Archive News Jul 17, 2001

ENTOMBED have finalized the track listing for their upcoming Morning Star CD, which is due at the end of August through Music For Nations Records in Europe. The complete and final track listing for the album is as follows:

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01. Chief Rebel Angel

02. I For An Eye

03. Bringer Of Light

04. Ensemble Of The Restless

05. Out Of Heaven

06. Young Man Nihilist

07. Year One Now

08. Fractures

09. When It Hits Home

10. City Of Ghosts

11. About To Die

12. Mental Twin

According to sources, Roadrunner Records are on the verge of inking a deal with Island/Def Jam Records that will make the former label part of the Island/Def Jam conglomerate. Although no details of the arrangement have yet been revealed, this latest development comes after Roadrunner head honcho Cees Wessels reportedly put 49% of the label on the sales block last month for $30 million, according to hitsdailydouble.com. Among the first releases as part of the new deal would be Iowa, the third offering from SLIPKNOT, which is widely expected to reach multi-platinum status following the extraordinary success of its self-titled predecessor, which which has sold 1.3 million copies to date in the U.S. alone. More information as it becomes available.

New Orleans' BLACK EARTH—a BLACK SABBATH tribute band featuring EXHORDER/FLOODGATE vocalist Kyle Thomas, FLOODGATE/SOUL IGNITION bassist Kevin Thomas and LILLIAN AXE/NEAR LIFE EXPERIENCE guitarist Steve Blaze—will be performing at Zeppelin's in Metairie, Louisiana on Friday, July 27th. Opening the show will be SOUL IGNITION.

In last week's issue of Billboard magazine, veteran rocker IGGY POP revealed that he has been influenced by none other than SLIPKNOT when putting together the scathing rant entitled “Mask” that open his new album, Beat 'Em Up, which is being released through Virgin Records today, July 17th. According to POP, “I went to a SLIPKNOT gig last year, when I was making this record. And it was a really good gig, and they were really nice guys. And after the gig, they went au natural again, no masks and stuff. And the type of chick that hangs around backstages and stuff came up and started talking to one of their guitarists. And her opening line was, 'Hi, which mask are you?'

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“The phrase fascinated me. That's never happened to me. I've never had that experience, because if somebody comes up to me after the show, they know who I am.

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“And then I thought, 'Which mask? Does she care which mask he was?' It was just an interesting thing.”

JUDAS PRIEST's Demolition opus has had its UK release date pushed back a week to Monday, July 23rd due to an undisclosed “technical” problem with the distributors.

BIOHAZARD have announced more headlining UK dates in support of their upcoming Uncivilization CD, which is due to be released in that country on September 3rd (the US release date is set for September 11th through Sanctuary Records). The complete list of announced shows is as follows:

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Sept. 16 - Bradford, UK @ Rios

Sept. 17 - Nottingham, UK @ Rock City

Sept. 18 - Dudley, UK @ JBs

Sept. 19 - Bristol, UK @ Bierkeller

Sept. 20 - Manchester, UK @ MDH

Fires At Midnight, the brand new release from BLACKMORE'S NIGHT (featuring former DEEP PURPLE/RAINBOW guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and his “companion” Candice Night),has entered the German Media Control Pop Album charts at #9.

THE REIGN OF TERROR, who feature in their ranks former YNGWIE MALMSTEEN/LOUDNESS vocalist Michael Vescera and guitarist Joe Stump, will be embarking on a short tour with HELSTAR and STEEL PROPHET during August. The confirmed dates so far are as follows:

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Aug. 10 – Milwaukee, WI @ Metal Fest

Aug. 11 – Aurora, IL @ Reilly's

Aug. 13 – Cincinnati, OH @ Top Cat's

Aug. 14 - W. Springfield, VA @ Jaxx

Aug. 17 – Baltimore, MD @ Powermad Fest

Aug. 18 – Brooklyn, NY @ L'Amour

Staten Island's 40 BELOW SUMMER are temporarily using the services of VBS bassist Steve Schalk in the place of the group's regular four-stringer Hector Graziani, who is recovering from a recent surgery performed after the latter hurt his knee during a NYC show in June. Hector is expected to rejoin 40 BELOW SUMMER on the road in the beginning of August.

ANVIL will be playing at Malibu Jacks Hideaway in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada on August 4th.

Norway's EINHERJER will perform at the Milwaukee Metalfest on August 10th and 11th. The band will also play at the Metalfest Showcase at The Globe Nightclub on Thursday night, August 9th as part of a non-benefit show where all proceeds are set aside to help DEATH mainman Chuck Schuldiner defray medical expenses.

GRAVITY KILLS vocalist/guitarist Jeff Scheel recently spoke to the online version of the St. Louis Today newspaper about the musical direction of the group's upcoming Superstarved CD, which is currently being recorded in Chicago with producer Martin Atkins (i.e. PIGFACE, MINISTRY, DAMAGE MANUAL) for an early 2002 release. According to Scheel, the forthcoming record will be 'more chunky, more riff-oriented,' and 'grindier' than the group's past two efforts. “Our next album's harder, but pop music generally has become harder,' Scheel was quoted as saying. 'In the GRAVITY KILLS test-tube, it sounds harder. But outside of that world, it's not harder than what people are hearing on the radio. When KORN became a pop band, it really raised the bar on what you can be on the radio.'

Former RATT guitarist RobbinCrosby recently offered a revealing overview of his time with RATT and the years spent away from the band battling AIDS in an self-penned article posted on the KNAC.com web site. A must-read, the story can be accessed at this location.

Finnish black metallers ALGHAZANTH have entered Watercastle Studios to record their third album, which is tentatively due at the end of the year.

BLUE OYSTER CULT's Eric Bloom revealed during an appearance on the popular Rockline show that the band will be working on a live DVD, the release date for which has not yet been announced. Bloom also mentioned that BOC would be visiting Europe—specifically mentioning England, France and Germany—to play a few live concert dates this fall.

Due to the overwhelming success of this years Bloodstock UK Metalfest, a second installment of the festival has already been announced for Saturday, May 4th, 2002 at the Derby Assembly Rooms. Around 16 acts are scheduled to perform at the event, which may or may not feature return appearances by some of this year's favorites.

ARK vocalist Jorn Lande and former EYEWITNESS guitarist Ralph Santolla will meet in Spain in August to write the next MILLENNIUM album, which is tentatively scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. In the meantime, the group's long-awaited covers album is almost done, with the following tracks set to appear on the finished CD:

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01. BLACK SABBATH - Neon Knights

02. UFO - Love to Love

03. KISS - Shout It Out Loud

04. WHITESNAKE - Love Ain't No Stranger

05. SWEET - Love Is Like Oxygen

06. MSG - On and On

07. OZZY OSBOURNE – SATO

08. RAINBOW - I Surrender

09. DEEP PURPLE - Perfect Strangers

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The as-yet-untitled album will feature Don Airey (ex-OZZY/RAINBOW) on keyboards.

Sweden's RUNEMAGICK are due to enter KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy LaRocque's studio Los Angered Recording in late August to record the drum tracks for their Revelation Of Darkness CD, which is tentatively due to be released through an as-yet-unspecified label before the end of the year (following their split with Century Media Records earlier this year). Further recordings will be done at Terrordome Studios before the band returns to Los Angered to record the vocals and mix the effort, which will reportedly include “11 full songs and some instrumental parts and one cover track”, of which two may only get released via a 7' single. Tentative song titles include:

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01. Funeral Caravan

02. One Road To Megiddo

03. Memorandum Melancholia

04. The Devil's Demimonde

05. Fathomless Genius Loci

06. The Infinity in Trinity

07. Ways Of Death Aggression

08. Pure Metallic Tribalance

09. Solstice of the Succubus

10. Non Divine Dirty Dead Blood

11. Corpse Nexus Hightime

Finland's SILENTIUM will release the SI.VM E.T. A.V.VM EP, containing four tracks that were laid down during the recording sessions for their recently-issued Altum CD, on July 30th through Spikefarm Records. In other news, SILENTIUM will be part of Dr. Julio Ángel Olivares Merino's book project about influence of vampirism, horror and the gothic on music. Other bands involved are AGATHODAEMON, WITHIN TEMPTATION and ABYSSOS. Dr. Merino is teacher of English and American Gothic Literature in the University of Jaén, Spain and he's also President of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula in Spain. 'In this study I will be analyzing SILENTIUM's music, lyrics, their atmosphere and message as a social discourse,” stated Dr. Merino. “I want to widespread their music and make it be understood, find the artistic logic and fantasy in motion that is talented within its veins of storm. SILENTIUM will have large room in the study since I am really caught by their spell.”

Here is the full track listing for MR. BIG's brand new Richie Zito-produced album, entitled Actual Size, which is set for a Japanese release on August 8th:

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01. Lost In America

02. Wake Up

03. Shine

04. Arrow

05. Mary Goes 'Round

06. Suffocation

07. One World Away

08. I Don't Want To Be Happy

09. Crawl Over Me

10. Cheap Little Thrill

11. How Did I Give Myself Away

12. Nothing Like It In The World

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The first single off the album, “Shine”, will be released on July 25th.

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In other MR. BIG-related news, guitarist Richie Kotzen appears on a QUEEN tribute album entitled Stone Cold Queen, which is due for release in Japan on July 27th. Kotzen can be heard on the track “You're my Best Friend” along with Jason Scheff (vocals),Marco Mendoza (bass),and Vinny Appice (drums).

Belgium's progressive metallers DRAGONFIRE have parted ways with guitarist Arno and are currently seeking a replacement. “If you like bands like SYMPHONY X, DREAM THEATER, SAVATAGE, AVALON, VANDEN PLAS or QUEEN — and of course if you're an experienced guitar player — contact the band at: [email protected] — or write: DRAGONFIRE - New guitar talent, rue Belvaux 70, 4030 Grivegnée, Belgium.

Former IMPELLITERRI vocalist Rob Rock has returned to his home studio to start writing and demoing songs for his next solo album. He hopes to begin recording the new album later this summer and finish it by the end of the year for an early 2002 release.

Belgium's THE BREATH OF LIFE have parted ways with guitarist Philippe and have replaced him with ex-CANDY STRIPE/BLOODY MINDED axeman Didier Czepczyk.

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