System Of A Down Memeber Start Recording Songs For New Project

By Elric on 9:39 AM 30 September 2007

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System Of A Down drummer John Dolmayan has issued the following update on Scars On Broadway, his new project with SOAD's Daron Malakian (guitarist, vocalist, songwriter):

"Yesterday [Thursday, Sept. 27], Daron and I began recording Scars On Broadway debut album. We've gone in with close to 18 songs. The music is expansive, experimental, and sometimes in your face...

"We're very excited to get it down and get it out to all of you."

Malakian co-produced (with Rick Rubin) System Of A Down's multi-platinum albums "Toxicity" (2001) and the dual-disc "Mezmerize/Hypnotize" (2005), all three of which hit the No. 1 spot on The Billboard 200 chart.

System Of A Down has been on hiatus since last year, with its members working on various side projects. This has naturally led to rumors that the band was breaking up permanently. But bassist Shavo Odadjian told The Pulse of Radio that System Of A Down is far from over. " is alive and well," he said. "We're just not working together right now. We kind of like split up at first, but you know, we're brothers, man, we'll take bullets for each other. So it's like, you kind of miss each other after a while and you, one guy makes the first move, then another starts making phone calls....this is a juggernaut, man. SystemSystem Of A Down is my lifeline. It'll never go away. We could not make a record for 10 years — that's not gonna happen, but I'm just saying we could — and we'll come back strong."

System Of A Down vocalist Serj Tankian will release his first solo CD, titled "Elect the Dead", on October 23.

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Rush On Dickinson's Show

By Elric on 3:03 PM 28 September 2007

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Canadian rock legends Rush will be Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson's guests on Friday, October 12 during Bruce's weekly BBC 6 Music radio show, aptly named "The Bruce Dickinson Friday Rock Show". Listen to the program live via the Internet between 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. U.K. time at BBC.co.uk. You listen to the show here.

Rush's 18th studio album, "Snakes & Arrows", debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard album chart with sales of 93,000 copies. The disc is the first collection of all-new Rush material since 2002's "Vapor Trails" and the 27th RUSH release to make the Billboard album chart. The band's chart peak was in 1993, when "Counterparts" debuted at No. 2.

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Hatesphere Part Ways With Singer

By Elric on 8:15 AM

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Hatesphere have issued the following update:

"As a result of personal issues, HateSphere and vocalist Jacob Bredahl have parted ways. This has been in the air for a little while now and is without doubt, the best decision for the band. Having to tour with a person who's not able to give it one hundred percent in the future and vice versa is pointless. We'd like to thank Jacob for 10 years of hard work and good times, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours! This may come as a shock for many of you but we can only emphasize that HateSphere will continue and are already in the midst of auditioning new singers.

In effect of this and some unanticipated, economical circumstances, we have been forced to cancel our upcoming European tour with Dimmu Borgir and Amon Amarth. We are very sorry for that but have seen no other solution, as it would be too difficult to find a new singer in only ten days. The gigs we have after the tour will not be affected by this, and we promise you all to come back soon and make it up to you.

Jacob and Pepe have always been a part of what is called HateSphere, so no question that this is also weird for the rest of the band. As you probably know, Pepe has always been writing practically all the music, so as far as that matter goes, it shouldn't mean that much. Also, the song writing for the next album is about to start and we are looking forward to work together as a new and revitalized group.

We know all you fans will have tons of questions but what's been said here explains everything, so please refrain from asking questions regarding this subject. Jacob left on amicable terms and we are simply moving on. We realize this has to be weird for you guys, to see almost the entire band being replaced just within three months, but there's no other way and we have so much more music in us, so why stop now? Hopefully you will respect our decisions and support us in the future ? We are still here and will be back sooner than you think, to kick you in the ass!

See you all on the road soon!

Cheers,
HateSphere"

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Deathwish Demo Available For Download

By Elric on 7:28 AM 27 September 2007

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The 1986 debut three-song demo cassette by UK thrash quartet Deathwish has been made available for download at the Bang! Bang! metal demo blog.

According to the blog post, "Deathwish weren't like UK counterparts Xentrix, who wished to be American. Already the title track, 'Sword of Justice', sounds like a speed metal overhaul of an NWOBHM throwback. These guys come from the little-known back alley tradition of thick leather ragers like Satan or Touched. The quality dirty guitars are the best part, especially during the second song, 'Exorcist', a rollicking dirge with rampant low-end dive bombs. It actually sounds suspiciously like the blueprint for 'Graveyard Slut' from Darkthrone's last album."

Bang! Bang!, the weblog of Ian Christe (author of "Sound of the Beast" and "Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga", and host on Sirius Satellite Radio's Hard Attack), is dedicated to "celebrating the tradition of freely-traded heavy metal demo cassettes and preserving the pioneer spirit of the underground, one magnetic particle at a time."

You can download the demo here.

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Vader Anniversary Tour

By Elric on 8:31 AM 25 September 2007

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Vader is going to celebrate the 25th anniversary not only with a brand new DVD "...And Blood Was Shed In Warsaw" (out on Metal Mind Production in October!) and a compilation of re-recorded classic songs "XXV" (to be unleashed next year), but also with a regular European tour, containing around 25 gigs. The first confirmed special guest of the tour is a legendary Greek band Septic Flesh! As you might know, the guys reunited some time ago and signed to Season Of Mist. At the moment they are hard at work on the follow-up to 2003's critically acclaimed "Sumerian Daemons" album. More details concerning the tour will be announced soon. In other news, on 26th of September Vader will team up with Krisiun, Rotting Christ, Incantation and Funerus for a Polish Blitzkrieg 4 Tour."

The tour schedule is as follows:

Blitzkrieg 4 Tour 2007
Vader + Krisiun + Rotting Christ + Incantation + Funerus

26.09.2007 L?dz @ Funaberia 2
27.09.2007 Warszawa @ Progresja
28.09.2007 Lublin @ Graffiti
29.09.2007 Elk @ Centrum Kultury
30.09.2007 Torun @ Od Nowa
01.10.2007 Gdynia @ Ucho
02.10.2007 Bydgoszcz @ Vanila Club
03.10.2007 Poznan @ Zeppelin
04.10.2007 Zielona G?ra @ Winiarnia
05.10.2007 Lubin @ CK Muza
06.10.2007 Zabrze @ Wiatrak
07.10.2007 Bielsko Biala @ Rudeboy
08.10.2007 Krak?w @ Rotunda
09.10.2007 Rzesz?w @ Pod Palma

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Therion Live Setlist

By Elric on 10:21 AM 24 September 2007

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Therion have revealed the songs that were recently voted for by fans that will be played on their upcoming "Adulruna Tour". Note that they are listed in random order, not the order they will be performed.

Adulruna Rediviva
Wisdom and the Cage
Summernight City
Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah
Wine of Aluqah
Via Nocturna
Ginnungagap
Asgard
Midgard
Blood of Kingu
Kali Yuga (part 1 & 2)*
Kali Yuga (part 3, not recorded yet. More information will follow!)
Typhon
Arrow from the sun
Lemuria (acoustic version with flute!)

* Not voted for, but we need it as we decided to play the third part.

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Iron Maiden - Dave Murray Interview

By Elric on 3:15 PM 23 September 2007

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Iron Maiden recently announced their most ambitious and extraordinary touring plans thus far. Named the Somewhere Back In Time World Tour 2008 it will comprise three sections, kicking off in February and March of 2008 with the first leg encompassing major concerts in 20 selected cities on five continents in seven weeks including India, Japan, North America, Central and South America and Australia.

The tour will then continue with more concerts in North America in late May and June before finishing with a third leg in July and August encompassing major stadiums and festivals all over Europe. During the tour the band is expected to play to well over one and a half million fans and travel close to 100,000 miles.

The Somewhere Back In Time tour will also revisit the band's history by focusing almost entirely on the 1980's in both choice of songs played and the stage set, which will be based around the legendary Egyptian Production of the 1984-85 Powerslave Tour. This will arguably be the most elaborate and spectacular show the band have ever presented to date.

And for Australian fans, it’s been a long time between drinks as the band last toured there back in 1992. In the wake of the band’s 2008 tour announcement, Joe Matera spoke to Iron Maiden’s long serving guitarist Dave Murray to discuss the upcoming tour, his guitar role within Iron Maiden and on the band being dogged by Satanism claims.

Ultimate-Guitar: The last time Iron Maiden toured Australia was back in 1992. What sort of memories do you have of that visit?

We’ve got some great memories. I remember we traveled around and spent a lot of time in Sydney and stuff like that and it was great. We did all the tourist attractions things like we went and visited the Opera House. We did a lot of that sort of thing while we were in Sydney. And we were given a really beautiful reception by the Australian fans down there. Hopefully this time around we will have a bit more time to see and go to more places besides Sydney and besides doing just the shows themselves.

The upcoming world tour is going to focus primarily on ‘80’s Iron Maiden especially in the selection of set list and the stage set?

That is right. The whole theme of the tour is going to be based on the Egyptian kind of thing that is similar to the production of the Powerslave tour. We are putting a big production together and also we are going to be focusing on the songs from around the mid-‘80s. Though there are a lot of songs and we basically know all of what we are going to be doing, it is going to be a bit of a learning curve in some ways because there are some songs we haven’t played for like 20 years. We will have to go back and relearn them because we may have forgotten how they go or need to know how they all go again (laughs). We are really excited about this because some the songs are really strong and it will be nice to breathe fresh new life into them now especially since Janick Gers wasn’t on most of those songs anyway. So it is going to be nice having the three guitarists playing within the framework of those older songs. It should be really good so we are looking forward to working those out.

While on the subject of having a three-guitar line-up, how does each guitarist approach their respective guitar parts within this framework?

A lot of it we just kind of fall into it naturally. If we’re all sitting down and there is a song that has kind of been written, then we basically try to first play around with the chords and try and make it all blend together. When it comes to stuff like working out guitar harmonies, someone will naturally go to a part on the neck that they’re comfortable with. So basically we just sit down and work out those little details in the recording studio just so we kind of know that we are all on the same page. But it is a real easy and natural effort between the three of us. We don’t spend hours and hours analyzing it all. It just tends to flow naturally which is the beauty of it really. Because sometimes it just sounds like one big guitar and at other times, you can hear the three individual players coming through.

"Whole theme of the tour is going to be based on the Egyptian kind of thing."
Having three guitarists in the band and each vying for their own musical space, does it ever get competitive between each other?

No it is not like that because we all feel very comfortable in the surroundings that we don’t feel it is a competition at all. Music shouldn’t be a competition anyway. We just try to complement each other so it is not like a battle of who is going to do what. We all feel comfortably enough with each other where we can play how we feel and just enjoy what the other guys are doing. We just want to make music because we enjoy doing that. And what is the point of competing anyway? It’s not like you’re a soccer player, football player, rugby player or something like that where you’re against the other team and you want to go out there and be up against them. It is a band and a whole different approach.

For the songwriting process, does Steve Harris write the initial songs and then bring it to the band so they can add their own bits to them?

Yeah Steve will normally have the songs written like the music, the lyrics and the melodies from the beginning to the end. It is kind of a very specific process as he really knows what he wants so it kind of makes it easier for the band. We will sit down together and he’ll play a melody on the bass and we’ll kind of grab it from there. When we’re in the rehearsal phase, it normally starts out with Steve working with Nicko McBrain and getting the rhythm section kind of working on all the bits and getting it absolutely tight. And while they’re doing that, the guitars are kind of messing around and kind of getting into the groove as well. Once we’re in the studio, we will lay everything down live. Because of this, the tracks will have a good feel to them and we’ll go back to them afterwards and patch little things up here and there.

On those early Iron Maiden albums, how much input did producer Martin Birch have in regards to helping the band forge its trademark sound?

The thing about Martin and for that fact Kevin Shirley too, is that they both have the same kind of filter. What I mean is that, they just let the band go in there and do its thing. Martin and Kevin will just enhance it all through the production of the sound. With Martin it was great, as we would go in there with the songs and just play the songs and he would just enhance it through the production side of it all and through the editing process and stuff like that. I know some producers who want to go in there and take over the whole band and mold it in their way. They will normally demand that the band plays like this and you plays that but then it doesn’t sound like the band anymore. It sounds more like the producer. So we’ve been really blessed with Martin and Kevin where we just go in there and play. So you have the identity of the band still in there being the primary focus. And they will have their go at putting in the little things that helps bring out the sound of what we’re like even more.

What is your current live set-up when it comes to guitars, amps and any effects?

I use mainly Fender Strats, some new 100 watt Marshall heads, a Wah Wah pedal and a Marshall JFX-1 effects rack. So I basically have a pedal board that gives me the ability to dial up any sound I want. With Maiden because there are a lot of rhythm parts, especially on the heavy rhythm side of things, I can just kick on a button and have a solo sound or a have a clean sound or whatever. I basically though try and keep four or five sounds preset onstage and just use them solely.

"We're definitely not devil worshippers."
Iron Maiden has always been an easy target for the moral majority particularly over in the US where the band members have in the past been labeled Satanists?

You couldn’t get a group of people further in the opposite direction than any of us. We’re definitely not devil worshippers. I think it all started because of the Number of the Beast album. When it came out, a lot of the people who didn’t like that sort of thing, just started gravitating towards that album in particular. And though it became a big issue at the time, it wasn’t as big as people made out it to be. But we basically ignored it and left it alone.

There are some people out there who unfortunately will always tend to confuse any sort of fantasy with any sense of reality?

Yeah that is right. With Iron Maiden, with the music and the songs and the lyrics, it is all about the escapism really. Basically that is what the songs are about, you listen to them and it sort of takes you somewhere. If you go watch a movie or read a book, it is kind of like the imagery that you will get from that. And it is going to make you feel good if you know what I mean.

Many bands these days seem to be bringing out cover albums, and since Iron Maiden have done some covers in the past, any chance of an entire covers album coming from Iron Maiden any time soon?

Yeah we’ve done covers in the past like for B-sides for singles. We’ve covered bands the likes of Free, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple so we’ve done quite a number of covers and I’m sure there are others flowing out there somewhere. But I don’t think we’d ever actually go in and do a whole covers album. I mean, good for all the guys that do that but I don’t think we would do something like that.

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Death Angel Enter Studio!

By Elric on 10:38 AM 22 September 2007

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The band has announced the following statement:
"Greetings, fellow earthlings! I am thrilled to announce that Death Angel will enter the studio to begin tracking our new album on September 16 with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush, Velvet Revolver, Shadows Fall, Stone Sour) in Los Angeles. Nick came up and did pre- production with us at our studio in Oakland and we had a BLAST. The vibe is certainly ON and we are beyond excited to start tracking with him! Recording should be complete by the end of October and mixed by November. This will undoubtedly be our best sounding record ever! This album is gonna be insane. The songs are so fuckin heavy and wicked! Musically brutal. Brutally musical. This shit will wake you up! Here we go into the beautiful twilight zone of recording the album… See you on the other side!" Rob

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Paradise Lost - Praise Lamented Shade - Video

By Elric on 10:24 AM 21 September 2007

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UK's gothic metal forefathers Paradise Lost present you their stunning new video clip for "Praise Lamented Shade" taken from the band's latest, much lauded masterpiece "In Requiem", which was released via Century Media Records in May 2007.

The clip was filmed during their show in Koko, London in April which will be released on DVD later on. However, it already gives you a glimpse of the things to come.

The video was directed by Dash Productions (who worked with people such as Steven Seagal, Gary Numan, Level 42, Paul Rodgers, Marc Almond and many more) and you can watch it below!

Furthermore, "In Requiem" is finally available on vinyl again! As the limited 4 x 7" box (2.000 copies) was sold out in the first week of release, Century Media Records and Paradise Lost have decided to release the album as a vinyl LP, too. It contains the regular album tracks and comes in heavy cardboard gatefold cover, including a new designed poster!

In addition to that, Paradise Lost have just kicked off their European tour with labelmates Eyes Of Eden, and Neurosonic as support acts. See below for the exact dates!

14.09.2007 Lyon (F) @ Transbordeur
15.09.2007 Toulouse (F) @ Havana
16.09.2007 Barcelona (E) @ Razzmatazz
17.09.2007 Madrid (E) @ Caracol
18.09.2007 Lisbon (PT) @ Garage
20.09.2007 Bordeaux (F) @ Barbey
22.09.2007 Solothurn (CH) @ Kofmehl
23.09.2007 Milan (I) @ Alcatraz
24.09.2007 Winterthur (CH) @ Salzhaus
25.09.2007 Vienna (AT) @ Planet Music
27.09.2007 Muenchen (D) @ Backstage
28.09.2007 Leipzig (D) @ Hellraiser
29.09.2007 Koeln (D) @ Live Music Hall
30.09.2007 Berlin (D) @ Columbia Club
01.10.2007 Copenhagen (DK) @ Little Vega
02.10.2007 Oslo (NO) @ Rockefeller
03.10.2007 Stockholm (S) @ Debaser
05.10.2007 Hamburg (D) @ Markthalle
06.10.2007 Bochum (D) @ Zeche
07.10.2007 Utrecht (NL) @ Tivoli




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Monster Magnet New Album Artwork

By Elric on 8:38 AM

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Here is a "preview" of the artwork for the new Monster Magnet album, "4 Way Diablo". As previously reported the album will be released on November 2, 2007 via SPV Records and was produced by Matt Hyde.

"4 Way Diablo" track listing:

01. 4 Way Diablo
02. Wall of Fire
03. You're Alive
04. Blow Your Mind
05. Cyclone
06. 2000 Light Years from Home (The Rolling Stones cover)
07. No Vacation
08. I'm Calling You
09. Solid Gold
10. Freeze and Pixillate
11. A Thousand Stars
12. Slap in the Face
13. Little Bag of Gloom
Type your summary here.

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Dimmu Borgir Signing Sessions

By Elric on 9:44 AM 20 September 2007

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Norwegian symphonic black metallers Dimmu Borgir have scheduled the following signing sessions:

Sep. 25 - Music Store - Cologne, GER
Sep. 26 - Piens Music Planet - Brussels, BEL
Oct. 22 - Just Music - Hamburg, GER
Oct. 23 - Music Schmidt Frankfurt - Wiesbaden, GER
Oct. 25 - Just Music - Munich, GER


Tony Laureano (Nile, Angelcorpse) is filling in for Dimmu Borgir drummer Hellhammer on the band's European tour with Amon Amarth and Engel.

Following a recently diagnosed injury, Hellhammer's x-ray confirmed a severe neck prolapse causing numbness in his right arm.

Laureano previously played for Dimmu Borgir during the band's North American stint on Ozzfest in 2004 and during festival performances throughout 2005.

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Masterplan Update

By Elric on 5:09 PM 17 September 2007

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The following update has been posted on Masterplan' s official site:

"- The Band wants to thanx all the Fans which joined us in Europe on Tour with Saxon. Also on the Festivals and on our headline Tour in Japan and Korea we had a lot of fun and great experiences with the new line up.

- Roland finished updating his studio in Slovakia the last couple of weeks! The next Masterplan album will be recorded here again!

- The Band is ready for the writing process on the next Masterplan album and is looking foreward to work with Roy Z. again. He was also involved on the first two Masterplan albums. The recordings will start in January 08."

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Vote For The Best Of UDO

By Elric on 9:23 PM 16 September 2007

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On U.D.O.'s official site, there is the following announcement :

"U.D.O. will do a "Best of" - album which will be released on December 7th and everybody has the chance to contribute at the song selection there, with the album really deserves the title "best of".

To take part is very easy: send an email with maximum 3 titles to best-of@udo-online.de.
Deadline for the voting is September 15th and there is only one vote per person allowed!

You can trace the continuous updated score of the voting on the website in short."

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Jon Oliva's Pain Update

By Elric on 4:25 PM

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Jon Oliva's Pain has issued the following update. Says drummer Christopher Kinder:

"Sorry for the delay in keeping our most excellent fans up to date. Between pre-production, Oliva's TSO obligations, the passing of our good friend Les Talent.....well let's just say it has been crazy.

So let's bring everyone up to speed on what's been happening.15 songs have been completed and are now in their rehearsal format for Kevin and I to begin our final preperation's before hitting Audio Lab in September. He and I will take a week apart to solidify our own idea's before spending a few final day's exchanging idea's and nailing the rythym section to the floor! Kevin and I have been writing, recording and performing together for more than 13 year's. We know how to get it done in the least possible time. But unlike the last record (without all the stupid band turmoil), we will be very well prepared and the bulk of our idea's written in stone. Of course, anything can and will happen once we hit the studio and you can expect a good 20% of our idea's to be spontaneous. We always raise a few eyebrow's at each other after some track's are finished...."Hey, where the f*ck did you come up with that"?......" I don't know, it was actually a mistake.....cool"!

Oliva and company have spent tireless hour's recording, arranging, re-arranging, and more re-arranging. At some point you just have to say "enough" and feel confident that the building block's are firmly in place............. and boy, are they in place! There is so much diversity and texture going into these songs. Some of the material will surprise your sense's and some will just make you smile knowing that Oliva's trademark stamp is still alive and well. There are some very heavy songs, and some bombastic epic's......just what you would expect from an Oliva/JOP record. Now that we have arrived at the start of JOP#3, and the machine is now 4 year's old....it run's like clock-work!.....This recording is going to the most fun and challenging yet!

The title of the CD and artwork concept are complete. AFM has approved all of our idea's with great enthusiasm. The schedule of event's for the next 4-6 weeks will be rehearsal, Drum and bass tracks recorded, and then back to rehearsal for the Bourbon Street show-Oliva's solo gig at PP-Atlanta- and our headling appearance at Prog-Power Europe on Sunday October 7. From there it is all JOP #3 until we turn in the final master to AFM by the end of November. Tentative release date is set for February 28th in Europe.....A US date has yet to be determined.

Hope you are pumped up for the next installment of JOP! We are pulling out all the stops on this one and we certainly have some crazy idea's in mind. We are going to wake-up your senses, your ear's and make you think!

Cheers to you all........See you soon!
Chris Kinder"


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Iced Earth - Tim Ripper Owens - Interview

By Elric on 1:08 AM

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Rich Catino of Metal Asylum recently conducted an interview with Iced Earth/ex-Judas Priest vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metal Asylum: So before we start talking about the forthcoming Iced Earth album "Framing Armageddon", I wanted to ask how your other band Beyond Fear was received by both fans and critics?

Owens: It went good, man. Probably that was one of the best reviewed albums I had been part of. I know I really liked that debut album. To go over how well it did with the fans and critics was great. We didn't get to tour as much as we would have liked, guess since it was our first album, but it was a good surprise. The next one is gonna be even better. We're gonna do what we did with the last one, take the best parts, and continue on.

Metal Asylum: Do you think you may try something different on the next album?

Owens: It will always be classic metal, but I think a lot of the later songs that we recorded for the debut, like "Scream Machine", became favorites for fans. And lyrics to a song like that were not so serious and more cliche metal lyrics, you know about a metal machine. (Laughs) so I think some of the new songs may go in that direction. We are still gonna have songs like "Save Me", but I think it will probably have some more aggression. We have been writing now, John Comprix [guitar] and I, for a while. I have a lot of ideas and melodies in my head that I really can't use anywhere else (laughs). It's nice I get to use 'em for Beyond Fear. I mean, I have been a writer for many years but I don't get to do it as much as I would like, and Iced Earth just keeps me so busy, but it's nice that every once and a while I get to do my thing with Beyond Fear. And we get to take our time with this band and practice together. I mean, that's what I want to hear with all my influences on one album that's what I like to do with Fear.

Metal Asylum: Do you find that "Framing Armageddon" is closer to what the fans, and critics, expectations may be for Iced Earth than what came our of "The Glorious Burden"?

Owens: I don't know, really. (Laughs) To me it's the same type of thing that happened when I was in Judas Priest. And it's the fact the I'm in a band that has never really been the same with every record. I mean, with Iced Earth musically you could tell, but musically things changed — choruses were different, moods were different. But I think this one as a whole is more back to the roots of Iced Earth and taking everything they have done up till now and mixing it in one record. You know, people say Iced Earth is really a heavy band but they do have a couple balls out heavy songs per album, and then you have a couple slow ones, and then there are the mid-tempo ones. I think "Framing Armageddon" is a great CD and I can't see an Iced Earth fan not liking it.

Metal Asylum: Since "Glorious Burden" was the first Iced Earth album you sang on, what is different the second time around now for you as a singer.

Owens: It's similar vocal-wise because Jon Schaffer [guitar] has always said he always writes the same. He said he always wrote for a singer like me. He said in a lot of interviews that Matt Barlow [former singer] use to write lyrics but Jon writes all the melodies and vocal parts. And he doesn't write 'em for the singer in the band at the time, he writes them the way he thinks they should be sung. I know I naturally have a higher voice but I do wish I could sing more of the lower parts. I know with this album I was there when it was written, I went in there and did the demos and sang the parts. Jon said, "Here's the lyrics and melody and I want you to deliver it. Here's what I would like you to deliver it like, but you do what you feel." So that's what was cool about this album. "The Glorious Burden" was probably an easier album for me to sing than this one, even though it was already written when I came into the band. But when I go back and try to sing some of the stuff on "Framing Armageddon", I'm just like, "Holy shit, what did I do?"

Metal Asylum: Speaking of what you are singing on "Framing Armageddon", I was going to ask was there anything challenging to do on this record?

Owens: Definitely. I think there is a difference between a songwriter and a singer and Jon is a songwriter and I think he forgets sometimes that I have to breathe. (Laughs) And I do to I have to remember also in the heat of the moment while I am in the studio recording, so it's my fault, but then again when I have to go back and sing some of this stuff again, you know… It's like, "Ten Thousand Strong", that's just balls-out and when we were doing it in rehearsal I was like, "Man, this is tough." It's a natural high voice with no room to breathe; it's fun and challenging. There was stuff we did for Beyond Fear that was the same way but the difference is we rehearsed those songs first before we recorded those. I mean, with the new Iced Earth album there are some registers that Jon has me reaching that I don't use that often, that I used in the past but not so much of recent. Two singers that were always like that were Bruce Dickinson [Iron Maiden] and Ronnie Dio, those are two guys that were always tough to do.

Metal Asylum: Do you think the Iced Earth fans at this point have become more comfortable with you as the new singer?

Owens: I don't know. I mean, the real Iced Earth fans know that Jon Schaffer was always the driving force of the band. And Matt Barlow was a great singer, but decided to make a career change. If they don't accept me, then listen to someone else, I guess; it doesn't really hurt my feelings. I know Jon is doing exactly what he wants to do and it's still classic Iced Earth. I mean, people have to realize that I followed Halford in Priest and coming into Iced Earth now doesn't hold that much pressure.

Metal Asylum: Contributing vocals to any other projects?

Owens: Not right now. Iced Earth keeps me pretty busy, but I would like to. I would love to do a project with maybe Scott Ian from Anthrax, Vinnie Paul [Pantera, Hellyeah] on drums. I mean, there are so many people I would love to work with. You know, someone else I would love to work with down the road is Jon Oliva [Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra]. I mean, his style and my vocals would be a phenomenal mix, I think. I mean, imagine Jon Oliva, myself singing, Scott Ian doing rhythms and bring in Chris Caffery [Savatage] on leads. That would be awesome!

Metal Asylum: Now that you mention Jon Oliva, I think you would sound great singing the old Savatage stuff. And have you ever considered doing some vocals on a Trans-Siberian Orchestra album?

Owens: Man, I love that old Savatage stuff. If they ever get it back together again, I would love to jam with them. Concerning TSO, I did speak with Paul O'Neill [Trans-Siberian Orchestra mastermind] but he just didn't pursue the idea. It was really surprising. I mean, I think it would work pretty well and I would sing what fits TSO's music. That band has some great singers that travel with them as it is. I mean, I would love to be part of that.

Read the entire interview at www.metalasylum.net.

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Vader Live DVD

By Elric on 12:26 PM 14 September 2007

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Vader has issued the following update:

"At the moment Vader is hard at work on band's new releases and upcoming tours. Peter (guitars, vocals) talks about upcoming Blitzkrieg 4 Tour and shares some details on band's new DVD, track, videoclip and anniversary album:

"Good to see You all again !!!! Vader needs a vacation as well...That's the reason , why there was no news for a couple of weeks on our site.Here is some new informations collected in last month....If You already noticed , there is new DVD gonna be released soon. The show was recorded in the club "Stodola" in Warsaw. That's why the title came from ("...and Blood Was Shed in Warsaw"). The main part of the DVD are the songs from our last releases , BUT...there are some rarities on this material like "Sword of the Witcher"! What the Hell is that? There's CD-Projekt RED who work on PC games and who asked us to compose a song , which is gonna be kinda "trailer-song" for Their upcoming game. The title of the game is "The Witcher" and this is pretty fresh RPG in the fantastic , filled with brutality and Magic world of the Witcher (from the Sapkowski novels). More then awsome graphics are made by world famous Mr.Baginski ( 1st prize ..... for "Cathedral") and give the game revolutionary character indeed! We said "yes!" and recorded the song in May in Hertz Studio. "The Sword of the Witcher" is absolutely differnet piece of Music compared to previous Vader works but still Metal full of Fire , beasts , warriors and... Blood!!! We were but affraid, that because of many instruments recorded there will be a problem to play this song alive. However-thanx to new technology we are able to do it and we plan to add this Witcher-song to the set list on the upcoming Blitzkrieg IV-2. At 10 July in Bolkov Castle we have realised a video clip to "Sword of the Witcher" with cooperation with Intermedia. There are the same guys , who were working on "Hellelujah !!!!" video clip recently...This new picture will be available on DVD as well.We didn't have too much time to work with this clip , but...it's always nice to see something so differnt then "This is the War" or just mentioned "Hellelujah !!! ".Fire , Steel and Magic !!!!!!!! What else? In few days we finalize recordings of the aniversary album entitled "XXV". This one will include 25 Vader hits from early days re-recorded again. There will be some rarities on the limited special edition as well....

We're also practicing with new set for the Blitz' IV/2...You know the bands already so I can give You some information, that there'll be different set in the cities, we were played in last year and the new places on tour. We start with some shows in Russia in mid of September. And that's it for now! More news soon....... Metal United !!!!!!!!"

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Cover Album By Queensryche

By Elric on 10:34 PM 12 September 2007

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Queensryche pays homage to some of its musical idols on "Take Cover", a cover album due November 13 via Rhino. The Seattle group is putting its stamp on such numbers as Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine", U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky" and Peter Gabriel's "Red Rain."

According to Geoff Tate:

"We'll never top the originals. They're classics for a reason. We were more focused on finding different approaches that took the songs in unexpected directions."

"During sound checks, guitarists Mike Stone and Michael Wilton like to play 'name that riff,' and sometimes the whole band joins in. That's really the way this album came together. We got together and started playing songs to each other, and then we picked our favorites."

Queensryche has only released a few covers, one of them being a powerful interpretation of "Scarborough Fair" in the early 1990s. Some of the 11 selections naturally fit the band's progressive rock influences, particularly Pink Floyd and "Innuendo" by Queen, one of Tate's favorite bands. Others will definitely raise eyebrows. The group is giving Broadway a spin by performing "Heaven on Their Minds" from Jesus Christ Superstar as well as the O'Jays' R&B classic "For Love of Money", the operatic "Odissea" by Italian duo Carlo Marrale and Cheope and an acoustic version of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth".

Tate says he enjoyed the demanding arrangement of "Odissea":

"I really like this song because there is a lot for a singer to sink his teeth into. Plus I got a chance to sing in Italian, which was interesting, considering I don't speak a word of it."

He considered singing "Red Rain" and the Police's "Synchronicity II" opportunities to explore music he'd previously overlooked:

"I'd heard these songs on the radio before, but I didn't really appreciate them before the guys suggested we record them. It was a rewarding experience doing this album because it gave us all a chance to pay tribute to some of the bands that have meant so much to us over the years, and we all discovered new songs to love."

Take Cover
Track Listing
Original artist in parenthesis

01. Innuendo (Queen )
02. Bullet The Blue Sky – Live (U2)
03. Synchronicity II (Police)
04. For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield)
05. Welcome To The Machine (Pink Floyd)
06. Red Rain (Peter Gabriel)
07. Neon Knights (Black Sabbath)
08. Almost Cut My Hair (CSN&Y)
09. Heaven On Their Minds (Jesus Christ Superstar)
10. For The Love Of Money (The O'Jays)
11. Odissea (Carlo Marrale & Cheope)


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New Lizzy Borden Due To October

By Elric on 4:39 PM

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Lizzy Borden's new album, entitled "Appointment with Death", will be released on October 2nd via Metal Blade Records. It was produced by L. Borden and J. Scott, recorded at the Zanzibar studios in N. Hollywood CA and was mixed by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal/ex-Morbid Angel) at Mana sound in Florida.

Like all past Lizzy Borden recordings, "Appointment with Death" is a conceptual piece. This concept is centered around the theme of, as the title implies, Death.

Acoording to Lizzy:

"Oddly enough, writing eleven songs about death was no easy task for me. Lyrically being graphic or grotesque would have been too easy, and being overly morbid would bring nothing new to the concept. I wrote this just like I have all of the other LB recordings, as a play or a movie. There is a beginning, middle and an end with the lead character taking us on a journey. Death is all around us, lurking, waiting to pounce, striking fear and antagonizing the living in many different ways, I tried to explore some of those ways in the most poetic way that I know how."

The album is epic, heavy, dark and melodic, everything a traditional Lizzy Borden recording should be and more. With new guitarist Ira Black along with Marten Andersson on bass and co/founder Joey Scott on the drums, the Lizzy Borden sound has evolved into a multi-dimensional ever-lasting-gobstopper working just as well in an ipod as it has always done on stage.

Lizzy again:

"These musicians are more then just special guests, they all, each in their own original way helped to create this work of fiction and bring 'Appointment with Death' to life."

All who performed on AWD

Lizzy (Lizzy Borden)
Joey Scott (Lizzy Borden)
Marten Andersson (Lizzy Borden/George Lynch)
Ira Black (Lizzy Borden/Metal Church)
George Lynch (Dokken/Lynch mob)
Dave Meniketti (Y & T)
Corey Beaulieu (Trivium)
Jonas Hansson (Silver Mountain)
Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal/ex-Morbid Angel)
Michael T. Ross (Angel/Hardline)
Adam Cameron
Zane
Marliese Quance

For the Cover, Lizzy Borden worked with special effects wizard and make-up artist Ralis Kahn. Ralis designed the set and the look of the band based on the theme for Appointment with Death

Lizzy explains:

"Because a lot of music is going straight to itunes, we thought we would pay special attention to both the cover and the back cover and fill the inside of the CD booklet with tons of fun shots from this specialized photo shoot. As we all know, very soon there will no longer be an actual CD to have a cool booklet for. Everything will go straight from the studio to your ipod, so we thought we would really go all out on this one"

The new show for the Appointment with Death Tour is based around the theme of the new release; with Lizzy playing the lead character (Death). Lizzy and Co. will bring to life the characters and imagery from the album to the stage with special effects master Ralis Kahn at the helm. Ralis is working with the band designing an extraordinary over the top stage show created especially for the AWD tour. Showcasing songs from the new release as well as all the Borden fan favorites, the upcoming tour promises to be the show you don’t want to miss.

"Appointment with Death" tracklisting:

Abnormal
Appointment with Death
Live forever
Bloody Tears
The Death of Love
Tomorrow never comes
Under your Skin
Perfect World (I don’t wanna live)
Somthin’s crawlin
(We are) the only ones
The Darker side


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Opeth Update

By Elric on 5:15 PM 11 September 2007

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Opeth has issued the following update;says mainman Mikael Akerfeldt:

"'The Roundhouse tapes' is coming along nicely, both the CD version and the DVD. We're working on the artwork right now and as usual it takes time. I think the CD is supposed to be out in October sometime and the DVD early next year as far as I know. I hope it's going to be worth the wait.

Writing is coming along nicely. I have around 5 tracks ready, or semi ready. I think it sounds darker than ever before (not saying this to "sell" the record, I think it really is darker) and more versatile. I have a new Pro Tools rig that I use to record my demos and it really helped. Everything's faster whereas before it was literally impossible for me to demo entire songs. I have loads of material that I have yet to demo and I've also gotten stuff from Per, Mendez and Fredrik.

At this point I know that it's going to be a very good record, at least for my taste. There's a sense of confidence in me that I've never really felt before, and I have no idea where it's coming from. I might confuse "confidence" with "inspiration" but basically everytime I sit down and play, I come up with something.

The plan for us at this point is to start rehearsing in October and record in Novemeber. We haven't talked about producers yet, I'm not sure what I want to do. I've talked with Steven Wilson but we'll see. We might do it on our own as we did the last time. We are going back into Fascination street, that's for sure...great studio! Everyone in the band is pretty psyched about this. We feel a little bit like "underdogs" with everything that's happened, yet I hope the quality of the music will clear all doubts. We still mean business....

OK, that's it, not much groundbreaking info yet, but I just wanted to say "Hey" and let you know what's up.

Take care peeps!
Mike"


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Moonspell Release Date of Re-recordings

By Elric on 1:22 PM 10 September 2007

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SPV has set an October 12 German release date for Moonspell's new CD, "Under Satan?", which consists of re-recordings of the band's legendary EP "Under the Moonspell" (1994) as well as their first demo "Anno Satan?" and their sole track as Morbid God, "Serpent Angel". All songs were re-arranged and revamped in order to "underline their revered distinction as underground classics but now with a mature dark energy and class," according to a press release. "The full-length CD (eight songs and around five instrumental compositions) was recorded at Denmark's Antfarm Studios with Tue Madsen."

"Under Satan?" track listing (not in final order):

01. Halla alle halla al rabka halla (Praeludium/Incantatum Solistitium)
02. Tenebrarum Oratorium (Andamento I/Erudit Compendyum)
03. Interludium/Incantatum Oequinoctum
04. Tenebrarum Oratorium (Andamento II/Erotic Compendyum)
05. Opus Diabolicum (Andamento III/Instrumental Compendyum)
06. Chorai Lusitania! (Epilogus/Incantatam Maresia)
07. Intro
08. Goat on Fire
09. Ancient Winter Goddess
10. Wolves From The Fog
11. Outro
12. Serpent Angel

The new version of Moonspell's song "Tenebrarum Oratorium (Andamento I/Erudit Compendyum)" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

The band is also in the process of writing material for the follow-up to "Memorial", which will go into production before the end of the year at the Woodhouse Studios with producer Waldemar Sorychta. A "best of" collection from Moonspell, entitled "The Great Silver Eye", was recently released through Century Media.


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Nightwish - Tuomas Holopainen Interview

By Elric on 7:00 PM 08 September 2007

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Sweden's Metalshrine recently conducted an interview with Nightwish mainman Tuomas Holopainen. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Metalshrine: How many [people] auditioned for the lead singer spot?

Tuomas: There were about 2,000 demos that we received from 55 different countries, so that was amazing. I was expecting something much less and out of those 2000, 50 were promising enough that we sent them a reply and out of those 50 we met about 10 in person. That's the statistics for you.

Metalshrine: Wow! Did you listen to all those 2,000 demos?

Tuomas: Yeah we did. Every single one of them. You have to do that and it was a lot of fun actually. It wasn't that much work as it may sound. It took about a year, so we had a lot of time to listen to those and at some points it was a lot of fun and then some demos you only needed to listen to for ten seconds. It was the worldwide "Idol" syndrome where everybody thinks they can be stars.

Metalshrine: What was it that Anette Olzon had that made you decide that this is the one, because I read that you first told her that she didn't get the job?

Tuomas: That's true. For a change the rumors have a truth behind them, so this part of all the rumors is true. It was only because of her having a child. I got a little bit scared about that and I remember, I guess I was a little bit drunk (laughs) and I acted spontaneously. We already knew each other for months via e-mail and she was really nice and she had a great voice. Then she sent me an e-mail, "By the way, I have a 4-year-old son!" and I was still in a bit of a shock of what happened with Tarja Turunen, [previous singer] and everything so I kind of wanted everything to be as perfect as possible. That was like the initial thing. I didn't think, I just sent her an e-mail, "I'm sorry, this is it!" It was totally my mistake and I'm just glad that she was stubborn enough. But the first thing that really impressed me was her voice, of course. I just felt that it came out so easily and it's something we are looking for. It especially fitted the new songs perfectly. That was the first thing. We had no idea what kind of person she would be, but after we met her for the first time, we immediately clicked. She's definitely the most positive person in the band. She talks a lot, she laughs a lot. You get an easy laugh or cry out of her. She's really emotional and very honest and down to earth with everything. Things that I respect. She's different from us but she kind of like feels the unity of the band.

Metalshrine: Did you ever think that you would go for a well known singer or was the idea from the beginning to take someone that was unknown?

Tuomas: You know, the thing is that we really didn't care at the time. We were just keeping all the options open to see what kind of demos we had. Whether it was a well-known person or an unknown didn't really matter. The same thing with the nationality. It didn't matter to us at all whether she came from Greenland or South America or Finland or Sweden. We were just looking for a good girl.

Metalshrine: I was kind of wondering... I know that Tarja is putting out a solo album and she has some fancy guests on it. Do you think she'll sell any records? Do you think the old Nightwish fans will buy it? Do you think she'll make it?

Tuomas: I have no idea! Even though if I have some opinions about this I think it's better not for me to have any comments about anything. This is something really juicy for the media, this tragedy that happened, so if I say one bad word it'll be in the headlines. It has already happened twice in Finland. In an interview in Spain I just mentioned that I sent Tarja a Christmas card, and that's the only thing I said. The next day in the tabloid, the biggest Finnish newspaper, "Tuomas tried to make up with Tarja and she still hates him because she didn't reply!" And then when you read the story it's all about me sending a Christmas card. So I'm being really, really careful about that.

Metalshrine: Even before Nightiwish, was that something that you had any idea of happening? Being in the tabloids and TV shows? It seems like in Finland there's tons of that stuff every week.

Tuomas: God no! There is and we really hit the big time. We dug our own grave with this (laughs). Honestly, I didn't think that we would be such an interesting band. Maybe the whole scenario with this dramatic... nothing is more interesting to a human mind than when other people have problems and especially with relationships. It totally blew me away. I can't believe that this is such a big deal. Even the prime minister of Finland had something to say about it. Every single talk show in Finland was talking about how I need to find my feminine side (laughs) and it totally got out of hand. Like a public soap opera. It has calmed down a little bit, but it's still like that. Every week there's something in the papers.

Metalshrine: Amazing! Another thing I was wondering about, since listening to the promo, do you have any saying...the promo I got includes voice-over... do you have anything to say about that or is it just the record company? When you review records it really pisses you off.

Tuomas: I totally understand, but I also think that you can get the big picture of the album still, so... I understand it pisses people off but it's still a thing you need to do because this album has already been on the Internet for a month and a half. It being a voice over on the Internet, I think helps a little bit. If it was the actual album it would be a disaster, so it's just something you need to do in the Internet era, I'm sorry to say for you guys. The other thing is that you can do it Red Hot Chili Peppers or Metallica style and not give it to anybody, but I think that would also be wrong.

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Savage Circus Are Whole Again

By Elric on 6:38 PM 07 September 2007

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Savage Circus made the following announcement

"Dear Friends,

after all it’s time for some good news again. Savage Circus is happy to present our new official drummer, Mr. Mike Terrana. Known from great bands like Axel Rudi Pell, Rage, Malmsteen and Masterplan not only to the metal community, Mike is a versatile artist with a very unique style of his own. Exactly this style along with his great character makes the Moghty Troll a perfect match. Mike, welcome aboard!

But that’s not all! After being our unofficial bass guitarist for over a year it is more than due to make Yenz Leonhardt an official member too. This has been in our heads for a long time, but being lazy bastards we never came up with an announcement. Yenz is known from playing with or in bands like Lacrimosa, Kingdome Come, Stormwarrior and Iron Savior. Needless to say that Yenz is a great person. Yenz, welcome aboard officially!

Now with the completion of the Circus we are ready for action again. Work on the new record runs at full throttle and release is scheduled for early 2008 followed by various live performances.

All of us are totally happy about this great line up, which already brings so much energy to the band.

All the best to you!

Cheers,
Savage Circus"

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Stauch Out Of Savage Circus

By Elric on 1:12 PM

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Savage Circus had made the following announcement:

"After the recent events at the Rengsdorf Rock& Blues Festival and the Rock Am Schloss Festival the band sees no perspective any more to go on with our drummer Thomen Stauch. Therefore we immediately release him from all duties.

Even though we are aware of his personal situation we cannot ignore the fact anymore that he is still not able to carry out his duties for Savage Circus. Already in summer 2005 Thomen started to cancel most of his all planed out promotional activities. In 2006 he canceled the Japanese shows and wasn't part of any other activity for the whole year. We gave him this entire year to solve his situation because we deeply hoped that he would be able to recover and to get back into pace again. But instead in spring this year Thomen almost canceled the Circle II Circle tour. Now he canceled two festival shows with extremely short notice again...

We are very sorry, but we cannot take this any more. We supported and backed Thomen up for over 2 1/2 years by now, but as sad as it is we must face that it is just not going anywhere. Even though we still do have a lot of understanding for his situation, we cannot allow the unintended but yet serious damage he is doing to the band in which all of us invest so much energy and work. We do want Savage Circus to happen, but we cannot see it happen with Thomen any more.
We are not looking back in anger, we'd rather like to look into the future. The production of the 'Dreamland Manor' followup is not dramatically effected by this, but we will need some time to decide and work in a worthy replacement, who will be anounced shortly. Therefore the releasedate will move to early 2008.

We wish Thomen well and hope, that he will find his way.

With deepest regrets,

Emil, Jens and Piet"

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Primal Fear About Illegal Downloading

By Elric on 7:01 PM 06 September 2007

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Primal Fear have issued the following statement:

"A newly released study by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) from Texas estimates that global music piracy is costing the US economic output 12,5 Billion dollars and 71,060 jobs every year! It came as a shock to us to realize what extreme level illegal downloading has reached for Primal Fear and the Metal scene. We've put months of hard work into our forthcoming CD "New Religion" which has cost a huge investment on our part to deliver the fans the best possible product we can. Now we've found out that according to objective statistics, 4 weeks before the official release our new CD it has already been downloaded illegally in numbers reaching into 5 digits!

Those numbers are very disappointing! Still we're very proud of our new album and look forward with all of you to the 21st. of Sept. 2007!

Primal Fear"

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The Dillinger Escape Plan New Album Info

By Elric on 10:35 PM 04 September 2007

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The Dillinger Escape Plan have posted the following update:


"Over the past year and a half, the most chaotic time of our career, many have speculated on our possible demise, including ourselves at times.

Now after everything, we have what we feel is easily the best album we have ever created, and the feeling in the air has never been more exciting.

We are proud to announce that "Ire Works" will be coming out on November 13th, and that we will be embarking on our first North American headlining tour since Dec 2005 in October. All dates will be posted as they are confirmed, some are up now. Support will come from A Life Once Lost, Genghis Tron, and Behold...The Arctopus.

More album updates, including tracklisting and maaaaaybe a new song in our player, tour dates, and video blogs, coming soon. Stay tuned. We're fucking back. A little something we like to call "kicking everyone's ass" is about to happen. Thank you all for waiting. Can't wait to see you all.

Love,
Dillinger"

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Steve Smyth Leaves Nevermore

By Elric on 1:40 PM 03 September 2007

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Guitarist Steve Smyth's website has been updated with the following:

Guitarist Steve Smyth has officially parted ways with Nevermore, citing personal and business differences.

"All things find their end eventually, and at this time, I wish to make it clear that this was mutually agreed between the band and myself.

I will continue on with other aspects of my music career, including the upcoming release of The EssenEss Project, an all instrumental album, in the vein of progressive rock, that is now finished and being prepared for release.

After a year and 4 months of being out of the touring scene due to ill health and then a kidney transplant, I have finally been given a full health clearance by my doctors to go back on the road, and I am now ready to return to the stage.

I am proud and extremely honored to have been a guest of Uli Jon Roth at his Sky Academy concert series this past weekend, August 24th and 25th, in LA. What an awesome experience! To jam with one of the greatest, as well as several other incredible guitarists and musicians who have been big influences on my playing over the years, and to make new friends as well, the whole thing was just incredible. Many thanks to Uli for inviting me, it was truly an honor!

I am now embarking on a 6 week of tour of Europe with my friends from the Danish thrash metal band, SPV Recording Artists, HateSphere, first supporting Behemoth in Poland, and then joining the Dimmu Borgir tour. I have been a fan of HateSphere and friends with the band since 2003, when they opened for Testament at a festival we played together, and absolutely look forward to getting out with them and together, crushing Europe!"

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Maximum The Hormone - What's Up People - Video

By Elric on 9:56 PM 02 September 2007

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Maximum the Hormone formed in Hachioji, Tokyo in 1997 with the line up: Nawo - Drums/Vocals Maximum the Ryou - Guitars/Vocals Daisuke Han - Vocals Uwe-chan - Bass/Vocals. The band is a mixture of System Of A Down and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

After their first release the band changed the spelling of their name from the English Maximum the Hormone to Katakana.

The song "ROLLING1000tOON" was taken and used as the ending theme of the anime "Air Master", in 2003.

"Zawa...zawa...za...zawa......zawa", was used as the ending theme to the anime "Toupai Densetsu Akagi ~ Yami ni mai furita tensai~", which ran from October 2005 to March 2006.

In 2006 also they wrote the song "What's Up People" which is the second opening theme of one of the best animes ever, "Death Note".



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Led Zeppelin To Reunite ?

By Elric on 10:56 AM

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According to This is London, legendary rockers Led Zeppelin look set to reform and play the O2 arena in London, England this autumn.

There has been no official announcement that they will perform again 27 years after the group disbanded following the death of drummer John Bonham but advertisements appeared in the U.K. press today with top-price ticket and hotel packages on offer for £369.

A cheaper package from the Premier Entertainments company, including a night in a four-star hotel, is available for £269.

Callers today were told: "It's just about to be officially announced." Speculation had been mounting for some time that the band would get back together soon.

The three surviving members — John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page — reunited at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia in 1985 for a short set with Phil Collins as one of the stand-in drummers.

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