Lilu Dallas Announces New Drummer

Baltimore, MD outfit Lilu Dallas has found yet another new drummer, Jon "Finn" Burrier, their third drummer this year.

According to the band, "Our first drummer was not able to continute playing due to personal issues, and our last drummer was very very good, but a dipshit and annoying."

The group will soon record their debut EP for Five Point Records, which will surface this winter.

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Reign Of Vengeance Adds ex-Dying Fetus Drummer

Scottsdale, Arizona death metal outfit Reign Of Vengeance has officially announced the addition of former Dying Fetus drummer Duane Timlin. Timlin recently completed drum tracks for the group's "Revenge by Bloodshed" CD, due out later this year. "It sounds great and he's done an amazing job," says vocalist Marshall Beck. "Mixing of the final songs will continue this coming Monday so the album should be pressed and ready for purchase soon." Beck adds, "We do apologize for the delays on releasing this album. We ran into some out-of-our-control problems with our first drummer Sorceron that has delayed the release much longer than we had originally planned."

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Pelican and High On Fire Plan UK Tour

In December Pelican and High On Fire will team up for a UK tour. Here are the planned tour dates:

12/10 Belfast @ Limelight
12/11 Dublin @ Whelans
12/12 Sunderland @ Independent
12/13 Glasgow @ Oran Mor
12/14 Bristol @ Cooler
12/15 Birmingham @ Barfly
12/16 Sheffield @ Corporation
12/17 London @ ULU

Pelican has just embarked on a tour of Japan and Australia this week.

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With Blood Comes Cleansing, Carnifex Tour Dates

Mychildren Mybride, With Blood Comes Cleansing, and Carnifex will tour together in November. Here are the tour dates:

11/5 Annaplois, MD @ Knights of Columbus
11/6 Kent, OH Fat Jimmys
11/7 Dayton, OH @ The Attic
11/8 Nashville, TN @ The Muse
11/9 Augusta, GA @ Sector 7G

with Across Five Aprils
11/10 Valdosta, GA @ Vitos
11/11 Jacksonville, FL @ The Pit
11/12 Tampa, FL @ Transitions Art Gallery
11/14 Pensacola, FL @ American Legion 33
11/15 Mobile, AL @ Grace United Methodist Church
11/16 Tupelo, MS @ The Link Centre
11/17 Douglasville, GA @ 7th Venue

11/18 Ridgeland, MS @ Ridgeland High School Café.
11/19 Little Rock, AR @ Vinos
11/20 Austin, TX @ Red 7
11/21 Houston, TX @ Java Jazz
11/22 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
11/23 Plano, TX @ The Annex
11/24 Wichita Falls, TX @ The Onesixnine
11/25 Claremore, OK @ The Tree

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SS Nova Seeks New Label

SS Nova has amicably parted ways with record label Pinky Ring Records. The group is currently looking for a label to distribute their self-titled EP. The EP was recorded earlier this year by Shaun Lopez (Deftones, Will Haven). For additional information, contact the group here.

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Mushroomhead Percussionist To Perform w/ Marazene

In a follow up to last week's announcement, Chicago based Machine / Metalists Marazene have announced that MUSHROOMHEAD percussionist Dan 'Little Dan' Fox will fill in for them on drums on their upcoming tour.

Drummer and co-founder Kristov Kemp had confirmed to the band only last week a cancer relapse that will require immediate chemotherapy treatment and which will force him to sit out the Fall tour.

The blog posted by multi-instrumentalist and co-founder DieTrich Thrall follows:

"MARAZENE would like to thank the entire SkumF***er Nation for all of your support following last weeks disappointing announcement regarding our brother Kristov's current health crisis.

"Marazene understand the importance of a touring opportunity for an independent band such as ours. While bands such as Static X, Nine Inch Nails, or Korn could easily reschedule a National Tour, Marazene are forced to consider numerous pros and cons. So many logistics had to be in the bag by the time we got the update on Kristov's health situation. We could all just turn around, throw in the towel, and give up but that's not Kristov's way of dealing with his health nor is it our way of dealing with our band.

"Kristov needs to focus on fighting this. He can never be replaced. That can never be questioned. He'll be back. And Marazene will only be stronger in the long run.

"We're fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to have Dan 'Little Dan' Fox jump on board to cover live drums with such little notice. He's an amazing talent and probably the only person in the world who could've filled in for our brother Kristov during this generally shitty turn of events. A very special thanks goes out to him.

"And so on behalf of Marazene and with Kristov's full endorsement, Marazene will continue forward with our Fall tour plans!

"Special thanks and mention go out to members of Mushroomhead who have patiently stood by us as we decided how best to proceed with the tour.

"Marazene have always endured on the very hard work of it's team and the unwavering support of our friends and fans! None of this would be possible without you and we thank you again for sticking by us during this difficult time!"

Kristov Kemp was first diagnosed with intestinal cancer in May 2006 and had surgery to remove a cancerous growth and numerous lymph nodes followed by chemotherapy for much of the remainder of the year. Despite the intensive treatment, he continued to perform with Marazene as they toured the Midwest in support of the self release of their debut album, 'MachiNation'.

Marazene only weeks ago announced their upcoming tour with Megaforce recording artist MUSHROOMHEAD and Metropolis records PSYCLON NINE. The three bands had previously toured together for four weeks in the Spring.

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Another Walls of Jericho Performance Video Online

Another live video of WALLS OF JERICHO, this time for their track “A Trigger Full Of Promises”, is available for viewing at the Underground Video Television (UVTV) website. The footage was taken at Northern Lights in Clifton Park NY earlier this year when the band was on tour with KITTIE, 36 CRAZYFISTS, DEAD TO FALL and IN THIS MOMENT. Walls Of Jericho is currently on the Hell On Earth Tour which has dates all across Europe with Born From Pain and Fear My Thoughts that will conclude a tour stop in Russia.

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Kreator Frontman Checks In From Mexico

The following message has been posted via Kreator's official Myspace site:

"Hi girls and boys! I'm sitting in a hotel room in Guadalajara/ Mexico and I'm still overwhelmed by the great response at our Mexican dates ! The shows were absolutely fantastic, great organization, nice local crews and last but not least an amazing audience at all three concerts! Hail to the Mexican Kreatorheads !!!!!! You fuckin rule!

It's also cool to see Hammerfall playing a great true metal set every night with Kotipelto opening the evening with high class heavy rock and even though, the styles of music couldn't be more different, the fans are open minded and cool with all three bands. This is what our music should be about! Unity among all metalfans!

I'm getting ready to go to the airport now to fly to Santiago de Chile. Can't wait to play tomorrow's show ! Kreator has had a very special connection with the Chilean metalheads from day one! We're expecting more then 4000 fans so be prepared for a night of total terror!!!!!!!!

One more thing: to all the fans that expressed their dissapointment about the fact what we're not coming to Brazil on this run.This time it didn't work out due to logistic reasons beyond our control! We'll definately play a huge brazilian tour after the new album, promise!!!

So until then, keep the spirit alive!

Mille"

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Ulver Mainman Reveals Future Plans

Pitchfork recently conducted an interview with ULVER mainman Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Pitchfork: You're still occasionally associated with black metal, though your sound's been shifting incrementally, and now significantly, since 1992. Does the association bug you?

Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg: It bugged me more before, around 2000. At that point where we were very set on drawing sharp lines and distinguishing between things, people, places. I also believed there was such a thing as new beginnings. But history haunts us and there's nothing you can do. I accept that, even though I still find it curious, of course, that two out of 15 releases are regarded, or included to such an extent. But hell, I guess it means you're are pretty lucky when you have fans who love both your first and your last effort spanning fifteen years. That's pretty rare, especially considering the inconsistent nature of our body of work. I also realize that if it hadn't been for our initial "success" as a black metal band, there's a good chance nobody would know we exist. Or care. Sometimes I'm not sure what I'd prefer.

Pitchfork: I'm interested in how you progressed from your early days to your current sound. What sort of aesthetic did you pull from for "Shadows of the Sun"? Chamber music, but what else? What contemporary metal and non-metal groups do you enjoy? I hear church music — even the BEACH BOYS. I hear you studied classical composers for it. How did you decide to use electronics/piano, et al? Of course, there are still moments of dissonance and feedback, but you largely break from standard "rock" instruments. There's this general soft white noise sounds filtering throughout — and horns.

Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg: There's no specific aesthetic other than a sense of the beautiful itself, I suppose. There's a connection to classical composition, that's pretty obvious. Some Wagner transpositions. Some Schumann warped beyond recognition etc. in there. "Funebre" is largely based on one single bar off Wagner and we have that little Chopin signature thrown in there as well. So yeah, even though we use fewer notes, the classical stamp is all over the record. BEACH BOYS? It's probably the vocal thing, that I am so fond of clean-sung, layered, well-produced vocals and harmonies. That's another rarity these days. I wonder, where did all the sunshine pop go?

Pitchfork: Where do you see ULVER headed next?

Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg: First, I am going to take some time off the whole music thing, and then we'll see. There's some original motion picture soundtrack work in negotiation. And I always wanted to make a cover album consisting of obscure psychedelic music from the 1960s — all re-shaped and customized, ULVER style.

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Dragonforce Re-Release Delayed

The previously announced re-release of DRAGONFORCE's debut album Valley Of The Damned has been delayed. Below is a statement from band Manager Steve McTaggart.

"Regretfully, I have to announce that the release of the Remixed & Re-mastered Valley Of The Damned album has been postponed until further notice.

Difficulties were experienced at the mastering studio in Berlin due to the illness of key people which resulted in the original release date not being achievable.

Subsequent to this, Sanctuary Records, who own the bands catalogue, has been bought by Universal Music and shut down.

Work on the album is ongoing and will be completed and a new release date will be set once the business situation is clarified. As always, keep checking the site as you’ll hear the news here first!"

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Demigod Part Ways With Guitarist

Finnish death metallers DEMIGOD have issued the following update:

"Tero has left the building... Tero Laitinen has decided to leave Demigod after a 'few' years of brutality and mayhem. So we leave him behind with a couple of broken bones and a shattered self-image. Enjoy the days with just a hangover and NOT a fucking band-rehearsal on top of that hangover. After being a part of Demigod from day one, Tero leaves us with a huge gap in experience, stupid jokes and all the beer-drinking sessions shall be slightly less fun. We have actually known about Tero's departure for a while now and at this point we can tell that we have found a new guitarist for Demigod and we'll throw our first gig with him next Friday, September 28th (in Jyväskylä, Finland at Lutakko)."

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Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage Co-Headline Tour

LAMB OF GOD and Killswitch Engage have announced that they will be teaming up for a late fall co-headlining tour. Almost four years after their first run together on MTV2’s Headbangers Ball Tour, the two powerhouses have reunited to bring holiday mayhem throughout the US. The tour will begin on November 28th in Lowell, Massachusetts and end on December 17th in Albuquerque, New Mexico with LAMB OF GOD and Killswitch Engage alternating headlining slots each night. Directly supporting these metal juggernauts will be DevilDriver, with Swedish metallers Soilwork kicking off the show each evening.

LAMB OF GOD will be wrapping up the Sacrament album cycle with this tour. After 18 months of touring with Slayer, Megadeth, Ozzfest, Heaven and Hell, and headlining runs in the US, Japan, Australia, UK and Europe, LAMB OF GOD will take 2008 off to prepare for a new CD. Fans will get a new dose of LAMB OF GOD in 2008 with a full length DVD, set for release in the spring. The DVD will document the entire Sacrament experience, beginning with rehearsals for the albums recording straight through this headline run.

“Yes the rumors are true, Killswitch and LAMB OF GOD are back together again” Killswitch vocalist Howard Jones affirms. “We had our honeymoon four years ago and now it’s time to renew our metal vows. This is your official invitation - the only one you will ever need.”

Chris Adler from LAMB OF GOD adds "Touring the Sacrament album has been some of the most exciting times we have ever experienced. It has taken us around the world several times over, playing the biggest shows of our career with some of the best bands in the business and in front of the greatest fans in the world. We are tighter, stronger and smarter than we have ever been and before we put the machine that is LAMB OF GOD to bed for a little while and call an end to the touring cycle, we want to bring it to the next level. So together with our true friends in Killswitch, DevilDriver and Soilwork we plan to bring you something that won't be forgotten. Thanks to everyone who has supported us and we are looking forward to one more brutal evening with all of you!!!"

Presale tickets will go on sale on October 3 through www.lamb-of-god.com. Tickets go on sale to the public on October 12 and 13 – check your local listings for details.

Here are the latest Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage co-headlining tour dates with DevilDriver and Soilwork: More...

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I Am The Ocean, Clifton Tour Dates

I Am The Ocean and Clifton will kick off a three-week tour together later this week. Here are the tour dates:

9/28 Salt Lake City, UT @ Studio 600 (early show)
9/29 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Broken Record (late show)
9/30 Cedar City, UT @ The Grind
10/1 Bakersfield, CA @ The Backstage
10/2 Ventura, CA @ The Alpin
10/3 Anywhere Central, CA @ TBA
10/4 San Jose, CA @ House Show
10/5 Sacramento, CA @ Club Retro
10/6 Anywhere Northern, CA @ TBA
10/7 Santa Rosa, CA @ Chops
10/8 Eugene, OR @ Samurai Duck
10/9 Anywhere Northern, OR @ TBA
10/10 Portland, OR @ The Tonic Lounge
10/11 Portland, OR @ Rock n Roll Pizza
10/12 Bellevue, WA @ Ground Zero
10/13 Tri-Cities, WA @ Ray's Golden Lion
10/14 Wenatchee, WA @ Centennial Park
10/15 Spokane, WA @ Empyrean Coffee House
10/16 Missoula, MT @ Boys and Girls Club
10/17 Helena, MT @ TBA
10/18 Billings, MT @ Yellowstone Perk
10/19 Sheridan, WY @ Eagles Hall
10/20 Riverton, WY @ IOOF Hall

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Veil Of Maya Lose Singer

Veil Of Maya vocalist, Adam Clemans, played his last show with the band last week. Here's a statement from the band:

"[Adam] has been under a lot of medical and financial stress and has decided to pursue other interests. There are no hard feelings between any of us and we all wish him the best of luck in the future. We all love him very much."

No official word on a replacement has been issued.

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Diecast Seek New Bassist

Boston's Diecast is currently in search of a new bass player. Candidates must have professional gear, the ability to sing, stage presence, and a willingness to tour non-stop. The group will be accepting videos submissions via email. According to the band, "we would like videos of you playing, as well as your singing. Scream too if you can. Also, send some live footage if you have it. You can make all your videos through YouTube, Google video, ect. This gives you the option to make it private if you want. Just send us the links." Submissions can be sent to diecastseeksbassplayer@gmail.com

In related news, the group has begun the writing process for their next Century Media Records release.

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Jesu Schedule Tour

Jesu have finalized dates for their upcoming U.S. tour. Here's the schedule:

dates w/ Wolves in the Throne Room
10/4 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
10/6 Tempe, AZ @ The Sets
10/7 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
10/9 Denton, TX @ Hailey's
10/10 Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
10/11 Houston, TX @ Walters
10/12 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
10/13 Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder
10/15 Orlando, FL @ The Social
10/16 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/17 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle

dates w/ Torche, Fog
10/18 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/19 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
10/20 New York, NY @ Grammercy Theatre
10/21 Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Polish Club
10/22 New Britain, CT @ Trinity On Main
10/23 Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East Downstairs
10/24 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa (no Fog)
10/25 Toronto, ON @ Lees Palace (no Fog)
10/26 Buffalo, NY @ Showplace Theater
10/27 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
10/28 Iowa City, IA @ The Picador
10/29 Sauget, IL @ Pop's w/ Yakuza
10/30 Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck w/ Yakuza
10/31 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater w/ Yakuza
11/2 Seattle, WA @ Neumo's Crystal Ball Reading Room w/ Sunn 0))), Eluvium
11/3 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre w/ Sunn 0))), Eluvium
11/5 Sacramento, CA @ Harlow's w/ These Arms Are Snakes, Oxbow
11/6 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall w/ These Arms Are Snakes, Oxbow
11/9 Los Angeles, CA @ Ex Plex w/ These Arms Are Snakes, Oxbow
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Headline News

Abigail Williams Reforms

After calling it quits this past spring, metal band Abigail Williams has reformed. In addition to relocating from Arizona to the Ohio area, the group now boasts a retooled line-up. Details have yet to be publicly released, but Ashley Jurgemeyer is reportedly no longer in the band. An official statement on the matter is expected to surface in a few days. As you've likely noticed, Abigail Williams was recently announced as a participant in the upcoming Malevolent Creation, Cattle Decapitation, Light This City, and Veil Of Maya tour.

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Down Not Afraid Of Old Influences

Brian Sweeney of Blistering.com recently conducted an interview with DOWN guitarist Kirk Windstein. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Blistering.com: What direction did DOWN go with "Down III: Over The Under"?

Kirk Windstein: We really didn't have anything in mind, it just kind of came out. In general I think we kind of just — we're the type of band that's not really afraid to go backwards. We like to move forward of course, too, but in some ways we gathered together and decided to put DOWN back together and make it a real band and not a side project and stay focused and give 100% dedication to this band. We went back and started listening to a lot of the stuff that influenced DOWN to form as a band in the first place. Bands like TROUBLE, BLACK SABBATH and a lot of Southern rock — SKYNYRD, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, stuff like that. All of the old stuff that really inspired us to form as a band way back when. We all played in heavy bands, for lack of a better word, and we kind of wanted to do something different. On this one we did make a conscious effort to go back and listen to the stuff that influenced us the first time around.

Blistering.com: I heard some rumors that there are a slew of acoustic songs that you didn't put on the record. Is there any substance to those rumours?

Windstein: We have acoustic songs written. The way this album was coming out, we just kind of looked at each other and said, "Let's make a hard-hitting, straight-ahead classic rock'n'roll record." We do have some dynamics on some of the songs, of course. We try to make everything a little different: songs written in a different key, different tempos; there is mellow stuff, just hard-hitting, heavy stuff — everything. The acoustic thing, we talked about incorporating it into the record. The way it was coming out and the way it was flowing we felt it was best to go with a classic rock'n'roll record. We do have some acoustic stuff done. We have songs that we recorded that didn't make the record that are killer songs that could be used somewhere down the line. We have songs that were written that we demoed that we didn't even record in the studio that are killer, so we have an abundance of material and I'm sure that we're going to do something with the acoustic stuff and some of these other tracks sometime soon.

Blistering.com: When you're writing music, do you get together with everybody and sit around a table and just jam, or do you think of stuff on your own and bring it to the group?

Windstein: A little bit of everything. Everybody wrote stuff at their own house or whatever, to bring to practice; a lot of it was written at practice. Phil spent countless hours going through the riff tapes. In fact, the tune "On March The Saints" was something that he found on a riff tape from like '97, '98 or something like that, and I remembered it, so I was like, "Dude, I remember that," so we kind of worked that up, and of course it's a lot different than the original thing. But we had hours and hours of jam sessions from way back when, and we went through those — Phil basically did — and made notes of the ones that he felt were worth listening to. And some of those things were taken and rewritten with everyone else's input. It depends. A lot of time [guitarist] Pepper [Keenan] will come up with his stuff right there on the spot. A lot of times we'll get to the rehearsal room and he'll be in the "lair," we call it, where we jam, and he'll come up with a good idea. He'll come over about an hour or two later, and he's got a really good idea and we'll work on that. Everyone definitely adds in their own two cents, but that's kind of how the writing process goes. It's a little bit of everything. The riffs that I brought in were written and demoed and presented to the band, and everyone would put their own twist on them.

Blistering.com: The band is pretty much synonymous with New Orleans, but you recorded the album in Los Angeles. Was that change of scenery difficult to adapt to, just being away from New Orleans?

Windstein: Well, I think the one positive is that there are no outside distractions when you do something like that. I have a house, I have a wife, I have a little girl — not that that's a distraction — but when you're isolated, whether it be in the woods at Phil's where we did the last record when we lived there for a damn month and didn't even leave, or if you're isolated in a hotel and being shuttled straight between the hotel and the studio day in and day out not even seeing the sun, you only have one focus, and that one focus is the record, is creating the best record you can create. Performing the best that you can perform. And I think if we were to do it in the studio in the city here and be going home every night some of our "regular-life responsibilities" would come into play a little bit more. For me personally, I enjoyed getting away and just being isolated and focused in on nothing but the record. Some of us are able to do it at home, some of us aren't, but I think it was a good, positive thing. The change of scenery was good. We always write in New Orleans just to get that vibe, you know. But recording out in L.A. was nice. The problem with New Orleans is that the majority of the really good studios here were destroyed in the hurricane and aren't even back up and running, if they're ever even going to come back. So it was a pretty limited selection as to where we could record. Our producer lives out in L.A. so he was able to get everything coordinated and it worked out great. On DOWN I, "NOLA" was basically a straight-ahead disc that had a few little segue pieces, and we intentionally did a lot of the stuff that we did on "Down II" with acoustic stuff and just kind of broadened our whole spectrum. We feel as though we can do whatever we want to do. If we want to make a damn acoustic record, we'll make it. If we want to make a hard-hitting heavy record, we'll make it. If we want to make a combination of the two, we'll make it. We don't feel we're backed into any corner, you know? We feel like we're free to express ourselves and write what we feel as individuals and collectively as the five guys in DOWN.

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Heaven And Hell Bassist Talks CD And YouTube

The St. Louis River Front Times recently conducted an interview with legendary heavy metal bassist Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN AND HELL). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Q: The day after the Chicago show on the first leg of the HEAVEN AND HELL tour, there was bootlegged footage up on YouTube. Does that sort of thing bother you, or do you find it flattering that people are so devoted they're sneaking in cameras?

Geezer: (Chuckles) It's just, to me, an incredible phenomenon. I think it's better like that, rather than you know, one guy coming in with a movie camera and doing a bootleg of the whole show. This way, on YouTube, it certainly gets your name out across the whole world. And it's just snippets and stuff, instead of whole shows. So I think it's great.

Q: The guy who put it up said he was in the fifth row, and then other people who were there that night started chiming in with their opinion of the footage, but more about the show. Everybody said it was a great show, and he got a lot of hits. People were rabid to see how you guys were after all these years.

Geezer: Yeah, it's amazing. It is free publicity. And when you're in the entertainment business, that's the greatest thing you can have.

Q: Were you worried about technical problems [during the filming of the "Live at Radio City Music Hall" DVD]?

Geezer: Yeah, we were worried about it – but there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. 'Cause it costs a fortune to have the cameras and everything fly in, I think a lot of them were from the West Coast. And some of them, like the directors, were from Germany. And so it costs a lot of money to set the whole thing up, and with all the gigs we couldn't do a soundcheck, it was that one. We couldn't get the camera angles, we couldn't . . . you know, it was really worrying on the night, because we had to do the monitors while we were playing, the monitor mixes onstage. And it wasn't until the fourth song maybe that the monitors were right for the place. You know, it's always the way with us. When we do a live album, there's always a bomb scare or something! (Laughs).

Q: At least on the album part of it, you can't hear any difficulties.

Geezer: Well, it's just for us, the soundcheck. For all that investment into something, and you're not allowed to do a soundcheck. It's like the basic thing of a gig is doing your soundcheck, to get your sound right. And when you haven't got a chance to get your sound right, or the camera angles, it's panic time. But fortunately, the director had been at a lot of the shows, and we'd done a dummy run-through of the show in L.A. with the director there, so he knew what to expect.

Q: During those first four songs, when the monitors weren't right, did you think, "Oh, it's not going to work out."

Geezer: Oh, yeah. In case you mess the whole thing up. 'Cause I could hear that Ronnie and Tony and Vinny were playing great, and it's sort of, "I hope I'm not the one that's gonna completely ruin this whole thing!" (Laughs). It is a bit of a panic until you settle down. Plus, it's New York, which is always a nerve-wracking place to play.

Q: Still? After all these years of playing out, you still get nerves?

Geezer: Yeah! 'Cause you get all these fanatics who come to see us in places like New York and L.A. They're like "ultrafans."

Q: One of the bass magazines recently went into great detail analyzing your playing style when you play with Ozzy in BLACK SABBATH and Ronnie in HEAVEN AND HELL. Do you think there's that much difference in how you play with the two of them?

Geezer: No, not to me. I just get on with it. (Laughs). It's still me, you know? You'd have to bring in a different bass player to have a different style. You can't possibly change your style just for the same kind of music.

Q: The guy who wrote the article had this theory that because Ronnie wrote lyrics, he had more influence on the melody line.

Geezer: I think the songs are probably more intense (with Ronnie), that's for sure. There's definitely more bass notes in the songs, because the songs are more intense and bit more complicated. There's a lot more chord changes and stuff in the HEAVEN AND HELL line-up. In the original SABBATH, it was like a basic approach to stuff, and we got the ultimate heavy sound. Whereas the Dio era is more melodic, more chord changes, musically more technical.

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Nikki Sixx Says Crue Will Be Fine Without Lee

MOTLEY CRUE bassist Nikki Sixx was guest on "The Howard Stern Show" on Sirius Satellite Radio. Here are some excerpts:

"Howard asked Nikki about the chicks he's banged and if he names any of the really famous chicks he had. He wasn't going to get into those names so Howard asked him what's up with the band now. Tommy Lee has quit the band so he's out now. Nikki said that they had this manager working with the band and he started to demand more money to have Tommy in it with them. The guy kept demanding more money and they ended up suing the guy because of what he was doing. He said they lost 10s of millions of dollars because Tommy was out doing solo stuff. He said that guy cost them a lot of money so they had to sue him. Tommy pulled out of the band because of that and the battle is still going on. He said you'd think that Tommy would support the band but that's not the case. Nikki said that Tommy isn't the singer or songwriter so they should be fine without him. He said he has nothing against him though."

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Nightwish Announce More European Dates

Finnish/Swedish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH have scheduled the following European tour dates early next year:

Feb. 19 - Visla Hall Krakow Poland
Feb. 20 - Lucerna Music Hall Prague Czech Republic
Feb. 21 - Arena Berlin Germany
Feb. 23 - Arena Leipzig Germany
Feb. 24 - Schleyerhalle Stuttgart Germany
Feb. 25 - Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt Germany
Feb. 27 - Jako Arena Bamberg Germany
Feb. 28 - Gasometer A-Wien Austria
Feb. 29 - Hallenstadion CH-Zürich Switzerland
Mar. 02 - Palalido I-Milan Italy
Mar. 04 - Tivoli Hall Ljublana Slovenia
Mar. 05 - Petofi Hall Budapest Hungary
Mar. 17 - Colour Line Arena Hamburg Germany
Mar. 18 - AWD Hall Hannover Germany
Mar. 19 - Westfalenhalle 2 Dortmund Germany
Mar. 21 - HMH Music Hall Amsterdam Netherlands
Mar. 22 - Den Atelier Luxembourg Luxembourg
Mar. 23 - AB Brussels Belgium
Mar. 25 - Astoria London UK
Mar. 29 - Carling Academy Birmingham UK
Mar. 30 - Carling Academy Newcastle UK
Mar. 31 - ABC1 Glasgow UK
Apr. 02 - Mandela Hall Belfast UK
Apr. 03 - Vicar Street Dublin Ireland
Apr. 04 - Academy1 Manchester UK
Apr. 06 - Zenith Paris France
Apr. 07 - Zenith Strasbourg France
Apr. 10 - Halle Tony Garnier Lyon France
Apr. 11 - Dome Marseille France
Apr. 12 - Zenith Toulouse France
Apr. 14 - Razzmatazz 1 Barcelona Spain
Apr. 15 - Santana 27 Bilbao Spain
Apr. 16 - La Riviera Madrid Spain
Apr. 18 - Coliseum Porto Portugal
Apr. 19 - Coliseum Lisbon Portugal

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Puscifer Post Update

TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan has issued the following update on his PUSCIFER project:

"OK, music fans. Let the games begin. It's been a long time coming and we thank you for your patience. The 'Cuntry Boner' CD single is now available for pre-order exclusively at www.puscifer.com and will be shipped the first week of October. As promised there will be even more music to follow. We're just now finishing up the video for 'Queen B' and that should be up on iTunes in a few weeks. We're also putting together a pre-release EP for iTunes called 'Don't Shoot The Messenger'."

PUSCIFER's debut album, "V Is For Vagina", will be released an October 30 through Puscifer Entertainment.

Other songs set to appear on the CD include a cover of the CIRCLE JERKS' "World Up My Ass" and "Dojo".

"This is absolutely just put-it-on-and-move-your-butt -and-get-completely-out-of-your-head music," Keenan recently told MTV.com about the record. "This is purely body candy. It's meant to make you feel like I feel when I hear JAMES BROWN, when I hear some old JACKSON 5 or or ARETHA [FRANKLIN]. It's just that good feeling — music that makes you feel good. There's no math. Nothing wrong with math, but sometimes, it can be exhausting to be that forced, that focused. I'm a big KING CRIMSON fan, but only when I have the energy to be. Sometimes I just want to hear GNARLS BARKLEY."

PUSCIFER is comprised of a revolving door of contributors, including multi-instrumentalist Danny Lohner; songstress Lisa Germano; TELEFON TEL AVIV's Joshua Eustis; Jonny Polonsky; PRIMUS' Tim Alexander; model Milla Jovovich; TOOL guitar tech Matt Mitchell; and dark ambient artist Lustmord.

So why this new project? "I'm on a mission," Keenan said. "I've been assigned to be the guardian of a highly classified, highly effective Sonic Weapon of Mass Disruption. This sonic technology when 'unleashed,' if you will, causes parts of the anatomy to vibrate uncontrollably. Not unlike when someone yawns, everyone in the surrounding area will be affected. If executed properly, the subjects will be temporarily distracted from their duties. Their bodies will appear to be abducted by the Soul Train, as if J-Lo were auditioning for the 'Thriller' video. Awe-inspiring. Don't speak a word of it."

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Diamond Head Albums To Be Re-Released

Metal Mind Productions will reissue DIAMOND HEAD's classic albums from the early '80s — "Borrowed Time" (1982) and "Canterbury" (1983) — on October 15 as limited-edition digipacks (limited to 2,000 copies) featuring bonus tracks. The details are as follows:

"Borrowed Time" (1982) re-release track listing:

01. In The Heat of the Night
02. To Heaven from Hell
03. Call Me
04. Lightning To the Nations
05. Borrowed Time
06. Don't You Ever Leave Me
07. Am I Evil?

Bonus tracks:

08. Trick or Treat
09. Dead Reckoning
10. Shoot Out The Lights
11. In The Heat Of The Night
12. Play It Loud (live)
13. Sweet And Innocent (live)
14. Interview with Sean Harris and Colin Kimberley by Tommy Vance recorded in June '82

"Canterbury" (1983) re-release track listing:

01. Makin' Music
02. Out of Phase
03. The Kingmaker
04. One More Night
05. To the Devil His Due
06. Knight of the Swords
07. Ishmael
08. I Need Your Love
09. Canterbury

Bonus tracks:

10. Makin' Music (extended)
11. Sucking My Love (live)
12. Andy Peebles interview incl. "To The Devil His Due"

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Slayer Frontman Talks About Manson Tour

David Priest of OnTrackMagazine.com recently conducted an interview with SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

OnTrackMagazine.com: There seemed to be a little bit of animosity that you guys were goin' on first (before MARILYN MANSON) and that you would even be on tour with somebody like MANSON to begin with, being that his music's very different and not something that the average SLAYER fan would embrace.

Tom: Yeah, it was an odd bill, and we got the audience I figured we were gonna get and that was an audience that people didn't come to see us; the same with MANSON. A lot of the people that came to the show I think came because they wouldn't come to see just MANSON or SLAYER, but since they were playing together, "Let's go check it out." And I think a lot of our crowd was that; we got this kind of crowd on this entire tour. So it did well for everybody because this is our third time now goin' through and we were doin' really well, as far as merch sales we did the same. We did the same amount the last time as this time so we did really well; it showed good numbers for us. We had a really positive growth and response. So it worked out really well for us. Like I said, we were on prime-time, 8 o'clock. The only thing is, like you said, a lot of people just assumed that we would headline, and that was the one thing that we let it be known a long time ago: this is a co-headline bill — but — we're gonna kick his ass every night. (Laughs) We're gonna open up and kick his ass every night. That's by his choice! (Laughs)

OnTrackMagazine.com: Absolutely! Now the rumor backstage, talkin' to some of the people afterwards that had been to some of the earlier shows, especially the L.A. crowd I guess, said the MANSON camp, some of their people, tend to be a little controlling and uptight about the way everything was being handled back there. I guess even your manager had some problems being told he couldn't smoke in certain areas.

Tom: Well yeah, just in general period. For a co-headline, we're the kind of band that if you allow access for somebody… we don't mind not having too much access but if you're wearing the proper credentials you shouldn't be stopped and you shouldn't be questioned and you shouldn't be told you can't go because you don't have the right whatever, you know what I mean? And there was a lot of that going on on this tour and to us; well we're not like that. You got a laminate that says all access, well then goddamnit I guess you're all access, you know what I mean? If you have a VIP that says you get to these areas and you can't go beyond that area, that's great, but they kept changin' the rules, it wasn't our camp. There were issues like that were goin' on through the entire tour and that's one of the reasons why it'll be a one-time run. (Laughing)

OnTrackMagazine.com: (Laughing) Ah, right. I was gonna say chances are this probably won't ever happen again.

Tom: Oh yeah. It's like why? Why would we ever wanta go through this again? It's like, f*ck you. We've been doin' the business that we did with MANSON… we've been pretty much doin' the same business everywhere where we've gone and done it: Unholy and played ourselves, we've done basically the same business. So… to me, I wouldn't want to do that again. (Laughing)

OnTrackMagazine.com: Right on. Now I noticed there was some criticism on the writing of the CD. In my travels I've spoken with quite a few fans that would really; really love to hear more writing from you and Jeff, I know Kerry pretty much did most of what was on this album.

Tom: Yeah, musically, Kerry writes a lot and lyrically, lately, Kerry likes to write to his own music, that's one of the reasons why you don't see me writing to anything that Kerry has musically done because he pretty much writes his own songs to his own music. But I've written songs, actually for "God Hates" I've actually had five songs written on that album; four that I had pretty much complete and one that I was startin' to work on, an idea that I started workin' on, but they didn't want to use any of my ideas. They used two of my melodies, but not any of my song ideas. On past records I've had songs that haven't been used at all, so it's not like I haven't been writing, I have; they just don't use 'em.

OnTrackMagazine.com: (Laughing) they just don't use 'em.

Tom: Yeah they don't, they don't. Me and Jeff, it seems like whenever we collaborate on a song, we tend to write the songs that become favorites. But me and Jeff seem to, whenever we collaborate we click on ideas and stuff and they just kinda fall together whenever we start workin' on 'em. Like "Jihad" was something that just kinda fell together. "Eyes Of The Insane" was something that he had musically and he had some stuff written for a song and then I read an article and the song came to me in the middle of the night. I looked at him and I said, 'Listen, listen, I'm gonna steal this line and I'm gonna title the song "Eyes Of The Insane". And he's like, "Oh, OK." "Yeah, I wanna steal this phrase right here." And then I wrote the song and then put that phrase in the song, you know what I mean?

OnTrackMagazine.com: Right. It's always great when it works that way and it gels that way.

Tom: Yeah. A lot of the stuff that me and Jeff have worked on together just kind of falls into place, which is kinda cool because then I guess we're kind of both "in sync" with our idea of the final vision of the song, you know what I mean? They tend to fall in place and, like I said, Jeff leaves it open for someone to help write or assist; Kerry doesn't, so that's one of the reasons why you see a lot of that. And on this album, the recording process and the writing process, was very similar as to how we did "South" and "Seasons". That's why you can hear the similarities because the writing and the recording processes were very similar on those. The records in between there, they started stepping away from that.

OnTrackMagazine.com: Right, right yeah.

Tom: And to me, you can hear it in the melodies of those albums, you know what I mean?

OnTrackMagazine.com: Yeah I think one of the things that I've noticed on the last few albums is that your vocals have been a bit more aggressive, y'know, heavier and you've kind of toned down on the melodic aspect that was more prevalent on some of the earlier SLAYER material, especially during the "Seasons" era. Is this a conscious decision on your part?

Tom: No, that was, trying different vocal styles is something that we've kind of done period. We've tried different things but it's usually very open. Like on "Divine", that was a conscious effort at changing my vocal style. The same with "Diabolus", "Diabolus" was doing something different. And then on "God Hates", "God Hates" was the only one…, I would have done a lot of the stuff different on "God Hates", vocally. You can hear 'em when we do 'em live. The songs that we play that are off of "God Hates", when we sing them, when I do them live I sing 'em how I would have recorded them. That's how I would have recorded them in the studio 'cause they're done differently. I would have done that whole album, let's just say there are a lot of songs where I would have done things differently, and that's the one album to me that was just so far off-base as far as what we were as a band; when it comes to the studio and being creative in the studio. That, to me, I found was trying to mimic other bands that were screamin' and yellin' and that wasn't us.

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Mastodon Begin Work On New Album

While at the MTV Video Music Awards in early September, MASTODON told MTV News that they wrote their best song ever — even though it's not quite finished yet — while on the way to the big show. "It's pretty much the best record we've yet to write," guitarist Bill Kelliher said before singing a couple of the riffs with fellow guitarist Brent Hinds. "That's how it goes — du-duh-du-duh na-nah-nah. We wrote it in the car on the way over here, at least the intro of it. Part one. We're at the really beginning stages. It's going to be awesome, though. Everything we do is amazing."

Despite the recent head injuries sustained by Brent Hinds, MASTODON have booked a gig, opening for the QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE on October 29 in Los Angeles. The band is also scheduled to appear at the Vegoose festival on October 27 in Las Vegas, where Hinds was jumped following MASTODON's performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Police claim Hinds was attacked outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on September 10 during an encounter with SYSTEM OF A DOWN bassist Shavo Odadjian and his friend William Hudson. According to police, Hudson assaulted Hinds, and Odadjian witnessed the incident.

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Video Interview With Soulfly Drummer Posted

SOULFLY have issued the following update:

"During the 11th Annual D-Low Memorial Show on August 31st - Soulfly's only US show this year and the first live performance from CAVALERA CONSPIRACY - Soulfly Web was able to sit down and conduct interviews with all the members of both bands to get information on both of their upcoming albums straight from their mouths. Every two weeks we will be posting a new interview with another musician, and two weeks ago we began with a video interview with Max Cavalera

This week we continue the series with an interview with Soulfly drummer, Joe Nunez, available exlusively at MySpace.com/Soulfly. Soulfly entered Bobby Burns' Porch Studio on September 12th, and we haven't had a chance to check in with Joe since then, but this interview gives a good indication of what to expect. More...

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