Archive News Apr 29, 2001

According to an article published in TheNew York Post, METHODS OF MAYHEM are involved in a legal battle over their name with a Swedish company, who claims that Lee and co. stole their moniker from a disc of sound samples created in 1995, which the Swedes have copyrighted. Both Tommy Lee and his label Universal Music have been named in the copyright infringement suit, which is currently being heard in a Manhattan (New York) Federal court house. Lee himself took the stand on Wednesday, April 25th and reportedly told the jury that prison time is good for the soul. 'I actually recommend it to everyone,' Tommy declared, before slightly altering his statement. 'Not jail, but a four-month break…I recommend it to everyone.' Asked by his lawyer about the METHODS OF MAYHEM song 'Get Naked', Lee explained that he insisted that everyone in the video should be naked, as well as the crew. 'If I'm going to sit here and be naked [in the video], all of us are going to be naked,' Lee said, to which the judge replied, 'I don't know if we will do that today.'

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In other METHODS OF MAYHEM news, the band is preparing to enter the studio to record their second full-length effort, which will reportedly feature a more 'rock' direction than the group's critically-panned debut.

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'It's got more of a rock thread through it all,' Tommy Lee told MTV News last week. 'The first METHODS OF MAYHEM record was me basically freaking out, wanting to do every single stylistic thing that I could think of. I was like hip-hop track! Techno! Industrial! Metal! I think I've focused more with this record.'

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The forthcoming effort will be the group's first without rapper TiLo, who recently left the group.

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'I'll always miss his ways — he's a maniac,' Lee said. 'I can't say enough good things about him. The record company wasn't really feeling him, and he needed to do his own thing as well. I don't think he was extremely happy with the direction, because he's a very hip-hop-schooled kid. I think that's where he needs to be.'

Drummer Eric Singer (i.e. KISS, ALICE COOPER) told various members of the press corps prior to taking the stage with ALICE COOPER at the Monsters Of The Millennium festival in Gothenburg, Sweden on April 26th that he will be back on the road with KISS in September/October. Also, during the show, Alice asked the audience [referring to Eric], 'Do you recognize him without the cat makeup?' before proceeding to sing the chorus to KISS' 'Rock and Roll All Nite'. Other artists that performed at the festival included DIO and RATT.

Current rumors indicate that W.A.S.P. are going to be parting ways with guitarist Chris Holmes in the near future, reportedly due to Holmes' ongoing drinking problem, which has been the cause of increasing tension between him and mainman Blackie Lawless.

FOO FIGHTERS have lined up a couple of European festival performances this summer. The dates are as follows:

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Aug. 17 - Weeze, GER @ Bizarre Festival

Aug. 18-19 - Weston Park, Chelmsford, UK @ V2001 Fest.

Former EUROPE guitarist John Norum will be accompanying ex-THIN LIZZY/MOTORHEAD guitarist Brian 'Robbo' Robertson on a five-gig Norwegian tour, where they will be backed by the BAD HABITZ (Norwegian THIN LIZZY cover band) rhythm section (where the bass player also is the lead singer). If the Oslo show is sold out there is an optional extra date for May 6th. The approximately 90-minute set will be a mixture of songs by THIN LIZZY, JOHN NORUM and some additional covers.

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The dates are as follows:

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April 30 - Strömmen, NOR @ TBA

May 02 - Fredrikstad, NOR @ TBA

May 03 - Halden, NOR @ TBA

May 04 - Sandefjord, NOR @ TBA

May 05 - Oslo, NOR @ Rock In

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John Norum will also be performing a solo set on May 19th at the Decibel Festival in Bengtsfors, Sweden alongside 13 other acts, including DISMEMBER, NOCTURNAL RITES, THE HAUNTED, DARKANE, TIAMAT, MELDRUM, ROACHPOWDER and others.

The forthcoming CD from Finland's NIGHTWISH, entitled Over The Hills And Far Away, will be released throughout Europe on June 25th. While the Finnish version will be a mini-CD, the European version will be a full-length album (with a running time of 51 minutes),featuring additional live recordings made at Pakkahuone Club, Tampere, Finland, on December 29th, 2000. Here is the complete track listing for the European edition of the CD:

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01. Over The Hills And Far Away (GARY MOORE cover)

02. Tenth Man Down (new)

03. Away (new)

04. Astral Romance (re-recorded NIGHTWISH classic)

05. The Kinslayer (live)

06. She Is My Sin (live)

07. Sacrament Of Wilderness (live)

08. Walking In The Air (live)

09. Beauty &amp the Beast (live)

10. Wishmaster (live)

WARRANT will release a special CD to coincide with their appearance at the Glam Slam Metal Jam 2001 tour (headlined by POISON). Entitled Under The Influence, it will feature two new songs as well as nine recently-recorded cover songs. This CD will be sold via the group's official web site and can also be purchased at the shows this summer along with some select retailers across the country.

MINISTRY will be featured in the upcoming Steven Spielberg movie A.I. (Artificial Intelligence),performing a brand new song, 'What About Us?'. MINISTRY filmed its scenes for A.I. (reportedly a sci-fi flick set in the middle of the 21st century starring Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law) on location in San Diego last October, according to reps for both the film and the band. A studio version of the track will be featured on the compilation LP Ministry's Greatest Fits (a 'Best Of' collection),due out on June 19th, while the movie itself is due to arrive on June 29th.

Former CRIMSON GLORY vocalist Midnight is asking his fans to let him know via his official web site if they would be willing to purchase a brand new six-song demo disc entitled Songs From The Attic, which he is considering releasing through (electronic) mail order in the near future. For more info, go to: www.midnightsattic.com.

The cover artwork for KATAKLYSM's forthcoming EPIC (The Poetry of War) CD will be handled by Thomas Ewerhard, who has previously done stuff for HYPOCRISY and DIMMU BORGIR, among others.

Finland's THE 69 EYES will be releasing a fourth single from their Blessed Be… album in the shape of 'Stolen Season'. The single comes out in the middle of May, and it will contain a CD-ROM version of the David Lynch-inspired video for 'The Chair'. Meanwhile, THE 69 EYES have been not only been getting ready for their forthcoming German tour (where they will be supporting PARADISE LOST),but also writing new material for their next album, which they hope to record at the end of the year.

Following his highly-successful UK trek, GARY MOORE is taking his show out to the rest of Europe. Here is how the tour is shaping up right now:

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June 02 - Athens Blues Festival, Athens, GR

June 08 - Sweden Rock Festival, Solvesborg, SWE

June 09 - Rock under the Bridge, Middlefart, DEN

June 14 - Grand Rex Theatre, Paris, FRA

June 16 - Fleadh, Finsbury Park, London, UK

June 22 - Stadtpark, Hamburg, GER

June 23 - Wurth Open Air, Künzelsau-Gaisbach, GER

July 06 - Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, SWI

July 08 - New Bagnols Blues Fest., Bagnols sur Cèze, FRA July 12 July - Chichester Festival, Chichester, Sussex, UK

July 13 July - Liverpool Docks, Liverpool, UK

July 20 July - Pori Jazz Festival, Pori, FIN

July 21 July - Pori Jazz Festival, Pori, FIN

The UK's ONE MINUTE SILENCE have completed work on eight songs for their upcoming third full-length album, which they are planning on recording this summer for a late 2001 release through V2 Records. Working song titles include the following:

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01. In The Boat

02. We Bounce Back

03. Come And Get It

04. A to Z Revolution

05. Smash My Head Against It

06. And Kicking

07. Who's Got Your Back

08. I Wear My Skin

09. The Shark Song

10. F.ck You

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According to the band, the track 'In The Boat' was actually inspired by SLIPKNOT percussionist Shawn Crahan (aka The Clown),whose friendship with OMS frontman Yap has been well documented.

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In other ONE MINUTE SILENCE-related news, Yap will be appearing on a track entitled 'Your Face Hurts' from the forthcoming solo project from former SKUNK ANANSIE guitarist Ace. The as-yet-untitled album will also feature guest appearances from members of MOTORHEAD, SENSER, and REPUBLICA, among others.

POWERMAN 5000 have set 'Bombshell' as the first single from their forthcoming, as-yet-untitled third album, which is due out through Dreamworks Records on July 17th. The track will go for adds on radio on June 18th.

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