Archive News May 22, 2001

According to event organizer Walter Morgan, the Thrash Of The Titans benefit concert for TESTAMENT vocalist Chuck Billy, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, is officially confirmed to be taking place on Saturday, August 11th at San Francisco's Maritime Hall (with an officially published capacity of 1,700, according to the venue's web site: www.maritimehall.com). The artists that have verbally agreed to appear at the show include the following:

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S.O.D.

LEGACY (pre-TESTAMENT)

EXODUS

VIO-LENCE

FORBIDDEN EVIL

LAAZ ROCKIT

HEATHEN

SADUS

SKINLAB

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Other bands that are being approached, but have not yet confirmed their appearances include the following:

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SLAYER

HALFORD

DEATH ANGEL

MACHINE HEAD

ANTHRAX

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More information as it becomes available.

METALLICA are rumored to be planning some live shows this fall, although it's not clear if this will entail a full-blown tour or just a handful of dates to break in a new bass player. If they happen, the shows will reportedly take place during September/October.

The 'I'm-talking-out-of-my-ass' award goes out to SLIPKNOT percussionist Shawn Crahan (aka #6, The Clown),who had the following to say about the group's upcoming Iowa CD: 'I feel the last album was us expressing ourselves by painting several different pictures. But the paint didn't really dip in and out of black and white. Now, it's strictly black and white, and the black is the blackest of black. And it hurts.' (full press release can be found at the bottom of this page)

Tickets for the UK portion of PANTERA's Tattoo The Planet European tour, which also features SLAYER, CRADLE OF FILTH and SEPULTURA, go on sale this Wednesday, May 23rd.

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As previously reported, the dates for the shows 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

During a question-and-answer session at the Your Majesty Convention on Saturday, May 19th, in Paris, DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy revealed that 80% of the music for the new DREAM THEATER album is done, with five songs having been recorded so far (total of 55 minutes' worth). According to Portnoy, DREAM THEATER's upcoming CD will be heavier and darker than the previous albums, and it will feature bassist John Myung on an eight-string bass on some tracks, and possibly some Stick as well. The as-yet-untitled CD will not be finished until September, and will likely emerge in early 2002.

V.O.D. (VISION OF DISORDER) will be supporting the SOUL BRAINS (formerly BAD BRAINS) at the following shows:

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June 21 - St. Louis, MO @ Mississippi Nights

June 22 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora

June 23 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall

June 24 - Pittsburgh, PA @ TBA

TotalRock will be broadcasting live from the UK Ozzfest on Saturday, May 26, which happens at the Milton Keynes National Bowl. Brodacasts will start at noon (UK time),and include interviews with all the bands on the bill. You may access TotalRock in the UK on the Sky Digital system (channel 885),or on the internet at www.totalrock.com SLAYER will be Mad Maz's special guests live this Thursday, May 24. The band will be talking about new album God Hates Us All, as well as their upcoming US tour with PANTERA. The show goes out from 6-9 PM (UK time).

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS' management have rejected the previously published rumors of bassist/vocalist Spice having left the band, and are insisting that the Swedish crew are very much together and writing material for the group's next studio album.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that VOIVOD have parted ways with bassist/vocalist Eric Forrest, thus placing a cloud of uncertainty over the band's future. More information on this as it becomes available.

As previously reported, QUEENSRYCHE vocalist Geoff Tate will be performing his first-ever live gig as a solo artist on June 1st at the Catwalk in Seattle. Click here to see a poster announcing the upcoming show.

West Virginia instrumental rockers KARMA TO BURN are due to release their new album, entitled Almost Heathen, during the summer on Spitfire Records.

AMEN are reportedly planning on returning to the studio in September to begin work on their third full-length CD with producer Ross Robinson.

Sweden's VINTERSORG, featuring vocalist Vintersorg of the Norwegian band BORKNAGAR, will be issuing a DVD of the group's live performance in Canada in the near future. It will likely be issued in video form as well. In other news, the prolific band have nearly completed writing the material for the follow-up to the forthcoming Visions from the Spiral Generator CD, although it is unlikely that these songs will see the light of day until sometime next year. In related news, Vintersorg and guitarist Mattias Marklund will be entering the studio with their side project OTYG in Setember to record the group's next album, entitled Djävulen.

CROWBAR have completed recording their forthcoming album at former UGLY KID JOE guitarist Dave Fortman's North Shore Recording Studio and are due to begin mixing the as-yet-untitled effort shortly for a late 2001 release.

Welsh crew SKINDRED, who feature in their ranks former members of DUB WAR, are still seeking a producer to collaborate with on their forthcoming RCA Records debut, which is not due until the end of the year. In the meantime, the band is embarking on a month-long UK tour with THE LOST PROPHETS, after which they hope to enter the studio to begin recording the aforementioned CD. Here are the confirmed SKINDRED/THE LOST PROPHETS dates:

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June 02 - London, UK @ Mean Fiddler

June 05 - Rotherham, UK @ Wellington

June 06 - Ashton Witchwood

June 07 - York, UK @ Fibbers

June 08 - Stockton on Tees, UK @ Georgian Theatre

June 09 - Bradford, UK @ Rios

June 10 - Glasgow, UK @ Cathouse

June 11 - Aberdeen, UK @ Glow 303

June 12 - Newcastle, UK @ Trillians

June 13 - Edinboro, UK @ Zealous

June 14 - Cleethorpes, UK @ Beachcomber

June 15 - Oxford, UK @ Zodiac

June 16 - Bedford, UK @ Esquires

June 17 - Harlow, UK @ Square

June 18 - Southend, UK @ Chinnerys

June 19 - Salisbury, UK @ Black Pig

June 20 - Northampton, UK @ Roadmenders

June 21 - Wolverhampton, UK @ Little Civic

June 22 - Norwich, UK @ Fat Paulys

June 23 - Exeter, UK @ Phoenix Arts Centre

June 25 - TBC

June 26 - Stoke, UK @ Rigger

June 27 - Portsmouth, UK @ Wedgewood

June 28 - Colchester, UK @ Arts Centre

June 29 - Milton Keynes, UK @ Woughton Centre

June 30 - Nottingham, UK @ Rock City

July 01 - Birmingham, UK @ Foundry

SLAVES ON DOPE have reportedly written 10 new songs for the follow-up to Inches From The Mainline and are currently demoing material on their tour bus (where they've set up a small studio) until they get to their native Montreal, Quebec, where they will complete the songwriting process for the as-yet-untitled album.

SOILENT GREEN's forthcoming full-length album is no longer entitled The Devil Wears A Lamb's Skin. The new title is A Deleted Symphony for the Beaten Down, and it is due in August through Relapse Records.

The UK's underrated EARTHTONE 9 have lined up a host of headlining dates in June, after which they will head over to Germany to play a couple of festivals alongside TOOL and the DEFTONES, among others. The confirmed shows are as follows:

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June 02 - London, UK @ Meanfiddler

June 15 - Redcar, UK @ Piper

June 16 - TBA, UK @ TBA

June 17 - Leeds, UK @ The Basement

June 18 - Southampton, UK @ Nexus

June 19 - Plymouth, UK @ Cooperage

June 20 - Barnsley, UK @ Theatre

June 21 - York, UK @ Fibbers

June 23 - (near) Hamburg, GER @ Hurricane Festival

June 24 - (near) Stuttgart, GER @ Southside Festival

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At the above-mentioned dates, EARTHTONE 9 will likely preview material for their upcoming album, for which they've completed four songs thus far. The new song titles are as follows:

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01. Amnesia

02. Revelation

03. Wave Of Misery

04. House Of Leaves

DYING FETUS have revamped their line-up with the addition of former skinsman Erik Sayenga (ex-WITCH-HUNT),bassist Sean Beasely (ex-GARDEN OF SHADOWS),guitarist Bruce Greig (NEXT STEP UP/TOGETHER WE FALL) and vocalist Vince Matthews (ex-SADISTIC TORMENT). The group is completed by mainman/guitarist/vocalist John Gallagher. The brand new DYING FETUS line-up will make its recording debut with a new song that will be included on a split album with Finland's DEEPRED.

Finland's H.I.M. have reportedly completed four more tracks (in addition to first single 'Pretending') with veteran producer Kevin Shirley (i.e. IRON MAIDEN, DREAM THEATER) for their upcoming third full-length CD, which is tentatively titled Deep Shadows And Brilliant Highlights and is due on August 27th.

Ex-SOUNDGARDEN frontman Chris Cornell and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE members Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, and Tim Commerford have officially decided to work together as a band and will release material from their recent recording sessions. The news was confirmed by Cornell's manager Jim Guerinot, who stipulated that the release will be under a newly-formed band name and will not be a RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE release, as previous rumors had suggested. It's still unknown which label—RAGE's Epic or Cornell's Interscope—will release the album.

The reunited THE WILDHEARTS have lined up a short Japanese tour during July. The dates are as follows:

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July 20 - Osaka, JAP @ Zepp

July 23 - Nagoya, JAP @ Quattro

July 24 - Tokyo, JAP @ Shibuya AX

Germany's METALIUM have signed with Locomotive Music, and their first release for the label will a VHS video + CD package. The video will feature concert clips, interviews and more, while the CD will include 8 tracks (new and previously unreleased songs and live performances). A summer 2001 release date is expected.

AEROSMITH frontman Steven Tyler will sing the National Anthem at the Indianapolis 500 on May 27th.

Denmark's PRETTY MAIDS will play the folliowing Scandinavian shows during the coming weeks:

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May 24 - Jelling, DEN @ Musikfestival

June 09 - Sölvesborg, SWE @ Sweden Rock Festival

June 16 - Skælskør, DEN @ Rod I Rocken

June 30 - Nibe, DEN @ Festival

July 06 - DEN @ Midtfyns Festival

July 13 - Juelsminde, DEN @ Havnen&nbsp

July 27 - Rudkøbing, DEN @ Langelandsfestival

Legendary guitarist GARY MOORE has started a monthly column in the new edition of the UK's Guitarist magazine, due out in a few days. In it, he discusses various aspects of touring/soundchecking/festivals etc.

Former HANOI ROCKS guitarist Andy McCoy and singer Mike Monroe will reportedly re-launch a version of the band at Ruisrock Festival in Turku, Finland, on July 8th.

HARDCORE SUPERSTAR will be playing at club Marknaden in Strömsund, Sweden on July 19th. The band is presently recording a new studio album, due out later in the year.

Australian black metallers URGRUND will be embarking on an east coast Australian tour in July in support of the group's upcoming release, The Graven Sign, on Baphomet Records. The band's Drenched in Blood EP has reportedly sold out of its initial pressing is not expected to be re-pressed.

CYBERNAUTS, featuring DEF LEPPARD vocalist Joe Elliott and guitarist Phil Collen, will be issuing CYBERNAUTSLive, a 25-track CD containing 18 live tracks and seven studio tracks, on June 4th via the group's official web site at: http://www.defleppard.com/cybernauts/. The CD has a tentative price of £17.99 UK (app. $26 USD - $40 CDN - €30). This version of the disc cannot be purchased anywhere else.

LED ZEPPELIN legends Jimmy Page and Robert Plant will perform together again at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 7th, taking part in a showcase called Good Rockin' Tonight: A Tribute to Sun Records Exploring the Roots of Rock N' Roll, sponsored by Seattle's Experience Music Project. The festival runs from July 6-21 in Montreux, Switzerland. Other artists on the bill include THE BLACK CROWES, NEIL YOUNG, STING, BECK, ALANIS MORISSETTE, BOB DYLAN, B.B. KING, VAN MORRISON and JERRY LEE LEWIS. Plant and Page recorded together for the Sun Records tribute album that also features BON JOVI, SHERYL CROW, and PAUL MCCARTNEY, and is due out later this year.

Staten Island's 40 BELOW SUMMER have firmed up the track listing to their forthcoming London/Sire Records debut Invitation To The Dance, which is due out on August 28th. Song titles set to appear on the album are as follows:

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01. We The People

02. Falling Down

03. Rejection

04. Rope

05. Still Life

06. Wither Away

07. Smile Electric

08. Power Tool

09. Drown

10. Step Into The Sideshow

11. Minus One

12. Jonesin

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As previously reported, Invitation To The Dance was produced by GGGarth Richardson (KITTIE, MUDVAYNE, SPINESHANK) and mixed by Toby Wright (KORN, ALICE IN CHAINS, SOULFLY).

Here is the official Roadrunner Records press release on the upcoming sophomore effort from SLIPKNOT, entitled Iowa and due out August 7th:

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SLIPKNOT ILLUMINATE THE INSPIRED MADNESS OF IOWA, THEIR FORTHCOMING ALBUM, DUE OUT SUMMER 2001 ON ROADRUNNER RECORDS

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Iowa calling. 'We're able to cut into the wound, crawl inside, stitch it up ourselves and fester in the fucking hurt,' says #6 (Shawn Crahan, percussionist) on the phone from Des Moines when asked to describe the much-anticipated forthcoming album by the mighty SLIPKNOT, due out mid-summer on Roadrunner Records.

Titled Iowa, it marks the follow-up to the nine-piece group's self-titled Roadrunner debut, which sold two-and-a-half million copies worldwide, including million-plus-selling sales in the U.S., thus becoming the first-ever platinum album on Roadrunner. Along the way, the SLIPKNOT disc—with its do-or-die tracks 'Wait and Bleed', 'Spit It Out' and 'Surfacing'—created a seismic shift in the hard rock landscape from which music fans are still trying to recover.

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As SLIPKNOT promised in an Alternative Press cover story in the year 2000, 'it's gonna get sicker.' Exactly how sick?

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#6: 'I feel the last album was us expressing ourselves by painting several different pictures. But the paint didn't really dip in and out of black and white. Now, it's strictly black and white, and the black is the blackest of black. And it hurts.'

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Creating a sound that is not only unrelenting but draining, the masked musicians rejoined forces with producer Ross Robinson to co-produce Iowa, which is saturated with screams, drums, searing riffs, sampling, scratches and melody. 'The album is a pivotal part of us: where we're going and where we're going to take all of you,' says #6. 'By accepting it again, you have to be careful what you wish for.' He continues, 'The musicality is the first and foremost thing people look for in SLIPKNOT and I don't think they're going to be let down with that, but I think violently and exhaustingly people are going to be taken to a different level than they've ever experienced.'

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On Iowa, SLIPKNOT—DJ Sid Wilson, drummer Joey Jordison, bassist Paul Gray, percussionist Chris Fehn, guitarist James Root, sampler Craig Jones, percussionist Shawn Crahan, guitarist Mick Thomson and lead singer Corey Taylor (also known as 012345678, respectively)—drive a stake into the heart of societal complacency with unforgettable tracks like 'People=Sh.t' and 'Heretic'.

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Why do people=sh.t? #6: 'Besides all of us just being a bunch of spores and living in our pathetic little ecosystems, I, as a fellow human, am just tired of watching the majority of humans make mistakes. I'm done with it, I've had it. We are what we are, we just waste and we ruin and we corrupt and we destroy. To me, that's just waste, that's shit. F.ck people.'

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What about 'Heretic',a defiant song about non-conformity? #6: 'I didn't actually write the lyrics, but I can tell you what I'm feeling about it. My personal vibe on it is, 'if you want me to be something, I'm not going to be anything you want me to be. I'm gonna be what I am—there's no changing it and no denying it and if you try to change it, well…you know what happens'.'

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The inspiration for these songs? #6: 'Everything we write about and everything we do is what we're experiencing. It's the world around us, it's not make-believe. It's weird situations that have happened to us, it's corners people have pushed us into.'

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Why did SLIPKNOT title the album Iowa? #6: 'Basically, I feel the one question we're continuously asked is, 'Why Des Moines, Iowa?' And I would always look at the people and think, 'Are you ignorant. Did your boss write you that question?' My whole thing is, 'Why not Iowa?' Bottom line is, what we are doing is so true and the path we are on is the path that was laid before us to go down. Why not just keep it as simple and as true as possible? We're from Iowa and everyone seems to have a problem with us being from Iowa. They think there's something in the water and that maybe the woods are a little bit scarier. The bottom line is: this is where I live. This is where I'm from. When I run from tornadoes, it's because of the experience of tornadoes in Iowa. When I look down upon cities that have nothing going for them, it's because I'm from here. So the band felt obligated to show and maybe offer a little bit of it.'

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In true SLIPKNOT style, things got completely intense in the Los Angeles studio (Sound City) where the group were holed up for two-and-a-half months. #6: 'We tracked a song called 'Iowa' and that was beautiful because we got the whole band in one little room and what's funny is the world thinks we need a lot of space, but this band has always been full of pleasure because of the uncomfortableness, the togetherness, being forced to be up close and in close. It's become our magic and we tracked this song 'Iowa' in a small room and we were even able to get the techs, plus Ross and Mike Frasier into this room and we turned the lights off and we one-taked it. No one did anything, aside from the normal, small engineering tweaking that had to take place. It was a one-take and was just purely spiritual and that is something that we've always had in us. We can get into a vibe and cut all the industry, the formula, the equation, all this f.ckin' sh.t people tell us we have to do. That was one of the most powerful band experiences I had recording the album.'

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'Powerful' is a word used to describe the SLIPKNOT live show. In fact, NME, Britain's most popular music weekly, wrote: 'They are, in short, the most utterly fucking intense rock band the world has seen since Rollins-era BLACK FLAG—period.'

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This summer music fans will experience SLIPKNOT live when they perform on the mainstage of Ozzfest, which runs from June 8 in Chicago to August 12 in New York. What's it like to perform on a sweltering summer day in heavy masks? #6: 'I'm given the chance to speak out and instruct kids on the way I feel. They chose to put me on that stage. They chose to sell-out my shows. They chose to give me this privilege. I feel that by giving everything—the masks, the coveralls, the heat stroke, the exhaustion, the lack of oxygen-I feel like I earned the respect in their eyes, because they are what it's all about. Without the maggots, it's over, bud. If you ever watch maggots, most people could not sit by a dead carcass and stare at a society of maggots eating away at a dead deer, but you know what? It's funny how from death comes life. Maggots are very, very important.'

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What kind of legacy are SLIPKNOT looking to leave us? #6: 'I try to think about the future. I try to think, 'When I'm dead what am I going to leave behind? Am I leaving anything worth a sh.t for anyone to follow?' I look at Van Gogh and Cezanne paintings all the time and they've been gone for what seems like forever. Yet, their techniques, their concepts, their brushstrokes are all so important on how things are done today artistically. I hope, because of SLIPKNOT, everybody opens up and just f.ckin' cuts into it, cuts it out, just says 'F.ck it. F.ck this world.' Let's destroy the formula. Let's not even let the ink come out of the pen to f.ckin' remind ourselves that we're doing what they taught.'

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