Archive News Jun 09, 2001

According to guitarist Scott Ian, ANTHRAX plan on getting together June 13th to begin working on material for the group's next studio opus, which is tentatively scheduled for release in early 2002 through Nuclear Blast Records in Europe and Beyond/BMG Records in the US. Ian also confirmed that talks are underway for ANTHRAX to possibly hook up with JUDAS PRIEST for the latter band's headlining US tour in September/October (as first reported here yesterday),but as of right now, no dates have yet been finalized. ANTHRAX will also partake in the Thrash Of The Titans benefit concert (which will be held August 11th at San Francisco's Maritime Hall) for TESTAMENT vocalist Chuck Billy, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. 'Chuck has always been a friend and we will do everything we can to help out,' stated the guitarist. 'Charlie and I will also play with S.O.D.Billy will be there with M.O.D. All we need is ARMORED SAINT and NUCLEAR ASSAULT and we'd have the whole family tree.' Scott also revealed that ANTHRAX is up for a slot at the Beast Feast Festival in Japan on August 25th and 26th after having hooked up with Dan De Vita of Rick Sales Management, who oversee the careers of SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, SEPULTURA (all of whom will appear at the festival) and others. There are apparently also plans for ANTHRAX to re-release Sound Of White Noise, Stomp 442 and Volume 8 in an enhanced CD format complete with all B-sides and promo videos.

MACHINE HEAD and producer Colin Richardson are scheduled to commence mixing the group's long-awaited Supercharger release on Thursday, June 14th at Cam-Am Studios in Tarzana, California.

SKINLAB have entered Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco with producer Steve Evetts (i.e. SEPULTURA, EARTH CRISIS, etc.) to begin work on their third full-length CD, tentatively entitled tHEreVOLTINGROOM&gt&gtdISTURBING tHE aRT oF eXPRESSION&lt&lt. According to mainman Steev Esquivel, 'everything [is] kind of jumping off smooth [in the recording studio]. Evetts is the man—very cool and very into SKINLAB. Drum tones are up and running. [Drummer] Paul [Hopkins]'s new drums in full effect, by the way. This sh.t is going to be sick as f.ck!! Drum tones are f.ckin' awesome. We're going for the natural tones of his drums on this album. Massive kick sound, toms are f.ckin' pounding in your face . Paul's playing has never been better, I'm sure everyone is going to be amazed from what we will deliver this year. We are determined to stay true to what we and you know as SKINLAB.'

PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul is going to have a regular column in the Revolver magazine, which will reportedly be relaunched shortly as a full-metal metal/rock publication following its unsuccessful stint as a mainstream pop/rock rag. Vinnie is reportedly accepting questions from fans, which he will then answer in his regular column. Please email all questions to [email protected].

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons will be shock jock Howard Stern's guest next Tuesday, June 12th. In other KISS news, Paul Stanley reportedly shot a commercial for Folgers Coffee that will begin airing on TV in July.

THE CULT celebrated the release of new album Beyond Good and Evil with a private concert at the Whisky in Los Angeles on Tuesday night that was attended by such celebrities as KISS' Paul Stanley and Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage. Also in attendance were fans who either won tickets in a KROQ radio givaway or at a Tower Records in-store.

LIFER, the band formerly known as STRANGERS WITH CANDY (under which moniker they won the MTV cover band contest last year),will be issuing their self-titled, Alex 'RUSH' Lifeson-produced debut through Republic/Universal Records on August 14th.

Germany's EVERON are scheduled to begin recording their fifth studio album in October. According to the band, the as-yet-untitled effort ' is probably going to be the heaviest EVERON album ever made.'

Death metallers INTERNAL BLEEDING will be issuing Alien Breed 1991-2001, a CD containing the group's Invocation of Evil and Perpetual Degradation demos, a few songs from the band's 1991 One Dollar Demo, plus a brand new song ('Alien Breed'),through Olympic Records on August 12th.

Florida's NEUROTICA, featuring former ATHEIST frontman Kelly Shaefer, have officially announced their recent signing with the WWF's Smackdown Records and the Evolution Talent Agency (who handle bookings for LIMP BIZKIT, BACKSTREET BOYS, BRITNEY SPEARS, and N' SYNC). The band is presently in the studio with producer Doug Kaye finishing up tracks to be included on the new record, including a song formerly known as 'Easy Speak', which is now entitled 'I Feel (Down)', and live favorite 'All My Friends Crush You'. Also, be on the lookout for the July issue of WWF Magazine at a news stand near you featuring a five-page spread on NEUROTICA, including pictures from the bands recent Livestock appearance and an in-depth interview with Kelly Shaefer conducted by Jim Farber (NY Daily News).

A MISFITS 25th Anniversary signing and in-store performance with special guests Marky Ramone of the RAMONES and Robo &amp Dez from BLACK FLAG will be held on Thursday, June 28th at the Virgin Megastore in the heart of Times Square NYC beginning at 6 PM. The performance is free and open to the general public. In other MISFITS news, the band have announced the first show of their Halloween tour, which will be taking place on October 11th at the House of Blues in Chicago. The NYC MISFITS Halloween show and after-party will be held at the WWF NY on October 31st.

DEICIDE's In Torment In Hell CD is scheduled for a July 31st release through Roadrunner Records.

Drummer Asgeir Mickelson of SPIRAL ARCHITECT and BORKNAGAR will play drums on the forthcoming effort from VINTERSORG entitled Visions From The Spiral Generator.

According to a message posted on melodicrock.com from WESTWORLD/TNT vocalist Tony Harnell, 'TNT is on hold for the moment and we haven't really committed to anything yet. Seems that we are all busy with other things. I don't think anyone is ready to say that the band is over as it was such an important part of all of our lives. When the time is right, something will inevitably happen.'

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Britain's riff machine is working at full steam again: four years after their comeback recording, Jugulator, internationally acclaimed metal legends JUDAS PRIEST are due to release their new studio album, Demolition, on July 16, 2001 [in Europe], proving once again that they still set the pace on the current music scene and serving as forerunners for other bands. Like all the albums that the band have come up with in the course of their history, Demolition is typically JUDAS PRIEST, and the group's many fans don't need to be told that this implies lots of exciting innovations, as well as any number of classic PRIEST elements. Considering how different and at the same time distinctive recordings like Point Of Entry, Screaming For Vengeance, Ram It Down, Painkiller or indeed Jugulator sounded, it goes without saying that PRIEST are anything but a band who are into marking time or merely copying themselves – after all JUDAS PRIEST's material is marked by a permanent quest for new sonic landscapes and contemporary musical techniques. 'We have been playing heavy metal for a very long time, and even on our early releases we never used the same sounds,' guitarist K.K. Downing points out. 'Just remember Turbo with its distinctive synthesized guitar sound. That was new at the time, not only for us but for the whole scene. We also like to keep experimenting with new equipment, which I consider an essential evolution. You have to try out new things as a musician. Our current album is once again full to the brim with surprising riffs, lead breaks, melodies, and it's certain to impress people.'

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The same goes for vocalist Ripper Owens, whose amazing voice is closely linked to PRIEST's successful comeback. Owens has not only proved himself as a worthy performer of classic PRIEST material but is also taking the band to new, uncharted territory on Demolition. He may be certain of the other band members' respect, and even more so since the work on the new offering began. 'Working with Ripper is really exciting,' says Glenn Tipton enthusiastically. 'He's able to perform every single one of the old PRIEST songs, and at the same time he's given a whole new dimension to the band, while always remaining typically PRIEST. You can hear his character, his strength, and the amazing range of his voice on the new album.' K.K. Downing adds, underlining the comment: 'This time around he has used his voice in totally different ways and has been able to show the whole range of his talent, which makes him sound even more original on Demolition than he did on Jugulator.'

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Tipton and Downing are referring to tracks like 'Machine Man', 'Hell Is Home', 'Jekyll And Hyde', or 'Devil Digger', which make Demolition a sparkling, powerful and at all times original album — not forgetting 'In Between', which kicks off with an oriental sounding intro, 'One On One' with its ultra-cool groove, or 'Metal Messiah', where the energy becomes almost physical. In close co-operation with their rhythm section consisting of Scott Travis (drums) and Ian Hill, Downing and Tipton have laid the instrumental basis on which their vocalist Ripper Owens plays out all his strong points. How wide his vocal range really is becomes apparent particularly on the ballad 'Lost And Found', which starts with an acoustic guitar and develops into an extremely catchy number with every note.

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Demolition was produced and mixed by Glenn Tipton at Silvermere Sound and Riverside Studios in England. Tipton is responsible for all the arrangements and knows best what kind of sound and focus each individual song requires. 'Throughout the production, I put great emphasis on bringing Ripper's voice really to the fore,' he says. 'You can probably imagine what kind of responsibility it is to produce a PRIEST album. It's always fairly easy to work with a young act — if they turn out to be a success the producer is considered the star, if they flop it's the band's fault. But when it comes to PRIEST everybody is watching. That's why there's always extreme pressure on us.'

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Mind you, the band are happy to face the challenge and live up to it every time — after all Tipton, Downing &amp Co. know best what their fans expect from them. 'The basic inspiration for the songs remains typically PRIEST,' explains Tipton. 'And the lyrical concept of all our tracks is like the trademark of the band's history.' A history that is far away from being over, thanks to the arrival of Demolition!

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NEW YORK, NY -- Since the early 80's, Billy Sheehan has revolutionized the world of bass playing. His long-awaited debut solo album, Compression (Favored Nations),is slated to hit stores on August 21st the album will be marketed and distributed through Red Distribution's Red Ink division.

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A veritable one-man show, Sheehan composed all the songs and handles all the vocals and instrumentation—including bass, baritone 12-string guitar and drum programming—on Compression. Drummer Terry Bozzio lends his percussive talents to two cuts while old friend and musical comrade (and Favored Nations label president) Steve Vai also guests on the record, ripping up the fret board on the Compression track, 'Chameleon'. This musical pairing represents the two musicians' first recorded work together since David Lee Roth's 1988 Skyscraper solo album. 'Billy is the greatest rock bass player that ever tread the planet,' touts Vai. 'With Billy now singing himself on his new CD he proves the same artistic control by crafting hard-hitting yet melodic rock songs with metalish elegance.'

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Championed as one of rock's most creative and cutting-edge bass players, Sheehan first came to prominence in the early Eighties with cult metal outfit TALAS. He later enjoyed major success as the founder of MR. BIG, who scored the international chart topping blockbuster hit, 'To Be With You'. The recipient of numerous international awards heralding his landmark musicianship, Sheehan is a five-time winner of Guitar Player's prestigious 'Best Bass Player' Reader's Poll, joining such 'Gallery of Greats' legends as Paul McCartney, Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen. A 'musician's musician,' Sheehan received the ultimate honor when the Musician's Institute established a scholarship in Billy's name.

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Prior to the release of Compression, you can catch Sheehan on the G3 tour, which kicks off on June 23 in Reno, Nevada. He will be performing as a special guest in Vai's band The tour also features noted axe slingers Joe Satriani and DREAM THEATER's John Petrucci.

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