Girlschool Cancel U.S. And German Dates

Veteran British female hard rockers GIRLSCHOOL have been forced to cancel their previously announced German and U.S. dates due to due to problems encountered while trying to obtain the necessary work permits to play the U.S. shows. The group's official statement in the matter reads as follows:

"We are absolutely devastated that we had to cancel these shows due to the incompetence of the powers that be. The people that we had trusted to do their jobs and the bureaucracy of the American embassy really sucks.

"We have spent four days at the embassy this week where we were told that our visas had all been approved and that they would try and hurry them up so we would get our passports returned to us before we were due to leave for Germany on the night of August 30th. We then spent two days on the phone begging for our passports to be returned to us but were told that it takes three-five working days.

"Well, as you can imagine, we couldn't believe it after we had been told that they would courier them back to us [as soon as possible]. We have had to cancel all the shows and are extremely disappointed that we have let our fans down.

"To any bands that are applying for a U.S. visa, make sure that you apply at least six months before you go; that way you can be sure of getting your passports back in time.

"Once again we would like to apologize to the German and American fans — and the concert promoters. Hopefully we will see them soon if we ever get our passports back."

On August 20, GIRLSCHOOL played a special one-off tribute show to the group's late guitarist Kelly Johnson at the Rock And Roll Kabaret held at the Soho Revue Bar in London. GIRLSCHOOL was joined on stage during their seven-song set by former members Cris Bonacci and Tracy Lamb (who played the whole set in place of the absent Enid Wiliams) and VICE SQUAD frontwoman Bekki Bondage.

Kelly Johnson passed away on July 15 after a six-year battle with cancer of the spine. Along with Johnson, the classic lineup of GIRLSCHOOL included Kim McAuliffe (guitar), Enid Williams (bass) and Denise Dufort (drums). The band was an integral and major force in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) movement, beginning with the release of its debut album, "Demolition" (1980), and continuing with the follow-up efforts, "Hit 'n' Run" (1981) and "Screaming Blue Murder" (1982).

Johnson originally left GIRLSCHOOL in 1984 after recording the band's fourth album, "Play Dirty", and moved to Los Angeles where she lived for the next 10 years. She rejoined GIRLSCHOOL in 1993 and moved back to the U.K. From 1993 until 2000 Kelly, Kim, Denise and Tracey Lamb toured Europe and the USA and recorded a live album in March 1995. Kelly decided to quit the music business for good in 2000 after recording her final album with GIRLSCHOOL, "Not That Innocent: 21st Anniversary" (2001).

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Mourning Beloveth Set To Record New Album

Irish doom titans MOURNING BELOVETH have issued the following update:

"We are set to record [the new MOURNING BELOVETH album] in Studio E in Germany from October 1st to 14th, bring it home and then master it. Four songs complete at the moment and three more in the pipeline. Titles include 'The Burning Man', 'Primeval Rush' and 'The Sickness'. Another labyrinthine journey through some torturous doom as the album should have a running time over an hour. . . As regards touring, plans are forming through our booking agent and previous bass player, Adrian through Lugga and we should be heading out for a week at the end of March."

MOURNING BELOVETH's last CD, "A Murderous Circus", came out in 2005.

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Metal Church Frontman Announces Solo Dates

METAL CHURCH frontman Ronny Munroe has lined up the following dates with his solo project:

Sep. 19 - Fat City - San Francisco, CA
Sep. 20 - Club Vegas - Salt Lake City, UT
Sep. 22 - Paladino's – Tarzana, CA
Sep. 29 - Studio Seven – Seattle, WA (w/ LILLAIN AXE)

Due to so many requests for Munroe's solo tracks after putting them on his MySpace, he has made a limited number of CD copies of his three-song EP available for $3.99. They can be purchased from www.myspace.com/ronnymunroe or Ronny's web site where there is a PayPal button.

Munroe has finalized the lineup for his solo project. He has recruited his former ROTTWEILLER bandmates Rick Van Zandt on guitar, Izzy Rehaume on bass and Doug Marapodi on drums along with Q-5/TKO/NIGHTSHADE guitarist Rick Pierce.

METAL CHURCH's latest album, "A Light in the Dark", was released in Europe on June 19, 2006 (June 27 in the U.S.) via SPV. The CD includes a new version of the classic "Watch the Children Pray" as a tribute to vocalist David Wayne, who passed away in May 2005.

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Moonsorrow Confirmed For Metal Elite Cruise

As previously reported, the Metal Elite Cruise will take place October 3rd - 4th, 2007, leaving the shores of Helsinki, Finland, sailing to Tallinn aboard the M/s Galaxy. Finnish metallers MOONSORROW are the latest act confirmed for the event.

Acts confirmed for the Metal Elite Cruise now include: MOONSORROW, NORTHER, ENTWINE, DEADLOCK, MANZANA, FOR SELENA AND SIN, ULTRA MAYHEM, VILLIELÄIN,, ARI KOIVUNEN.

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Voivod Guitarist Inducted Into Quebec Hall Of Fame

Special Report by David Perri

The late VOIVOD guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour was inducted into the Quebec Metal Hall Of Fame on September 1 as part of this weekend's three-day 25 Years Of Quebec Metal festival at Club Soda in Montreal.

The induction was preceded by a video montage that paid tribute to Piggy, and an elegant banner marking his induction was then hoisted to the venue's rafters. All the while, one of Piggy's home-made guitars was also on display.

Touching remarks about Piggy's life were subsequently delivered to the crowd by Maurice Richard (former Voivod manager/25 Years Of Quebec Metal promoter), Steeve Hurdle (NEGATIVA/ex-GORGUTS), Ian Campbell (DESCEND INTO NOTHINGNESS/ex-NEURAXIS), and Denis "Snake" Belanger (Voivod).

A surprise, unannounced performance then began, with a supergroup including Daniel Mongrain (MARTYR) and Jean-Yves "Blacky" Theriault (ex-Voivod) playing a spirited medley of Voivod classics.

After the Voivod medley ended, Snake and Voivod drummer Michel "Away" Langevin joined Blacky on stage. Piggy's family and his girlfriend also came out on to the stage. Snake folded the hall of fame induction banner and presented it to the D'Amour family.

All in all, the induction was a classy and moving affair that justly gave praise to one of metal's most innovative figures.

Piggy died on August 26, 2005 from complications arising from cancer. He is greatly missed by many.

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Demonoid Working On New Material

DEMONOID, the Swedish old-school death/thrash metal project featuring THERION members Kristian Niemann (guitar) and Johan Niemann (bass) along with former SOILWORK/CHIMAIRA drummer Richard Evensand, is working on material for its second full-length CD, tentatively due next year. "The writing for the new album is going quite well....it will crush," says Kristian. "Of course. Imagine a 100-ton block of concrete falling on your nutsack (or head, if you're a girl)....that's how much it will crush!!!!! Now if you don't have: a) a nutsack, nor b) a head, well then.....you just have to take my word for it!"

In other news, DEMONOID has secured the services of a new vocalist following the departure of THERION's Christofer Johnsson, who sang on the group's debut, 2004's "Riders of the Apocalypse". Although the band has yet to reveal the new frontman's identity, "I think you will all agree it's a pretty good choice," says Kristian. "We're very fortunate to have him. In fact, I wet myself every night just thinking about it. The man, the myth, the legend..."

According to the band's official bio, "the musical concept of DEMONOID is not symphonic metal like THERION; in fact, the band strived to go back in time and create a fresh and challenging combination of basically old school death and violent thrash metal elements, also mingled with a touch of modern black metal. Both Kristian and Johan have gotten into the more brutal forms of metal quite lately and some of their references are CRADLE OF FILTH and DIMMU BORGIR, while Christofer, having been the growler of THERION in earlier days, has extended knowledge of the thrash and death scene from late '80s and early '90s. Thus bands like SLAYER and BATHORY as well as all the old-school death metal bands from those the early times rank among his main references. Those facts create a very interesting combination, featuring Kristian's more than awesomely awesome guitar work, Christofer's by far best vocal performances up to now, Richard's insanely powerful and technical kick-ass drumming and Johan's crushing, inventive, heavy-as-a-brick-on-your-scrotum bass lines."

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Crystal Eyes Announce New Guitarist

Swedish/Danish metallers CRYSTAL EYES have announced the addition of guitarist Pål Petterson to the group's ranks. "Pål is 41 years old and lives just five minutes from our studio/rehearsal room in Borås," the band writes. "He's a great guitarist with the right attitude, personality and humor and fits perfect into the band's chemistry. It's somehow strange that we really should have known him long ago since he have played with friends to the band and even previous members of CRYSTAL EYES. There's no use describing his guitar playing more then classic Eighties heavy metal style perfectly made for CRYSTAL EYES."

CRYSTAL EYES guitarist Mikael Dahl has written a number of new songs for inclusion on the group's next album, which is tentatively scheduled to be recorded before the end of the year. "The band will spend the summer rehearsing and completing the new material," reads a posting on the group's web site.

CRYSTAL EYES's fifth album, "Dead City Dreaming", was released last November. The CD was recorded at Crystal Sounds studio with producer Fredrik Nordström.

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New Revengia Album To Be Mastered This Week

REVENGIA, the Swedish metal band featuring ARCH ENEMY drummer Daniel Erlandsson, has issued the following update:

"So we're seeing the end of the production road for [the new REVENGIA album] 'Eraser' now. We got a bit delayed because we had to go in and change some levels in the mix. A thing that would not had been possible without today's computerized technology. But a great mix got better, so it was for the best. It´s been a long (but pleasant) ride and one of the last stops is mastering the record. It will be done by Peter In de Betou at Tailor Maid on Thursday."

"Eraser" track listing (NOTE: Not all songs will appear on the album):

01. Eraser
02. Pain
03. Sweet Dreams
04. Life
05. Still a Tomorrow Dawning
06. Deny
07. Whore
08. Hollow Soul
09. Prince of Darkness
10. Holy Lies
11. Breathe Me
12. Back to Hell

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U.K. Promoters Warn Of Fake Led Zeppelin Tickets

Ellie Davis of BBC 6 Music reports that promoters are taking action after tickets for a rumored LED ZEPPELIN comeback gig are being advertised.

Despite no official confirmation from the band, hotel and ticket packages are being sold for upwards of £269 for gigs at London's O2 Arena.

The company offering the deal has now been reported to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Promoter Harvey Goldsmith has issued a statement to warn the fans not to fall victiom to ticket touts.

"There have been at least four events advertised which I suspect either don't exist or where no tickets are on sale or indeed dates finalized," he said. "These are the very people whom our industry has spent over a year trying to convince the DCMS to instigate outlawing.

"The media should consider the consequences of giving credibility to those who rip the public off.

"There are NO packages or tickets for some the events advertised at all, nor do some of the events even exist. We are concerned that the public will be fleeced. The bottom line is that unless official adverts have appeared for concerts, tickets are not on sale. Do not buy from unauthorized sources."

There is still no official word on whether LED ZEPPELIN's rumored comeback will happen.

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Mastodon To Release Weekly Tour Video Blogs

Mastodon will begin to release weekly installments of tales from the road on their YouTube page (until they get tired of it, that is). Enjoy the first clip below!

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Underoath, Poison The Well, ETID Tour Dates

Dates have been confirmed for the upcoming Underoath, Poison The Well, Every Time I Die, and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster tour. Here are the latest tour dates:

9/22 Houston, TX @ Verizon Wireless Theatre
9/23 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
9/24 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
9/25 Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
9/26 Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
9/28 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
9/29 Irivne, CA @ Cornerstone Festival - Oak Canyon Ranch
9/30 Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues Las Vegas
10/1 Tuscon, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
10/3 San Diego, CA @ SOMA
10/5 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern LG
10/6 Bakersfield, CA @ The Dome
10/7 San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
10/9 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
10/10 Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
10/11 Boise, ID @ The Big Easy
10/12 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
10/13 Denver, CO @ The Fillmore Auditorium
10/15 Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont Club
10/16 Sauget, IL @ Pops
10/18 St. Paul, MN @ The Myth
10/19 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
10/20 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
10/21 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
10/23 Buffalo, NY @ Evolution
10/24 New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre, Times Square
10/25 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
10/26 Worcester, MA @ Palladium
10/28 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
10/29 Washington DC @ 930 Club
10/30 Baltimore, MD @ Ram's Head Live!
11/1 Norfolk, VA @ NorVa
11/5 Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
11/6 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues

Underoath wrapped up their "Dirty South Tour" back in May, which also includes Norma Jean and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster.

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Killwhitneydead Replaces Guitarist

Killwhitneydead has announced the departure of guitarist Charles Matheny. Here's a statement from the band:

"Yes, we have a new guitarist in the band and his name is Rob. He used to be in local favorites, Gabriella Cutthroat, and he brings with him a love of 80s metal and wicked stage acrobatics! We are stoked to have him aboard. We had some unfortunate things happen during our last tour and we had to part ways with a member. We will not go into details, but we would like to apologize (not that we haven't already to the people directly involved) to all the fans who were affected in some way or another."

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BLS Guitarist Talks About New Project

While BLACK LABEL SOCIETY was on a little hiatus this summer, as Zakk Wylde performed with OZZY OSBOURNE, guitarist Nick Catanese took full opportunity to work with his new project that features QUEENSRŸCHE's Mike Stone on bass and vocals, and Mike Froedge on drums. Although the name of the project is a work in progress, and further details still have to be worked out, the name SPEED has been kicked around.

Catanese spoke to KNAC.com's Deb Rao recently. A few excerpts follow:

KNAC.com: Would you say that the name of your new project Speed came from your love of fast cars and racing?

Catanese: "Well, Speed is a name in progress, it's not the name we are using, and it’s close but not exactly. I can't say it until al the legal mumbo jumbo is done, but I am excited. I hope people dig it. We should finish the CD by the end of October."

KNAC.com: In the past, you have worked with so many talented people in the business. Let's discuss your current project. In the band, you are working with Queensrÿche's Mike Stone, and DOUBLEDRIVE drummer Mike Froedge. How did this come together?

Catanese: "Stoney and me met at the Blacktooth Bash at NAMM, we hit it off there. Then I found out he is a Bass player and sings his ass off. And Mikey, he and I actually played together in bands back in my High Voltage days in Florida. Then he played in Doubledrive and I knew he kicked ass. So we got a great power trio."

KNAC.com: What kind of sound are you aiming for with the new project?

Catanese: "There isn't a style; we are just writing what comes out. We have no direction. We are just doing what comes out. We did three songs in Atlanta in Mike’s studio, and for just a week, the three songs are cool as hell. All different styles and fresh. Doesn’t sound like anything I have heard. There's one song that is very PINK FLOYD-ish meets the BEATLES. I love it, and the solo is way STEVIE RAY."

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Rob Zombie's Halloween Set To Gross Over $30 Mil

According to SlashFilm.com, Rob Zombie's remake of the 1978 horror classic "Halloween" has exploded for an estimated $10.5 million at the box office in the United States on Friday (August 31), and it's headed for a three-day of $30 million and a spectacular four-day Labor Day weekend of $35.775 million. This will easily be the best three-day opening weekend of the nine-film Michael Myers franchise.

Top three-day opening weekends for Michael Myers movies:

01. "Halloween" (2007) - $30M (projected)
02. "Halloween: H2O" (1998) - $16.1M
03. "Halloween: Resurrection" (2002) - $12.2M
04. "Halloween II" (1981) - $7.4M
05. "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" (1995) - $7.3M

Also as expected, Michael Myers has become the all-time No. 4 grossing "killer" franchise in modern box office history, surpassing Jigsaw from the "Saw" trilogy and trailing only Hannibal Lecter, Jason ("Friday the Thirteenth") and Freddy Krueger.

According to DailyHerald.com, John Carpenter filmed his 1978 indie chiller on a $325,000 budget. The film made roughly $47 million at the domestic box office, and still ranks among the most impressive budget-to-box office ratios in history. Zombie's studio-approved "Halloween" cost about $20 million.

Zombie has scored successes with low-budget slasher flicks "House Of 1,000 Corpses" ($12.6 million in domestic receipts) and "The Devil's Rejects" ($17 million cumulative box office gross).

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