved. From their base camp in Bergen, Enslaved has given Norwegian extreme metal diversity and depth since 1991. The pioneers in Enslaved have through strong musical craftsmanship shown a remarkable will and ability to continuingly twist their musical expression into new directions in a dynamic and challenging way.

The critically acclaimed "Below The Lights" (Osmose Productions) was honoured with nomination for both Grammy and the Independent Alarm Award in Norway. The band has strong traditions as a hardworking live band, and some of their performances are considered as legendary. Kerrang! salutes Enslave's "Inferno" performance with a KKKKK-review in their iss#1002.

Quote: "It’s Enslaved who steal the show with a gloriously ambitious set bolstered by a dizzying light show that has 'should have been headliners' written all over it" (Dom Lawson).

"ISA" was recorded in in Grieghallen Studio (last two Enslaved albums, Mayhem, Emperor) and the mix will be done subsequently in Duper Studios (last two Enslaved albums, Kaizers Orchestra, Jaga Jazzist) by Sir Duperman. The production team for the album will consist of the powertrio Jørgen "Sir Duperman" Træen, Eirik "Pytten" Hundvin and Enslaved.

Lineup: Ivar Bjørnson (guitar), Grutle Kjellson (vocal & bass), Cato Bekkevold (drums), Arve Isdal (lead guitar), Herbrand Larsen (keyboard & vocal).

ENSLAVED - ISA
Tabu Recordings
TABU 007 (7090001915277)
Release: Europe 08/11

Below The Light was #2 in Terrorizers's Album of the Year writers poll 2003:

No other extreme band has improved as well with age as these Norse boatmen. Enslaved continued their upward trajectory with a further melding of psychedelic melodies and effects to their black metal heritage and "Below The Lights" was superb start-to-finish result. Did you hear a better song in 2003 than "The Dead Stare"? Probably not.

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Kataklysm Re-release Dispute

Kataklysm is in dispute at the moment with ex-Hypnotic honcho Tom Treumuth and Linus Ent./Warner Music Canada regarding the re-release of the 1998 album "Victims of this Fallen World," previously released on Canada's Hypnotic label.

The problem is that the album was out of print because of the defunct Hypnotic label and Kataklysm has fullfilled its contractual commitment. As a result, Kataklysm have been working the past month at completely re-recording "Victims of this Fallen World" and have made a new agreement with long time friend of the band Stephan Mellul and Skyscraper Music/Fusion 3 for a Canadian re-release and through Crash music for the United States.

Former Hypnotic owner Tom Treumuth has licensed both the "Victims of this Fallen World" and "Northern Hyperblast Live" albums to Linus Entertainment/Warner Music Canada for a September release, without rights nor the band's consent!! This is a total rip off situation and we cannot believe Warner Music is letting this happen without even Linus Ent. having documentation allowing them to release these albums. DO NOT BUY these albums, they do not have our permission and they are stealing your money and ours!!

Comments Maurizio on the "Victims..." re-release:

J-F has been working for the last 3 weeks with Stephane and former drummer Max Duhamel on the re-recording of "Victims of this Fallen World." The album has been completely revamped from A to Z , basicaly given a facelift with new guitar and bass sounds, and drums completely re-recorded by original drummer Max Duhamel... Only things left are vocals, scheduled for next week, new mix/mastering and new artwork will be finalised as well... We decided to do this because we feel that this album was a turning point for Kataklysm and the band has evolved so much since. We tought it would be fun to see how it would turn out by re-recording it with today's vision as musicians and with J-F's top notch producing skills behind it - and maybe give it some justice for what it was... And let me tell you that the results are astonishing! You'll be surprised how big it sounds already and I can't wait to lay some sick vocals on it next week. So please BOYCOTT that Linus Entertainment and Warner Music re-release, this is just about someone desperately trying to make a few extra bucks at our expense. Distro and labels - do not order it, just wait for October for this new edition re-release. It will be worth it and I'm glad I listened to J-F about doing this.

- Maurizio

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SYL Studio Report From Devin Townsend

Maniacal Canadian extremists Strapping Young Lad have just entered Armoury Studios in Vancouver to record the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2002 release, "SYL." Devin Townsend (vocals, guitars) checks in with the following studio update.

Here's a heads up from the Dev, speaking on behalf of the Strapping camp. We recently put in a long touring year and we all went through many changes as a result. We took this year for everyone to get their shit together on a personal and business level and really analyzed what it was about, what SYL represents that makes it (to us) so powerful.

We toured with Meshuggah last year, and everyone really connected. Gene Hoglan (Death, Testament) and I saw the musical connection established by those guys and really wanted to see if we could finally do the same. It seems the more shit you get over and out into the open in terms of a band relationship, the more you realize that the only job we have to do and do well is rock. And not in a 'group hug, lets all hold hands and pray' kind of way, but more to do with the fact that we spend a fuck of a lot of time together, not discussing something as trivial as maybe somebody’s stinky feet.

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Nostradameus' 'Hellbound' Targets October Release

AFM Records has set an October 18 release date for the fourth NOSTRADAMEUS album, entitled "Hellbound".

The follow-up to 2003's "The Third Prophecy", "Hellbound" was was produced and mixed at the well known RoastingHouse Studios in Malmö, Sweden by Anders "Theo" Theander, who managed to achieve "a powerful, yet well-balanced harmonic sound," according to a press release.

"Hellbound" track listing:

01. Never Turning Back
02. Your Betrayal
03. The Reapers Image
04. Hellbound
05. One Step Away
06. Fight
07. Cuts Like Blades
08. Seven
09. One World To Live In
10. I Am Free

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