Archive News Jun 30, 2001

According to a reliable source close to the VOIVOD camp, the recording line-up for the group's upcoming studio album will include former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted and returning original frontman Snake (aka Denis Belanger) alongside founding members Away (aka Michel Langevin drums) and Piggy (Denis D'Amour guitars). A strong possibility also exists that Newsted will produce the upcoming album himself or co-produce it with veteran knob-twiddler and sometime Bob Rock engineer Brian Dobbs (i.e. MANMADEGOD),who had worked with Newsted on his ECHOBRAIN project and is said to be looking to do more co-production work with the four-stringer. Although former VOIVOD bassist Blacky's recent return to the Montreal area after a several-year stint in Vancouver had fueled rumors of a reunion of the group's original line-up, it now appears that no such reformation will be taking place, and it looks almost certain that Newsted will contribute to the songwriting for the band's forthcoming CD, which will likely get recorded at the end of the year. As many fans will undoubtedly recall, Newsted is no stranger to the VOIVOD camp, having previously co-written the song “M-Body”, which appeared on VOIVOD's 1997 opus Phobos.

Unconfirmed reports (first published in the French metal magazine Hard Force) indicate that IRON MAIDEN vocalist BRUCE DICKINSON will be releasing a double CD featuring two brand new studio songs, “Silver Wings” and “Broken”, written and recorded with producer/guitarist Roy Z, as well as various rare, live and unreleased tracks, spanning Bruce's whole solo career from 1990's Tattooed Millionaire to 1998's The Chemical Wedding.  The double disc, which reportedly carries the working title of Best Of Bruce Dickinson, seems to be reviving the Catacombs idea—an earlier “from-the-vaults” compilation announced by Dickinson a year and a half ago that was ultimately shelved—and is said to be scheduled for a September release via Air Raid/SanctuaryRecords.  The tentative track listing reads as follows:

...

CD1

01. Silver Wings (new song)

02. Broken (new song)

03. Tattooed Millionaire

04. Born In ྲྀ

05. Tears Of A Dragon

06. Back From The Edge

07. Laughing In The Hiding Bush (live version)

08. Road To Hell

09. Accident Of Birth

10. Darkside Of Aquarius

11. Chemical Wedding

12. The Tower

13. Book Of Thel (live version)

...

CD2

01. Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter (original version)

02. Man Of Sorrows (demo version)

03. Wicker Man (original version)

04. Acoustic Song

05. Midnight Jam

06. Real World

07. Original Sin

08. No Way Out

09. Darkness Be My Friend

10. Ballad Of Mutt

11. Jerusalem

...

In other Dickinson news, the vocalist is apparently making plans to record an album with AYREON mastermind Arjen Lucassen (ex-BODINE, VENGEANCE),after an earlier guest appearance on Lucassen's high acclaimed Universal Migrator Pt. II: Flight Of The Migrator concept album.  The following was taken from a newsletter sent out to the AYREON mailing list:

...

“Hi there, remember I told you about that English singer I was recording a demo for? Well last week I finished the demo (12 songs/ideas) and sent it to him. Today I called him and he loves most of the material I've written! Okay, I promised you all that you would be the first to know: his name is Bruce Dickinson, you may have heard of him?

...

“There is a 'but' though, he is currently working on other things and doesn't have much time at the moment. So we decided that he will start working on the first 4 songs and he will get back to me in a couple of weeks. It will eventually be a BruceDickinson solo album. It doesn't look like it will be released this year. I will have to be patient, which isn't my strongest point I'm afraid.

...

“It will probably become a concept album, but not with a clear storyline. It will be quite heavy, with obvious influences of the 70's (Hammond, spacy analog synths) but with a fat 90's guitar sound. Anything can still happen though, nothing is definite. So for the time being it will be a 'rumour'. I must say I'm quite excited though, I've got a good feeling about it! Arjen”

...

In a separate interview that was posted online, Lucassen offered more details about the musical direction of the upcoming Arjen/Bruce project: “It won't be 'nu-metal', I really hate that, most of it is just aggression. It will be heavy (tuned down guitars, fast double-bass songs etc.) yet melodic. I guess it will be in the style of …Flight of the Migrator ('Into The Black Hole'),but more of a 70's feel to it because of the many Hammonds and also the analog synths. Still, it will remain guitar-orientated. References would be PURPLE, RAINBOW, URIAH HEEP, SABBATH, ZEPPELIN, HAWKWIND and the serious side of...yes really...VENGEANCE. There will be no real strings (but the analog Solina string-ensemble) or orchestras (but the mighty Mellotron) and (practically) no samples (maybe just the snare drum). The songs will be more of a unity than on FotM. I think it will be better. FotM is a bit uneven in my opinion. That would mean the first non-AYREON album that I will like better than an AYREON album! But...as I said before, all this could change. Also depending on Bruce's input. His words exactly: 'spacy purply weird'.”

SLAYER's much-anticipated new album, God Hates Us All, is now scheduled to be released through American Records via Island/Def Jam on August 28th.

KING DIAMOND's upcoming Abigail Part II: The Revenge CD, which is currently being recorded at Nomad Recording Studios in Dallas, Texas, will be released in Europe through Metal Blade Records on Monday, October 29th.

METAL CHURCH drummer Kirk Arrington has posted his own response to the the mounting controversy regarding former vocalist Dave Wayne's upcoming Metal Church solo effort (to be issued under the WAYNE moniker) and the accompanying Nuclear Blast Records bio, which implies that METAL CHURCH was little more than the brainchild of the departed singer. Here is Arrington's posting in its entirety:

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“Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not at all suprised by Mr.Wayne's actions. It just fits right into the mentality that he always had... the mentality that got him fired from MC in the first place!

...

“Basically, it's just a guy who is trying to pull a 'fast one', and he dosen't have a clue about how it reflects on him and his former band mates. It's very obvious that some things never change.”

...

"Get Your Own Gig, Dave"

...

On another note, we wish to apologize to the METAL CHURCH official site webmaster Kat for mistakenly referring to band associate Lewy as the site webmaster in some of our previous news items. Check out Kat's excellent work at this location.

SIX, the new California-based band led by former DROWN/FAMOUS vocalist Lauren, is shopping a three-song demo to interested labels. The three tracks on the CD are as follows:

...

01. Lay Back

02. The Good Life

03. Something's Gotta Give

GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose and longtime GUNS N' ROSES manager Doug Goldstein of Big F.D. Management have reportedly had a falling out over touring issues, but no legal steps have yet been taken to dissolve the pair's relationship. Meanwhile, the new GUNS N' ROSES album, Chinese Democracy, is said to be nearing completion, with the “legendary” A&R rep Tom Zutaut, the man who signed GNR to GeffenRecords back in 1987, having recently been being brought on board to ensure that the album will see the light of day.

ENTOMBED have officially confirmed their plans to tour Europe in September/October with CROWBAR on a bill that will also likely include Swedish sludge-meisters 2 TON PREDATOR. Several summer festival appearances are a possibility for ENTOMBED as well, although no concrete dates have yet been announced. ENTOMBED's brand new studio album, Morning Star, is tentatively scheduled to be issued through Music For Nations Records in early September.

STABBING WESTWARD have been forced to pull out of the remaining dates (after the July 1st Minneapolis, MN show) on the ongoing THE CULT/MONSTER MAGNET tour after it was determined that drummer Andrew Kubiszweski will need to undergo a minor surgical procedure that will keep the band off the road for a few weeks. STABBING WESTWARD are planning on returning to the road as soon as possible.

GRAVITY KILLS have added another show to their upcoming itinerary. They will now be playing at The Pageant in St. Louis, MO on Saturday, August 4th.

THE WILDHEARTS bassist Danny McCormack, who recently left THE WILDHEARTS' UK tour mid-way due to his battle with heroin addiction, is reportedly back home in South Shields seeking treatment. THE WILDHEARTS mainman Ginger's official web site is asking all fans to send him a card or drop him a line to wish him strength and good luck. All correspondence should be addressed to:

...

Danny McCormack

c/o Changes One

59 Fowler Street

South Shields

Tyne & Wear

NE33 1NS

England

H.I.M.'s much-anticipated third full-length effort, Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights, was officially mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound in New York City on Friday, June 29th. As previously reported, Deep Shadows… is tentatively due to be issued through G.U.N./Supersonic Records on August 27th.

Sweden's BEWITCHED have completed work on a brad new full-length album, entitled Rise Of The Antichrist. The complete track listing for the effort is as follows:

...

01. Worship the Fire

02. Under Satan's Spell

03. Victim of the Cult

04. Rise of the Antichrist

05. Sacrificed in Flames

06. Hell's Triumph

07. The Rippers Return

08. Bewitched by Evil

09. Prayer of Desecration

California's OTEP will be working with acclaimed producer Terry Date (i.e. DEFTONES, LIMP BIZKIT, MACHINE HEAD) on their upcoming, as-yet-untitled Capitol Records debut, which is tentatively scheduled to be recorded in October.

THE DIRTY AMERICANS, comprised of former WORKHORSE MOVEMENT members Myron, Freedom and Pete, along with new drummer Jeramiah Pilbeam, have released a demo version of the track “Nuclear Bomb” for download through their unofficial web site at this location.

Here is the final track listing for ILL NINO's upcoming Revolution...Revolucion debut CD, which is due to be released through Roadrunner Records on July 31st.

01. God Save Us

02. If You Still Hate Me

03. Unreal

04. Nothing's Clear

05. What Comes Around

06. Liar

07. Rumba

08. Predisposed

09. I Am Loco

10. No Murder

11. Rip Out Your Eyes

12. Revolution...Revolucion

13. With You

GOD FORBID were involved in a severe van accident at 3:30 AM Friday morning. None of the members of the band were injured and initial reports are that their equipment survived the ordeal in good, working order.  GOD FORBID will be stranded in Pennsylvania for the next three days while their van is fixed and a new trailer is procured. Unfortunately, the accident has forced the band to cancel its next two scheduled shows:

...

June 30 - St. Louis, MO Creepy Crawl (w/VADER,

              SKINLESS)

July 01 - Lawrence, KS The Bottleneck (w/ZAO, NOT

               WAVING BUT DROWNING)

......