KISS: Alive IV, Outraged Fans & A Possible Future?

(Added: February 28, 2001)
Alive IV
KISS have broken away from Universal/Mercury. Alive IV will be released by another label, and a current bidding war has begun. In related tour news, KISS have added three songs to their current rehearsal list, 'I Want You', 'She' and 'Parasite'. The songs were originally to be played on the Reunion tour but drummer Peter Criss couldn't handle them. The songs are being rehearsed but there is currently no confirmation that they will actually make the set list. Now that 'Beth' will be off the list, and probably 'Black Diamond', it's probably a safe bet that at least two of the tracks will make it.

Kiss Fans Outraged At Catman’s Make-Up
In related news, according to Brian Coles' Daily News, KISS fans are outraged that Eric Singer will don Peter Criss' makeup and gear when he stands in for the recently departed drummer on the Australian and Japanese legs of the Reunion tour. When KISSONLINE posted a picture of Singer in full Criss gear an eruption of fan dissent sprung up on the site's Bulletin Board. The move has fans fleeing from the KISS Army ranks in huge numbers worldwide claiming "greed" and "disrespect" for the band's reputation and historic legacy as the key to all this uprising. Fans are online in huge numbers, demanding the band respect the fans this time, and not disgrace Peter Criss with this "cloning" act.

Kiss To Carry On?
Despite billing their current tour as a farewell, TotalRock understands that Kiss might continue - at least as a recording band. Apparently, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have been working on new material, and with 'Alive 4' in the can awaiting release, we can expect a flurry of releases yet from Kiss. Perhaps on a new label.

ROB HALFORD: Live Insurrection Update

(Added: February 28, 2001)
ROB HALFORD releases his live album, Live Insurrection, through Metal-Is on April 16th. The live tracks are culled from shows on his stint opening for IRON MAIDEN on their Brave New World tour and some headlining dates. The opus also contains three brand new studio tracks recorded with his touring line-up, 'Screaming In The Dark', 'Heart Of A Lion' and 'Prisoner Of Your Eyes'. The full tracklisting: 'Resurrection', 'Made In Hell', 'Into The Pit', 'Nailed To The Gun', 'Light Comes Out Of Black', 'Stained Class', 'Jawbreaker', 'Running Wild', 'Slow Down', 'The One You Love To Hate' (featuring Bruce Dickinson), 'Life In Black', 'Hell's Last Survivor', 'Sad Wings Of Destiny', 'Savior', 'Silent Screams', 'Cyber World', 'Hellion/Electric Eye', 'Riding On The Wind', 'Genocide', 'Beyond The Realms Of Death', 'Metal Gods', 'Breaking The Law', 'Tyrant', 'Screaming In the Dark' (studio), 'Heart Of A Lion' (studio) and 'Prisoner Of Your Eyes' (studio).

JUDAS PRIEST: Announce Tour Dates

(Added: February 28, 2001)
Although JUDAS PRIEST are nearly ready to begin mixing their forthcoming, as-yet-untitled album, they recently announced a summer European tour on their website. Dates include the following: June 8 - Konzertfabrik Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland, June 8 - Gods Of Metal Festival in Milan, Italy, June 10 - Mind Over Matter Festival in Wiesen, Austria, June 13 - Barrowlands in Glasgow, UK, June 14 - Apollo in Manchester, UK, June 15 - Astoria in London, UK, June 17 - Academy in Birmingham, UK, June 18 - Guildhall in Portsmouth, UK, June 21 - Colosseum in Munich, Germany, June 23 - Grasspop Festival, Belgium, June 24 - With Full Force in Leipzig, Germany, June 25 - E Werk in Cologne, Germany, June 26 - The Docks in Hamburg, Germany, June 28 - Amphitheatre in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, June 29 - Bang Your Head Festival - Balingen, Germany and July 1 - Rockwave in Athens, Greece.

MEGADETH: Mustain Returns To Metallica?

(Added: February 28, 2001)
Megadeth's Dave Mustaine has admitted to TotalRock that he would like to work once again with former Metallica buddies Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, but only on a one-off album. Mustaine feels that there's 'unfinished business' between the trio and that having the chance to do a record would 'complete the circle'. Mustaine, of course, was fired from Metallica in 1983, going on to form Megadeth.

On the forthcoming Megadeth album, The World Need's A Hero, Mustaine, bassist David Ellefson, guitarist Al Pitrelli and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso, felt the urge to make a statement. A statement that sees the band embracing the anger and abrasiveness of the past and new label Sanctuary is along for the ride. "I'd already made the assumption myself that we needed to play heavier music which prompted Mary Friedman to leave," Mustaine revealed recently. "He didn't want to make heavy music. He in fact had said that the left hand doesn't move on MTV. And I went, 'I don't watch MTV so I wouldn't know'. Friedman out, Pitrelli in. Capitol out, Sanctuary in. Mustaine explains: "We looked at a couple of different labels, and a couple of different labels looked at us. Some offered a lot of money, some offered a lot of love, a lot of people had offered the money and the love but they were pretty much fraudulent. They didn't really have the experience that we felt coming to a place like this would have for us. I've known Rod (Smallwood - Sanctuary leader) for... God, six, seven, eight, nine years, something like that. A long time. I had no idea that they had been keeping an eye on us because of the Megadeth/Iron Maiden.... I guess at some point there was something that happened in America where Iron Maiden had lost it's cool factor and Megadeth surpassed them and they thought, 'Hey, we don't like this'. We had our mascot and so did they, so there was a little bit of that looking kind of sideways attitude. I was happy when we met them for lunch the first time they said we needed to bring Vic back and we need to play heavy and we said, 'well we are on this record, it's heavy and Vic was supposed to come back." The World Needs A Hero is out May 8th (May 7th in Europe) through Metal-Is.

FAST EDDIE CLARK: Getting Busy Again

(Added: February 28, 2001)
As reported by ElectricBasement.com 'FAST' EDDIE CLARK (FASTWAY, MOTORHEAD) plans to return to the music industry. The site spoke to the legendary guitarist about going onstage with Motorhead last Fall during a gig in Europe. During the interview Clarke reveals plans to return to the music world. "Well they [Motorhead] had this kind of 25th Anniversary/Birthday gig and Lemmy phoned me up and asked if I would come along and I said 'of course'. It was great for me because I hadn't done it for a while with them. So, I got up on stage with them and Brian May (QUEEN) was up there, who I know quite well, and we had a bit of a laugh and I quite enjoyed it. After I came off I thought, 'Oh I have to do this again!'. So since then I have been kind of putting the foot to the floor to get something organized. I went to see a studio last night where I am going to be making an album, I am going to do a solo album for a start, as soon as I can. I am going to use some people on that and, hopefully, get a situation with some good players that I can get on with and take that further to have a band to have a band to, later in the year, go out and do some stuff."

GUNS N' ROSES: Announce Tour Dates

(Added: February 28, 2001)
Guns N’ Roses (Axl Rose) recently confirmed the beginning of its first tour in seven years, announcing seven European shows that will kick off in Nuremberg, Germany, on June 1st. The band announced last October that it would be embarking on a world tour this year in support of Chinese Democracy, its first studio offering since 1993's The Spaghetti Incident. The new album is scheduled to hit shops in June. The other dates are: June 3rd - Nurburgring, Germany, 5th - Berlin, Germany, 17th - Imola, Italy, 23rd - Arnhem, Holland, 25th - Stockholm, Sweden and 26th - Oslo, Norway.

NAPALM DEATH: “We’re Not A Fashion Band!”

(Added: February 28, 2001)
Barney Greenway, lead vocalist for Napalm Death is overjoyed at the constant comparisons to Motorhead that his band receives. "Everyone says that and I'm quite privileged. Motorhead is my favorite band. All the years that I've been into music, I wouldn't be playing if it wasn't for them. A lot of bands in our position would have folded by now. We just irritate people and get up their noses because we are traditional hardcore, traditional thrash. We are as we are. We're like working class kids doing our thing, dressing how we want to, and people don't like that cause things are very fashion oriented. When a band for example, like Papa Roach, can come up and hit platinum status straightaway, it makes you wonder. But we just kept plugging away. We try not to let things like that bother us. First and foremost, we do it for the music and not the money. At the end of the day, everyone deserves a dignified existence. No one deserves to be fucking poor. Whether you're a musician, you work in a car factory, whether you're a cleaner, no one deserves to fucking struggle and suffer. That's what a lot of people tend to forget. We just carry on doing what we've got to do for as long as it lasts or as long as we feel that it's still appropriate, still relevant."

SAVATAGE: Back To The Roots?

(Added: February 28, 2001)
The phrase "back to the roots" has been tossed about when discussing SAVATAGE's newest album, Poets And Madmen. There is some question as to whether people are talking about going back to Power Of The Night's rock sensibilities or the Gutter Ballet sound. Power Of The Night marked the band's humble beginnings as a noteworthy metal entity, but Gutter Ballet was the breakthrough in terms of the quasi-orchestral sound that made them famous. Poets And Madmen seems to be both and neither. Mountain King Jon Oliva offers his thoughts on the matter. "What I think it is with Poets And Madmen is that we just wanted to have fun. The memories of doing those records, like Power and Mountain King and Gutter, we all had fun. The last few years have not been fun for us. The Wake Of Magellan is a great record and so is Dead Winter Dead, but we did two records like that. If you look at the career of Savatage, we kind of do everything in twos. If you take Sirens and The Dungeons Are Calling, the difference between those two and Power Of The Night shows the progression. Mountain King and Gutter led us into the first concept thing, which was Streets, so you can see that with every couple albums we try to do something that makes it new and fresh for us."

DREAM THEATER: New Album & DVD Delay

(Added: February 28, 2001)
The following is a message from DREAM THEATER's Mike Portnoy from www.dreamtheater.net. "Hi all. Just wanted to fill y'all in: Dream Theater will enter Bear Tracks studios in New York at the beginning of next month (March 2001) to begin work on the follow up to Scenes From A Memory. The new album will once again be self-produced and the band will once again be using engineer Doug Oberkircher who has worked with the band on Scenes..., Images And Words and "A Change Of Seasons. The band is planning on writing in the studio as they did for their last CD as well as the two Liquid Tension Experiment CD's. Studio time is booked through the summer and there is no release date yet scheduled."

The following is a press release from DREAM THEATER's Mike Portnoy regarding the band's upcoming Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York DVD release: "I am extremely sorry to announce that due to errors in the DVD authoring process, the release date of Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York has once again been delayed to April 24th, 2001. I am furious over these errors which were out of my hands and I am just as disappointed as any of you in having to wait to share this great DVD with you all. I must stress that the delay has absolutely nothing to do with any errors or dissatisfaction on mine or the record company's behalf. They were stricly technical errors in the authoring process which forced me to pull the plug on production until the errors were corrected. I know what a disappointment this is, but it will be worth the wait when the product is finally released in April. In the meantime to tide you over, keep an eye on dreamtheater.net in the coming weeks for an M2000 Trailer to give you all a sneak preview!"

MOONSPELL: Darkness & Hope

(Added: February 28, 2001)
MOONSPELL are currently finishing up the writing of their fifth and forthcoming album, Darkness And Hope, set to be recorded at Finland's Finnvox Studio in April and May. Songs set to appear on the album include: 'Firewalking', 'Nocturna', 'Devilred', 'Made Of Storm', 'Than The Serpents In My Arms' and 'Ghostsong.'

DESTRUCTION: Back To Hell

(Added: February 28, 2001)
DESTRUCTION are currently working on new material in preparation for entering Abyss Studios in April. Peter Tägtgren will once again produce. In the mean time, the band will play some South American and Mexican dates in late March.

RATT: Stephen Pearcy Sues Ratt

(Added: February 28, 2001)
As well, former RATT lead singer Stephen Pearcy filed suit in Superior court on February 20th against former bandmates Robert Blotzer and Warren DeMartini and manager Tim Heyne, claiming breach of contract and dissemination of false information on the Internet. Pearcy is seeking unspecified general and punitive damages, claiming Blotzer and DeMartini posted information on the Internet that he had quit the band, causing cancellation of a proposed January 2000 tour. The lawsuit also claims the two band members withdrew thousands of dollars from a corporate checking account the trio opened under the entity WBS Inc.

In related news (for Sweden), RATT are said to be joining ALICE COOPER and DIO on the "Monsters Of The Millennium" tour and will be playing at "Hovet" in Stockholm on April 30th 2001.

BLUE OYSTER CULT: Remasters & New Releases

(Added: February 28, 2001)
According to Total Rock, Sony will re-release the BLUE OYSTER CULT catalog, remastered and with bonus tracks later this year. Also, Rhino Handmade Records has announced that they will release a CD of the STALK FORREST GROUP recordings, pre-BOC material (same band, different name). After more than 30 years lying in vaults, these recordings will finally be issued in an official format. 18 tracks have been compiled for the CD, due in April. Meanwhile, expect BOC's new studio album, Manic Aggressive, in early Summer.

MEGADETH: Behind The Camera

(Added: February 16, 2001)
According to megadeth.com, MEGADETH are currently working on a VH1 Behind The Music special. Dave and David finished filming their segments over the weekend of February 2nd - 4th. Others set to appear in the special include Marty Friedman, Penelope Spears and David's mother. Chris Poland has also graciously agreed to film a spot for the special. Tentatively agreeing to appear are Nick Menza and METALLICA's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. The show is scheduled to air on May 13th.

At the moment Dave Mustian and guitarist Al Pitrelli are passing through Europe on thier promotion tour.

ANTHRAX: Back To Writing

(Added: February 16, 2001)
According to the official ANTHRAX website, www.anthrax.com, the progress of the band's new album is on hold. The band are waiting to sign a deal with Beyond before proceeding with the record. Scott Ian and Charlie Benante are both working on material but until the deal is signed the entire band can't all work together due to the financial situation. Ian claims the band lost a lot of money this past summer after being booted off the Maximum Rock tour. He does report that they have two "really heavy songs" in the bag. On the website he also reflects on the recent encounter he had, winding up in the same room backstage at a MARILYN MANSON gig with two of his personal musical heros, KISS' Gene Simmons and RAMONES' Johnny Ramone. Simmons showed off some new gadgets including the new KISS phone, and told Scott about his many film projects and his new magazine, Groupies, a cross between Rolling Stone and Playboy.

MORBID ANGEL: Annihilate Europe

(Added: February 16, 2001)
MORBID ANGEL are gearing up to annihilate Europe with news of a forthcoming tour. The band are currently on a stadium tour of the U.S. with PANTERA. They are the first death metal band to play stadium size venues in America. Phil Anselmo joined Morbid onstage during their performances in L.A. and Las Vegas recently. Anselmo reportedly sang lead vocals on 'Day Of Suffering' at both shows. On the European tour they'll be joined by Norway's ZYKLON. The dates begin on April 16th in Belgium and wrap up on May 11th in the Netherlands.

MANOWAR: Showing Off “Greatest Fans”

(Added: February 16, 2001)
According to MANOWAR's official Brazilia Web site's mailing list, the band is working on Silver Editions of their early albums Battle Hymns, Into Glory Ride and Hail To England. Battle Hymns will be available first, with a pre-sale taking place on the band's official Manowar.com site. The Silver Editions will come with with exclusive photos and interviews with the band. The band is also working on the Hell On Earth Part 2 home video, and they're asking fans to submit videos of themselves being crazy for Manowar. From the Brazilian site: "Manowar are inviting all of you to send in a video of yourself, that shows that you are one of the True Heavy Metal People. Anything will be put in the video, guys and girls, we are just gonna show >the world who the greatest fans are." Send your tape, along with a release giving the band permission to use it, to: Hell On Earth Video Competition, PO BOX 7214, Auburn NY 13022, USA. For more information see http://www.manowar.com.br/ .

TESTAMENT: Another Deadly Strike

(Added: February 16, 2001)
TESTAMENT are reworking some older material from The Legacy and The New Order, with former guitarist Alex Skolnick, for a limited edition release called First Strike Is Deadly, which is due out before their next studio album. Guitarist Eric Peterson is also working on the first release from his DRAGONLORD side project, which Peterson said is "totally different from Testament. It's way more gothic, classically influenced melodic music, with strings, a choir, harpsichords and lots of screaming and hair pulling. The sound is kinda DIMMU BORGIR crossed with EMPEROR." The rest of the band is Steve Smyth (Testament/VICIOUS RUMORS) on guitar, Steve DiGiorgio (DEATH/ICED EARTH) on bass, Lyle Livingston (PSYPHERIA) on keyboards, and Jon Allen (SADUS) on drums. Song titles include 'Spirits In The Mist', 'Rapture', 'Wolfhunt', 'Egraine', and 'Tradition And Fire'.

TYPE O NEGATIVE: Remasters & New Album

(Added: February 16, 2001)
TYPE O NEGATIVE will re-release two early albums through Roadrunner UK on February 23rd. Their debut, Slow, Deep & Hard as well as 1991's The Origin Of The Feces have been remastered for the releases. Also at the moment, Type O Negative are working on their next album due out later this year.

TED NUGENT: Busy In The Studio

(Added: February 16, 2001)
TED NUGENT is said to be in the studio with bassist/vocalist Marco Mendoza and drummer Tommy Aldridge, working on new material and re-doing old classics. Mendoza has sung the new versions of 'Stranglehold' and 'Hey Baby'.

MOTÖRHEAD: New DVD

(Added: February 16, 2001)
Watch for a MOTORHEAD DVD before summer featuring the famous Brixton Academy show plus plenty of interview footage.

BLAZE: Tour & New CD Plans

(Added: February 16, 2001)
Former IRON MAIDEN frontman, BLAZE, will have a follow-up to his awesome Silicon Messiah CD out in the fall. Meanwhile Blaze will be supporting HELLOWEEN on their upcoming European tour.

KISS: Eric Singer Replaces Peter Criss

(Added: February 8, 2001)
According to KISSonline, Eric Singer, the last drummer in KISS, has rejoined the band to complete the Farewell World Tour, their celebration of the band's 30 year history. In a joint statement, ACE FREHLEY, GENE SIMMONS and PAUL STANLEY said, "Eric has been a member of our family, and his drumming and singing have been the cornerstone of past KISS tours. We are stoked that we can bring our ultimate spectacle to KISS fans worldwide." Sources say that the news of Peter's leaving was about two months in the making. Peter wanted more money and the band balked. That's why the tour was postponed in November. The set list is changing - obviously 'Beth' is out and harder songs (to play) like 'Parasite', 'She', 'Unholy', 'Creatures of The Night' are being considered.

An official press release by Peter Criss was made, where Peter notes that he did not leave Kiss, but was “terminated”.
"I would like to express my love and affection to the KISS Army and my fans. It is unfortunate Gene and Paul choose to terminate their association with me for the Japan and the Australian tour dates. I am healthy and will truly miss performing for the Australian and Japanese audiences. In light of the circumstances, I wish the best of success to all."
Love, Peter Criss - "Catman"

After this announcement by Peter Criss, Gene Simmons responded:
Gene Simmons called in to WNEW 102.7 (New York) Eddie Trunk's Saturday Night Rock Show to talk about the Peter Criss situation. Here are the details he covered: 1) Peter is not out of KISS; 2.) Peter didn't accept KISS' contractual offer for the Australia/Japan tour only; 3) The door is wide open for Peter to play the final show with KISS. Gene stated he is saddened by this turn of events, and told Peter the band wanted him to be in the overseas tour, but that the lawyers for both parties could not come to an agreement. 4) Neither parties are mad at each other; 5) Eric Singer will be in Peter's make-up and costume; 6) Eric will play the songs true to the way Peter recorded them on the albums and will not use his double kick drum set; 7) Gene said he is aware of all the internet bulletin board postings and that fans are very upset and blaming him and Paul for this turn of events. He stressed he wants the fans to understand that there is much more to operating a band than just him saying what does and doesn't happen. He stated that professional bands are businesses and sometimes things happen like this, whether it is or isn't what the band members want. He stated that the band wanted Peter on this tour, but the lawyers for both parties, not the band members, have total control over all of these types of contractual deals; 8) More dates have been added to both Australia and Japan; 9) KISS will return to play the final show in only ONE city in the USA; 10) KISS will discuss what changes, if any, will be made to the set list when rehearsals begin. Gene was very honest and candid towards the whole situation, and repeatedly wanted to stress that, whether the fans believe it or not, they mean everything to him and the band and he hopes KISS does them justice with these final shows on this tour. He added that he hopes Peter will be there for the final show so they can end it all as they began it all.

AVANTASIA: A Super Group In The Making

(Added: February 8, 2001)
A project put together by EDGUY singer Tobias Sammet called AVANTASIA has just hit shelves in Europe. It is entitled Avantasia: A Metal Opera, and travels the same musical path as Edguy, HELLOWEEN, VIRGIN STEELE etc. Featured vocalists on the album alongside Sammet are Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY), Dave DeFeis (Virgin Steele), Rob Rock (ex- IMPELLITTERI), Andre Matos (ex-ANGRA) and Sharon Den Adel and Timo Tolkki (STRATOVARIUS). Each vocalist plays a character in the Lord Of The Rings styled-tale, which was written by Sammet.

SLAYER: Bullshit Case Thrown Out

(Added: February 8, 2001)
A lawsuit alleging SLAYER's music caused a trio of the band's fans to murder a 15-year-old girl was dismissed by a California court on January 23rd. The girl's family has 60 days to submit a new complaint. Slayer's attorney maintains, "There's not a legal position that could be taken that would make the band responsible." As for their new album, the band began recording on January 22nd with producer Matt Hyde. According to Kerry King, there's no title yet but 15 songs are ready, and the release date is projected for the end of May. In related news, the band have also recorded a track, 'War Zone', for an upcoming WWF compilation.

HELLOWEEN: European Tour

(Added: February 8, 2001)
HELLOWEEN were recently forced to postpone their European tour, as drummer Uli Kusch is suffering from muscle strain in his forearm. The good news is that the tour has been rescheduled to begin in March, following the Japanese and SE Asia tours. The Euro trek has been expanded, with extra dates being added. Due to scheduling clashes support on for the German shows will no longer be IRON SAVIOR. The new European trek kicks off on March 17th at JB's in Dudley, England and runs through April 17th when the tour wraps up in Vosselaar, Belgium.

SKID ROW: In Demo Mode

(Added: February 8, 2001)
SKID ROW's Rachel posted the following message on the band's online message board, "We are currently in the studio working on demos for Atlantic. We have seven complete and three more in the works. The vibe is incredibly positive and creative. Ideas are just spilling out of us. We are having the most fun this band has ever had. Snake and myself have gotten together with Damon Johnson and wrote a few tunes. We are very excited about it. Everyone is playing well and Johnny is singing and I do mean singing his ass off. Life is good. Rachel."

HALFORD: Live Insurrection

(Added: January 29, 2001)
Halford follow up last years outstanding metal masterpiece 'Resurrection' with a double live album on Metal-is Records entitled 'Live Insurrection'. Released on March 26th, the album was recorded at various stages during the 'Resurrection World Tour', which saw the band take in 94 shows over a 7-month period in 20 countries around the globe. The choice of songs that feature on the album will ensure that this is the quintessential record for all fan's, both early and more recent, of the 'Metal God'.

Songs so far confirmed are: Resurrection / Made In Hell / Into The Pit / Nailed To The Gun / Light Comes Out Of Black / Stained Class / Jawbreaker / Running Wild / Slow Down / Life In Black / Hell's Last Survivor / Sad Wings / Beyond The Realms Of Death / Breaking The Law / Metal Gods / Silent Screams / Cyber world / Saviour / Hellion / Electric Eye / Riding On The Wind / Tyrant / Genocide / plus some yet to be disclosed new songs and a few surprises!

JUDAS PRIEST: Remasters

(Added: January 29, 2001)
Columbia Records plans to reissue/remaster the ENTIRE JUDAS PRIEST catalogue beginning in April. The albums will appear in three stages. One of the albums in the third and final phase will come with a box set that will have room for all of them. Sources say that there WILL be some sort of bonus material on them.

MEGADETH: New Album Press Release

(Added: January 29, 2001)
New Label, New Record, New Future With “The World Needs A Hero”. Legendary speed-metal titan Megadeth is reaffirming its spot at the top of the heavy metal hierarchy with its extraordinary new album, 'The World Needs A Hero'. It's under the band's new contract with Sanctuary Records, and will be released in North America on Tuesday 15th May and on Sanctuary's Metal-is label throughout the rest of the world on Monday 14th May.

Vocalist/lead guitarist Dave Mustaine and company certainly haven't mellowed with the passage of time. On the contrary, Mustaine's focused musical vision and pessimistic take on the world in 2001 is fiercer than ever. The razor-sharp guitar shredding, snarling vocals and spitting scepticism cut like an out-of-control laser on 'The World Needs A Hero'. "I think that the world needs a hero because there are no more rock stars, Axl (Rose) killed that," Mustaine said. "What the world needs is an enema but there are too many assholes in the world to choose from to know where to put the hose, so a hero would be my second choice. It's kind of hard to find a rhyme for 'enema."

Mustaine is bursting with the adrenalin-fuelled enthusiasm of a slave freed after years of being shackled by rusty, jagged chains. "Megadeth has been completely deloused -- new label, new management, new road crew -- in fact everything has changed," Mustaine said. Mustaine, guitarist Al Pitrelli, bassist David Ellefson and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso became a cohesive four-man army in the studio and refused to be led off track by outside forces. 'The World Needs A Hero' is the album Megadeth insisted on making. It's real Megadeth in true Megadeth style.

The raw, self-produced new album features 11 tracks written by Mustaine ("Promises" co-written with Pitrelli), and it sees the band returning to the kinetic and cathartic sound of their nascent years. The vicious songs include: "Disconnect," "The World Needs A Hero," "Moto Psycho," "1000 Times Goodbye," "Burning Bridges," "Promises," "Recipe For Hate...Warhorse," "Losing My Senses," "Dread And The Fugitive Mind," "Silent Scorn," "Return To Hangar" and "When."

"This record was written in spite of all the people who tried to turn us into an alternative pop machine. Basically, no one was welcome into the studio, and if they did get in we tried not to let them influence us. Feed us, sure - but anything else - forget about it!" said Mustaine. 'The World Needs A Hero' is something of a musical antidote to Megadeth's last studio album, 'Risk'. "I think that the title was a warning that we were taking a 'risk' with the record. Only a daft punk would not have noticed that disclaimer. However, this record is nothing like 'Risk'. Saying that could jinx it, so let's just say the odds are increasing in our favour that this is a fans' record," Mustaine explained. One piece of evidence indicating that 'The World Needs A Hero' is an album geared toward die-hard lovers of Megadeth's early days is the inclusion of "Return To Hangar." Fans continually asked the band for a "sequel" of sorts to the classic 1990 album 'Rust In Peace'. "With all of the referrals to 'Rust In Peace', I knew that the time had come to 'return to "Hangar 18".' And this is just the beginning of a very heavy future for Megadeth with a great guitarist, Al Pitrelli.

In between recording and mixing the record, Mustaine starred in a new science fiction program, Black Scorpion, which will be broadcast in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel on February 2. In the episode, Mustaine plays an arsonist named Torchy Thompson who is pursued by a character he has inadvertently turned into a superhero after throwing him into a nuclear reactor. Typically amused by the interest in his role the film, Mustaine wryly observed on his casting, "I guess I saw it as a good way to put my martial arts to some use!"

Megadeth will embark on a world tour shortly after the release of 'The World Needs A Hero'.

SAVATAGE: The New Single

(Added: January 29, 2001)
SAVATAGE will release the new single “Commissar” featuring two tracks from the upcoming Poets And Madmen, plus a previously Japanese-only rarity on February 5th in Europe. 'Drive' and 'Commissar' are the album tracks and the acoustic instrumental 'Voyage', originally on the Japanese compilation The Best And The Rest, is the rarity. Savatage.com will relaunch on the 5th as well; see www.savatage.com for more info. A double vinyl picture disc version of the album will be available in Europe. There's also talk of a special European limited edition CD that will contain a bonus track, 'Stay', but those plans might be scrapped and 'Stay' might appear on the regular version of the CD.

WASP: Unleash Unholy Terror

(Added: January 29, 2001)
Shock Rockers W.A.S.P. Kick Out New Album, Unholy Terror Longtime blood and guts shock rockers W.A.S.P. continue in their time honored tradition of releasing hard and heavy, controversial music with their latest album Unholy Terror, their first for the Metal-is label, on April 9th.

Recorded in Los Angeles with W.A.S.P. main man Blackie Lawless at the production helm, Unholy Terror deals with many issues that Lawless sees in the world today. ''One subject that this album deals with is socio, religious, and political hypocrisy," says Lawless. "I had a fundamentalist Christian upbringing and I grew up seeing the world through a different pair of eyes''. Lawless is alluding to a song on the album called "Charisma" that deals with the religious zealots that have plagued Lawless throughout his career. ''There's a dark side of charisma that mesmerizes all of us when we look at the world figures who possess that dark gift," Lawless remarks. "In the song there's a line that goes 'Preaching fear and using religion with the Bible and Koran', as often organized religions wield a mighty power over it's congregations in the name of God''.

That said, this is still a hard as nails rock n' roll record, and sees W.A.S.P.'s trademark high octane brand of relentless, driving rock, standing shoulder to shoulder with songs about disaffected youth and dictators, popes and politicians, and will surely go down as one of their most accomplished albums to date.

The album has the following tracklisting: 'Let It Roar', 'Raven Heart', 'Loco Motive Man', 'Charisma', 'Who Slayed Baby Jane?', 'Euphoria', 'Hate To Love Me', 'Evermore' and 'Wasted White Boys'.

TYGERS OF PAN TANG: Announce New Frontman

(Added: January 29, 2001)
TYGERS OF PAN TANG have confirmed that vocal duties will be taken care of by new frontman, Tony Liddell. During early January 2001 Tony was approached by Rob Weir regarding the demanding position as frontman for the band. Immediately the two hit it off. Rob Weir then called the Z office and sent some samples, the result was thumbs up from the label after only hearing the sample CDR for five minutes.The band will commence recordings during late March.

METALLICA: Jason Newsted Leaves Metallica

(Added: January 29, 2001)
Longtime Bassist Jason Newsted Exits Metallica Due To "Private And Personal Reasons, And Physical Damage" Metallica regrets to announce that after 14 years as Metallica's bass player, Jason Newsted has chosen to leave the band. Jason Newsted: "Due to private and personal reasons, and the physical damage that I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love, I must step away from the band. This is the most difficult decision of my life, made in the best interest of my family, myself, and the continued growth of Metallica. I extend my love, thanks, and best wishes to my brothers: James, Lars, and Kirk and the rest of the Metallica family, friends, and fans whom have made these years so unforgettable."

In the spring, Metallica will begin writing and recording a new studio album with release sometime in late 2001 or early 2002. Metallica will forge ahead with a new bassist. No word on the status of Newstead's side-project band Echo Brain, who have been recording off and on in San Francisco since last spring.

TED NUGENT: Helps Grant Hunting Wish

(Added: January 18, 2001)
The Motor City Madman Helps Make A Hunting Wish Come True Through Hunt of a Lifetime Non-Profit Organization . Ted Nugent has volunteered his time to help out Hunt of a Lifetime, a non-profit organization that was formed to help fill the gap left when the Make-A-Wish foundation stopped granting youngsters their hunting wishes because of the inherent danger factor. Nugent will head to South Africa in July with Zackary Martin, a teenager from California with bone cancer, where they will bowhunt for, amongst other animals, zebras and impalas. Nugent, no stranger to taking on controversy, especially over his love of hunting, was up front when talking about Make-A-Wish's policy against granting hunting wishes. "Make-A-Wish just makes me want to puke my guts out...what could be more pure than the last wishes of a young child? And to deny that because of political correctness? That's just outrageous."

Animal right's organizations disagree. In a recent CNN article, the director of Fund for Animals, Heidi Prescott said, "We see something ironic here...they're teaching a child to kill and cause another living being to suffer at a time when that child, we would figure, would be empathetic about the quality of life."

The Motor City Madman also founded the Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids in 1990. It's a place where kids from age 11-15 can attend three-day outdoor adventures. The sessions teach kids archery, hunter safety and ethics and survival skills. The goal, according to Nugent's official website, is to "get kids out of the malls and off the streets, away from drugs and crime, into the woods and in touch with the natural healing powers of the wild. It's where we belong, and the best place to teach a child morals and ethics, and our role as caring humans in life's cycles to manage and respect the wildlife around us." Young Martin said this in the CNN interview: "Jeez, going hunting in Africa, and with Ted Nugent. It's been a dream of mine to hunt with him ever since I started watching his shows." Nugent responds with, "Let me tell you, when you go hunting with Ted Nugent, there is no Janet Reno around to stop you. There is nothing more beautiful than that."

HALFORD: Coming Soon Live

(Added: January 18, 2001)
HALFORD's forthcoming live album on Metal-Is was recorded at a December gig at London's LA2, the same show that saw BRUCE DICKINSON and QUEENSRYCHE's Geoff Tate join Halford on stage for a rendition of 'The One You Love To Hate'. The album will have the following tracklisting: 'Resurrection', 'Raise Some Hell', 'Locked And Loaded', 'Into The Pit', 'Nailed To The Gun', 'Stained Class', 'Jawbreaker', 'Running Wild', 'Saviour', 'Silent Screams', 'Cyberworld', 'Night Fall', 'The Hellion/Electric Eye', 'Riding On The Wind', 'Genocide', 'Beyond The Realms Of Death', 'Metal God', 'Breaking The Law', 'Tyrant' and 'The One You Love To Hate'.

MEGADETH: Track Listing For New Album

(Added: January 18, 2001)
According to www.megadeth.com, the forthcoming MEGADETH album will include nine songs that were recorded back in the beginning of 2000. Included in those nine songs is 'Dread And The Fugitive Mind' which appeared on both Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years. There are 12 tracks total on the new release, and 13 on the Japanese import. Four NEW tracks have been added. The whole album was remastered which means that the songs that were already recorded will be slightly different than they were going to be originally. In addition, some of the songs were ammended/reworked so this album is going to be full of all "new" Mega-tunes. Here is the track listing. (*) designates the four tracks that were recorded in the second session in late 2000: 'Burning Bridges'*, 'The World Needs A Hero', 'Moto-Psycho', 'Disconnect'*, '1000 Times Goodbye', 'Promises', 'Recipe For Hate...Warhorse'*, 'Losing My Senses', 'Dread And The Fugitive Mind', 'Silent Scorn' (instrumental)*, 'Return To The Hangar' and 'When'. The Japanese bonus track is 'Coming Home' The album title will be revealed soon.

TESTAMENT: Upcoming Releases Update

(Added: January 18, 2001)
TESTAMENT are in the studio working on tracks for a Spring/Summer release, to be produced by Andy Sneap. The band are also planning re-recordings of their first few Megaforce albums. "We're planning to re-do the best tunes from the early records, only it'll sound better with current technology and our current lineup, which kicks ass," states Eric Peterson. "It's just gonna sound CRUSHING." That project is scheduled to be released in limited edition before the new studio album. Peterson's first solo project, DRAGONLORD, is also nearing completion. "The ironic thing is, almost all the guys I recorded this disc with ended up in Testament! The music is totally different from Testament. It's way more gothic, classically influenced melodic music, with strings, a choir, harpsichords and lots of screaming and hair pulling. The sound is kinda DIMMU BORGIR crossed with EMPEROR. Dragonlord features keyboardist Lyle Livingston (PSYPHERIA), drummer John Allen (ex-SADUS), bassist Steve DiGiorgio (ex-DEATH/ICED EARTH) and guitarist Steve Smyth (ex-VICIOUS RUMORS. The disc is produced by Peter Tagtren.

ICED EARTH: Gearing Up For New Album Horror Show

(Added: January 18, 2001)
There's a lot going on with prog-metalheads Iced Earth. The band is nearing the completion of writing new material for their next studio album, titled Horror Show, which will most likely be released in May 2001. They will be heading into pre-production soon with Jim Morris and then will start recording the album in December.

Horror Show will be a concept album based on many infamous monsters. Drawing from legend, literature, film, and perhaps even real life, subjects of the songs written so far include Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Phantom of the Opera (the most epic track), the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Jack the Ripper, Jekyll & Hyde, and Damien (from The Omen). Rounding out the album will be the patriotic ballad "Ghost Of Freedom" and "Hollow Man" (a song that may feature Jon Schaffer on lead vocals). A cover of Iron Maiden's "Transylvania" may be recorded as well (perhaps to be used as a bonus track). The team of Travis Smith and Danny Miki will once again be doing the artwork for the album.

In addition, two new members have now joined the Earth ranks. The new drummer is Richard Christy, who did live shows with Demons & Wizards but is more known as the backbone for the bands Death and Control Denied. The other new member is none other than bassist Steve DiGiorgio from Sadus, Death, Testament, Control Denied.

Also, January 8th marks the time that the band's Melancholy EP will be released in Europe. Originally released as a 5-song EP in the U.S. a couple of years ago, the new European version features the following 7 tracks: "Melancholy," "Shooting Star" (Bad Company cover), "Watching Over Me," "Electric Funeral" (Black Sabbath cover), "I Died For You," "The Ripper" (Judas Priest cover), and the live version of "Colours" that never made it onto their Alive In Athens live release.

TYGERS OF PAN TANG:Reunion

(Added: January 18, 2001)
Guitarist John Sykes' Classic NWOBHM Band Tygers Of Pan Tang Reform...With Sykes As Guest Only Classic NWOBHM band Tygers Of Pan Tang (now spelling their name Tygers Of Pang Tang, according to their press release) is reforming, but without the permanent guitar duties of John Sykes. Sykes, a member of Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake and Blue Murder, joined this band after their debut album in the early'80s. The band became a major act in Europe, although they always remained a cult band in the States, releasing four official albums on MCA Records (Wild Cats, Spellbound, Crazy Nights, The Cage) before disbanding when Sykes left to join Thin Lizzy. The band's albums were recently re-released within Europe and Japan on CD for the first time with extra bonus tracks.

Well, like every other metal/hard rock band on the planet these days, Tygers axeman Rob Weir has reunion fever and has reformed the band (sans Sykes as a permanent member) and scored a worldwide deal with Z Records. Guitar duties will be taken care of by Rob Weir, drums by Brian Dick, and bass by new member Gav Gray. Production on a planned new album will be handled by Fred Purser. John Sykes has agreed to make an appearance on the album in some capacity. At this point, John Devrill has been approached to handle vocal duties once again but the band is still awaiting his reply.

SENTENCED: New Songs In The Making

(Added: January 18, 2001)
Laihiala and Tenkula have made a lot of new songs and recorded some demos too. Although there is more new songs than a record takes, there is no hurry to the studio because they want to finish the songs with time. Laihiala and Tenkula said that, there has never been such a creative feeling to writing new songs, than its been now. So this break was really good for us to compose new songs. Sentenced has also thought about the producer to their next album, some names is in mind but nothing is sure yet. This time they are looking for little bit different producer than before.

Century Media Records has released Sentenced latest album "Crimson" on limited picture vinyl version and 2CD Box including "Frozen" + "Amok".

SEBASTIAN BACH: Back In The Studio

(Added: January 18, 2001)
According to www.sebastianbach.com, SEBASTIAN BACH says that we should "Fasten your seatbelts for 2001 because we will rock together like never before. I have so much music set to unleash it really is quite sick. I have been busy recording in the studio for some major projects that I will be able to tell you about very shortly! Also, I am working on a new CD that will be available ONLY here on sebastianbach.com, exclusively, for your ears only! This CD will not be available in stores, only through the site! More details on the new CD soon!

ROCK STAR (Movie): Movie Update

(Added: January 18, 2001)
Here’s some more insight on the forthcoming rock and roll comedy about a lead singer of a Steel Dragon cover band who suddenly finds himself fronting the actual rock band in ‘Rock Star.’ The movie is directed by Stephen Herek, produced by Robert Lawrence and Toby Jaffe, and stars Mark Wahlberg as the lead character, as well as Jennifer Aniston, Timothy Olyphant, Jason Flemyng, Timothy Spall, and Dominic West. It’s kind of funny when you think of it, with the whole rock and porn hoopla over the past year that is. Mark Wahlberg goes from playing a porn star as Dirk Diggler in ‘Boogie Nights” to being a rock star in the upcoming film. ‘Rock Star’ is scheduled for a Spring release.

HUMANIMAL: Jeff Scott Soto Returns

(Added: January 18, 2001)
Z Records have a new act. The band are to be called Humanimal. If you recognize the title as being one of the early Talisman albums, you would be right. In fact, the line up for this new project is none other than Jeff Scott Soto and his long time partner Marcel Jacob, joined by Thomas Broman on drums and Pontus Norgren on guitar. The band have committed to a UK Z gig already and look like adding themslves to the German Z rock gig. The album is underway and is planned to be released late northern Summer.

PHIL LYNOTT: R.I.P.

(Added: January 4, 2001)
Today is the 15th anniversary of the death of Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy).

TYPE O NEGATIVE: News Update

(Added: January 3, 2001)
TYPE O NEGATIVE's Bloody Kisses album has reached platinum status with 1 million copies sold. The band are currently at home in Brooklyn and Staten Island for the holidays, and are ready to start rehearsing and writing new songs for their 7th full length for Roadrunner Records.

DEEP PURPLE: The Quotable Ian Gillan

(Added: January 3, 2001)
From the January 2001 Classic Rock Magazine: "Quite frankly, I'm bored with making rock records, at least normal ones. I want the next Deep Purple album to have a concept about it, albeit a loose one. It's about time we made our "Sgt Pepper"." - IAN GILLAN (DEEP PURPLE) The band is recording their new album next year with a release most likely in the 3rd or fourth quarter.

METAL GOD MOVIE: Metal Reduced To Rock

(Added: January 3, 2001)
According to U.S. showbiz program Entertainment Tonight, the upcoming movie loosely based on the life of JUDAS PRIEST vocalist Tim 'Ripper' Owens will now be called Rock Star. Clips from the Mark Walberg/Jennifer Anniston film previewed on the show reflect an epic looking movie in the vein of Almost Famous or Boogie Nights. The report failed to tell why the original title, Metal God, was dropped, nor did it mention any ties to the story of Owens or Priest (the mainstream FEARS METAL!). The film hits (U.S.A.) theaters in April.

TED NUGENT: Takes Aim at Make-A-Wish Foundation

(Added: January 3, 2001)
The Make-A-Wish Foundation refused a young boy's hunting wishes based on a new policy. "Make-A-Wish just makes me want to puke my guts out," TED NUGENT recently declared. "What could be more pure than the last wishes of a young child? And to deny that because of political correctness? That's just outrageous." The Motor City Madman will travel to South Africa in July with Zachary Martin, a 16-year-old from Yreka, California, with bone cancer. "Jeez, going hunting in Africa, and with Ted Nugent. It's been a dream of mine to hunt with him ever since I started watching his shows," Zachary said.

GRAVE DIGGER: News Update

(Added: January 3, 2001)
Germany's power metal unit GRAVE DIGGER have a new guitarist, Manni Schmidt, who played with RAGE until 1994. In January, Grave Digger will start composing songs for a new album. They are also confirmed for the Sweden Rock Festival in June.

DECIBEL FESTIVAL 2001: Announce Bands

(Added: January 3, 2001)
The 2001 Decibel Festival will be staged on May 19th in Bengtsfors, Sweden. The festival, featuring 14 bands on two stages, showcases Swedish Hard Rock and Metal. This years show features JOHN NORUM, ENTOMBED, MEMENTO MORI, FKÛ, NOCTURNAL RITES, MELDRUM (featuring ex-PHANTOM BLUE guitarist Michelle Meldurm) and others. For more info check out www.mfdecibel.com .

BLIND GUARDIAN: An Epic Release

(Added: December 27, 2000)
BLIND GUARDIAN have started recording their new album, to be produced by the band and Charly Bauerfeind. Lyrically, there will be a topical issue for each song. The music is reportedly a straight progression of Nightfall In Middle Earth and Imaginations From The Other Side, though the band assures that there will be some surprises, of course. At least one song (the longest they have written so far: 12 minutes) will be dedicated to author J.R.R. Tolkien. The album won't be finished before June 2001 so expect the effort around late-September. The band is planning to release a single in August, however.

KAMELOT: Album Progress

(Added: December 27, 2000)
KAMELOT are finishing pre-production of their new album with Sascha Paeth. "The new songs are killer and the approach of the sound will be even heavier than the Fourth Lecagy still maintaining the class that Kamelot always brings" states Sascha. Production starts in January and some surprise guests will be featured on the album.

IRON SAVIOR: Six Shooters!

(Added: December 27, 2000)
Since their self-titled debut in 1997, Iron Savior's ranks have grown from a trio to a sextet. On their latest opus, Dark Assault, Iron Savior mainstays Piet Sielck and Kai Hansen are joined by former Gamma Ray drummer Thomas Nack (replacing current Gamma Ray drummer Dan Zimmerman), keyboardist Andreas Kuck and bassist Jan S. Eckert who came aboard for the Unification album, as well as new guitarist Joachim "Piesel" Kustner. Sielck discussed the addition of a third guitarist, a decision that was reached in light of Hansen's sporadic participation in a live setting due to his commitments to Gamma Ray.

"When we're touring with Helloween in February, I don't know if Kai will be with us," says Sielck. "It all depends on how good or how bad the songwriting for Gamma Ray is going. That's one of the reasons we brought Piesel into the band. When we do our headliner tour in April, though, we won't leave home without Kai, and Piesel will be with us as well. It'll be really cool. It was my idea, because I can play guitar and sing at the same time, but some of the songs are hard rhythm-wise, so it's always a bit of a trade-off for me. With this line-up I will continue to play guitar on stage - the riffs and all my solo stuff - but when I sing I will have a lot more freedom to move around and concentrate on what I'm doing."

OZZY OSBOURNE: Osbourne Management Denies Ozzy's New Line-Up

(Added: December 20, 2000)
Osbourne Management Releases Statement Denying Zakk Wylde, Tommy Lee And Geezer Butler As Ozzy's New Band Osbourne Management issued a statement today in response to KNAC.COM's story regarding the line-up of Ozzy's new band. Our story confirmed the rumor that long-time Ozzy guitarist Zack Wylde (currently playing with his own band Black label Society) is, in fact, re-teaming up with the former Black Sabbath frontman to work on his upcoming album and tour. Our story also confirmed that, according to a reliable source, ex-Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler will also join the new line-up for the recording sessions and subsequent tour.

The statement reads: An Internet rumor making rounds today regarding the lineup for Ozzy Osbourne's band is "absolute rubbish," says Osbourne's management. "'There is not a grain of truth [to the rumor]. It's all a big lie." The report has Osbourne's band pegged as Zakk Wylde on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, and Tommy Lee on drums, and that this trio will begin recording Osbourne's forthcoming solo album next month. Osbourne has been talking to a variety of musicians, songwriters, and producers and has not settled on a firm band lineup. "Whoever put this out is on crack." quipped the Osbourne management spokesperson.

KNAC.COM Founder Rob Jones commented, "Having the utmost respect for Sharon and Ozzy, I am saddened by the nature of this denial. While always one to take the high road, all I will say is that it would appear that there are some people very close to one of the camps involved here who have a different view of this topic."

DEMON: News Update

(Added: December 20, 2000)
British classic hard rock band Demon has been in the studio and recorded their 10th album Spaced Out Monkey that is set for release on March 26th 2001, along with the first 3 Demon albums, re-mastered with bonus tracks. This date may be pushed to an April date. As with the new album, the band is very satisfied with the result and will mix it early 2001. They will also enter the studio early January to record Thin Lizzy's Emerald for the upcoming The Spirit Of The Black Rose" - A Tribute To Philip Parris Lynott, due out in February.

OLIVER-DAWSON SAXON: Slash Joins Saxon?

(Added: December 20, 2000)
Oliver-Dawson Saxon (not original SAXON), featuring Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson, have exclusively revealed to TotalRock that Slash might well be involved with their first studio album, which is due to go into production early next year. The reason? Vocalist John Ward is an old friend of the guitarist, and was briefly working with him before joining OD Saxon.

SAVATAGE / TSO: News Update

(Added: December 20, 2000)
A quick cup of soup for the pre-gig meal, SAVATAGE/TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA guitarist Chris Caffery dined in Phladelphia with Jack Frost (METALIUM/SEVEN WITCHES), rumored to be the frontrunner for filling the Sav's guitar vacancy. Caffery has been leading the eastern TSO contingent, which also features former Testament guitarist, Alex Skolnick, as well as current Tage drummer Jeff Platte and violin virtuoso, Mark Wood. A second edition of TSO has been playing, simultaneously, in the western portion of the US. "It's been amazing," says Caffery, "We've sold out every place we've played; Dayton, Akron, Harrisburg, four nights in Cleveland, Philadelphia and Wilkes Barre. You've got to really be onto something special if you're getting 2000 to 2500 people in Wilkes Barre, Pennslyvania to show up! Philadelphia is the first place TSO ever played, apart from television appearances or private parties." The success of the recent holiday stint has mastermind Paul O'Neill planning to bring the Beethoven's Ninth Symphony disc to life, in the Summer of 2001. As for the planned release of Poets And Madmen, Savatage's debut for Nuclear Blast, Caffery confirmed it's now scheduled to be in stores early in March.

Coming soon: A special Savatage report from Jon Olivia.

BLAZE: Prepares For New Album

(Added: December 20, 2000)
Blaze, the band featuring former Iron Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley, will start work on their second album in the late Spring, after they support Helloween on a European tour. The band hope to enlist the services of producer Andy Sneap, the man at the helm for their acclaimed debut `Silicon Messiah', released earlier this year. The record should be in the shops by September.

GEORGE W. BUSH: Is A Metalhead

(Added: December 20, 2000)
George W. Bush Flexs His Metal Muscle And Throws A Horns Up To A Pure Rockin' Michigan Audience At The Labor Day Launch Of The General Election Campaign Maybe it was the fact that he was right around the corner of Detroit Rock City. Maybe it was because his partying days from the past are finally catching up with him. Maybe it's just his twisted obsession with the Texas Longhorns. Or maybe he just wants to rock! Whatever the reason, something possessed Republican Presidential candidate George W. Bush to strike a metal pose during the traditional Labor Day launch of the general election campaign Monday, September 4, 2000. Yes, as you can see from the picture above, George pumped his fist in the air and gave the "horns up" metal sign, the universal rock gesture for being a headbanger. Was it an accident? Probably. Do we care? Nope! This just means there's that much better of a chance that Ozzy could wind up playing the White House at some swank Republican soiree. Yes, folks, between this metal move, and his recent faux pas when, thinking he wasn't mic'd, he called a reporter an "asshole" in a whispered comment to Dick Cheney, it seems ole' George is loosening up a little, or losing his marbles! You decide!

METALLICA: Sue ‘Em All

(Added: December 20, 2000)
Apparently, the first fix was all it took for Metallica's lawyers. It looks like they're hooked. Oh, sure - they only experimented at first. There was the suit against Victoria's Secret for the Metallica lipstick early this year. But that was small-time stuff. Then came Napster. The good stuff. The exhilaration, the rush of attention that came from threatening to sue the pants off hundreds of thousands of the band's fans and a few major universities for good measure.

Now, even that's not enough for these guys. They'd gone months without making the music press blotter with word of a lawsuit relapse. But it doesn't take much - a simple cease and desist letter is sometimes all that's needed to get that monkey climbing your back again. Like the letter Metallica just sent to furniture maker Kim Hodges of Waco, Texas. Hodges got a certified letter from one of the band's lawyers asking him to change the name of his business, Metallika. (Notice the K.) Hodges said that he won't fight the band in court and that he is somewhat amused that Metallica, a group he likes, would even bother to threaten a "piddling" furniture company. Ha. Just try downloading "Enter Sandman" off Napster if you think you have troubles, buster. Jill Petrini, an attorney for the band, said, "When we find out about things like this, we actively protect the band's trademark rights. It's not like we're trying to protect a name commonly used, like United. It's a unique name."

Oh, sure. It's so unique it couldn't possibly happen again. That's what every addict says. Until, that is, they stumble on another big score - like upscale perfume manufacturer Guerlain Inc. and the equally swanky Neiman-Marcus and Bergdorf-Goodman department store chains. Metallica's lawyers have fallen off the copyright-infringement wagon again, filing suit December 8 in Los Angeles against the three companies alleging they have infringed on and diluted the rock band's trademarked name by creating and marketing a "Metallica" perfume. The suit seeks a withdrawal of the Metallica fragrance from the market, along with the usual unspecified damages. This time, you know they have got to be jonesing big-time. Infringing on Metallica with a fragrance? Eau de Hetfield, perhaps? Is it really that easy to mistake a vanilla-scented top note for the aroma of the singer/guitarist after a particularly energetic show? We think not. So let this be a lesson for the youth, beware of suits and drugs and rock ‘n' roll.

METALLICA: Fake CNN Story – Lars Shot By Napster Fanatic

(Added: December 20, 2000)
Fake CNN Story Making The Round On The Internet Falsely Claims Lars Ulrich Was Shot Napster Obsessed Gunman; "You Killed Napster" . A false news story has been making its way across the Internet. The story alleges that Metallica's Lars Ulrich was shot yesterday when leaving a downtown hotel Sunday morning. It goes on to explain that Ulrich was rushed to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, TX after sustaining mild gunshot wounds to the groin and abdomen by a gunman who approached him in broad daylight, shouting "You killed Napster" as he fired.

The story was posted on a fake site designed to look exactly like a CNN.com news story page. It even features links that go to real CNN stories and sites the source of the Lars news as Associated Press. Apparently it's quite easy to make these phony webpages by simply viewing the code of the page and exchanging the real text for fake text. No word yet as to whether Metallica, Associated Press or CNN.COM will be taking any legal steps regarding this issue.
The fake story reads:

Lars Ulrich, drummer for the seminal rock band Metallica, was shot when leaving his downtown hotel Sunday morning. Ulrich was rushed to Brackenridge Hospital after sustaining mild gunshot wounds to the groin and abdomen just before 10:00 AM CST outside an office building at San Jacinto Blvd off First Street just blocks away from the Texas State Capitol Building. A well dressed man approached Ulrich in broad daylight shouting "You killed Napster," witnesses reported. Bodyguards for the musician were caught off-guard and unable to respond in time. The shooter was seen fleeing the scene, but was later apprehended and taken into custody, police said. The name of the 23-year-old suspect has still not been released. Ulrich was treated and released later Sunday afternoon but refused to speak about the shooting or his condition. The popular Internet music-swapping site Napster Inc., whose software allows users to dip into one another's computer hard drives to share downloaded music, was unavailable for comment. Metallica took legal action against Napster earlier this year after hearing one of its still-unfinished songs playing on radio stations all over the country. Ulrich testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in July that downloading music is the same as stealing from a music store.

- Associated Press

DEICIDE: Getting Heavier And Sicker

(Added: December 20, 2000)
Legendary extreme metallers Deicide are currently writing songs for their next album, which should be released in the spring. And the band promise that will be the heaviest and sickest album they've ever made. And we were expecting something nice and sensitive. Oh, and mainman Glenn Benton is also working on his autobiography.

MOTÖRHEAD: Lemmy Hospitalized

(Added: December 13, 2000)
Lemmy from Motorhead is currently sick with influenza in a hospital in Italy. According to our source, "He's doing well so far, but needs to rest and they cancelled the rest of the European dates. Lemmy had been ill with influenza before their last tour, but nonetheless played 39 shows in 48 days and it apparently took a toll on the basist/singer. "Doctors have been telling me for years and years to slow down," said Lemmy from his hospital bed in Italy. "How was I to know that this time they meant it? I carried on because I didn't want to let the fans down in the countries we were due to play...it now looks like I should have taken time out weeks ago to fully recover."

Knac.com spoke to Motorhead manager Todd Singerman, who filled us in on some of the details: "He came in from Japan, rehearsed for the Hawkwind and Motorhead 25th Anniversary shows for four days back to back in London, did the shows, and then went on a nine week tour. He started to feel sick in London, and ended up canceling three or four German dates. He took some time off but then continued onto Austria and then onto Italy. He cancelled three Austrian dates but was still planning on making the shows in Italy, but on his way there said, 'Fuck it,' and stopped into a hospital in Italy. He wouldn't stay but he got a check up and is staying in a hotel near Milan resting up. Basically, the whole thing can be blamed on getting no sleep from Russia to Warsaw. 'No Sleep From Russia To Warsaw?' Sounds like a Motorhead live album!"

DIO: Reveals Future Possibilities

(Added: December 13, 2000)
In a recent online chat, RONNIE JAMES DIO alluded to possibilities of working with ROGER GLOVER (Deep Purple bassist) and/or RITCHIE BLACKMORE in the future. He also stated that the next DIO record would be heavier than Magica, but still in a traditional DIO sound.

RITCHIE BLACKMORE: News & Rumours

(Added: December 13, 2000)
RITCHIE BLACKMORE was hurt during the November 30th tour closer with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT at St. Paul's Church in New York City, forcing the band to cut its set short. Blackmore's guitar came undone from its strap several songs into the set, and the headstock of the instrument swung upwards, cutting the guitarist near his eye. Blackmore continued on for some time after the mishap, but the rock portion of the show had to be canceled. Blackmore was treated by doctors backstage on the scene. In related news, the band is heading back into the studio with singer Candice Night to make another record, but sources say the DEEP PURPLE veteran is also itching to play heavier music.

DANZIG: Update On New Live and Studio Albums

(Added: December 13, 2000)
According to DANZIG's official website, the new Double Live album will be called Live On The Black Hand Side. Unfortunatly it has been pushed back to the new year. Glenn Danzig explains why. "Due to the sheer volume of recorded material that was returned from American Records and the various other labels, there was no way that the package could be put together and mixed to be ready for the original release date. Hopefully most fans will not be disappointed when they see and hear the final package. It will be well worth the wait!" Danzig also enter the studio on December 13th in California to start recording the follow up to last years Satan's Child. Danzig 7, as it is tentativley titled. Glenn was quoted as saying, "Will it be titled 777? You'll have to wait to find out!." .

Although Danzig has flatly denied being part of any possible MISFITS reunion, the NEW Misfits keep spreading rumours of an impending reunion. Danzig states, "that he will not be part of any such travesty. This should end any further speculation. PERIOD!"

AYREON: Ayreonauts Only

(Added: December 13, 2000)
AYREON's new album, Ayreonauts Only, due out December 15th includes 11 tracks featuring outtakes, demos and previews from the band. The CD features GARY HUGHES, BRUCE DICKINSON, ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN, ROBERT SOETERBECK, LANA LANE and ASTRID VAN DER VEEN. The tracklisting: 'Into The Black Hole', 'Out Of The White Hole', 'Through The Wormhole', 'Carpe Diem' (unreleased home demo), 'Temple Of The Cat' (acoustic), 'Original Hippie's Amazing Trip', 'Beyond The Last Horizon' (new version featuring Gary Hughes), 'Charm Of The Seer' (demo), 'Eyes Of Time', 'Nature's Dance' (demo) and 'Ambeon: Cold Metal'.

AYREON's Lucassen recently received an award from a member of progressive rock royalty. Legendary keyboardist and YES veteran Rick Wakeman, president of the Classic Rock Society, presented Lucassen with the organization's annual Best All-Around Musician award on November 17th, 2000, at the Oakwood Centre in Rotherham, England. CRS members and readers of its Wondrous Stories magazine chose Lucassen for this year's honor.

TYGERS OF PAN TANG: Sykes Era Live Record

(Added: December 13, 2000)
Tygers Of Pang Tang are about to release a classic live recording, Live At Nottingham Rock City, on February 19th. The performance was recorded on the Rolling Stones mobile in 1981 by Chris Tsangerides on their Spellbound tour. This is the first live Tygers album ever. The album features guitarist John Sykes (THIN LIZZY/WHITESNAKE) together with the classic line-up of Jon Deverill (vocals), Brian Dick (drums), Robb Weir (guitar) and Rocky (bass). The master tapes from the recording have been mixed by Fred Purser at his studio in Newcastle upon Tyne. Fred, of course, replaced John Sykes as the Tygers guitarist when John joined Thin Lizzy. Sleeve notes for the album were written by the band's manager, Tom Noble, throughout their career. The booklet contains archive unseen live photos from the tour from the band's private collection.

The album contains the following tracks: 'Take It', 'Rock N Roll Man', 'Blackjack', 'Tyger Bay', 'Insanity', 'Euthanasia', 'Mirror', 'Wild Cat', 'Money', 'Don't Stop By', 'Gangland', 'Silver & Gold', 'Hellbound', 'Slave To Freedom' and 'All Or Nothing'.

GUNS N’ ROSES: Album Update

(Added: December 13, 2000)
Guns N’ Roses management has announced that the long awaited Chinese Democracy album will hit stores in June, 2001. Corresponding with the release will be a full fledged tour starting next summer with a lineup including guitarists Robin Finck and Buckethead, according to a statement issued by the band's management. Ex- Primus drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia has also come on board with GN'R, according to a source close to the band. Dizzy Reed will handle keyboards. Famous record producer BOB EZRIN (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd) has signed on to help finish work on the long delayed album. As a teaser, the band will play a warm up gig at the House of Blues in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve, and then take the stage for a Rock In Rio January 14th.

DREAM THEATER: Metropolis 2000

(Added: December 13, 2000)
Progressive metal rockers Dream Theater has scheduled to release their DVD/VHS home video Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York on February 27th, with a European release on the day before. The home video will consist of the entire Scenes From A Memory, which was performed in New York City’s Roseland Ballroom last August, commentary from the members, live material, documentary, and a tour photo gallery. DT drummer Mike Portnoy directed both DVD and VHS.

The side project Platypus, which featured DT member John Myung, Derek Sherinian of Planet X, plus Ty Tabor of King’s X and former Winger member Rod Morgenstein, have now branched off into two separate groups. Just recently Tabor, Myung, and Morgenstein had been recording a new album at the Millbrook Recording Studios. No band name has been reached at this time, but for sure it will no longer be referred to as Platypus.. They are looking towards a Spring 2001 release of the new album that consist of heavier, guitar-driven tracks than the previous Platypus albums. The other project consists of Tabor once again, Sherinian, and possibly both Greg and Matt Bissonette. Plans for working on this project are scheduled to begin sometime in January 2001.

LOUDNESS: Lightning Does Strike Twice

(Added: December 13, 2000)
As already reported, the original Loudness line-up has gotten back together and recorded an album reminiscent of some of their best and brashest material from the early '80s. Guitarist Akira Takasaki talked about the reunion that many fans of the band have been pining for.

"I met up with Minoru (Niihara/vocals), Munetaka (Higuchi/drums) and Masayoshi (Yamashita/bass) to talk about reforming this past May. I also met up with our original manager, and he wanted to put the band back together as well, so this is really the whole original line-up back together. It wasn't a difficult decision because the other guys wanted to do this a couple of years ago. I've played with them in different situations over the last couple years, like on Munetaka's tribute album to Cozy Powell, so it was very natural for us to come back together."

Takasaki reveals that this is not a one-off project. They plan to record more albums in the future, although schedules will have to be juggled as everyone in the band has other musical endeavours on the go. Spiritual Canoe will be released on Nippon Columbia in Japan in March 2001 with tentative plans for release in North America and Europe later in the year. The band is also looking at doing the festival circuit through Europe next summer.

TESTAMENT: Returns To The Beggining

(Added: December 13, 2000)
Veteran San Francisco band Testament are re-recording some of their early material. This will be released on an album called `Chapter One', which will prelude the arrival of a brand new Testament record in May.

CELTIC FROST: Reunion

(Added: December 13, 2000)
Avant garde metal heroes Celtic Frost, regarded as one of the most influential bands of the 1980s, will reform in the near future. Sources close to the Swiss band, who split up nearly ten years ago, have informed TotalRock that Thomas Gabriel Fischer - the artist formerly known as Tom G. Warrior - will reunite with Martin Eric Ain, Reed St. Mark and Curt Victor Bryant, and that the project will be highly experimental. Stay tuned for more details when they're confirmed. Meantime, Fischer is working on the second album with his current band Apollyon Sun. It has the working title of `Flesh'.

SLAYER: Accused Of Inspiring Killers

(Added: December 5, 2000)
Slayer Sued By Parents Of Murdered Teen For Inspiring Killers To "Stalk, Rape, Torture, Murder And Commit Acts Of Necrophilia" Slayer are among the acts and companies named in a lawsuit filed by the Pahler family, who are blaming their music and lyrics for the death of their 15 year old daughter. The Pahler girl was murdered by three of her friends, Jacob Delashmutt, Joseph Fiorella and Royce Casey, in 1995. The three convicted killers were well-known hardcore Slayer fans and believed that they needed to commit a "sacrifice to the devil" in order to give their band Hatred the "craziness" to "go professional." The suit was filed in 1996 but was put on hold until the trial for the three accused teens was finished. All three eventually pled guilty.

The family claims songs like "PostMortem" and "Dead Skin Mask" gave the killers step-by-step instructions to "stalk, rape, torture, murder and commit acts of necrophilia" on their daughter. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages from the band and its record labels and restrictions on the marketing of violent music to minors.

A judge in California heard arguments on the whether the case should be dismissed due to the First Amendment this afternoon. More information to come.

PRIMAL FEAR: Nuclear Fire Tour

(Added: December 5, 2000)
In support of all the hype surrounding the release of Nuclear Fire, PRIMAL FEAR will be playing the host of one of the hottest tickets for the European 2001 concert season. They kick off in Germany in February with labelmates Children Of Bodom, another white-hot band, giving rise to the thought that this is perhaps a cash grab by the label, putting two of their most popular bands together even though they have separate legions of fans. As it turns out, however, having Finland's Children on the bill was Primal Fear's idea. "It's our tour; we decide what we want to do," says bassist and businessman Mat Sinner. "A friend of mine, who is the A&R guy for Children Of Bodom, made the suggestion to make a different combination. A lot of bands will be touring through January, February and March; big names like HammerFall, Virgin Steele and Helloween, so there is some competition to have a bill that will attract people. It made sense to make an interesting combination like this one. Children Of Bodom will serve to make this tour a little more special. They are a young, talented band playing a different style of metal, but it's still metal and they're incredible instrumentalists. I'm really looking forward to the tour because both bands will end up with new fans in the end. There are people that will come to this show that would never go to a Primal Fear concert, and the reverse is also true, so both bands will benefit." It seems that the tour doesn't only have Sinner excited. From what he says, the buzz has become a roar in some markets. "Two days ago Spain and France informed me that they had to book bigger venues for some shows, which is one of the best signs you can have. I don't know if we've created a monster yet, though. Talk to me again in February (laughs)."

DOKKEN: Live From The Sun

(Added: December 5, 2000)
DOKKEN have released a new live CD, DVD and VHS, Live From The Sun, on CMC International Records. The performance was recorded on November 4th, 1999, before a sold-out hometown crowd at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim, CA. "The night was sort of magical," admits Don Dokken, "because we were all having a lot of fun, being there with all our friends at the end of months on the road." "It's particularly appropriate now," adds Jeff Pilson, "because we've been through so much in recent years and I think this recording shows that we've come out stronger, not only personally, but musically." The CD tracklisting: 'Erase The Slate', 'Kiss Of Death', 'The Hunter', 'Into The Fire', 'Maddest Hatter', 'Too High To Fly', 'Breaking The Chains', 'Alone Again', 'It's Not Love', 'Tooth And Nail' and 'In My Dreams'. The DVD and VHS include a slightly different song order, including the addition of the longtime favorite 'Paris Is Burning' and two exclusive bonus acoustic tracks, 'Will The Sun Rise' and 'Walk Away'. Both formats include behind-the-scenes interviews and paintings and illustrations by Don Dokken.

SENTENCED: Haven’t Commited Suicide Yet

(Added: December 5, 2000)
Century Media Records in Europe has released SENTENCED's Crimson on limited picture vinyl and reissued Frozen and Amok in a two-CD box. According to guitarist Sami Lopakka "We are now taking a six month break with the band. To calm our nerves, to gain some will to live and continue with this thing we have created. Against the rumours and some people's hopes we are not going to split up. Also, none of us have killed ourselves and none of us is are in the hospital because of alcoholism/drug use. We are just taking some time off the band. We will be back next year with a new album."

ANNIHILATER: Launch New Official Website

(Added: December 5, 2000)
From www.annihilatormetal.com:
Annihilator fans... the time has come! Annihilator's new OFFICIAL site has launched. Check it out for the latest information on Annihilator and their new CD, "Carnival Diablos". Look for information on our Annihilator site launch contest where you can win Jeff Waters' black Gibson SG guitar... autographed!! All you have to do to enter is find the "secret logo" hidden in the site and click it. You will be asked one simple question about Annihilator and your entry will be received. It's just that easy!

ICED EARTH: Horrifying Update

(Added: December 5, 2000)
ICED EARTH are nearly finished writing material for their next studio album, Horror Show, set to be released in May, 2001. Meanwhile the band will be releaseing their EP “Melancholy” on January 8th, 2001. Two new members now join the band. One is new drummer Richard Christy who did live shows with DEMONS & WIZARDS but is more known as the backbone for DEATH and CONTROL DENIED. The other new member is bassist Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, TESTAMENT). The band may record a cover of IRON MAIDEN's 'Transylvania', to be uses as a bonus track.

HARDLINE: More Than A One Record Wonder

(Added: December 5, 2000)
Frontiers/Now & Then will release the comeback album from melodic rockers HARDLINE. The bands Johnny Gioeli explains, "Although I never felt I left the rock scene, I certainly slowed down quite a bit. The slowing was great timing as I was blessed four years ago with my beautiful daughter Kaitlin who I got to spend a tremendous amount of time watching her grow. Now I am SO SO SO SO ready to put out another Hardline record for all of the fans who really believed it was more than a one record wonder. Neal Schon and I spent days, months and years writing songs that would have been on future Hardline records. Will I use them? Hhhhhmmmmmmmm. I don't know. I have swarms of new ideas turning in my mind for the new record. Why am I doing this record? Not for money-not for fame-but for the love of a great melodic chorus. Sometimes when I stop and think of the past, I can still hear the crowd and see the millionsof faces and their reactions. I live for this...and I am going to make this the record of records. It is still undecided as to who will be on the record but I do know that, apart from Joey on rhythm guitar and myself on vocals, famed guitar hero Joey Tafolla will play lead guitar.

3 TREMORS: Metal Gods Unite

(Added: December 5, 2000)
A Mega-Metal all-star project called 3 TREMORS is being created behind the scenes at Sanctuary as IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson, ROB HALFORD and QUEENSRYCHE's Geoff Tate are working on a studio record due out in July.

GRAVE DIGGER: Member Leaves The Band

(Added: December 5, 2000)
GRAVE DIGGER's frontman Chris 'Uncle Reaper' Boltendahl has posted on the bands website, www.grave-digger.de, that Uwe Lulis has left the band. Lulis will start up a solo project and Grave Digger is now looking for a new guitarist. Boltendahl also cryptically added the band will have a "big surprise" sometime "in the future".

HALFORD: Hell Bent For Europe

(Added: November 28, 2000)
Rob Halford is finishing up his jaunt around Europe for Resurrection, after which he hints (and only hints), big plans are afoot. First a few particulars about the ongoing European tour, in particular, the setlist.

"Well, we're still doing 'Stained Class'; we did put 'Jawbreaker' into the set, which is kind of a surprise. We're still doing 'Running Wild', 'Tyrant', 'Genocide', 'Breaking The Law', 'Metal Gods'. We've been having some pretty wild moments with 'Breaking The Law'. Since we've gotten to Europe, it's like a cappella; the band plays it as an instrumental and I just hold the mic out and it's just singalong time with the metal god. It's just terrific. But we've been thinking about possibly bringing in some other Priest material as we progress through the European tour. 'Desert Plains' possibly, maybe 'Screaming For Vengeance', 'Devil's Child'. Everybody in the band has such a big understanding of the Priest music, we can literally go out and play whatever we choose. But we want to try to keep the set balanced and interesting with a real hard edge. We put 'Temptation' in the set a few days ago, and of course, as soon as we got offstage, somebody got on the Internet, at the robhalford.com site and said it had been included. So if you're going to hear anything new and fresh, people are going to know immediately. Coming up, I'm going to go back home to the U.K. and do three shows, then two shows in Athens, Greece, and then we go to Japan on the 10th of December and I think we do about seven or eight shows in Japan, and then I get back to San Diego on December the 22nd. So we'll have effectively been out on the road since July until Christmas."

And next year?
"Next year is going to be a fantastic year for me. I'm celebrating 30 years as a professional metal singer. So next year is going to be tremendously exciting. We've got one or two things that we've not quite let out yet that we're going to work on."

Priest live dates perhaps?
"(laughs). No, you know, I can honestly say that there's going to be nothing like that happening next year. Because after the meetings I've had recently with my manager Rod Smallwood and the Sanctuary people, we've got an enormous amount of work to do, not only with the Halford band, but with some other ideas we're putting into place as we speak. And we'll just let people know about that over the Christmas holidays. But next year is going to be as busy as it was this year, writing and recording and live work. So 2001 is fully booked."

MEGADETH & DIAMOND HEAD: Mustaine And Tatler In Side Project

(Added: November 28, 2000)
Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine has exclusively told Classic Rock that he is to form a band with Brian Tatler of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal veterans Diamond Head. Mustaine, who approached the Midlands-based guitarist to work together even before forming Megadeth in 1983, is relishing the prospect.

“We’ve been talking for a while about this, but all the relevant people that we needed to agree to the project have now done so,” reveals Mustaine. “Now we’re gonna start sending tapes back and forth. It’s just gonna be a seide-project, it won’t detract from Megadeth or bring Brian out of retirement, but the next step is to start looking for the perfect singer and the right rhythm section. They don’t need to be English or American, and I have a few ideas in mind for singers but nothing I can tell you about at this stage.”

The idea for the as-yet unnamed project crystalised in Mustaine’s mind whilst he was working on a nine-minute song called ‘When’ which will appear on Megadeth’s next album, which is now due for release next year.

“I’d been speaking with Brian and asked him what the fuck he’d been thinking about when Diamond Head wrote ‘Am I Evil’,” chuckles Mustaine. “Brian said they’d been trying to out-heavy Black Sabbath, and I told him that was a beutiful thing. It was uncanny, I’d been thinking about Brian on my way to the studio on the exact day he chose to call me. Now isn’t that what you’d call a co-incident?”

HAMMERFALL: Explaining Metal Mainstream w/ New Single

(Added: November 28, 2000)
HAMMERFALL are finishing up the video for the single 'Always Will Be', scheduled for release on November 27th. Says Joacim, "The planned release date for the 2-track single 'Always Will Be' is November 27th in Sweden only. In January 2001 it will be released as a 3-track single in the rest of Europe. With the Renegade single and album we got alot of attention in Sweden, both on radio and TV, and that opened up some doors that the whole genre will benefit from. The fact is that this single is basically released in order to get more air play on both radio and TV, and the truth is that it's almost impossible to get any airplay with a fast, more aggressive song. I know many of you "true" fans out there dislike that the "kids" of today are listening both to HammerFall and various pop artists. But isn't that proof that there's hope for the future? Many of these new fans we've got never heard Heavy Metal music before they heard HammerFall, just because radio and TV turned their backs against us and other metal bands. We need to get our voices heard everywhere and let the people know about the Heavy Metal Revolution. One band or one voice cant make a difference. But if we get united and stand together we can make a change and make Heavy Metal stronger than all!! Sincerely, Joacim Cans " The band are currently in negotiation for their upcoming World Crusade Tour.

(Added: November 28, 2000)
Here’s ex-Iron maiden belter Paul Di’Anno’s reaction to rumours floating around the internet as to the nefarious reason his U.S. tour was cancelled a couple months back:

"I just talked to my manager about it. This is really pissing me off, to be honest with you. You see, I've got a girlfriend from Brazil who is actually working in Providence, Rhode Island, and she called me up and goes, 'what the hell happened with this tour?' They said my work permit was out of order. I couldn't get it fixed up in time. The American government gave me permission to work in America, but I left something off I was supposed to include. They said, ‘have you ever been in trouble and stuff like that before?’ And yes I did (sighs). I did get arrested in America about eight years ago in the crazy days (laughs); it was over a weapons thing, yeah? So now these rumors are all going out over the fucking internet that I was supposedly beating my ex-wife up and I'm going ‘shit, I didn't do that!’ So we're going to put a disclaimer on my website about this. I'm really pissed off about it. So it would be nice to get my own story out for a change. But I really screwed up on that one. Because they say on the form for the visa, ‘have you been in trouble before?’ This is from the American Embassy in England. And I was advised by some legal people, ‘oh, it was a long time ago, don't bother putting it on there. Leave it off.’ Which is what I did and they wrote back and said you better do something about that. But by that point it was too late to get it together."

THIN LIZZY: New Collection

(Added: November 28, 2000)
The Boys Are Back In Town is a new collection from THIN LIZZY and PHIL LYNOTT, due out on December 6th. The 18 track CD features the best from Lizzy and the solo albums of the late Lynott. A limited edition of the album will also be available that includes a bonus eight track disc with various single tracks. Of particular note, a pairing of Thin Lizzy with the SEX PISTOLS as THE GREEDIES doing 'A Merry Jingle' is included. The tracklisting: 'Jailbreak', 'Dancing In The Moonlight', 'Boys Are Back In Town', 'Sarah', 'Don't Believe A Word', 'Solo In Soho', 'Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed', 'Cowboy Song', 'Bad Reputation', 'Rosalie', 'Waiting For An Alibi', 'King's Call', 'Emerald', 'Old Town', 'Whiskey In The Jar', 'Sun Goes Down', 'Black Rose' and 'Still In Love With You'. The bonus disc: 'Beat On The Drum', 'Somebody Else's Dream', 'A Night In The Life Of A Blues Singer', 'Don't Play Around', 'Trouble Boys', 'Memory Pain', 'Just The Two Of Us' and 'A Merry Jingle'.

CARNIVORE: Reunion For Reissue Releases?

(Added: November 28, 2000)
Though the band parted ways over 10 years ago, you have yet to hear the last of them. Slated for a January 2001 release, both Carnivore LP's are being reissued. This time around, there will be a bit more to see and hear from the band. Each LP, "Carnivore" and "Retaliation", have been remastered AND each reisuue includes THREE tracks that were previously unreleased. In addition, the artwork: the artwork, which remains true to Peter's vision for the band from back in the day, has expanded liner notes on the act as well as photos you have never seen before. This time around, with Peter having considerable more clout to do what he wants with the artwork, you will get a feel for Carnivore which you may have never had before.

Rumor has it, again this is just a rumor thus far, but it is possible that you may get a chance to go back in time 12 years and see this legendary act play live. Yes, I have heard that CARNIVORE may get back together for a few live shows in support of their upcoming releases. If so, the band lineup would be the "Retaliation" LP lineup. Unfortunately, if this does happen, I am told that these will be NEW YORK area ONLY shows. Have any vacation time coming up? More to come...

KISS: Peter Criss Backs Down Pay Demands As Tour Rolls On

(Added: November 28, 2000)
Despite well-publicised internal rumblings, Kiss’ farewell tour is likely to roll on into the New Year. As reported earlier, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss have been demanding equal shares of the tour’s profits, the latter’s protests being so vehement that Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley reportedly put former member Eric Singer on standby to replace Peter. It would seem that Peter Criss who recently said “I absolutely think it’s time to pull the plug (on the reuinion)”, has now backed down, although reports indicate he has now taken to adding a tear to his famous onstage cat make-up. Other sources say the tear has nothing to do with these latest band problems, but was added because of the farewell tour.

MARK BOALS: Explains Departure From Yngwie Malmsteen

(Added: November 28, 2000)
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN vocalist MARK BOALS has made the following statement about his departure: "After many years of friendship and musical magic, the team of Yngwie Malmsteen and Mark Boals has decided to move in different directions due to various reasons beyond our control. Being a singer with Yngwie has brought me many highs and lows, and I am very grateful for the many happy times we had working together. Yngwie was then, and is still now a legendary musician who will always have my respect and admiration. In considering my own future, I have set my sights on the highest goals, and have been seeking out to find a new musical family that will be like-minded and capable of reaching those goals with me. I believe that I have found these qualities in the persons of Vitalij Kuprij on keyboards, George Bellas on guitar, Virgil Donati on drums, and Barry Dunaway on bass. So, I have decided to move forward with these great musicians and form a band called RING OF FIRE! I'm happy to announce that Ring Of Fire has signed for Japan and Southeast Asian territory with Marquee Inc."

ANTHRAX: Sues Mötley Crue

(Added: November 28, 2000)
According to Metal Edge, ANTHRAX are suing MOTLEY CRUE for money lost when they were fired from the Crue's Maximum Rock tour earlier this year. In happier news, the band is writing new material and are "on the verge" of signing a new deal. Scott Ian comments: "We'll be writing through January and hope to get into the studio by February." Expect a summer release.

DONINGTON: After Four Years Returns

(Added: November 28, 2000)
After an absence of four years, one of the UK's most famous outdoor rock events will return next summer. Yep, Donington is back on the calendar. The legendary festival was launched in 1980 by a bill topped by Rainbow and also included Judas Priest and the Scorpions, and in subsequent years, the likes of AC/DC, Whitesnake, Ozzy, Iron Maiden and Metallica have all headlined the event. Donington 2001 happens on July 14, and the headliners will be the Stereophonics, which might cause some consternation among Donington diehards. Tickets cost œ25 (or œ35 with camping facilities included), and you may buy them online now at www.buyonline.com.

WACKEN OPEN AIR 2001: Bands Confirmed

(Added: November 28, 2000)
The following bands have been confirmed for the Wacken Open Air Festival 2001: IN FLAMES, THERION (with full orchestra), DIMMU BORGIR, SODOM and NEVERMORE.

IMMORTAL: Nuclear Blast Signs Immortal

(Added: November 28, 2000)
Now it's official! IMMORTAL, one of world's most famous Black Metal bands, finally signed a worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast. The band already started working on their 7th album, and is currently on tour again.

SLAYER: New Album Producer Announced

(Added: November 28, 2000)
Slayer are rumored to have approached producer Matt Hyde (Monster Magnet) to helm their upcoming new album. The band plan on entering the recording with an eye on a summer release through their longtime label, American.

S.O.D.: Billy Milano Breaking The Law

(Added: November 21, 2000)
We have no real reason to print this picture of S.O.D.'s Billy Milano being hauled off by San Bernadino police other than it's damn funny!!! The snap shot is from Friday November 10th from the November To Dismember Festival at the Orange Pavilion in San Bernadino when Milano was arrested for beating up Nevermore singer Warrel Dane over a dispute regarding Billy's girlfriend. The rumor was that the drummer of Nevermore was bragging that he had "sexual relations," with Milano's girlfriend and, needless to say, Milano didn't take it too well. Billy took it out on Dane and was arrested shortly afterward (although he was out and back at the festival within two hours). However, due to fight, Dane's lip was apparently so busted up that he couldn't sing and Nevermore cancelled their Saturday set. Oh well, Billy doesn't seem too upset with matters here in this picture!

Billy recently released a statement regarding the incident at November To Dismember: "First off, I know I'm not perceived as an angel, but it is merely a act which is packaged and sold as Billy Milano. What happened last weekend was unfortunate, but merely a continuation of a personal grievance I had with Warrel and Van from over 8 months ago. I received sincere apologies from both of them at that time, but a phone call is no way to sort out issues which challenge HONOR, INTEGRITY and most importantly TRUTH.

I had an argument 30 minutes before the altercation with Warrel, with his drummer Van. I told Van I would not do anything to either of them until after they played; I wanted to respect their fans and their label, but wanted them to understand an apology that came 5 months too late wasn't enough. Although there are many sides to every story, I find it ironic that a 13 year old boy, (who I had never met before), provided the only eye-witness statement given to police indicating that Warrel was the first to initiate physical contact. (I later found out it was Chuck Billy of Testament's son.)

The difference between what is being said by the Nevermore camp and myself is simply this: They initiated all this by LYING to begin with! I don't advocate violence, but I was given no choice but to deal with Warrel in an expeditious and decisive manner. The stupidity that ultimately caused this was initiated by Warrel and persons in the Nevermore camp; I just happened to be the one who finished it. Perhaps we will all learn a lesson. So, my apologies go out to Warrel Dane, the members of Nevermore, the staff at Century Media, but most specifically, the fans of Nevermore for my actions Friday evening which resulted in Nevermore's cancellation of Saturday night's show."

DREAM THEATER: New Home Video Release

(Added: November 21, 2000)
The release date has tentatively been set for the release of Dream Theater’s home video. The live home video is from the band’s performance at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom on August 30 2000. The video will be release on both DVD and VHS formats in Europe on February 26th, and the United States on February 27th.

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN: Tour News

(Added: November 21, 2000)
Swedish guitar hero, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, is taking aim at North America with the release of his new Spitfire CD, War To End All Wars. The album sees Malmsteen mix together traditional heavy metal riffs and vocals with classical influences. As Yngwie points out, the new album "is quite heavy, but it has all the elements you'd expect plus a little more. It's an interesting album all in all." However, don't expect to see longtime lead singer Mark Boals along for the ride as Yngwie takes the music on the road. Currently, invading US shores on a package with Dio and Doro. New lead singer, Jorn Lande, will join the tour a few shows in, meanwhile another alumni, Jeff Scott Soto will sit in for San Francisco, Las Vegas and LA (instead of them being all-instrumental sets) then Jorn Lande joins up in Salt Lake City. After the US tour, Yngwie plans to head to Japan to perform his 'Concerto Suite For Electric Guitar and Orchestra in E Flat Minor Op.1' album in its entirety. Then, he is off to conquer Europe by himself. As for the live experience, Yngwie promises that "the set list is going to change from beginning to end. I told the guys that they have to know thirty to forty songs, but we'll do ten in concert' cause I do a lot solos/crazy guitar playing," and that he'd concentrate on playing more "of the Rising Force stuff and stuff people know, but I'll do more and more from the new album (as the tour progresses)".

SLAYER: Bloody Update

(Added: November 21, 2000)
Legendary thrash metallers Slayer are in the studio working on their next album. Few details have been confirmed, but fans will be able to hear one new track recorded during these sessions early next month, with the song `Bloodline' being featured on the soundtrack album for the movie “Dracula 2000”. Rather an appropriate choice of title, really. And another new cut, as yet untitled, will be included on a WWF compilation album early next year. The Slayer album itself should scream into the shops by early spring.

PHIL LYNOTT (Thin Lizzy): New Tribute From Record Heaven

(Added: November 21, 2000)
Record Heaven Music will release The Spirit Of The Black Rose - A Tribute To PHILIP LYNOTT on February 5th. The following will be included on the double disc: 'The Boys Are Back In Town' - Randy Backman (B.T.O.), 'Dear Lord' - Ken Hensley (URIAH HEEP), 'Cowboy Song' - NITZINGER, 'Emerald' - DEMON, 'Jailbreak' - DOC HOLLIDAY, 'Southbound' - SOUTHERN ROCK ALLSTARS, 'Gonna Creep Up On You' - LOTUS, 'Bad Reputation' - BIGELF, 'Borderline' - Damon Johnson (BROTHER CANE), 'Don't Believe A Word' - LEADFOOT, 'Hollywood' - Kelly Keeling (MSG), 'Romeo And The Lonely Girl' - Carl Dixon (CONEY HATCH), 'Do Anything You Want To' - THIN LIPSTICK, 'Rocky' - YELLOW PEARL, 'Fools Gold' - HOBBIT, 'Warrior' - LOCOMOTIVE BREATH, 'Suicide' - DOGFACE, 'Glenn Corr (The Spirit Of The Vagabond)' - CELTIC LEGACY, 'Vagabonds Of The Western World' - Celtic Legacy, 'Thunder & Lightning' - VICK LeCAR'S BLUE MOON, 'Opium Trail' - KURGAN'S BANE, 'Johnny' - THE BOYS ARE BACK, 'Baby Please Don't Go' - PARRIS, 'Bad Habits' - SOAP OPERA, 'Angel Of Death' - TEN JINN, 'It's Only Money' - LOADED DICE, 'Killer Without A Cause' - MOTHERLODE and spoken word tracks by Philomena Lynott and Roddy Cleere. Money raised from sales of the double-disc set will be used for The Roisin Dubh Trust Fund to help erect a statue of Lynott in Dublin, Ireland.

NUCLEAR BLAST & CENTURY MEDIA: Join Forces In North America

(Added: November 21, 2000)
In North American label news, Century Media Records and Nuclear Blast Records have combined forces under one roof, essentially making such a unification a metal monolpoly. Oliver Withoeft, CEO of Century Media Records reacts, "It's not our intention to become a monopoly, but we are excited about the opportunity to be working together with one of the world's premiere metal labels." Nuclear Blast owner Markus Staiger comments, "Through this alliance between Century Media and Nuclear Blast a lot of things will change for the better, because both companies will be able to benefit out of the other company's knowledge and both companies can combine their power to become even more successful." Nuclear Blast is in the process of relocating their operations to the west coast uniting both companies under one roof. Vice-President/General Manager Marco Barbieri will head Century Media and Nuclear Blast, yet each will maintain separate A&R/Product Managers and promotion contacts to retain their own strong individualistic character, while co-operating behind the scenes in the administration, production, accounting and warehousing aspects thus giving each the best of both worlds.

KISS & VAN HALEN: Paul Stanley To Join Van Halen?!

(Added: November 21, 2000)
Bizarre rumour of the moment has to belong to the story that Paul Stanley is about to quit Kiss to join Van Halen. Yeah, and Ian Gillan will sing with Black Sabbath. Come to think of it, nah, surely this cannot be true! We'll keep you posted. (Source: Total Rock)

KISS: Injured Fan Sues Kiss

(Added: November 14, 2000)
According to the Grand Rapids Press, a 27-year-old KISS fan from Grand Rapids, MI has filed a lawsuit against the band in Kent County, MI. District Court over injuries allegedly sustained from a "hurled" piece of guitarist-vocalist Paul Stanley's guitar during a concert at the Van Ardel Arena in Grand Rapids in May.

According to the fan, Carly Miller, the injury occurred during the encore performance of "Rock and Roll All Nite" when Stanley, as per his routine during EVERY show, smashed his guitar and handed the pieces to members of the crowd. Miller was sitting in the third row and alleges she was pulled from her seat in the scuffle that occurred over the pieces of guitar. She says that during the melee a guitar string to wrapped around her finger and inuring her permanently. Miller claims she has a lasting scar, suffered permanent nerve damage, and received several bruises caused by being pulled over two rows of seats as a result of the incident.

The suit reads: "As the guitar struck her hand, a broken metallic guitar string wrapped around the third digit of her dominant hand and thereafter caused an extreme and severe 'steel string ligature' when the guitar was yanked by competing members of the crowd who sought the guitar."

According to Miller's lawyer, Jason Barrix, attempts to reach an out-of-court settlement have proved unsuccessful. Barrix told the Grand Rapids Press, "All five defendants have their own insurance companies and they're all saying they're not at fault. We've tried to resolve it with them."

MAGNUM: Reuinion & Album News

(Added: November 14, 2000)
Magnum are set to celebrate their 25th Anniversary next year by re-forming and recording a new studio album. The band have not yet finalized a line up, but it will obviously include Bob Catley and Tony Clarkin, with Mark Stanway also likely to be involved. The remaining members from the band's last and most loved line up could also be involved. The album will not be completed and ready for release until at least September next year. Meanwhile, Bob Catley is working on his third solo album with songwriter Gary Hughes. He has just finished recording the lead vocals for the album with the title Middle Earth. It features songs based around Tolkein's The Lord Of The Rings and is set to continue the majestic style of his first two solo records. The new album will be released early next year.

LOUDNESS: Reuinion & Album News

(Added: November 14, 2000)
News out of Japan indicates that the original LOUDNESS line-up (Minoru Niihara/vocals, Akira Takasaki/guitars, Masayoshi Yamashita/bass and Munetaka Higuchi/drums) of Thunder In The East fame has reunited and is in the process of recording a new album. The band has reportedly been holed up in the studio since August with plans to release the as yet untitled slab of metal in February 2001. The band has gone back to their roots, with the new material tapping the same vein as 1983's Disillusion, their heaviest album to date. It is being recorded in Japanese with tentative plans to record an English version, the same thing they did with Disillusion, oddly enough, which was their first release outside of Japan. A Japanese tour has been planned to coincide with the release of the album. The new album will mark the first time the original line-up has been together since 1987's Hurricane Eyes album. The Eurobounds video is being re-issued on DVD as well on December 21st to coincide with all the hype. No word as to whether or not this reunion is a one off or if it will remain a static line-up as the individual members of the band have other projects on the go. Most notable is singer Niihara's main band, X.Y.Z., which has just released their second album, Labyrinth. The band has also been forced to undergo a slight name change, now calling themselves X.Y.Z.-A, likely due to threats of litigation by the L.A. band of the same name that was supposedly defunct, though reports can neither confirm nor deny this. Their last album, Asian Typhoon, now sports the slightly altered name and is available in two versions, Japanese (red cover) and English (green cover).

KING DIAMOND: 20 Years Ago

(Added: November 13, 2000)
KING DIAMOND will release in spring 2001 an album entitled "20 YEARS AGO (A night of rehearsal)". KING DIAMOND started his career as a lead vocalist in an all Danish band by the name of BLACK ROSE. This was three years before MERCYFUL FATE released their now legendary "Mini-LP" in 1982. BLACK ROSE was a 5-piece band, heavily influenced by Deep Purple and Kansas. Already then KING DIAMOND used crazy makeup and the band had a reputation for delivering a very violent and bloody theatrical show. The music to be featured on this record was recorded live during a night rehearsal session, on the 30th of September, 1980. There will be 11 original BLACK ROSE songs and a cover version of Golden Earring´s "Radar Love" (the long LP version). This material has never been available in any form or fashion until now!

MISFITS: Singer & Drummer Quit The Band

(Added: November 13, 2000)
Once again, there will be some key member changes in the influential horror punk metal band the Misfits. Last month singer Michale Graves and drummer Dr. Chud stormed off the stage during an Orlando, FL show and rumors began to fly. The band has posted a statement on their website officially announcing that the duo have left the band. The statement confirms that the two ghouls quit during the October 25th show at Orlando's House of Blues right after guitarist Doyle left the stage in frustration due to equipment problems and that the Graves had announced earlier in the set that he would be quitting the band on Halloween. Bassist Jerry Only, the band's only remaining original member, was ironically, left alone onstage to perform the song "We are 138" by himself.

The remaining duo of bassist Jerry Only and guitarist Doyle intend to soldier on, with Ignite frontman Zoli Teglas and drummer Ken 'Renfield' Schalk of New York rap-metal crew Candiria coming in at least on a temporary basis under the tour. More news as it comes.

SAVATAGE: Zachary Stevens Leaves Savatage

(Added: November 6, 2000)
Savatage is officially announcing the departure of Zachary Stevens as lead singer of the band. Zak has decided to pursue other career options and has also expressed desire to spend time with his family and new baby daughter. All of us from Savatage/TSO Camp wish him all the luck, happiness and success in the world.

As for Savatage's new CD "Poets and Madmen", Jon Oliva has resumed his role as the sole lead singer for this upcoming CD. Jon Oliva: "We wanted to make sure that Zak was certain of his decision to step down before we moved forward on the new CD. Having left Savatage before myself, I know what Zak is going through. We are all very close friends, it is always hard to part ways with band mates. They are family and will always be family. Chris Caffery returned, I returned, we never know what the future will hold with Zak and Savatage. This also includes TSO and other upcoming projects. The new CD is just about finished and I am sure it will make Savatage fans very happy."

As for right now there is no replacement for Zak, the band is looking at several options. Everything will be in place before the tour starts in February. Official announcements will be made as they occur and you can expect to hear Jon Oliva sing a lot more on the "Poets" tour.

PHIL LYNOTT (Thin Lizzy): The Rocker On Screen?

(Added: November 6, 2000)
"The Rocker", the acclaimed biography of the late Phil Lynott, may be turned into a movie. The film right have now been acquired, appropriately enough, by an Irish-based company, and it's hoped that a script will be developed in the near future. The book, published in 1994, was written by late journalist Mark Putterford, who sadly died the same year.

SAXON: Tours & New Album

(Added: October 30, 2000)
Veteran metal champions SAXON are set to do a little mini tour of Mexico and America after which they will return to England to begin work on the follow-up to the well-received Metalhead album. After that, it's back to North America for a more extensive tour somewhere around mid-2001. Lanky vocalist Biff Byford gave us this update on set-list changes to expect on the first tour. "There will be four or five songs off the new album and we're going to play some songs we haven't played for while, maybe do 'Heavy Metal Thunder' or 'Play It Loud', some things off of Power & The Glory maybe. And in terms of covers, we'll be doing 'Ride Like The Wind' and possibly our Judas Priest song 'You've Got Another Thing Coming', which we did on a tribute album. We're not that big on covers, but on the new album we're writing at the moment, we are covering 'In The Court Of The Crimson King'." The new album (working title: Killing Ground) will once again be written and pre-produced in England, with recording scheduled for January, in Germany, with Charly Bauerfeind who did Metalhead as well as Venom's Resurrection album. As with Metalhead, Bauerfeind and Biff will co-produce. One difference this time is that awesome Saxon drummer from the past Nigel Glockler will figure prominently in the songwriting, although he won't be touring or recording with the band. "We've been working with him now for four or five weeks," says Biff, "and it's sounding really good."

DEMON: Return Of The Demon

(Added: October 25, 2000)
RECORD HEAVEN MUSIC can now proudly present the latest signing to our label: Brittish classic hard rock band DEMON, with one of the best voices in rock history, Dave Hill, who will release their new CD, "Spaced Out Monkey" in March. We can promise you that DEMON is really back to their roots, as when they released classic albums like "Night Of The Demon", "The Unexpected Guest", "The Plague". At the same time as the new CD will be released we will also release the three first DEMON album Re-mastered, and then follow up with the rest of their back catalogue re-mastered, with bonus tracks. Vinyl Picture Discs will also be available on all the releases! More information regarding this great band will be available soon.

Following the new Demon releases in 2001, a tour is being arranged for SWEDEN and GERMANY, and maybe some other places in Europe.

MEGADETH: New Label, New Releases, & Vic Rattlehead's Return

(Added: October 25, 2000)
MEGADETH has signed a new recording deal with Sanctuary Records, according to the band's Web site. The pact reportedly calls for Megadeth to deliver five records, and also covers side projects and a production deal that would allow Megadeth to sign other artists. A new album is to be released in 2001.

Before ending their deal with Capital Records, Megadeth had one release left which is a “best of” album called “Capitol Punishemnt – The Megadeth Years”. It should be released on October 24th 2000 (out now!) and includes 2 new and unreleased tracks: “Kill The King” and “Dread And The Fugitive Mind”.

Megadeth are releasing a DVD that will include approximately 25 videos including the following: 'Skin O' My Teeth' (possibly two versions), 'Symphony Of Destruction' (two versions), 'Foreclosure Of A Dream', 'Sweating Bullets','Train Of Consequences', 'A Tout Le Monde', 'Reckoning Day', 'Crush 'Em', 'Insomnia', 'Breadline', 'Hangar 18', 'Holy Wars (Punishment Due)', 'Anarchy', 'In My Darkest Hour', 'Wake Up Dead', 'Go to Hell', 'No More Mr. Nice Guy', 'Angry Again', '99 Ways To Die', 'Trust', 'Secret Place', 'Almost Honest', and 'Peace Sells...But Who's Buying'. Between each song the DVD will feature narration by Dave Mustaine. Originally the new DVD was to be released in November 2000 but had now neen pushed back to a early 2001 release date. According to Dave Mustaine, "Rather than rush and put it out and be sorry later, we plan on doing this the way that we used to do things, making sure that it is perfect for us all". Moving the release date back and blowing out the deadline was Larry Mazer's (Managment) idea "We still have to do interviews with all of the previous and current members, and we want to do this right...so it will be released when it is perfect".

Vic Rattlehead is back! He will be making an appearance on the back side of the up-coming Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years album! Yes, you read correctly…Vic will be hand drawn in a single color on the back side of the Greatest Hits album! Also look for him to make a bolder appearance on the DVD that is due to be released in Spring of 2001! As if that wasn’t enough, Vic will be up front and center for Megadeth’s next album with Sanctuary Records. Megadeth have returned to their roots, which can be heard on the 2 new tracks featured on Capitol Punishment. Their new album is bound to be harder than their previous weak album “Risk”. Even the classic Megadeth logo is back.

HALFORD: Heading Out To The Highway

(Added: October 25, 2000)
According to Halford.com, HALFORD have now confirmed they will play headlining dates in the UK as part of the Resurrection World Tour and will finish their European Tour with two shows in Athens before departing for Japan. The support on all the UK (and European) dates has been confirmed to be OVERKILL. Comments Rob, "We are very excited to headline our own shows in the UK as we give the fans the full set which will include plenty of songs off Reurrection and plenty of old favourites. The band are supercharged from our two month tour in America and I'm looking forward to showing them my home town!

OVERKILL: Comeau Helps Out

Comeau Helps Out

(Added: October 25, 2000)
In preparation of their European tour opening for HALFORD, OVERKILL are scurrying around looking for a second guitarist to partner with Dave Linsk, who did double duty on the just released Bloodletting album. Unfortunately, Linsk isn't capable of playing two guitars simultaneously onstage and Ellsworth wants two guitarists. "We've got a couple of bites and we're real close with one guy now. Will it happen in time for this tour coming up? I'm not sure. Will we go out as fourpiece? Probably not. I don't want to tour as a fourpiece because it doesn't have the same impact."

In an unexpected move, guitarist Joe Comeau, who left the band to sing on the latest ANNIHILATOR record, Carnival Diablos, will re-join his ex-bandmates on the upcoming tour. As for Annihilator, their new album should hit the streets early next year, although a label deal is still up in the air. As for Comeau's Overkill return, he adds: "I think Joe may do a few weeks of touring this year with Overkill as "temporary guitarist". They were, apparently, not having much luck replacing Joe for the touring end so they asked him if he could hook up with them again until Annihilator went out. No problem for me and Joe will have fun with his old friends!”.

HELLOWEEN: The Dark Ride

(Added: October 25, 2000)
Helloween’s new album “The Dark Ride” is released October 30th 2000. Whenever HELLOWEEN release a new album, it's always a big deal. And rightly so. Since their comeback in 1994 with Master Of The Rings, the 'Weenies' have consistently outdone themselves album after album, their crowning glory being 1998's Better Than Raw. Intent on surpassing that album - which is no small task - Helloween enlisted producer Roy Z to help them focus their formidable creative energies in order to take the band to the next level. Guitarist Michael Weikath has nothing but praise for the man and his talents. "I think Roy definitely brought something to this album," says Weikath. "Uli (Kusch) and Markus (Grosskopf/bass) had to play things they weren't exactly used to. Both Roy and Charlie (Bauerfeind/engineer) tried to clean up the rhythm work and give it a tight groove, make it a lot more conceivable. Roy also took a great part in establishing what you hear as Roland's (Grapow/guitars) finished tracks. They did a lot of stuff together. And, Roy took great care of the lyrics. We were under a lot of pressure and simply lacking good lyrics at the beginning stages. It was important to Roy that a native English speaker wouldn't turn around and say 'What did he just sing there? Okay, well, they're Germans, so I won't take this too seriously. How could they know, anyway?' None of us wanted that." Weikath makes it clear that the pressure Helloween felt had nothing to do with the success of Better Than Raw. "It was simply because we wanted to get the lyrics straight," he maintains. "It was Roy's opinion that everything should have a connection to the concept of The Dark Ride. Andi (Deris/vocals), who wrote the majority of the lyrics, explained to me that, for him, the biggest problem was to make each track a dark ride in itself. We had to deliver something that Roy would accept, simple as that."

KING DIAMOND: Metal Blade Exclusive

(Added: October 25, 2000)
KING DIAMOND has extended his deal with Metal Blade Records by re-signing an exclusive worldwide deal. King was previously signed to Massacre Records in Europe. There are changes abound as former bassist Hal Pitino returns to the band, replacing exited David Harbour. Hal recorded with and toured on the seminal KD albums Them, Conspiracy and The Eye. With the line up set, the European leg of the House Of God tour will begin in March 2001. The band will enter Nomad Recording Studios in Dallas in May 2001 to record the follow up to House Of God. The album is tentatively scheduled for release around Halloween 2001.