Archive News Apr 12, 2001 - update 1

JUDAS PRIEST have posted the following message on their official web site explaining the decision to hold off the release of the group's upcoming Demolition CD until July:

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“The reason the release of the new album Demolition has been held until July is because the USA need approximately 2 or 3 months to 'work in' the album and have a good promotional campaign, i.e. to get all the ads booked, press, radio etc., in place. Some magazines in the States have as much as 2 or 3 months lead time in other words, if we do an interview in April, it will not come out until the June or July issue. Therefore, if Atlantic released the album at the end of May, it would come out with no press, no ads, no promotion. Don't forget, not everyone is on the Internet — a lot of people have to wait to hear about a new album on the radio or read about it in the press. Atlantic want to do a really great job on this album, and of course, we want them to! We have discussed the situation with our labels in the other territories and they are all in agreement — you cannot release an album 2 months ahead in some territories — so we have reached a compromise where everyone is happy. We will still do our European dates, which we are really looking forward to. Europe will come out with a single to tie in with this tour and we will use these shows to help build the excitement towards the release of the album! Don't worry time will fly and it won't be long before Demolition is in your record stores!!”

BIOHAZARD's forthcoming Uncivilization CD, scheduled for a June 25th European release through SPV / SteamhammerRecords, is being mastered this week at Sterling Sound Studios in NYC. All but one track were reportedly self-produced, with the song “Last Man Standing” (featuring a guest appearance by CYPRESS HILL's Sen Dog) having been handled by producer Jive Jones. Uncivilization was reportedly mixed by Ed Stasium (RAMONES, MOTÖRHEAD, MICK JAGGER, REVEREND HORTON HEAT),who had previously worked with the group on the New World Disorder and State Of The World Address albums.

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Uncivilization will tentatively include the following tracks:

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01. HFFK (Hate, F.ck, Fight, Kill) (feat. PANTERA's Phil

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Anselmo)

02. Last Man Standing (feat. CYPRESS HILL's Sen Dog)

03. Getaway

04. Gone

05. Treason

06. Never Turn Your Back On Me

07. Sellout

08. Crossed The Line

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Other confirmed guests on the album include TYPE O NEGATIVE's Peter Steele, SEPULTURA's Igor Cavalera and Derrick Green, and members of HATEBREED. As reported yesterday, BIOHAZARD are expected to sign a US deal with Sanctuary Records shortly.

According to SKINLAB management representative Jess Redmon of Artistkorp Management, SKINLAB have once again had a change of plans and have now enlisted producer Steve Evetts (i.e. EARTH CRISIS, SEPULTURA, SNAPCASE) to man the boards for their third full-length effort, tentatively titled The Revolting Room, which is due out in September through Century Media Records. Recording is set to begin on June 7th at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco, CA.

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Tentative song titles include the following:

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01. Come And Get It

02. Purify (feat. UNJUST's Paul Mendoza)

03. Better Than Jesus

04. Slave The Way

05. Anthem For A Fallen Star

06. Take As Needed (feat. 36 CRAZYFISTS' Brock

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Lindow)

08. Never Give In

09. Isolation

MOTÖRHEAD have been confirmed for this year's Wacken Open Air Festival, taking place in Wacken, Germany on August 3rd and 4th.

MEGADETH drummer Jimmy DeGrasso has been enlisted by former “employer” ALICE COOPER to fill in on drums for some Australian tour dates. As some may recall, Jimmy DeGrasso was the full-time drummer for ALICE COOPER prior to joining the ranks of MEGADETH, at which point he was replaced in ALICE's band by current KISS drummer Eric Singer (who is ironically also in Australia touring with KISS).

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Jimmy is joining COOPER for the following dates:

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April 13 – Newcastle, AUST @ Entertainment Centre

April 14 - Gold Coast, AUST @ Carrera Stadium

April 17 – Perth, AUST @ Entertainment Centre

April 19 – Adelaide, AUST @ Entertainment Centre

April 20 – Melbourne, AUST @ Rod Laver Arena

April 21 – Sydney, AUST @ Superdome

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman recently spoke out, for the first time, about his decision to leave the band and his current relationship with his former bandmates. Here are some select quotes that were taken from an interview published on the guitarist's official web site:

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Marty: “The best way I can explain it is this: I love playing the guitar and touring so much that I often got blinded to how I was really feeling about the music itself. Some realities started sinking in during this particular tour, and I found myself playing these songs and feeling only nostalgia — no real passion. The music had nothing to do with what was going on in my mind. We were holding up the flag for traditional heavy metal, and that's just not me. I'm way more into pop and rock, and I think this is an incredibly exciting period for the music.”

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Question: What bands specifically do you find so exciting?

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Marty: “GARBAGE, FASTBALL, THE GOO GOO DOLLS, SUGAR RAY and many others. These bands are all doing inventive things with great, catchy songs that are not about death and destruction. It's all about great songs. [MEGADETH singer and guitarist] Dave Mustaine is a great songwriter, too, but I just don't want to deal with the limitations of being in a band called MEGADETH anymore. And I think they'll make better MEGADETH music without me trying to pull them in a different direction.”

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Question: So what is next for you?

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Marty: “I'm just going to let the chips fall where they may. I want to use the full range of my abilities more, and there are so many places where I can be of service as a guitarist and composer. I've already had a lot of interesting offers, but I'm not rushing.

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“It's an exciting time for me. I'm totally proud of everything I did with MEGADETH, but I feel a great sense of freedom, because I was on auto-pilot for quite awhile. MEGADETH got repetitive to me because it was always full-intensity, full-volume, full-distortion riffs and solos. Though Dave and everyone were open to new ideas, we never really made the commitment I wanted toward being more mainstream. I want to make music that reaches the most people possible, and I don't care if anyone thinks that's selling out. My goal of playing music is to reach people everywhere and make them feel good.”

MEDICATION, the Los Angeles band featuring former MACHINE HEAD / SOULFLY guitarist Logan Mader, former UGLY KID JOE / LIFE OF AGONY vocalist Whitfield Crane and former SOULFLY drummer Roy Mayorga, have lined up a few west coast shows over the course of the next couple of weeks. The dates are as follows:

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April 13 - Orangevale, CA @ The Boardwalk

April 14 - Atascadero, CA @ Bonnema Brewing Co.

May 04 - Tarzana, CA @ Paladino's

FANTÔMAS, the wacky band led by former FAITH NO MORE vocalist Mike Patton and also featuring former SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo, THE MELVINS guitarist Buzz Osbourne and MR. BUNGLE bassist Trevor Dunn, have announced the full track listing for Fantômas: The Directors Cut IPC-17, a CD collection featuring 17 cover versions of soundtrack songs that is tentatively scheduled for release in July. The song titles are as follows:

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01. The Godfather (Rota)

02. The Golem (Sasse)

03. Spider Baby (Stein)

04. One Step Beyond (Lubin)

05. Night Of The Hunter (Schumann)

06. Cape Fear (Herrmann)

07. Experiment In Terror (Mancini)

08. The Omen (Goldsmith)

09. Vendetta (Barry)

10. Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me (Badalamenti)

11. The Devil Rides Out (Bernard)

12. Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (Mcnaughton)

13. ?

14. Rosemary's Baby (Komeda)

15. Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp (Morricone)

16. Charade (Mancini)

17. Flashdance - What A Feeling (Cara)

A February 26th live recording of PARADISE LOST's performance as the support act for SISTERS OF MERCY in Germany will be webcast via www.shownet.de on April 15th at 8 PM CET.

According to former JUDAS PRIEST vocalist Rob Halford, the proposed TRINITY project, featuring Halford, QUEENSRYCHE vocalist Geoff Tate and IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson, has been “postponed for the time being, simply because of the contractual obligations and commitments we have to our projects. Bruce is working on his next solo release, and Geoff is working on new QUEENSRYCHE.”

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Halford also commented that he's had no involvement whatsoever in the upcoming PRIEST remasters or boxed set, and he stated that plans exist for a new HALFORD album to come out in early 2002, featuring a “more intense” musical direction. One new song title was also revealed: “Dead Men Talk”.

&nbsp

According to Totalrock.com, VENOM frontman Cronos has recorded no less than three songs for PROBOT, the upcoming metal project from the FOO FIGHTERS' Dave Grohl, but only one will apparently be used on the album, although the VENOM bassist/vocalist currently has no idea which one Grohl will choose. The music for all three songs was composed by Grohl, with the lyrics written by Cronos.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

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TICKETMASTER AND PANTERA JOIN FORCES TO OFFER ADVANCE CONCERT TICKETS TO THE BAND'S UPCOMING 'EXTREME STEEL' TOUR ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18TH

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Los Angeles - April 10, 2001 -- Ticketmaster, (NASDAQ: TMCS) the leading ticketing and access company, and PANTERA, the band the New York Times has credited with creating 'its own phenomenon,' have joined forces to create a custom online ticket presale. PANTERA fans will have the opportunity to purchase advance online tickets, prior to the public on-sale of the 'Extreme Steel' North American tour featuring headliners PANTERA with special guests SLAYER, STATIC-X, SKRAPE and MORBID ANGEL.

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Fans may register for the presale at extremesteel.ticketmaster.com beginning April 11th. They will then receive a special password that, on April 18th, will allow them to purchase tickets for the show/s of their choice. Additionally, fans that register through Ticketmaster's presale will be entered to win a custom Washburn guitar autographed by PANTERA.

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The much-anticipated month-long tour kicks off June 20th in New Haven, Connecticut and is presently scheduled to go through July 26th in Vancouver, BC. For additional information on PANTERA and the 'Extreme Steel'tour visit PANTERA's website at www.pantera.com.

Because of reports of defective copies being circulated in various European territories, DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy has posted the following update regarding the group's Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York DVD European release:

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“As of today, all PAL versions of the DVD are being recalled..... They will be remastered with the director approved transfer and a new release date will be announced ASAP (none of this effects the US release).

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Here's the info the label sent me this morning:

- Warner Vision has put a hold on all finished stock in the local distribution companies, including those that have shipped and have not shipped and they will be recalled to the plant and then destroyed .

- Warner Vision is destroying all finished discs at the plant

- Warner Vision is asking all retailers with stock to refrain from selling this package and will replace all with finished stock when ready

- Warner Vision replace all consumer purchased copies with new version when available

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If and when there is any further info or press releases from the label, I will pass it on..

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Mike Portnoy”

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