Archive News Aug 21, 2001

SLIPKNOT have reportedly been confirmed to play this year's Halloween show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City for the second year in a row. At the present time, no support acts have yet been announced, but MUDVAYNE and TYPE O NEGATIVE are rumored to be taking part in the night's festivities. In other news, Roadrunner Records UK have announced that SLIPKNOT's upcoming album, Iowa, will officially be certified gold for sales in excess of 100,000 copies once the album hits the stores on Monday, August 27th.

SLAYER will be appearing on GetMusic.com September 4th for a live audio chat with GetMusic's own Nevin Martell. For more information, click here.

German metal masters HELLOWEEN have parted ways with long time lead guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch following the band's August 12 appearance at the Meoroc Festival in Spain. No reason for the shocking split has been forthcoming from either camp yet, but Grapow and Kusch will continue on together and pursue their band project with SYMPHONY X vocalist Russell Allen on a full-time basis the band is also set to feature an as-yet-unnamed bassist and keyboard player. Grapow and Allen are currently spending time in Los Angeles working on songs with Roy Z (BRUCE DICKINSON, HALFORD, etc.) whom Grapow had met during last year's sessions for HELLOWEEN's The Dark Ride. The album will be recorded and mixed at producer Andy Sneap's (NEVERMORE, MACHINE HEAD, etc.) Backstage studio from September 24th through November 11th, with additional mixing scheduled to take place at Roland Grapow's home studio in Hamburg.

FLOTSAM &amp JETSAM appear to have parted ways with vocalist Eric A.K. on the eve of their scheduled US tour, setting a cloud of uncertainty over the band's future and causing the singer to announce his retirement from the music business, effective immediately. In several postings on the message board of the group's official web site, A.K. and drummer Craig Nielsen explained the circumstances behind the split, with the skinsman making it clear that he still harbors a certain amount of anger towards A.K. for waiting until virtually the last minute to announce his departure and thus placing the rest of the band in the unenviable position of having to shuffle their personal lives around on such short notice to accommodate the latest events Here are the postings in question from Eric and Nielsen:

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ERIC A.K. — “Retirement”:

“There are many reasons for me to retire from the metal industry. So let's start off with the facts. I've been in FLOTSAM AND JETSAM for almost 20 years. I've put my heart and soul into 8 albums and I'm really proud of almost every song on those records. My first thought every morning and my last thought every night has been about how lucky I am to be where I am and how cool it is to be able to sing for FLOTSAM AND JETSAM. I have always believed that FLOTS was good enough to at least make a modest living by selling records and performing live shows, but this is not the case. We've done approximately one tour per album. That's eight, maybe nine, tours since 1985. On each tour I've been paid enough to survive which is fine. No complaints about that. However, these 'tours' are so very small and far between. I have spent 9 or 10 months out of each of those 19 years digging ditches, setting tile, hooking up cable, plumbing, bartending, working at Taco Bell, and whatever it takes to stay alive because this industry, that I'm told is so great, has failed me and it has failed my brothers.

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“We never asked for limos or big houses, or even lots of money. All we wanted was to make a modest living so we could continue making records and performing live. And we have been able to perform all we want and record at least once a year, but only at the cost of having no life other than the three months a year on the road. It's pretty hard to keep life in a waiting position. Having 10 months at home with nothing to do except struggling to make enough to feed a family will lead you to one of two places: either you become a talented but worthless drug addict, or you accumulate an actual life. I have created over the years a very nice little family life for myself and for my wife and children, which has become extremely more important than playing metal and partying on the road. I have always wanted to spend my life on a tour bus. I have never wanted to be responsible for an entire family. But now that I've had both, I can see what is truly important in life. (And ####in' stupid chicks on the back of the bus just doesn't hold a candle to hearing the phrase, 'Daddy, will you play with me?')

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“The metal industry has beaten me. I'm screaming 'uncle'. But the music industry, has not even met me yet and they'd all better look the #### out. Eric A.K. is on a mission. On to bigger and better things. In my opinion, there is no better metal band than FLOTSAM AND JETSAM. That is why this whole thing is so damn frustrating. Why couldn't it just pay off once or twice? Anyway, I have no worries about the rest of the band they are without a doubt some of the most talented musicians I have ever met. I'm sure they will do just fine on their own.

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“I would like to thank all the fans who have bought records, even though there aren't very many of you. You are die hard and loyal and appreciated. I'd also like to thank FLOTS for the school of hard knocks education and the years of more fun than any five men should have.

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“After this letter is posted, you will probably be hearing some nasty things from a couple of guys in the band. This is to be expected. They are running on almost the same frustration I am and their anger is now directed towards me. They truly are a good bunch of nuts and eventually, they'll get over it. FLOTS 'TIL YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT NO MORE... ERIC A.K. 8/18/2001”

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CRAIG NIELSEN – “The Whole Truth”:

“After spending the better part of 3 months making several calls a day, negotiating with agents, promoters, labels, band members including openers and crew, bus companies and merchandise people, our singer has chosen to use his family as a convenient reason to finally make good on endless threats to quit touring forever. I can appreciate wanting to do right as a father and husband, and I'm not here to judge his motives if it is in fact family related. I don't have kids myself. The problem is that myself, an American and European agent and several other entities have been working full time to put our final tour together. A.K. has committed and recommitted over and over again to it, and now out of the blue he decided that all of our hard work doesn't mean sh.t as long as it interferes with what he wants. He thinks that I did all this so I could get laid on the road and fulfill personal goals. This is so incorrect on so many ####ing levels that it is sick. I have a ####ing supermodel-looking girlfriend, for starters, and don't have a problem with pussy as anyone who has ever known me would agree with. I did this because 5 band members said to put it together, and were willing to sacrifice at least as much and actually so much more to make it happen. It was agreed that this would be the last FLOTSAM tour, and we are only talking about 6 weeks, by the way, in such killer cities as London, Rome, Athens, Prague, and so many others. We were going to pay Eric 3 times more than anyone else in the band, in fact more than he makes to work HIS ASS OFF for 50 hours a week outside in 130-degree Phoenix summer heat. He is under the impression that he is the only one who has a sacrifice to make, when in fact Jason was willing to postpone his ####ing college graduation by a year just to go out, and most probably lose his cush desk job and excellent future with one of the biggest companies in the world. Mark was willing to continue working for 6 dollars an hour until he got back and could start a real job working for brother, and I was putting an 11-year relationship on the line with the best girl anyone could ever ask for, on top of having to delay starting a real job until we got back, and still paying over $1,200 in bills a month in a ####ing town—Phoenix—that I HATE and will not actually live in for the next 3 months, all because I believed we were going on tour because A.K. committed that we were. Now I can't give up my Phoenix apartment because I am on the road with my girl, while she works, and so I will have to honor my lease. So instead of actually calling with his decision, A.K. decides to tell Jason when Jason reads the posts from 'The Wife' and wonders if this isn't actually coming straight from the source and isn't just the latest of 500 threats. It seemed real because nobody actually knew the problems with Eric except those closest to us. And sure enough, we get the defacto notice to quit, for real this time, and all the work from me and 2 agents are 'our ####ing problem'.

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“I actually love Eric like a band 'brother' should and can't bring myself to freak out on him and try to get him to reconsider, not that he ever would, especially now. This is unfortunate for me because obviously the feelings are not mutual. Whatever. As they say it ain't show friends, its show business. It's just where I come from, people's words actually mean something.'

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CRAIG NIELSEN – “Read This First”:

'I didn't see Eric's post until after I made mine. The fact that he explains himself so clearly makes me feel bad for being a little butthurt. I am that way, don't hold grudges, never have. I have been honored to play with one of the best metal bands in the world and with one the most uniquely talented singers there ever was. I have been to at least 10 countries and 40 states, did 2 killer records, have international press that would stack from the ground to my neck, and have fulfilled EVERY single goal I ever had as a drummer. And I never, EVER have had any static of real significance with Eric at any time. We have had a constant respect for each other for the 4 and a half years we have known each other. I am just personally a little, no a lot, more pissed than the rest because of the daily work I have put into this tour for 3 months. And it could never be said I didn't see this coming. Hopefully we will continue to make records. I'm sure I'll be fine and will definitely tour the world again with someone else, if that's what I choose.'

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CRAIG NIELSEN – “The Latest News” (Tour Goes On!!):

“First of all, thanks to everyone for their heartfelt reactions to these developments. Now that emotions aren't running quite as hot, the rest of us have started to make sense of this sh.t. This is what we decided. I called our agent and he said, before I even told him the news, and he definitely had not heard it yet, that pre-sales at some of the 'important' clubs had been going a lot better than expected considering the tour was not starting for 6 more weeks. He thought that the Titans show gave us a boost because of the extremely good press we got, like on Metal Judgement, and the Titans site, and killer word of mouth. A great deal of this was because of Eric's greater than usual performance, of course, but the agent strongly urged us to go out anyway with someone else on the mic, so long as we didn't try to keep it a secret, and let the fans decide if they still wanted to turn out for what will surely be the last FLOTSAM tour ever. After all, practically every other old school band in metal has done this and the fans are very forgiving when all is said and done. So we have decided to put it to the fans and promoters, and the promoters still want to be part of our last tour, even without Eric, who obviously could NEVER be outdone, only imitated, but with a fresh vibe and genuine passion for the opportunity. We have such imposters in mind, and with all sincerity, they will do just fine. So the shows will go on, but most likely not Europe. And the singer we pick will have nothing but respect for the A.K. legacy, and will bring a humble but fully charged and loaded persona to the stage. When we decide who, I will post. In the meantime, we are looking forward to your comments on the subject. But our decision has been made.”

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In somewhat related news, former FLOTSAM AND JETSAM/PRONG bassist Troy Gregory has resurfaced as the singer and leader of a “psychedelic rock band” from Detroit called THE WITCHES, who have three albums out, including a new one, entitled Universal Mall, which was originally released through Spectator Records, but was just re-issued through the Fall Of Rome label. THE WITCHES are preparing to record a new EP, entitled Belted By Gamma Rays, at the end of August, and plans exist for Troy Gregory to record a solo album around the same time, entitled Sybil, which will reportedly feature a different Detroit band on each track. Bands set to appear on the recording include THE GO, OUTRAGEOUS CHERRY, THEY COME IN THREES, THE DIRTBOMBS, THE GLOW IN THE DARK MONSTERS, THE ALPHABET, MEDUSA CYCLONE, BANTAM ROOSTER, LARVAL, THE SIGHTS, SLUMBER PARTY and THE WILDBUNCH.

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In a recent posting on the PRONG Central web site, Gregory addressed his departure from PRONG, which apparently happened under acrimonious circumstances and continues to leave a bad taste in Troy's mouth. Here is Gregory's statement on the matter: “I did not get 'sacked' [from PRONG]. I quit. I quit to move back to Detroit to do my own music and work on my art and filmwork. Ask TedParsons about this one now and I trust that he will attest to this fact. Hell, those guys couldn't even keep their stories straight on why they 'sacked' me. Seems a shame that they had to lie about it, but perhaps 'manly egos' bruise easily. Being that amplifiers of mine (amps I had bought, not some endorsement sh.t) were also kept from me for 'compensation' for the band paying for 2 doctors' visits to see if my hands were going to be alright, due to problems I had of them becoming completely stiff while I was on the road with them, despite having complete pain in my hands every night, I played nonetheless. I just soaked my hand in ice all day and night and wore a brace. This is whining? Hell, [PRONG mainman] Tommy [Victor] would bitch and whine about [MINISTRY's] Al Jourgensen being on the cover of some ridiculous metal rag and not his smirking puss instead. Oh, I do not miss those 'I should be famous' and 'I am PRONG' rants one damn bit! Also, I did not receive one red cent for coming up with the title and writing the chorus to 'Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck'. The title was inspired from THE RESIDENTS tune 'Smack Your Lips Clap Your Teeth' and ROKY ERICKSON's 'Click Yer fingers Applauding the Play'. And what am I supposed to do?! Tie up the courts with that crap? If Tommy has to steal my scraps for a royalty check, let him live with it. Too bad he probably has whittled away his conscience. Another thing I loved was my 'pretension' of bringing the same Bukowski book on tour with me. It was a book of his poetry, and excuse me if I like to read poetry about everyday. Perhaps I was a threat to Tommy's pseudo-intellect. What was another? Oh, yes. Hygiene… The shirt I wore in performances was stenching bad of sweat, and hell ya, it was! I gave 100% to those shows.. They seem to forget that... Anyway, I almost feel childish myself laying this on you, but when folks are passing off lies as factual history about a man's life, you must understand how I must feel to set the record straight. Like I said, no one bothered to ask me, but perhaps this is what I get for stepping 'out of the loop'. I do music because I love it. Leave bands when I don't love it. I have no desire to be famous and adored. I quit PRONG when they were a priority to the Sony Death Culture Records. All that junk meant and still means nothing to me. I admit I joined FLOTSAM [AND JETSAM] because I wanted to travel, and playing speed metal tunes for an hour and a half was a better job than 12 hour days doing drafting. But I did join PRONG in the hopes of doing some great music with them (believe it or not, there were many times that we all got on great and were close friends). I just happened to like what I was writing musically for myself much better. Tommy took this as if my whole tenure with the band was a sham, which is completely untrue. Oh, well. Fortunately, Ted and I had dinner together a few years back when he was in Detroit with GODFLESH. It was nice to clear the air and hang out with the guy again, I had some real good times with him on the road and off, as I also did with Tommy, although after the 'Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck' writing credit thing, I sincerely wish to never see of him ever again.”

MARILYN MANSON has lashed out at the most recent sex charge against him—claiming that the Michigan prosecutors are using false allegations to get him behind bars. In a posting on the message board of MANSON's official web site, the singer states that “This is nothing more than yet another attempt to run MARILYN MANSON into the ground. They've done it before and they are going to keep doing it unti lthe day I die… There is not point to this. If they really wanted to see me rot in jail that bad, they would have booked me on [July] 30th… It comes down to love, hate and corruption, and MARILYN MANSON thrives on that.” In other news, Kerrang.com reports that MARILYN MANSON has revealed that he plans to work with OZZY OSBOURNE. MANSON was quoted in the article as saying: 'I don't know if I should say what we were talking about, it was private, but we talked about things we'd like to do together in the future, some creative ideas we have. There's a strong mutual admiration between us.'

According to a representative of Germany's SPV/Steamhammer Records, the following is the full track listing for the forthcoming sophomore effort from BLAZE (featuring former IRON MAIDEN/WOLFSBANE vocalist Blaze Bayley),entitled 10th Dimension:

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01. Forgotten Future

02. Kill And Destroy

03. End Dream

04. The Tenth Dimension

05. Nothing Will Stop Me

06. Leap Of Faith

07. The Truth Revealed

08. Meant To Be

09. Land Of The Blind

10. Stealing Time

11. Speed Of Light

12. Stranger Of The Light

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Like its predecessor, 2000's Silicon Messiah, 10th Dimension was produced by Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with MACHINE HEAD, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE, STUCK MOJO and KREATOR, among others. 10th Dimension is due to emerge through SPV/Steamhammer in January.

Former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted is set to produce the upcoming album from Texas agro-rockers SPEEDEALER, according to MTV News. In other news, Newsted made his first live appearance with his new band, ECHOBRAIN, on Sunday, August 19th at San Francisco's Bimbo's 265 club, as part of the Nadine's Wild Weekend, a showcase of Bay Area bands. Speaking backstage before the gig, the four-stringer made the following comment to MTV: “Playing other types of music with other people always enabled me to play better for METALLICA. It really kept me fresh to hit that loud stuff, my forte. I was always on my game, and I did my thing for that part of it, for that 15 years, and now I'm moving on to the next bit of it. And I am able to let myself go a little bit more because I don't have to be on call 25 hours a day for METALLICA.

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'If [the record buying public is] expecting Cookie Monster vocals [from ECHOBRAIN], it's not gonna happen, man,' Newsted told MTV. 'I took that stuff to the mountain already. ECHOBRAIN can go all the way from real mellow piano to full-on blasto punk and everything in between. That's one thing that's different, playing live for this thing. METALLICA, you can just rock it and just go, go, go, because most of the stuff's in E flat minor — like 97 percent of the songs. In ECHOBRAIN, the songs are all different, so you actually have to play it and finesse it and stuff like that. Pretty cool. Cool challenge.'

Contrary to what we reported here yesterday, former EXODUS/LEGACY vocalist Steve Souza has NOT left F-BOMB and is still very much part of the group, who are scheduled to play their next gig on Saturday, September 22nd at Bourbon St. Bar &amp Grill in Concord, California. Also performing at the show will be LD/50, featuring former FORBIDDEN/TESTAMENT guitarist Glen Alvelais and GEEZER/DR. BEWKENHEIMER vocalist Clark Brown.

Former ANTHRAX frontman Neil Turbin has joined forces with guitarist Kurt James in a brand new, as-yet-unnamed project that is currently working on the material for its debut release. James, who replaced Yngwie J. Malmsteen in the band STEELER and also played guitar in DR. MASTERMIND, Willie Basse's BLACK SHEEP, and KJB (Kurt James Band—also featuring Neil Turbin—back in 1988),is said to be “an amazing musician, right on par with Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert (RACER X) and Eddie Van Halen. Kurt is masterful as well on bass guitar, violin, upright bass and has a jazz band that performs semi-regurlarly in Spain and around Europe.” In other news, Turbin has been writing songs with longtime friend RonnieBorchert, lead vocalist and guitarist for San Jose's AMSTERDAM, who have just issued a brand new album, entitled The Santa Clara Syndicate, through Metal Mayhem Music. The singer is also said to have recently made an appearance with HOUSE OF LORDS bassist Chuck Wright at a local club in LA, where they reportedly performed several Stevie Wonder tunes together.

FATES WARNING were reportedly offered the second leg of the SAVATAGE US tour, but were forced to decline for unspecified reasons. NEVERMORE has since secured the support slot on the trek.

BIOHAZARD will be playing a record release party show for their Uncivilization opus on September 8th at L'Amour East in Island Park, New York. A video will also be filmed at the same gig.

Former CRIMSON GLORY singer Midnight has issued a brand new EP, entitled Songs From The Attic, featuring demo versions of recently written compositions originally intended to be re-recorded for the frontman's upcoming solo album. According to Midnight's official web site, “SFTA was recorded in a small studio in Florida with the intention of preproduction. However, due to overwhelming demand from friends and fans the decision was made to release it to the public.” Midnight has also reportedly joined forces with former ATHEIST guitarist Rand Burkey, and the pair are presently composing material for an upcoming album, under the projected title of Cookooflower, which is previewed on the above-mentioned EP with the inclusion of a track entitled “T42”. Cookooflower is expected to surface sometime in 2002 through an as-yet-undetermined label.

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Here is the full track listing for Songs From The Attic:

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01. Pain

02. Seven Angels

03. Boxes

04. Hide and Seek

05. Black Sheep

06. Seven Angels (electric version)

07. T42 (demo from Cookooflower)

+ Rare CRIMSON GLORY video

+ New Midnight screen saver

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To check out the EP's cover artwork, click here.

Former MR. BIG bassist Billy Sheehan will be participating in a USAToday.com chat today, Tuesday, August 21st at 10 PM EDT. For more info, click here.

HALFORD drummer Bobby Jarzombek has been working on several new tracks with brother/guitarist Ron Jarzombek, two of which will be showcased by Jarzombek during his September 12 appearance at Drumfest Mexico in Mexico City. MP3 versions of both “Peppered Cancer” (www.spasticink.com/pepper.mp3) and “School” (www.spasticink.com/school.mp3) are currently available as free downloads. Neither tune is scheduled to appear on the forthcoming SPASTIC INK album, Ink Compatible, which sees the Jarzombek brothers joined by original WATCHTOWER vocalist Jason McMaster, drummer Dave Penna, bassists Pete Perez (RIOT),Michael Manring (ATTENTION DEFICIT, Michael Hedges),Doug Keyser (WATCHTOWER),Sean Malone (GORDIAN KNOT, CYNIC),and Ray Riendeau (HALFORD),as well as Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS),Jimmy Pitts (SCHOLOMANCE),and David Bagsby on keyboards. In related news, WATCHTOWER are still writing material for their next CD, tentatively titled Mathematics. According to Ron Jarzombek, 'we only have one song left to write musically. [Bassist] Doug Keyser, who is writing all of the lyrics, has maybe four or 5 songs left. There will be 11 tracks, including the opening 11 1/2 minute trilogy piece, and a 9-minute instrumental.' For more info please visit www.spasticink.com or e-mail [email protected]

Finland's H.I.M. won the Viewers' Choice Award at the Viva Comet Awards Friday night. Other nominations in that category were PAPA ROACH, LIMP BIZKIT, EMINEM and LINKIN PARK. The award was presented by Iggy Pop — one of the biggest heroes of the members of the H.I.M. band. In other news, the release of the next H.I.M. single, 'In Joy And Sorrow'—taken from the group's upcoming Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights CD—has been set for October 1st.

Due to a recent knee surgery, DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord will not be joining the rest of the band until after the German shows of the current tour. Former RAINBOW/BLACK SABBATH keyboardist Don Airey will continue to handle the keyboards in his place. Jon Lord hopes to re-join DEEP PURPLE for the Italian dates, possibly also the Monaco shows.

Germany's GUANO APES will be taking the next five weeks off from making music and playing together, after which they will regroup for the band's last festival appearance of this year in Olbia/Italia. Plans exist for the group to rent a house somewhere for a couple of weeks and work on the material for the APES' much-anticipated third full-length album, which is not expected to emerge before mid-2002 at the earliest.

KING'S X guitarist Ty Tabor will issue his third solo album, entitled Safety, in early 2002.

In the wake of the recent release of Universal Records' Best Of—Ultimate Collection CD, '80s rockers Y&ampT will reportedly reunite for up to seven shows in Northern California in November. According to a message board posting by singer Dave Meniketti at www.meniketti.com, he will join guitarist Stef Burns (currently in Huey Lewis' band),drummer Leonard Haze, and bassist Phil Kennemore for shows in Modesto on November 8th, Sacramento on November 9th and Petaluma on November 10th, with additional dates to be announced for San Francisco and San Jose.

UK melodic metallers DRAGONHEART will be playing with ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI (formerly known as AGENT STEEL) at the Camden Underworld in London, UK on October 15th. This will mark DRAGONHEART's first London appearance since their show with STRATOVARIUS last December.

40 FT. RINGO, who feature in their ranks former TRIXTER members Steve Brown and P.J. Farley, will open the Voices of Metal show in Holmdel, New Jersey on August 26th, where they will appear alongside VINCE NEIL, STEPHEN PEARCY, SLAUGHTER and VIXEN.

Check out an interesting interview with former TESTAMENT/SAVATAGE guitarist Alex Skolnick at this location.

STRAPPING YOUNG LAD mainman Devin Tonwsend will make an in-store appearance with ZIMMER'S HOLE on August 30th at Scrape Records, located at 17 West Broadway, Vancouver, Canada, between 6 and 8 PM. ZIMMER'S HOLE, who feature in their ranks guitarist Jed Simon and bassist Byron Stroud of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, will be performing at Studebakers in Vancouver on August 31st.

According to Digitalmetal, Norway's RED HARVEST have been busy composing material for their upcoming full-length album, which is set to be produced by veteran knob-twiddler Neil Kernon (i.e. NEVERMORE, SKREW, CANNIBAL CORPSE) at an as-yet-undetermined studio in Oslo in November. Boasting a sound that is being described as a mixture of VOIVOD, LAIBACH, NEUROSIS and GGFH, the upcoming album will be mixed in the US and will likely feature several guest appearances, including one from MAYHEM guitarist Blasphemer. RED HARVEST's new album is expected to emerge sometime in February 2002.

Warner Bros. premiere of the Mark Wahlberg film Rock Star, loosely based on the life story of JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim “Ripper” Owens, will be a star-studded event drawing from the best of both worlds—music and film. The Los Angeles event, which includes an after-party at the House of Blues, will be attended by both stars from the film as well as featured musicians Zakk Wylde, Jason Bonham, Stephan Jenkins, Jeff Pilson, Blas Elias and Brian Vander Ark. The artist RSVP list of musicians not in the film currently includes ORGY, STATIC X, LIMP BIZKIT's Fred Durst, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, EVERCLEAR and SEAL.

Rapcore band RUMBLEFISH have landed an opening slot on this years SmokeOut show at the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavillion October 6th, sharing the stage with the likes of DEFTONES, CYPRESS HILL, BUSTA RHYMES, NOFX, FEAR FACTORY, KOTTONMOUTH KINGS and LONG BEACH DUB ALL STARS. This turn of events came by way of winning the 'Battle of the Bands' contest hosted by the Fat Festival, Saturday August 11th at the Orange Pavillion. RUMBLEFISH, who are reportedly being courted by several major labels, have already supported the likes of LINKIN PARK, SOULFLY, CRAZY TOWN and HED PE, and are scheduled to open for the last band again on August 27th and 28th at West Hollywood's Whisky-A-Go-Go. For more info, visit the band's official web site at: http://www.rumblefish1.com

Former 3 COLOURS RED frontman Pete has joined forces in a new band called ELEVATION with ex-3CR drummer Keith Baxter and former RADIATOR bassist Janne Jarvis. ELEVATION will release their self-titled debut EP—the musical direction on which is being described as “sublime, emotive rock”—on October 22nd through Crystal Songs.

NOVEMBERS DOOM will enter Studio One studios in Racine, Wisconsin on October 19th to record the follow-up to The Knowing, which is being referred to as Dark Symphonies Records' “quickest-selling release” to date. Producing the album will be “Grammy award-winning producer” Neil Kernon (i.e. NEVERMORE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, etc.).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

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ICP and MARZ NO MORE! PLUS- IN STORE CANCELLATION IN DETROIT DUE TO THREATS BY THE LOCAL POLICE!

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When bands share the same stage for a period of time creating magic for fans with their music as ICP and MARZ have for the last nine months, it's not pretty when things go sour.

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Rumor has it that the ICP camp is unhappy about how enthusiastically and quickly and with ICP's help their loyal fan base of Juggalos have welcomed and shown mad love for Chicago rappers MARZ who toured with ICP since December 2000.

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In recent statements issued by ICP themselves to their fans, the Juggalos, via several fan web sites, members of ICP state it is the fault of MARZ's record company to work too hard in conjunction with promoting MARZ while they were on tour with ICP. E-Magine feels they did what any record company should in promoting MARZ to the fullest, after all the reason for putting the two bands together is to create a larger fan base to sell more records. In full Juggalo style the fans have created brilliant MARZ/JUGGALO fan sites spreading the word on MARZ thus steadily increasing hits on the sites as well as increasing sound scan figures at retail. Check out marzjuggalos.com.

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Another issue ICP has with MARZ is that ICP felt dishonored because MARZ would not sign a recording contract with Psychopathic Records after giving MARZ love by touring together, sharing hotel rooms, a tour bus as well as roadies and collaborating on the Dark Lotus record. E-Magine takes this as flattery.

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MARZ comments “I think ICP, TWIZTID and BLAZE have mad talent. The sh.t that went down, went down because this is a business, and business sometimes gets in the way of friendship. I have nothing but love for them dogs period. This is also my last time talking about this. If you are no longer down with Marz because I am not a part of Phycopathic, it means the only reason you were down with Marz is because someone else told you to be. If you are no longer down with Marz because of a stamped name on the back of a CD case that represents 'the business' side of music. Then good, because Marz is not for you. But if your down with Marz because you can feel my music and don¹t give a f.ck about the music 'business.' Welcome to the Marz Tribe.”

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E-Magine Entertainment has utilized the opportunity to professionally set up the alignment of their artist MARZ within the world of ICP. As the marketing team at E-Magine with the help of all of the street teams, went along building MARZ awareness, we realized what a tight circle has been created, and this break–up, if you will, comes as a huge surprise to everyone at the label — especially MARZ and his right hand KAOS.

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MARZ and the folks at E-Magine would like to express gratitude to those who have and will stick by MARZ and regret those who decide to leave us. E-Magine again would like to state how much appreciation they have for ICP's and Psychopathic's support. After all, the merits of MARZ' creative music, we would hope, will run deeper and far beyond the personal opinions of ANYONE!

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There are also rumors from the Psychopathic/ICP camp in regards to legal action and lawsuits pending. E-Magine would like to state that no legal action whatsoever has been taken by the label. The lawyers of both camps are currently addressing a legal matter over publishing details on Dark Lotus, with regard to MARZ participation and subsequent ousting shortly before release of the record. Dark Lotus has been released in August and features MARZ in collaboration with members of ICP, TWIZTID and Blaze.

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More chaotic happenings – After many requests and by popular demand…MARZ hit the stores to meet up with MARZTRIBE Fans on their first in store signing tour in the Midwest. One of the stores, Hot Hits in Roseville Michigan has decided to pull out and cancel after many threats by the local police. According to the stores management for the past week the local Police have called numerous times threatening the store with a shut down if they don't cancel the MARZ in store.

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MARZ In store Tour Dates:

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Saturday August 25th: 5 PM

Discs and Tapes Unlimited

682 West Grand River Ave Brighton Mi.

(810) 227-9191 Sean

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Sunday August 26th 3 PM

Cruisin Tunes

1239 Polaris Pkwy Columbus OH

(614)-888-0660 and 614-888-0631 Wally

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Monday August 27th 7 PM

Side One Music

3753 E. Main St. Richmond, IN 47374

(765) 966-9999 and 765-966-6681 (fax) Anthony/Jim

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Tuesday August 28th 6 PM

2nd Wind CD's

1709-A Monmouth St. New Port, KY 41071

(859) 655-9463 Andy

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Thursday August 30th 6 PM

Exclusive Company

16750 A. West Blue mound Brookfield, WI 53005

(262) 789-0881 Theresa

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Friday August 31st 6 PM

CD Warehouse

410 14th Ave SE Minneapolis, MN 55414

(612) 623-3799 and (612) 633-8299 (fax) Kevin

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Thursday September 6th 6:00 PM

Rolling Stone Records

7300 W. Irving Park Road Chicago, IL 60706-7224

(708) 456-0861 Ben

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Also MARZ are currently in the studio in Chicago doing remixes for the next single and will be on tour in the fall! More news to follow…

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