Archive News May 18, 2001

According to Sharon Osbourne, wife/manager of BLACK SABBATH frontman Ozzy Osbourne, the reunited BLACK SABBATH have penned a brand new track entitled 'Scary Dream', which she describes as 'haunting' and 'one of the best songs they've ever written'. Sharon recently spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about the SABBATH re-reunion and the band's decision to regroup for the upcoming Ozzfest tour and studio album, which is not due until mid-2002. 'Ozzy felt like the band had run its course, so he ended it,' she told the magazine. 'Then he was miserable for a good eight months. He woke up one day and said `I f.cked it! Why did I do it?' So he called them and said, 'Do you want to get back together?'' Meanwhile, Ozzy's next solo album, featuring songwriting contributions from FOO FIGHTERS' Dave Grohl, ALICE IN CHAINS' Jerry Cantrell, and FOREIGNER's Mick Jones, is tentatively scheduled to be released on October 16th.

PANTERA, SLAYER and CRADLE OF FILTH are joining forces for the upcoming Tattoo The Planet European festival tour, which kicks off September 14th and wraps up on October 6th. SEPULTURA is also rumored to be in talks to join the bill, but no official announcement has yet been made regarding their involvement in the package. At the moment, only three dates have been announced for the tour, and they are as follows:

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Sept. 14 - Birmingham, UK @ NIA

Sept. 15 - London, UK @ Wembley Arena

Sept. 16 - Glasgow, UK @ SECC

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Tickets for the show are priced £25.00 (plus booking fee),and can be purchased online from: www.ticketline.co.uk

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In related news, PANTERA are planning on following up their upcoming Extreme Steel tour (which will also feature SLAYER, STATIC-X and SKRAPE) with a festival appearance in Japan on August 26th.

Following their appearance the UK leg of Ozzfest (on Saturday, May 26th at Milton Keynes Bowl),SLIPKNOT will reportedly return to the UK in November of this year for an arena-sized tour. Dates and venues are yet to be confirmed.

Congratulations are in order for METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich and his wife Skylar, who welcomed the newest addition to their family on Sunday, May 6th. Layne Ulrich was born at 3:26 PM with a weight of 7lbs. 9oz. and a length of 18-1/2 inches. Parents are doing well and big brother Myles is reportedly 'looking forward to the adventures that lie ahead'.

The New York Daily News has reported that the 'real' reason GUNS N' ROSES' European tour was canceled is that Axl Rose is having a dispute with his record company, Interscope/Geffen Records, over the fate of the group's perennially-delayed studio album, Chinese Democracy, which has reportedly cost upwards of $9 million to record so far. The Daily News report claimed that Rose won't help promote the new GUNS N' ROSES album unless he is allowed to tweak it some more.

Former FAITH NO MORE vocalist Mike Patton's latest project PEEPPING TOM, described as the singer's 'most commercially accessible' musical endeavor since FNM, has signed a deal with Reprise Records and will begin recording its debut album at the end of the summer with producer Dan the Automator (DR. OCTAGON, HANDSOME BOY MODELING SCHOOL, GORILLAZ, ZACK DE LA ROCHA). Not much infotmation about the rest of the line-up is available at the moment, but what is known is that Patton played all the instruments on the PEEPING TOM demo, which reportedly featured a sound described as a 'mixture of rock, technology, and samples', with BECK being thrown around as the closest musical comparison. In other Patton news, Mike will reportedly be contributing to The Automator's latest project, Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady To, and will be adding another movie appearance to his resume when he tapes a cameo for the movie Amnesia from academy award winning Italian director Salvatores.

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman is reportedly in the studio with his latest project, a female-fronted band named RED DYE #2. No further information is available at this time. Meanwhile, Marty recently commented on his upcoming appearance on the Jason Becker tribute album Warmth In The Wilderness, to which he contributes the song 'Black Stallion Jam', a track that he co-wrote years ago with his former CACOPHANY bandmate: 'When Jason and I jammed together, we pushed each other to the limit of our abilities by constantly joking and trying to one-up each other, just like two kids playing one-on-one basketball. It seemed we both wanted what the other one had I admired Jason's absolutely flawless refined technique, and he seemed to like my warped sense of melody. The thing was, he could copy me in his sleep and I could barely keep up with his finger-twisting runs. But all that was really small in comparison with what Jason has been doing for the last several years. Despite the hardest circumstances imaginable, Jason has continued to evolve as a musician and bless us with his wonderful compositions. Above that, as a human being, Jason is a constant inspiration to me as he should be to everyone.'

MEDICATION, the Los Angeles-based outfit that includes in its ranks former MACHINE HEAD / SOULFLY guitarist Logan Mader, ex-UGLY KID JOE / LIFE OF AGONY vocalist Whitfield Crane, OZZY/ex-SUICIDAL TENDENCIES bassist Robert Trujillo, former ADAYINTHELIFE… guitarist Blunt, and ex-SOULFLY drummer Roy Mayorga, have added two more shows to their current itinerary. The full list of upcoming shows is as follows:

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May 18 - West Hollywood, CA @ Whiskey A Go Go

May 19 - Las Vegas, NV @ Pink E's

May 20 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Mason Jar

May 26 - Sacramento, CA @ Colonial Theatre

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As previously reported, MEDICATION are in the studio working on their debut album, and they are hoping to use the finished product to land a record deal, with up to six major labels having shown interest in the band so far.

As previously reported, Sweden's CLAWFINGER will be issuing its debut G.U.N./Supersonic Records single on July 9th containing the new cut 'Out To Get Me' backed with cover versions of JIMI HENDRIX's 'Manic Depression' und LED ZEPPELIN's 'The Ocean'. 'Out To Get Me' comes off the group's long-awaited fourth studio album, A Whole Lot Of Nothing, which is due in August. CLAWFINGER have also lined up a few headlining shows that are due to take place immediately following their current tour with RAMMSTEIN. The dates are as follows:

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June 09 - Paris, FRA @ TBA

June 10 - London, UK @ TBA

June 23 - Wohlen, GER @ TBA

July 06 - Oporto, POR @ TBA

July 12 - Skanderborg, DEN @ TBA

MARILYN MANSON has added his vocals over the chorus of a remixed version of EMINEM's 'The Way I Am', which may appear on a European reissue of EMINEM's The Marshall Mathers LP, due August 2nd in the UK. NINE INCH NAILS' Danny Lohner remixed the track, which is described as a guitar-based rock version of the EMINEM rap.

ANTHRAX/SEBASTIAN BACH guitarist Paul Crook has co-written a track with ex-DEEP PURPLE/BLACK SABBATH singer Glenn Hughes called 'It Feels Like Home'. The song will be included on Glenn's upcoming studio album, due to be released later this year.

New York's PIST.ON have been added to the line-up of bands performing at Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting Festival, which is scheduled to take place on Friday and Saturday, June 22-23, in Dessel. PIST.ON will share the main stage with the likes of MEGADETH, MOTORHEAD, CRADLE OF FILTH and SAVATAGE, among others. In other news,&nbsp PIST.ON are due to enter Systems Two Studios in Brooklyn, New York next week to lay down new material, which may or may not be used towards the group's upcoming third album, due out in early 2002.

Here are the release dates for BACKYARD BABIES' Making Enemies Is Good CD, which recently hit #1 on the Swedish Pop Album charts:

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Japan &amp Asia: May 25

Europe: May 28

UK &amp Ireland: July 2 US: TBA

Influential NWOBHM legends ANGEL WITCH will be appearing on an upcoming DVD/video of the performance highlights from the Wacken 2000 Festival, which is presently scheduled for a late summer release through an as-yet-unspecified 'major label'. The release will reportedly contain live footage, new material, plus an exclusive interview with the band. In other news, ANGEL WITCH will also be appearing on a 2-CD, 34-track compilation album set for release in September on Godreah Records. The as-yet-untitled project will celebrate a history of British occult / black metal and it will include previously-released tracks from such artists as CRADLE OF FILTH, BLACK SABBATH, VENOM and WITCHFYNDE, along with one new ANGEL WITCH studio track, recorded during Halloween 2000. Lastly, ANGEL WITCH will be peforming at The Cartoon club in London, UK on May 20th with SHADOWKEEP. ANGEL WITCH will reportedly be playing lots of new material, some familiar classics, and are promising 'a few surprises', including 'one large one, for sure'.

Holland's THE GATHERING are said to have come up with the basic skeletons of 12 new songs, which they hope to record at the end of the year for an early 2002 release through Century Media Records.

DOG EAT DOG have completed the recording of six new songs for an as-yet-unspecified 'major' label, but have yet to mix down the tapes, which may or may not be used towards the group's next studio album. The song titles are as follows:

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01. Weekender

02. My Frustration

03. Let's Party

04. Endless Self Believer

05. Super Premium

06. Dark Secret

Chicago's long-running Midwest Metal Magazine has returned! Issue #23 is available now, featuring interviews with: ELECTRIC WIZARD, IMMOLATION, OVERKILL, WARHORSE, CATASTROPHIC, SUPLECS, CIANIDE, Matt Jacobson from Relapse Records, END IT, FAILED HUMANITY, SPIRIT CARAVAN, plus a 10-page retrospective on San Francisco's VIO-LENCE. This features all-new 2001 interviews with: Phil Demmel, Robb Flynn and Sean Killian. Plus news, reviews etc. Cost is $2 US/$4 World. For more info, send an e-mail to: [email protected]

New Jersey's SYMPHONY X have announced that they've signed to Inside Out Music America after a one-album stint with Metal Blade Records. SYMPHONY X will start working on the follow-up to V sometime in the fall. In other news, SYMPHONY X were forced to cancel their scheduled appearance in Pittsburgh when vocalist Russell Allen came down with an unspecified illness. Russell is expected to fully recover in time for the group's European shows in June. (thanks in part to MetalAges.com for the info)

GARBAGE have been sued for copyright infringement and violation of the Lanham act by Helios Music Corp. over the song 'I Think I'm Paranoid'. According to the suit, the song, which was featured on GARBAGE's 1998 CD Version 2.0, infringes upon 'Bend Me, Shape Me', a 1967 hit by AMERICAN BREED. The suit states that '...Paranoid' contains 'significant elements of both music and lyrics willfully taken from plaintiff's song, without plaintiff's authority, license or consent, nor is credit given to the writers and Helios as the publisher of plaintiff's song thereby confusing the public as to the true creators and owners of the infringing song.'

Dutch death metallers BLO.TORCH have parted ways with Wicked World Records, thus causing a delay with the recording of their second album, which was previously scheduled to be released at the end of the year. BLO-TORCH will likely be recording a demo of new material shortly for shopping purposes, and they hope to have a new album out early next year.

Sweden's TERRA FIRMA, featuring UNLEASHED guitarist Freddie Eugene, will be playing this year's Milwaukee Metalfest, which is scheduled to take place on August 11th &amp 12th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Meanwhile, TERRA FIRMA's new album, Harm's Way, will receive a European release on May 21st.

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