Archive News Jul 10, 2001 - update 2

Sweden's CLAWFINGER have lined up a few German and Austrian headlining shows during September/October. The dates are as follows:

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Sept. 29 - Berlin, GER @ Knaack

Sept. 30 - Köln, GER @ Prime Club

Oct. 01 - Hamburg, GER @ Schlachthof

Oct. 03 - Frankfurt, GER @ Nachtleben

Oct. 04 - Worgl, AUS @ Komma

Oct. 05 - Vienna, AUS @ Planet Music

Oct. 06 - Graz, AUS @ Orpheum

Oct. 07 - München, GER @ Metropolis

Belgian black metal act ANCIENT RITES and THE STRANGLERS will be co-headlining this year's Boerenrock Festival, which will be held in Belgium on August 18th. For more info, visit: http://www.boerenrock.com

Sweden's AMON AMARTH have started writing material for their fourth full-length album, which will be recorded sometime next year and released by the end of 2002. Meanwhile, the band have confirmed their debut US live appearance at this year's Milwaukee Metalfest on Saturday, August 11th.

German power/speed metallers BLACK ABYSS have pushed back the recording of their third full-length CD, which will be tracked at House Of Music Studios with producer Achim Köhler (i.e. PRIMAL FEAR, BRAINSTORM, etc.),to the end of this year or beginning of next year.  The follow-up to the acclaimed Land of Darkness release is due to emerge during the summer of 2002.

Cleveland's CHIMAIRA is heading back on the road with FACTORY 81, ILL NINO, and 40 BELOW SUMMER. Here are the confirmed dates:

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July 19 - Rockford, IL @ Hard Time's

July 20 - Green Bay, WI @ Ryan's Ballroom

July 21 - Madison, WI @ The Annex

July 22 - Duluth, MN @ The Tap Room

July 23 - Minneapolis, MN @ Quest Club

July 25 - St Louis @ Pop's

July 26 - Pittsburgh, KS @ Fox Town City Limits

July 27 - Lincoln, NB @ Knickerbocker's

July 28 - Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck

July 29 - Tulsa, KS @ Curly's

July 31 - Calhoun, LA @ Edge of Madness

Aug 3 - Dallas, TX @ Canyon Club

Aug 4 - Killeen, TX @ OZ

Aug 5 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's

Aug 10 - Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theatre

Aug 11 - Freeport, IL @ Phenomenon

ANNIHILATOR have added a couple of headlining shows to their upcoming European trek. The confirmed dates are as follows:

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Aug. 03 – Pratteln, SWI @ Open Air

Aug. 04 – Wacken, GER @ Wacken Open Air

Aug. 05 – BEL @ Eurorock

Aug. 07 – Zaandam, NETH @ Kade

Aug. 08 – Bochum, GER @ Zeche

The original members of TWISTED SISTER will reunite for a record signing on Wednesday, August 15th at Slipped Disc Records in Valley Stream, Long Island, at 6:00 PM. The band will be signing copies of the new tribute CD, Twisted Forever, which is due to be issued through Koch Records on August 14th.

According to Digital Metal, Sweden's DARK TRANQUILLITY are hard at work writing the follow-up to last year's Haven album, which is tentatively scheduled to be recorded at Gothenburg's Studio Fredman at the end of the year. Guitarist Niklas Sundin had this to say regarding the as-yet-untitled album's formative stages: “We're basically experimenting a lot and trying different arrangements out. No song is 100 percent finished yet, and the material is constantly developing and taking new forms, so it's a bit too early to know what the general direction of the next album will be. There's everything from progressive, acoustic stuff to high-speed passages among the things we're working with, so it's all going to be very diverse. Perhaps it'll be a mixture of all our past albums with some new influences thrown in for good measure..."

STRAPPING YOUNG LAD mainman DEVIN TOWNSEND, fresh off his successful European outing, will be performing a hometown show at Vancouver, B.C.'s Starfish Room on Friday, July 19th.

Former RAINBOW vocalist Doogie White's solo album is still being recorded and is tentatively scheduled to be mixed in August, after which the vocalist's representatives will shop the finished product to interested labels with a view towards releasing the album in April 2002. In other Doogie White-related news, CORNERSTONE—the acclaimed project featuring White and ROYAL HUNT bassist Steen Mogensen—are recording their second album, entitled Human Stain, in Copehnagen, and the singer is tentatively scheduled to lay down his vocals for the effort during August. Along with White and Mogensen, Human Stain will include appearances by former ROYAL HUNT drummer Allan Sorensen and guitarist Kasper Damgaard.  No one has yet been assigned keyboard duties, although Steen will be playing keys on some tracks. The album is due for release in January 2002.  Tentative song titles include “Wounded Land” and “Forever Young”.

FOO FIGHTERS will be opening for U2 at their second show in Dublin, Ireland at the Slane Castle on September 1st. The show will also include MOBY, NELLY FURTADO, and DARA.

DOKKEN have officially confirmed former EUROPE guitarist John Norum as the replacement for the recently departed Reb Beach (ex-WINGER),who amicably split from the group in order to focus on his solo career.

German vocalist Doro Pesch is considering including photos taken by her fans in the CD booklet of the next album.  All contributions in the form of photos of Doro and the band should be sent to the following address: P.O. Box 304, Enfield, CT 06082, USA. In other Doro-related news, the singer will be covering the festivities at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany via Total Rock.com on August 2nd and 3rd.

More dates have been announced for the forthcoming ENTOMBED / CROWBAR / 2 TON PREDATOR European tour. The latest show additions are as follows:

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Sept. 27 - Sala Revolver, Madrid, SP

Sept. 28 - Sala Codigo de Barras, Vigo, SP 

Sept. 29 - Pradise Garage, Lisboa, POR

Sept. 30 - Sala Jam, Bergara, SP

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According to guitarist Uffe Cederlund, ENTOMBED's forthcoming Morning Star CD is now scheduled to be released through Music For Nations Records in Europe at the end of August.

GAMMA RAY's headlining show in Stuttgart, Germany on October 7th will also include performances by PRIMAL FEAR (featuring ex-GAMMA RAY vocalist Ralf Scheepers) and FREEDOM CALL (who share with GAMMA RAY drummer Daniel Zimmermann, thus forcing the skinsman to perform double-duty on the night in question).

HELLOWEEN have slammed as “stupid” the recent rumor that vocalist Andi Deris is in the process of leaving the band and is to be replaced by HEAVEN'S GATE singer Thomas Rettke. According to the group's official web site, HELLOWEEN were forced to cancel the last two shows on their Mexican tour after Deris contracted a virus which impedes his ability to sing (and even speak in some cases),but he is recovering quite nicely, and the band has plans return to the studio around November or December to begin work on a new album, to be issued in mid-2002.

GRAVE DIGGER will be recording a live album at their live appearance at this year's Wacken Open Air Festival in early August. The proposed track listing for the as-yet-untitled effort is as follows:

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01.  Scotland United

02.  Excalibur

03.  The Dark of the Sun

04.  Headbanging Man

05.  The Roundtable

06.  Circle of Witches

07.  Ballad of Mary

08.  Lionheart

09.  Witch Hunter

10.  Morgane Le Fay

11.  Knights of the Cross

12.  Rebellion

13.  HM Breakdown

After weeks of speculation and rumors, JUDAS PRIEST have finally announced the dates for their upcoming US tour, which will also include ANTHRAX in the opening slot. The confirmed and tentative shows are as follows:

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Sep. 14 - Universal City, CA @ Universal Amphitheatre 

Sep. 15 - San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield 

Sep. 17 - Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Blues 

Sep. 19 - Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre 

Sep. 21 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Centre 

Sep. 23 - Houston, TX @ Aerial Theatre at Bayou Palace 

Sep. 25 - New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues 

Sep. 28 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing 

Sep. 29 - Boynton Beach, FL @ Orbit 

Sep. 30 - Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues 

Oct. 01 - Atlanta, GA @ DeKalb Atlanta Center 

Oct. 03 - Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre 

Oct. 04 - Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom 

Oct. 05 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre 

Oct. 06 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall 

Oct. 07 - Auburn Hills, MI @ Palace Of Auburn Hills 

Oct. 10 - Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre 

Oct. 12 - New York, NY @ Roseland 

Oct. 13 - Washington, DC @ Nation 

Oct. 14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory 

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In other PRIEST-related news, as a result of massive ticket demand for the band's sell out show last month at London's Astoria, JUDAS PRIEST will be returning to the UK capital following the USA and Japanese legs of the tour to play a special Christmas show at Brixton Academy on Wednesday, December 19th. Finally, collectors will be interested to know that the Japanese version of JUDAS PRIEST's upcoming Demolition CD will contain one bonus track entitled “What's My Name”,  while a European “special limited edition” of Demolition will come with two bonus tracks — studio versions of “Rapid Fire” and “The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)”.

Here is how the metal/hard rock genre fared in the Media Control German Album charts for the week ending Monday, July 9th:

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03. LINKIN PARK - Hybrid Theory

05. BON JOVI - One Wild Night - Live

09. BLINK 182 - Take Off Your Pants And Jacket

15. RAMMSTEIN - Mutter

20. LIMP BIZKIT - Chocolate Starfish...

30. ICED EARTH - Horror Show

34. WEEZER - Weezer

35. MUSE - Origin Of Symmetry

41. WHEATUS - Wheatus

46. CRAZY TOWN - The Gift Of Game

47. TOOL - Lateralus

52. AC/DC - Stiff Upper Lip

59. THUMB - 3

72. STONE TEMPLE PILOTS - Shangri-La Dee Da

73. INCUBUS - Make Yourself

74. GODSMACK - Awake

80. THE CULT - Beyond Good And Evil

82. CRADLE OF FILTH - Bitter Suites...

85. NIGHTWISH - Over The Hills And Far Away

89. IGGY POP – Beat'Em Up

90. JETHRO TULL - The Very Best Of

92. BÖHSE ONKELZ - Gestern War Heute Noch Morgen

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