36 Crazyfists
Photo: Ferret Music

The one thing bands always tell you about life on the road is that it gets old fast. Getting through the first month is usually a breeze, but it doesn't take long for the luster to wear off. And when it comes to combating the inevitable boredom that comes with life on the road, the dudes in 36 Crazyfists have tried just about everything. After all, when the majority of your life has been spent in the frozen abyss that is Alaska, boredom tends to be a constant foe.

Of course, there's always drinking — with the rest of your band, the other acts on the bill — or hanging with groupies, who're more than willing to help kill the time. But a few years back, while on tour in Europe with Bullet for My Valentine, 36 Crazyfists were fresh out of ideas — so they drank. A lot. And the next morning, frontman Brock Lindow awoke with a killer hangover and a full beard.

"It was a hilarious tour, and we were partying our faces off every night," he recalled. "There was this one night where everybody was pretty drunk, and somehow, we ended up with a dozen topless dudes in the back lounge, and everyone started drawing beards on themselves with Sharpies. When we all woke up the next day, I had a full black beard drawn on my face. We all tried to take showers later on at the venue, and I couldn't get the marker off. I had this dirty-looking face for a full week, and it wasn't pretty."

Chances are 36CF won't be too, too bored in February, when they head out with DevilDriver, Napalm Death, Walls of Jericho and Invitro on the Bound by the Road tour, which begins February 27 in Modesto, California, and runs through April 18 in Tempe, Arizona.

"We're stoked," said Lindow, from a beach along Oregon's coastline, where the band was shooting press shots this week for its forthcoming Ferret Music debut, The Tide and Its Takers. "And we'll just keep on rolling from there — we're hoping to tour through much of the year. Hopefully, we'll be part of one of the summer festivals this summer."

Believe it or not, 36CF have never been approached for Ozzfest, nor have they ever landed a slot on the Sounds of the Underground trek. That could change this summer, considering Ferret is one of the sponsors behind Sounds.

"Every summer, we kind of cross our fingers, and it just kind of goes by — that's been our story for years, and we laugh about it every once in a while," the singer explained. "We do the festivals in Europe, and hopefully this year we'll have our fingers crossed again to get on a good American festival. If not, we'll keep on trucking along."

For now, the band is focused on finishing up The Tide, which is being recorded in Portland, Oregon, with the band's guitarist, Steve Holt, handling the production duties. Lindow began tracking his vocals this week, he told Metal File. So far, he said the album — 36CF's second LP since they were released from their Roadrunner Records contract — is shaping up to be the band's most punishing collection so far.

"We're reaching for the stars on this one," he explained. "Some of it is real heavy, and some of it is not so heavy. It's similar to what we've done in the past, but we stepped it up a notch in both of these areas. I am sure some people will be surprised by how heavy it is. I am just excited it's as heavy as it is. It does have the melodic side to it, too; I mean, we didn't want to take a right turn on anybody. And the lyrics deal with a lot of things — from the war overseas to global warming ... but not necessarily those topics in one song. I guess I was just trying to capture the mindset that everybody has these days, and I wanted to deal with those things that, on some level, we all deal with daily. I'm not trying to be Bob Dylan or anything, I just thought I'd touch upon things people go through in life."

But while the album is very much coming together, because of mixer Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Arch Enemy)'s busy schedule, The Tide won't be coming out as soon as originally planned — it's been pushed back to April 29. For the band, recording the album was a different kind of experience.

"I live in Alaska and the boys all live in Portland, so they would write their music, send it to me in an e-mail, and I would go to my buddy's studio to record vocals for the demos," Lindow said. "Then I'd send it back. It was actually so easy, but at first, we were worried about it, that it wouldn't go very smoothly. But this is the best music these guys have ever written, and it's exciting stuff. I'm glad we're at the stage we're at with this band."

Early next month, 36 Crazyfists will head back up to Alaska to shoot a video for the record's first single, although they've yet to determine which song that will be. Darren Doane (Every Time I Die, Deftones) has signed on to direct the clip, which Lindow said will involve many of the group's Alaskan friends. It will also feature "extreme-sports guys doing back-flips over bonfires" and a performance set at a party inside a comfy cabin.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor will provide guest vocals on Walls of Jericho's upcoming EP. Taylor produced the yet-untitled effort, which is expected to be packaged with a live DVD documenting the band's recent overseas tours. Look for it in stores in March. ... Former You Hear It First artists the Sword have chosen Gods of the Earth as the title for their forthcoming sophomore LP, which should land in stores in the spring. ... A benefit is being organized for Patrick Mason, the late bassist for California metallers Arsonists Get All the Girls. Mason died in late November at age 21 from unknown causes. The concert will take place December 28 at the 418 in Santa Cruz, California, and feature performances by the Arsonists, as well as Knights of the Abyss, Elysia and Animosity. ... Hair-metallers Twisted Sister are keeping the $25,000 deposit they were handed when they were booked to perform at a benefit concert for the U.S. troops in California, according to The Orange County Register. The band is demanding to be paid the rest of its agreed-upon fee of $50,000 for the gig, which was canceled due to lack of interest. ...

Anthrax have named Dan Nelson (ex-Devilsize) as their new singer following the band's inability to re-enlist two of their former belters, Joey Belladonna or John Bush. Nelson is currently working with the band on the follow-up to 2003's We've Come for You All. "There's no place else I'd rather be right now," Nelson said in a press release. "It's a great vibe. I feel great, and I'm ready to go. I'm getting to live the dream, and it feels amazing. I can't wait for all these people who think Anthrax is done to be proven wrong. The naysayers are gonna be shut down, and the true-blue fans are gonna be pleased." Guitarist Scott Ian shared Nelson's enthusiasm. "It feels great working with Dan," he said. "The first time we jammed, we ran through a bunch of old songs from the John Bush and Joey Belladonna eras. Right from the first second Dan started 'Room for One More' [from 1993's Sound of White Noise], we knew. We said, 'Now that we've got that, let's work his ass off.' " On Tuesday, Anthrax will reissue two Bush-fronted albums on iTunes — Sound of White Noise and 1995's Stomp 442. ... Thrash legends Testament have named their upcoming album The Formation of Damnation. The band is currently working on the disc at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, with producer Andy Sneap. The album, tentatively due April 29, will be Testament's first record of new material since 1999's The Gathering and the first proper disc to feature lead guitarist Alex Skolnick since 1992's The Ritual. ...

Connecticut black-metal power trio Ipsissimus will hit the studio this weekend to begin tracking their Three Secrets of Fatima EP, which the band intends to self-release as a special limited-edition package. The band, which features ex-Capharnaum/Catalyst guitarist Ryan Adams, has lined up a February 6 gig with Rotting Christ, Immolation, Belphagor and Averse Sefira in Hartford, Connecticut. ... Floridian grindcore newbies Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky — which features former members of Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus, Dehumanize, Diabolic and Leprosy — have inked a deal with Nuclear Blast. The band will hit the studio in a couple of months, and its debut is expected to drop late next year. ... While he's got some downtime from his IFC talk show, Henry Rollins will embark on the second leg of his Provoked spoken-word tour. Dates are scheduled from February 19 in Birmingham, Alabama, until March 21 in Raleigh, North Carolina. ... Canadian technical death-metal band Cryptopsy are getting ready to enter the studio to record their sixth full-length album. The disc will feature new singer Matt McGachy (3 Mile Scream) and keyboardist Maggie Durand (Howling Syn). Cryptopsy's on-again, off-again frontman, Lord Worm, left the band in April. The group has never had a full-time keyboard player. ...

It may be the title of one of his songs, but Rob Zombie has nothing to do with the Scum of the Earth Tour. The jaunt will be headlined by Throwdown and will also feature Soilwork, Through the Eyes of the Dead and War of Ages. "We haven't headlined our own tour in a long time, which is exciting," Throwdown frontman Dave Peters said in a statement. "We're also very stoked to be touring with Soilwork, who are coming all the way over from Sweden. And with Through the Eyes of the Dead and War of Ages onboard, it's a very strong and diverse bill." Scum dates have been scheduled from March 3 in Dallas through March 29 in Portland, Oregon. ... Italian death-core band Stigma have finished recording their debut album, When Midnight Strikes!," which will come out in the spring. The disc was recorded with producer Ettore Rigotti (Disarmonia Mundi) at DB Studios in England. ... Funeral Pyre will debut songs from their upcoming, yet-untitled third album on a short tour with Book of Black Earth that launches January 11 in Seattle and runs through January 20 in Hollywood. "These songs will be different than [those on] The Nature of Betrayal, but yet the same," the Los Angeles band wrote on its Web site. "It's a big cycle we go through. You hear the same music, but it sounds different. How does that work? I'm not quite sure, but you will find out in 2008."

[This story was originally published at 8:00 am E.T. on 12.14.2007]

• 36 Crazyfists
• Anthrax
• Ipsissimus
• Throwdown
• Soilwork

S.O.D.
Photo: Fontana Island

It's pretty hard to surprise Anthrax guitarist/mouthpiece Scott Ian. The man has seen it all: ugly record-label disputes, money-draining management conflicts, debilitating label contracts. In the past year alone, Anthrax lost two singers and were denied guest vocals from a third, Slipknot's Corey Taylor. Adding to the misery is the fact that the band is currently without a U.S. label (Anthrax are signed to Nuclear Blast overseas).

So, while he wasn't exactly shocked, Ian was a bit bemused when he found out about the late-August release of Rise of the Infidels, a raw, partially live short album by his old metal-spoof side project, S.O.D. "I only knew about it when I saw it online — I had no idea this was coming out, and I actually had to e-mail the record company and ask, 'What is Rise of the Infidels?' " Ian said. "Apparently, I had been a part of a conversation months ago where it was discussed — which is quite possible — but I had completely forgotten about it."

The disc was recorded in 1999, when S.O.D. (Ian, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, singer Billy Milano and Nuclear Assault bassist Dan Lilker) launched a tour in Seattle between Anthrax albums. Most of the songs are from S.O.D.'s classic 1985 crossover disc, Speak English or Die, and there are four previously unreleased studio tracks. Despite the imperfect sound quality, Ian is pleased with the results.

"I'm happy with anything concerning S.O.D. ... There is stuff sitting around that was never released that we obviously felt good enough about at the time to record and deem worthy of S.O.D.," he said. "I love it because it's probably something we're never going to do again, as far as a studio record goes. So, for the real fans out there who have to have everything, I think it's great."

Of far more concern to Ian at the moment is the future of his main baby, Anthrax. He, Benante and bassist Frank Bello have spent the last eight months writing and fine-tuning a batch of new songs, which Ian said are along the lines of the band's unsung 2003 album, We've Come for You All. At the moment, however, Anthrax are still without a singer, making it difficult to move forward. It's a strange situation, since, toward the end of the band's 2005-'06 reunion tour with '80s singer Joey Belladonna, Anthrax seemed all set to record a new studio album with Belladonna.

"We tried," Ian insisted. "Halfway through the tour, everything had totally gelled, and we started talking about doing a new record. [Guitarist] Danny [Spitz] was gung-ho about it and Joey seemed to be as well. I thought that nothing would have made him happier. But when the tour ended, we started having conversations about making a record and moving forward, and we spent three or four months where we just couldn't get an answer from Joey to the simple question, 'Do you want to make a record, yes or no?' Not that he wouldn't call back, but he wouldn't answer the question. Our question was always answered with a million other questions. For some reason, Joey thought things were weird on the reunion tour financially. He had his own guy look at the books. Everything was good. But after three or four months of asking this guy and feeling like we were starting to become a doormat, we gave him an ultimatum, and we still didn't get an answer. So we concluded we're not making a record. It's impossible because there's no communication."

With Belladonna out of the picture, Anthrax decided to work with the We've Come for You All lineup, which featured Rob Caggiano on lead guitar (which meant bidding farewell again to Spitz). Problem was, singer John Bush wouldn't commit either.

"That was obviously broached, and it's just not able to happen in this time and place," Ian said. "But if John would have been able to commit to this right now, he would be back in less than a second. From the discussions that we've had, he's just not ready to step back into it and be able to commit to it, and we all completely respect that. We went away and did the reunion thing for 18 months, and his life completely changed in that time. His priorities are in a completely different place right now."

After the band did some contemplating, Slipknot and Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor came forward and said he'd like to sing for them. At first, Anthrax were skeptical, since Taylor was already overextending himself with Slipknot and Stone Sour. But Taylor was determined. "He said, 'No, dude, you have no idea what this means to me and what an honor it would be, so let me figure this out.' "

At the time, it looked like there would be a large enough window between the end of the Stone Sour cycle and the beginning of Slipknot's sessions for Taylor to record the album and launch at least one full tour with Anthrax.

"We were all stoked and sent him all the music we had, and he had already started writing to it," Ian recalled. "Then, the powers that be made an executive decision and basically just didn't let it happen. It physically couldn't happen because our window kept getting smaller and smaller. They moved the Slipknot thing up and pushed the Stone Sour thing this way, and they just made it impossible for all of us. We might have still been able to make a record, but then we wouldn't have been able to tour, and what would have been the sense of that? We just would have been shooting ourselves in the foot."

At this point, Anthrax have a pile of songs, and they're just waiting for the right guy to fill the frontman position so they can proceed. While they've got a short list of singers with whom they're in discussions, there's no word regarding who will fill Bush, Belladonna and Taylor's shoes.

"It's getting to be a little bit of a problem with the material we're writing," Ian admitted. "Because the singer we use will obviously have some bearing on what kind of songs we write. But we know that we want to make a proper follow-up to We've Come for You All, which we all loved. But we want it to be even better: heavier, faster, hookier. As songwriters, you try to improve on your craft. And fortunately, we've got the time to make that happen. We have no deadline at all because we've got no label deal, so my attitude is, 'Let's make the most metal record we've ever made in our lives,' and I would have to say that's coming to fruition."

If all goes as scheduled, Anthrax hope to secure a new singer any day now and to finish writing early next year, so they can have the new album out by late spring or early summer.

"We would like nothing more than to have something out in time to play the European festivals next year," Ian said. "But in the meantime, we don't have a deadline, so we can take our time writing these songs and making them the best stuff that we possibly can."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Suicidal Tendencies will hit the road next month for a string of West Coast gigs. So far just six dates have been booked, with more to be announced in the coming weeks. You'll be able to catch the thrash-metallers starting November 17 in Tucson, Arizona. Shows are scheduled through November 24 in Ventura, California. Suicidal are wrapping up the recording of their forthcoming, yet-untitled studio LP, which they've been working on with producer Paul Northfield (Rush, Dream Theater). ... On December 11, Sevendust will issue Retrospective 2, a DualDisc pack featuring six live tracks and three new studio cuts. The DVD portion of the set will boast nearly two hours of video footage, including the videos for "Ugly" and "Driven." In order to get the word out on the LP, the band will embark on its Ladies Get Out of Jail Free Tour, starting October 19 in Minneapolis, with openers 10 Years, Black Light Burns and Neverset in tow. ...

Ex-At the Gates/ the Crown frontman Tomas Lindberg will be performing with Israeli "melodeath" outfit Nail Within during that band's upcoming reunion show, set for November 23 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Lindberg appeared on the band's 2003 self-titled debut. ... According to Children of Bodom bassist Henkka Blacksmith, the Finnish metallers are making some serious progress on their next studio offering. He claims the disc should be tracked within the next six weeks and that it will feature a guest appearance from Hypocrisy's Peter Tägtgren. ... The Sword plan to begin recording their yet-untitled sophomore effort soon and hope to be finished with the LP by December, when they'll head out on a 17-city U.S. headlining run with Valient Thorr and Black Cobra. The tour kicks off December 6 in New York and runs through December 8 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. More dates will be revealed in the coming weeks. ...

Every Time I Die will stop by "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Halloween for a scare or two as the show's musical guests. No word on what track they'll be playing, but it will most likely come from the band's latest CD, The Big Dirty, which came out last month. ... There are fans, and then there are super-fans. One of Unearth's followers brought new meaning to the latter term recently when he got guitarist Ken Susi's face tattooed on his rump. The agonizing footage can be found online over at Boston.tv. In the meantime, Unearth plan to shoot their Tuesday gig at the Glass House in Pomona, California, for an upcoming DVD release. The band is on tour at the moment with Darkest Hour, August Burns Red and Suicide Silence. ...

All Shall Perish, From a Second Story Window, Emmure and Nodes of Ranvier will join forces for a 16-date trek that's scheduled to launch on Halloween in Ferndale, Michigan. Dates run through November 18 in Tempe, Arizona. ... Belgian death-metal machine Aborted have begun writing material for their next record, which they're planning to track early next year. A summer 2008 release is being eyed for the disc, and while it hasn't been titled yet, the band promises to reveal that news soon. ... Don Dokken will open three upcoming Queensrÿche shows scheduled for early next year, according to Pollstar.com. He'll take the stage February 2 in Chicago, February 8 in New York and February 16 in Dallas. ...

The incomparable Glenn Danzig will be back on the road later this month for a handful of East and West Coast gigs. He'll be bringing Samhain bassist Steve Zing and Danzig guitarist Todd Youth along for the ride, as well as former Misfits guitarist Doyle Von Frankenstein and his new band, Gorgeous Frankenstein. Danzig worked with Doyle on his project's first effort, Gorgeous Frankenstein, which will be in stores October 16. The tour kicks off October 23 in Baltimore and runs through November 8 in Lawrence, Kansas. In related news, a variety of Danzig's older releases will be reissued by Columbia on November 13: Danzig II: Lucifuge (1990), Danzig III: How the Gods Kill (1992), the Thrall: DemonSweatLive EP (1993) and Danzig 4 (1994). ... Through the Eyes of the Dead have parted ways with guitarist Chris Anderson and in his place have enlisted a temporary fill-in — original bandmember Richard Turbeville. He'll be on hand for the metallers' upcoming trek with As I Lay Dying, All That Remains and Haste the Day. No explanation for Anderson's departure has been offered.

• Anthrax
• Danzig
• Children Of Bodom

Lauryn Hill in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday
Photo: Walik Goshorn

Lauryn Hill arrived more than two hours late and performed an uneven if not memorable set on Monday night at Brooklyn, New York's Wingate Field as part of the free Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series. The enigmatic singer, overdressed for a hot summer night, showed up at 10 p.m. for the scheduled 7:30 show and ran through a number of her more popular solo and Fugees hits — but often reconfigured them into unrecognizable scat chants. Hill told the audience her sometimes-inaudible voice was hoarse, but her tone improved as she continued. Hill closed the show with her Grammy-winning "Doo Wop (That Thing)" and then immediately exited after thanking the 10,000-plus people who showed up for the park jam. ...

Alicia Keys, Erykah Badu and Common will light up the Red Star Soul concert series over the course of the next three months, Billboard.com reports. Common and Chrisette Michele will kick off the campaign August 15 in Los Angeles, with Com playing additional shows in Detroit (September 4); Atlanta (September 18); and Washington, D.C. (September 26). Raphael Saadiq, Michele and Teedra Moses will play at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on August 28; Badu and Michele will hit up Chicago on September 13; and Badu will also play Philadelphia on October 13. ...

If you're a fan of Kelly Clarkson and football, get ready for some red-hot double coverage: She'll help kick off the NFL season when she sings before the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts game September 6. The half-hour pre-game show — which will also feature performances by Hinder, Faith Hill and John Mellencamp — will air on NBC at 8 p.m. ET. Clarkson's performance will be part of a free concert she'll be giving at Indianapolis' Monument Circle. ...

Lily Allen's U.S. work visa was canceled upon her arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, BBC News reports. The singer, who had come to the States for the VMAs announcement on Tuesday (August 7), was held at the airport for five hours due to her June arrest in London for alleged assault. A spokesperson for Allen said the singer was questioned but that her work visa will be sorted out by her next visit. Allen is slated to tour the U.S. in September and is still expected to attend — and perform at — the VMAs on September 9. ... Madonna's representative Liz Rosenberg says that despite reports of a snag in the singer's adoption of David Banda, the process is going smoothly. "None of that stuff is true," Rosenberg told UsMagazine.com in regards to a Reuters report that suggested the adoption might be compromised. "The adoption process is going along very well and according to proper procedure," she asserted. ...

The Reverend Al Sharpton is staging a "day of outrage" on Tuesday to urge the public to divest from the music industry until it forces rappers to stop using derogatory terms including the N-word. Sharpton led a rally in Detroit outside the former studios for Motown Records, but he has also organized 19 additional protests elsewhere in the U.S. "The opposition has tried to use the argument of free speech, but they don't have the freedom to use people's pension funds against their own will and interest," he said in an interview with Reuters. ... A London judge has dismissed a suit over a U.K. photo agency using a 2004 image of J.K. Rowling's 3-year-old son, saying the legal action didn't have a realistic chance of success, according to Bloomberg News. "Our aim has only been to protect our children from press intrusion during their childhood," Rowling said in a statement, adding that she and her husband plan to appeal the ruling. ...

AFI side project Blaqk Audio will embark on their first tour September 5 in Atlanta, in support of the forthcoming Cexcells, which lands in stores August 14. The trek runs through September 27 in Los Angeles. ... Buzz is building over the next Hives LP, which will be called The Black and White Album, according to Billboard.com. There's no release date scheduled yet. ... Black Tide, a young metal band from Miami that had been tapped to replace Circus Diablo on Ozzfest's second stage, have now found themselves having to drop off the bill — without even playing a single note. As it turns out, the band is too young — the second stage is being sponsored by Jägermeister, and the group's youngest member is only 14 years old. ...

They've gone and done it: McFarlane Toys has created Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora action figures, and is planning to unveil them this month. Go here for details. ... Anthrax have nixed plans to record their next album with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, citing scheduling conflicts with Taylor's other projects. The band's searching for a new singer to enter the fold. ... Boston hardcore legends Sam Black Church will reunite for a September 22 gig at the Roxy in Boston; this will be the band's first live set in more than six years. Darkbuster, Madball and Unearth will also play at the show. ...

Louisiana native Terrance Stewart, also known as DJ Bay Bay, was arrested Monday and charged with rape and witness intimidation, according to a report in Louisiana newspaper The Shreveport Times. Stewart served as the inspiration behind rapper Hurricane Chris' breakout hit "A Bay Bay," which is a nod to the DJ. According to Shreveport police, an unidentified woman was found drunk and unconscious on Thursday night at the club where Stewart was spinning, and police believe the woman was raped during the party. Stewart is being held in jail on a $150,000 bond; his lawyer issued a statement defending his client's innocence. "Mr. Stewart is innocent of these charges and intends to vigorously defend himself against them," lawyer Eric Johnson said. "We are very confident that after the case is tried by a judge or jury that Mr. Stewart will be exonerated." Police are also searching for another DJ, Ron Johnson, who they believe was also involved in the incident. ...

What better way to bring the bizarre Phil Spector trial down the homestretch than with an appearance by blockbuster-movie director Michael Bay? On Monday, the filmmaker — one of the last three rebuttal witnesses being presented by the prosecution — said he didn't see deceased actress Lana Clarkson at a Hollywood party weeks before her death, as the defense had suggested, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to defense attorneys, Bay had snubbed Clarkson at the party, hurting her so much that it helped drive her to suicide. Bay, who was called to rebut testimony from defense witness Punkin Pie Laughlin, said he had cast Clarkson in a commercial about a decade ago and that he would have recognized her had he seen her at a party. ...

Pete Doherty tested positive for drugs during a review of the Babyshambles frontman's court-ordered participation in a treatment program on Tuesday, spurring a London judge to warn him to quit drugs within a month or face jail time, The Associated Press reports. "If he does not show his motivation it's prison, as simple as that," Judge Davinder Lachlar said at the hearing. "Depending on what information I have when [Doherty] next [comes] to court, the decision will be made." Doherty is due in West London Magistrates' Court on September 4 for another hearing.

08.06.07

Let the fiesta begin — Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have rolled out dates for their En Concierto trek. The spousal celebration will hit Atlantic City, New Jersey (September 29); Uncasville, Connecticut (October 3); Washington, D.C. (October 5); New York (October 7); Toronto (October 10); Chicago (October 14); San Jose, California (October 17); Los Angeles (October 19); Anaheim, California (October 20); San Diego (October 24); Las Vegas (October 26); Dallas (October 30); Houston (October 31); and Miami (November 2). In related news, Lopez is firing back at critics of "El Cantante," her new film with Anthony, the Los Angeles Times reports. Speaking at the Directors Guild of America Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday, she insisted that the film is an accurate portrayal of salsa legend Hector Lavoe. "I don't know what movie [the critics] want to see, because this is the truth," she said. ...

Lindsay Lohan checked into a drug and alcohol treatment center in Sundance, Utah, over the weekend, according to a CBS News radio report. Lifestyle magazine Town & Country recently named the center, Cirque Lodge, one of the best substance-abuse facilities in the country. Lohan, who is due in court in Santa Monica, California, on August 24, has been to rehab twice before. ...

Gwen Stefani recently admitted to U.K. newspaper The Observer that meeting up with her No Doubt bandmates was a bit uncomfortable. "It would be ridiculous to say there was no tension," she said. "Because my solo career has been going on and on. It was never supposed to be this long." Beyond the No Doubt reunion, the singer also revealed what else is on the horizon — acting roles "are the last thing on my list," she said; instead, her focus is "make babies, make music." "I'm on repeat mode," she added. Stefani also opened up about her ongoing "mad love affair" with Gavin Rossdale. "Time goes by and you get the rocky times then you get the intense love times, then you get the reward of having the baby," she said about her relationship with her husband. "It's just this ongoing saga. ... I'm interested to see what's going to happen next, you know?' " ...

The organizers behind "A Concert for Virginia Tech" are coming to the defense of Nas, whose lyrics have stirred up controversy over his participation in the event. "Nas is a positive force in hip-hop," read a statement issued by Red Light Management, which manages Dave Matthews Band and is helping the group organize the event. "Over the course of his albums, many of which have included storytelling about the violence of inner-city life, he has evolved into a spokesman for change. His actions stand out as a true lesson in how conflict can be resolved with words." ...

Many U.S. music retailers are yanking import copies of Amy Winehouse's 2003 debut, Frank, from their shelves after receiving a letter from Universal Republic that threatens legal action and claims the label has exclusive rights to distribute her recordings Stateside. The label is planning to issue the album domestically for the first time November 7. ... Backstreet Boys are unveiling their new single "Inconsolable" Monday night (August 6) on New York's Z-100 radio. The track will surface on the group's yet-untitled new album, due October 30. ... Speaking of big returns, the Black Crowes have finished recording their new album, which will be mixed in September and street in the spring. The disc spotlights new touring keyboardist Adam MacDougall and North Mississippi Allstars guitarist Luther Dickinson, and was produced by the band and longtime collaborator Paul Stacey. ...

A New Zealand mayoral candidate is trying to put Ice Cube in hot water. Political hopeful Len Brown, who is vying for the mayor's seat in Manukau City, issued a press release Monday morning calling for the rapper's August 22 visit to Auckland to be canceled. "Ice Cube brings a gangsta message to our community via his gangsta rap," the statement read. "This message promotes gangs, gang violence and drugs. We don't want this in our homes. We don't want it on our streets." ... LL Cool J highlighted the New York leg of the Microsoft Zune BBQ concert series in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday. The veteran rapper stormed through tracks that spanned his entire career, including his latest, "Queens." Grand Puba, the LOX, Clipse, the Boot Camp Click, Large Professor and Joell Ortiz also performed at the community-based event. UGK and Mos Def performed at previous stops in Chicago and Los Angeles. ...

Don't bet the family farm on it just yet, but Van Halen's reunion tour is reportedly back on, sources tell Billboard.com. The outlet reports that a press conference will be held in Hollywood next week, during which the band will announce a 50-date arena tour to start in early October. The hard-rock legends had originally planned to set out on an amphitheater tour this summer, but it was scrapped, and guitarist Eddie Van Halen entered rehab. The reunion tour will reportedly feature Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Eddie's son Wolfgang and David Lee Roth. ... Gene Simmons was forthright, to say the least, about his feelings toward former Kiss mates Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in a recent interview with TVGuide.com. "They were thrown out of the band because they were drug addicts and alcoholics," said Simmons, who has a strong aversion to drugs and alcohol. "They're damaged. ... You're talking about 30 years of abuse. Everybody cares about Ace and Peter. I love them to death. But I don't want them to die on tour." ...

There's a new wrinkle in Madonna's adoption of a Malawian boy. The court-appointed official who was assigned to the case is not being allowed to travel to Britain to evaluate the suitability of the singer and her husband, Guy Ritchie, to be the adoptive parents of David Banda, Reuters reports. The official, Penstone Kilembe, had been appointed to travel to Britain twice, after which he has been expected to testify in a hearing next year whether Madonna's adoption of the child should be formalized. Kilembe is being accused of getting a plane ticket and money directly from Madonna, without the approval of the Malawian government, but he has dismissed claims that he asked the singer for the ticket. ... Two more people have been identified as James Brown's children, The Associated Press reports. While many DNA tests have come back negative and others are pending, two people claiming to be the late singer's offspring are indeed telling the truth, longtime Brown adviser Buddy Dallas said Friday. While Dallas refused to identify the two people, a 45-year-old retired flight attendant is thought to be one of them. ...

Chris Rock and his wife Malaak said in a statement issued Monday that he is not the father of a 13-year-old boy whose mother, Kali Bowyer, attempted to file a paternity suit against the comedian in March. According to the statement, DNA testing has ruled out Rock as the father of the child. "After multiple lies, including that Chris refused to establish paternity and after finding out that Ms. Bowyer has an extensive criminal record, we personally asked the court to help us establish paternity so that we could put this harassment to rest. ... We have spent a tremendous sum to litigate this case and are asking our attorney to pursue all legal remedies against her." ... Eddie Murphy has confirmed that he is the father of Melanie Brown's child, but the Spice Girl is still upset — her lawyer Gloria Allred said Saturday that the actor "has not indicated ... that he plans to visit the baby," AP reports. Murphy issued a statement Friday saying, "He acknowledges paternity of the child Angel and has paid child support to Ms. Brown, as well as covering the expenses of her pregnancy." But Allred said Brown's chief concern is that he "see his child, spend time with her, hold her, love her and bond with his daughter." ...

Record label Kill Rock Stars is giving away free downloads of Elliott Smith's "Angel in the Snow" on Monday in commemoration of what would have been the late singer/songwriter's 38th birthday. Go here for details. ... If Iggy Pop's performance with the Stooges at Lollapalooza on Sunday has you salivating for more, mark September 18 on your calendar — a new Pop DVD, "Live San Fran 1981," drops that day. The concert features Ig being backed up by Blondie drummer Clem Burke and future David Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar, and two unreleased songs he recorded with Ric Ocasek of the Cars are also included in the package. ...

Lee Hazlewood, who wrote "These Boots Were Made for Walkin' " — Nancy Sinatra's hit from the '60s that Jessica Simpson reworked for "The Dukes of Hazzard" — has died of cancer, BBC News reports. The singer/songwriter, whose songs were covered by a wide range of artists including Nick Cave and Primal Scream, was 78.

• Lauryn Hill
• Alicia Keys
• Common
• Kelly Clarkson
• Lily Allen

Rob Zombie
Photo: Karl Walter/ Getty Images

When you're as busy as Rob Zombie — what with the films and the music and being awesome and all — time is a valuable commodity.

This is why the rocker/horror king is taking a much-needed break following his Educated Horses trek with Lacuna Coil and Bullet for My Valentine (see "Rob Zombie Taking Educated Horses On The Road"), which concluded two weeks ago. After two months off the road, Rob will launch a new set of dates with metal icons Anthrax — who recently reunited with singer Joey Belladonna. The 26-city American Witch Tour will kick off June 30 in El Paso, Texas.

Zombie — whose Educated Horses debuted at #5 on Billboard's albums chart last month — will be hitting several secondary markets on the tour, which concludes on August 4 in Salem, Oregon. It's expected that the jaunt will expand within the next few weeks, with more show announcements coming soon.

Zombie will be accompanied by former Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5, bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson and drummer Tommy Clufetos — the same lineup that joined him on Ozzfest's second stage last summer.

The Zombie dates will be Anthrax's first since the group's classic lineup — Belladonna, guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Spitz, drummer Charlie Benante and bassist Frankie Bello — re-formed for a tour last year, its first in some 13 years (see "Anthrax's Classic Lineup Will Tour, Warn Fans About Vaccines").

Rob Zombie/ Anthrax tour dates, according to Zombie's Web site:

• 6/30 - El Paso, TX @ El Paso County Coliseum
• 7/1 - Lubbock, TX @ LoneStar Amphitheatre
• 7/2 - Wichita Falls, TX @ Kay Yeager Coliseum
• 7/5 - McAllen, TX @ La Villa Real Special Events Center
• 7/7 - North Little Rock, AR @ North Shore River Walk
• 7/8 - Springfield, MO @ Jordan Valley Festival Grounds
• 7/9 - Valley Center, KS @ Kansas Coliseum
• 7/11 - Council Bluffs, IA @ Mid-America Center
• 7/12 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Fairgrounds Arena
• 7/14 - Grand Rapids, MI @ DeltaPlex
• 7/15 - Cleveland, OH @ Tower City Amphitheater
• 7/16 - Fort Wayne, IN @ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
• 7/18 - Evansville, IN @ Roberts Stadium
• 7/19 - Moline, IL @ Mark of the Quad Cities
• 7/20 - Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center
• 7/22 - Mankato, MN @ Midwest Wireless Civic Center
• 7/23 - Fargo, ND @ Fargo Civic Memorial Auditorium
• 7/24 - Sioux Falls, SD @ Ramkota Exhibit Hall
• 7/26 - Rapid City, SD @ Rushmore Plaza
• 7/27 - Casper, WY @ Casper Events Center
• 7/28 - Billings, MT @ Shrine Auditorium
• 7/30 - Saskatoon, SK @ Prairieland Exhibition Park
• 7/31 - Edmonton, AB @ Shaw Conference Centre
• 8/1 - Calgary, AB @ Stampede Corral
• 8/3 - Vancouver, BC @ PNE/Pacific Coliseum
• 8/4 - Salem, OR @ Salem Armory Auditorium

• Rob Zombie
• Anthrax

DragonForce
Photo: Roadrunner Records

In two months U.S. record stores will, at long last, be able to stock an album by British power-metallers DragonForce. While the band's been around since 1999, the sextet's presence in the U.S. hasn't been felt much, considering DragonForce's three albums — 2003's The Valley of the Damned, 2004's Sonic Firestorm and 2006's Inhuman Rampage, which was issued four months back — haven't been released here. Hell, the band has yet to set foot on American soil, so DragonForce fans here have been deprived to say the least.

But that's all about to change, guitarist Herman Li said. Visa problems kept DragonForce from performing at New York's CBGB club back in November, but Li said that's not going to happen again on April 30, when the band plays its first U.S. gig at the New England Hardcore and Metal Festival. But he did warn fans that DragonForce shows aren't like most metal shows.

"We're famous for accidents onstage now," he said. "We have trampolines we jump on and four different boxes of different heights, which allow us to jump in the air and spin around. Even though the music is really fast and complicated, we're jumping in the air, playing the guitar upside down ... it's fun. We finish each tour with bruises on our legs and everything."

Eight additional U.S. club dates have been lined up: May 2 (New York), May 3 (Philadelphia), May 4 (West Springfield, Virginia), May 5 (Cleveland), May 6 (Chicago), May 8 (Denver), May 10 (San Francisco) and May 11 (West Hollywood, California), with Protest the Hero and Sanctity. Most of those shows have already sold out, but Li did mention that the band's working on securing a spot on an American festival tour, like Sounds of the Underground or Gigantour 2 — so fans who miss them this time around might be able to catch the 'Force this summer. But Li said the band hopes, in time, to be headlining tours in the U.S.

First, though, there's the matter of getting an album on store shelves. On June 20, Roadrunner Records will release Inhuman Rampage in the U.S., but DragonForce have already begun writing new material for that record's follow-up. Fans, Li said, can expect the new stuff to be just as fast, frenetic and technically perverse.

Most of Li's guitar stylings have been inspired by video game music, he said. In fact, on Inhuman, he tweaked and scratched the strings to create sounds he claims he borrowed from "Pac-Man." And those sounds are difficult to replicate live.

"When we finish an album, it's like, 'Whoa — we've got to learn these songs? It's going to be tough,' " Li said of the recording process. "But it's better that way because it makes you a better player afterwards."

The rest of the week's metal news: Cradle of Filth's forthcoming album, Thornography, will hit stores September 19. Look for it to include "Libertina Grim," "Tonight in Flames," "Cemetery and Sundown," "I Am the Thorn," "The Byronic Man" (featuring guest vocals from H.I.M.'s Ville Valo) and "Temptation." ... Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow will lend her pipes to Demonized, the forthcoming LP from Greek female metallers Astarte. The disc should be in stores before year's end. ... Fear Factory's late-fall headlining trek with Suffocation, Hypocrisy and Decapitated will launch October 26 in San Francisco. Dates thus far run through November 26 in Saginaw, Michigan. ... Slipknot's Joey Jordison has signed on to produce the forthcoming, yet-untitled 3 Inches of Blood album, which should feature "Night Marauders," "Goatriders' Horde" and "Black Spire" when it's released early next year. ... Devin Townsend-led Canadian extremists Strapping Young Lad have revealed the tentative track list for their forthcoming opus, The New Black, which will hit stores July 11. The album will feature 11 cuts, including "You Suck," "Far Beyond Metal" and "Almost Again." ...

Ill Niño, God Forbid, Eyes of Fire, Silent Civilian and Bleed the Sky will hit the road together under the tour banner One Nation Undivided. The trek kicks off May 10 in New York and will pass through 25 cities. Dates so far are booked through June 1 in Chicago, with additional gigs to be announced in the coming weeks. ... It Dies Today, Haste the Day, the Showdown, Chiodos and Flee the Seen will tour together starting June 1 in Syracuse, New York. Dates run through June 26 in Memphis, Tennessee. ... San Diego gore-grinders Cattle Decapitation have found someone to fill the void left behind the kit with the departure of Michael Laughlin: ex-Unholy Ghost drummer J.R. "Kid Gnarly" Daniels. ... DevilDriver will be this weekend's guests on MTV2's "Headbangers Ball." The band launches a U.S. tour May 8 in San Diego with Bury Your Dead, Remembering Never, If Hope Dies and Artimus Pyledriver, with dates running through June 2 in Sayreville, New Jersey. ...

Grind specialists the County Medical Examiners — "a collection of real-life pathologists with an unhealthy adoration of and fixation on Carcass," with one member who's said to be 63 years of age — have signed with Relapse Records. They'll release Olidus Operattas, their first album in three years, this fall. ... Brooklyn's Made Out of Babies will begin recording Coward, their second full-length LP, next month in Chicago with Steve Albini (Nirvana, Mono). ... North Carolina vegan metallers Undying have parted ways. "As is always the case, we have our reasons for the breakup — some petty, some great, none of which we will go into here," the band said in a post on its MySpace page. "Suffice to say that for the past eight years we have had the rare opportunity to travel the world, have more than a few interesting experiences and make friends, too many to be counted here, who we will hold heart-close and dear for a lifetime and more. Be kind, live well, go vegan." ... The Vows — a new hardcore band featuring John Pettibone (Himsa, Undertow), Rob Moran (Unbroken, Some Girls), Ryan Murphy (Undertow, Ensign), Aram Arslanian (Champion) and Chris Williams (Champion) — will issue its debut EP later this spring. ...

Finnish black-metal outfit Horna's next offering, Ääniä Yössä, will land in stores June 6. The epic record features four tracks and runs about 40 minutes. ... Live In: Nerd Rage, the debut CD by comedian Brian Posehn, will be reissued July 11. The record features Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, Shadows Fall guitarist Jonathan Donais, Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera and ex-White Zombie drummer John Tempesta. It also has the cut "Try Again, Again" by the mock metal group Titannica, which were featured on the HBO cult-classic comedy "Mr. Show." ... Richmond, Virginia, crossover metal band Municipal Waste have posted a gory, uncensored live music video for "Unleash the Bastards" on Earache's Web site. The clip depicts fans in the crowd tearing stage divers limb from limb and eating their body parts "Dawn of the Dead"-style. Not a great incentive to attend their gigs, if you ask us. ... Slipknot and Korn producer Ross Robinson is in the studio with Norma Jean working on the band's follow-up to 2005's O God, the Aftermath. The team entered the studio April 7 and hopes to finish by the end of May before embarking on Ozzfest. "We are thrilled to an insane degree," singer Cory Brandan said in a press statement. "We really think Ross Robinson will be able to bring something out in us and our music." ...

Grindcore band F--- the Facts are working on their debut album, Stigmata High-Five, in Montreal. The disc is slated for a late summer release and includes "The Wrecking," "Carve Your Heart Out" and "The Sound of Your Smashed Head." The Ottawa band begins a monthlong Canadian tour April 14. ... Longtime Origin drummer John Longstreth has rejoined the Kansas technical metal band. He replaces James King, who left in October due to personal and creative differences. The group starts a tour July 19 in Oklahoma City with dates running through August 26 in Milwaukee. ... Two classic melodic death/black-metal albums by Sweden's Dissection will be reissued June 27 as double-CD sets. The Somberlain, which originally came out in 1993, will be resurrected with the 1991 EP Into Infinite Obscurity, previously unreleased live recordings, demos and rehearsal room tapes. Storm of the Light's Bane (1995) will re-emerge with an alternate mix of the full album, demos and the 1996 EP Where Dead Angels Lie. Dissection's long-awaited new album, Reinkaos, comes out May 16.

• Dragonforce
• Cradle of Filth
• Anthrax
• Horna
• Fear Factory

Paula Abdul
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Federal Transportation Safety Administration officials are investigating a breach of security at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport on Thursday involving Paula Abdul and a companion, according to The Associated Press. Southwest Airlines was alerted to the breach while the "American Idol" judge's 12:20 p.m. flight was in the air and then screened all passengers and baggage once the plane landed in Burbank, California. A McCarran spokesperson told the AP that someone not employed by Southwest Airlines, the TSA or the Department of Aviation, led Abdul past the mandatory checkpoint. ...

Four "American Idol" hopefuls were sent packing Thursday night, narrowing the field for the show's fifth season to 16. Brenna Gethers, Heather Cox, David Radford and Jose "Sway" Penala scored the fewest votes in the second round of "Idol" eliminations determined by the viewers. Host Ryan Seacrest revealed that more than 42 million votes were cast this week. ...Tool have titled their upcoming album 10,000 Days, according to the band's spokesperson. The record is due around their Coachella performance on April 30. ...

Matisyahu will descend upon Tower Records in Northridge, California, for a live performance two days after the release of his new album. Youth hits stores March 7, and customers who purchase the Hasidic rapper's disc at Tower in Northridge will receive a wristband for the gig and signing two days later. The show will be staged in the Tower Records parking lot, and the first few hundred people who buy Youth beforehand will be able to stand in front of the stage. ... Thursday night, fresh off their European tour, Detroit's Slum Village gave an intimate performance at Club Twenty Twenty in Santa Monica, California. During the show the group — which dropped its self-titled album last year — paid tribute to recently deceased friend and hip-hop producer Jay Dee. ...

Former Jackson 5 drummer Johnny Jackson was found dead at his home in Gary, Indiana, on Wednesday night, according to The Associated Press. The 54-year-old was found stabbed in the chest not long after a neighbor complained of a disturbance between Jackson and a woman on the first floor of his complex. The unidentified woman has yet to come forward, and no murder weapon was found at the scene. Police are currently treating the case as a homicide and an investigation is still taking place, according to the AP. Johnny Jackson, who grew up near the Jackson family home, joined the superstar pop group — which included a young Michael Jackson — in 1967, replacing original drummer Milford Hite. Reports have varied over the years as to whether or not Johnny was directly related to the Jackson clan. ...

When is a band sticker on a bicycle more than it seems? When police think it's an act of terrorism. Officials at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, shut down four buildings and called out the bomb squad on Thursday when they spotted a bike with sticker that said "this bike is a pipe bomb." According to the AP, it turns out the sticker was a promo for a punk band of the same name, but police didn't find that out until they blocked off streets for blocks around the Oasis restaurant near campus and called in the bomb squad from 65 miles away. The bomb experts hit the bike with a high-pressure hose and tore it apart with a Jaws of Life device before finding out that it was the name of a Pensacola, Florida, band on Plan-It-X Records. The bike's owner was interviewed by cops and released without charge. ... The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday that it had opened an investigation into alleged price-fixing in the sale of digital downloads, according to the AP. The inquiry is almost identical to the one launched in December by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, according to two music industry executives. The Justice Department would not name the companies it has targeted. ...

Ted Nugent, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Sebastian Bach, Biohazard's Evan Seinfeld and Jason Bonham, the son of late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, will be the stars of VH1's forthcoming series "SuperGroup." Set to start airing May 18, the program will team these five rockers up, presenting them with a chance to form the "heaviest 'SuperGroup.' " The audience will watch as either history — or just mistakes — are made. The series follows the rockers over a two-week period in Las Vegas; rock manager Doc McGhee will guide the guys through the process. The entire experiment will culminate with a massive concert in Sin City. ... Lamb of God will hit a Richmond, Virginia, recording studio on March 13 to begin pre-production on the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2004's Ashes of the Wake. The metallers have once again called on producer Machine (White Zombie, Bloodsimple) to helm the LP. A late August release date has been tentatively set. ... Ben Folds will launch a 22-date tour in Seattle on Saturday — one that will keep him busy through late April. The trek will hit several college campuses along the way, and wind down in Knoxville, Tennessee, on April 28.

03.02.2006

Paris Hilton has been ordered to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on September 18 at 9:30 a.m. for the first date of her trial against actress/model Zeta Graff, who filed a $10 million defamation suit against Hilton last year. Graff, who also happens to be the ex-girlfriend of Hilton's former squeeze Paris Latsis, is suing the heiress for allegedly planting gossip about her in the tabloids, including one "Page Six" item in the New York Post that claimed Graff attacked Hilton at a club when she was with Latsis. Set for September 11 is a final status hearing during which the judge will discuss the case with both sets of attorneys and make any additional orders before the trial kicks off the following week. ...

If you missed the deadline for thinkMTV's Storm Corps, you may have another chance to spend your spring break helping those in the Gulf Coast region. Rapper/actor/activist Mos Def is one of the hip-hop leaders supporting Katrina on the Ground, an alternative spring-break initiative to lend a hand to the lives and homes devastated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Starting Sunday, students will make the trek to the Gulf's hardest-hit areas of Mobile, Alabama; Biloxi, Mississippi; and New Orleans to help rebuild communities and provide legal assistance and financial advice. While the deadline has passed for the weeklong outing that starts Sunday, there is still time to apply for the remaining three weeks in March. Check out KatrinaOnTheGround.com for more information. ...

Franz Ferdinand will issue a five-track "single" for "The Fallen" on March 27 in the U.K. — meaning staunch Franz fans in the U.S. will need to look for a copy in the imports section of their neighborhood record store. The single will feature the new tracks "Lauren Wells," "Brown Onions," "Jeremy Fraser" and the "Ruined by Justice" remix of "The Fallen." ... On the subject of overseas ventures, Staind will perform a series of live shows in Germany for U.S. military personnel returning from combat duty in the Persian Gulf. The first show is scheduled for Friday at the U.S. Army Garrison, Mannheim, followed by performances March 16 at the U.S. Army Garrison, Franconia; and March 17 at the U.S. Army Garrison, Baumholder. The band, on tour in Europe, will return to the States in mid-April for the Jägermeister Music Tour. ...

Depeche Mode's "Suffer Well" (from last year's Playing the Angel) has been translated into Simlish, the native language of virtual gaming community the Sims. The track can be heard on the "The Sims 2 Open for Business" game-expansion pack. ... Stereolab have launched a brief U.S. tour that'll keep them busy through the rest of this month. Hot Chip, Espers, and Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt of the Sea and Cake will open various legs of the trek. The band performs in San Francisco Thursday (March 2), and dates run through March 29 in San Diego. ... Mogwai have kicked off a brief U.S. tour that hits Columbus, Ohio, Thursday. The jaunt will expire March 15 in Austin, Texas, where the band will perform as part of this year's South by Southwest music conference. ... Also hitting SxSW is Sia, who caused a smash with her song "Breathe Me" on the "Six Feet Under" season finale and soundtrack. The Aussie native will kick off a tour in Austin on March 18 in support of her recent album Colour the Small One, hitting Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago and New York through April. ... British rockers Gomez will play at SxSW as well, in anticipation of their next album, How We Operate. The band's three singers will also play acoustic shows in Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York to hype up the new, Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters)-produced record, which comes out May 2. ...

British rapper Mike Skinner, a.k.a. the Streets, has set an April 25 release date for his third album, The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living. The album has been described as an autobiographical account of Skinner's last few years. ... Rammstein already have three videos crafted for their new album Rosenrot, due March 28. While Jonas Akerlund (Blink-182, Madonna) directed the clip for the first single "Mann Gegen Mann," the band also banked footage for the video for the title track and for "Benzin" (which was recently remixed by Beastie Boy Ad-Rock). The video for "Rosenrot" promises to be disturbing, involving burning at the stake and authentic scourging and flagellation, sans stuntmen (not surprisingly, it's already been banned from daytime play in Germany). ... Alkaline Trio will kick off their Occult Roots of Alkaline Trio: Early Songs for Eerie People Tour on March 30 in Sparks, Nevada. The band's set list for the trek will include material from the Trio's entire catalog, with some tracks being performed acoustically. Dates run through April 15 in Sayreville, New Jersey. Against Me! have been tapped as the tour openers. ... Massive Attack's Collected, due April 4, will feature some previously unreleased material alongside the pioneering electronic-music group's best tunes. A greatest-hits DVD will also be included, with Jonathan Glazer's just-completed clip for new single "Live With Me" as a bonus.

• Anthrax
• Biohazard
• Franz Ferdinand
• Depeche Mode
• Alkaline Trio

Bleeding Through
Photo: Trustkill

Last week Brandon Schieppati — who fronts Orange County, California's speedy death-metal sextet Bleeding Through — was back in a recording studio with his bandmates tracking four new tunes. But only two were theirs.

The other pair were covers of Black Flag's "My War," which will appear on the Black on Black tribute due March 14; and Unbroken's "Proverb," which, according to Schieppati, will more than likely turn up in a video game or on a soundtrack. (Unbroken guitarist Steve Miller performed on the latter track.)

Schieppati said it was strange to be back in the studio, considering he'd just completed work on his band's forthcoming album, The Truth. The disc will land on record-store shelves January 10 and feature "Love in Slow Motion," "For Love and Failing" and "Dearly Demented."

"That's sort of been the theme of Bleeding Through," he said of last week's studio time. "We never could take even a week off. We just keep going and keep going."

For The Truth, the follow-up to 2003's This Is Love, This Is Murderous, Bleeding Through recruited producer Rob Caggiano (Cradle of Filth, Anthrax), because they'd heard "he has a really good vision with music, as far as arrangement and all that stuff." The bandmembers put the word out that they needed a producer for the new studio LP, "and there were producers who wanted to work with us. But Rob thought that, while we were a good band, we could be better, and he had ideas right away. We wanted someone who was going to act like this band was their own, and not do it to just have their name on the record."

One of the two originals recorded last week, "13 Scars," will be available as an exclusive bonus track to anyone who buys The Truth on iTunes. The band doesn't have any definitive plans yet for the other song, "One Last Second."

Schieppati, formerly of Eighteen Visions, said he and the gang will shoot a video January 12 with director Zach Merck (Lacuna Coil, Converge) for "Kill to Believe." Schieppati said the video's going to be story-based — a sort of " 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' meets 'The Devil's Rejects' " — interlaced with performance footage of the band. Beyond that, he didn't want to reveal too much about the concept.

"All I can tell you is it will be filmed in the desert with really dirty, f---ed-up houses, and f---ed-up old cars," he said. "All that sh--."

The band will embark on a 37-date headlining tour of the U.S. with Every Time I Die, Between the Buried and Me, and Haste the Day on February 15 in Los Angeles. Dates run through April 1 in Anaheim, California.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Death-metal veterans Cannibal Corpse have chosen Kill as the title of their new record and set a March 21 release date. The disc will feature the band's latest full-time member, guitarist Rob Barrett, who played with Cannibal Corpse from 1993-'97 and returned to tour with them after Jack Owen quit in 2004. ... Having survived an onstage electrocution in September, former Mr. America Thor will return to the concert circuit for a brief stint starting Friday (December 9) in Eugene, Oregon. Dates are scheduled through December 14 in Seattle. ... Anthrax will be back on the road in 2006 with the They're Still the Law Tour, which will also feature God Forbid, Sworn Enemy and Manntis. The tour kicks off in Baltimore on January 6 and runs until January 21 in Hollywood. Sworn Enemy will be touring to support The Beginning of the End, which comes out January 24 and was produced by As I Lay Dying singer Tim Lambesis. God Forbid recently finished a video for "To the Fallen Hero," shot with director Shane Drake. The band's new disc, IV: Constitution of Treason, came out September 20. Manntis will shoot a video for "Weathered Soul" this weekend with director Rob Hall. ...

Hardcore-turned-metalcore outfit Himsa will release their fourth album, Hail Horror, February 7. The band shot a video for "Sleezevil" over Halloween weekend in L.A. with director Derek Dale. Hail Horror will be the follow-up to Courting Tragedy and Disaster, which came out in 2003. Himsa will launch a U.S. tour with Acacia Strain, Darkest Hour, A Life Once Lost and Dead to Fall from February 17 through March 20. ... Oregon's moody black-metallists Agalloch have entered the studio to begin pre-production on their third album, Ashes Against the Grain; recording will start December 10. The disc will be the follow-up to Agalloch's 2002 record, The Mantle. ... Daylight Dies' Dismantling Devotion will hit stores March 7 and include "A Dream Resigned," "Solitary Refinement" and the title track. ... Through the Eyes of the Dead will tour with Ed Gein from January 27 in Wilmington, North Carolina, through March 5 in Detroit. The band's full-length debut, Bloodlust, came out October 25. Ed Gein dropped their second disc, Judas Goats and Dieseleaters, November 1. ... Dutch gore-metal band Severe Torture will release their fourth album, Fall of the Despised, February 7. Tracks include "Unconditional Annihilation," "Endless Strain of Cadavers" and "Impulsive Mutilation." The album follows 2003's Misanthropic Carnage and the 2005 live disc Bloodletting. ...

Swedish melodic metal band Nocturnal Rites will release their seventh album, Grand Illusion, January 24. The disc was recorded and mixed at Toontrack Studio in Umea, Sweden, and includes "Fools Never Die," "Something Undefined" and "Still Alive." ... British doom-metal veterans Paradise Lost just released their 10th studio album in the U.S. The self-titled disc is the follow-up to 2002's Symbol of Life and includes "Don't Belong," "Close Your Eyes," "Forever After" and "Accept the Pain." The band has three Mexican dates scheduled in December, but no American shows have been lined up yet. ... Ion Dissonance will launch a tour with Dead to Fall on January 4 in Chicago. Dates run through February 3 in Iowa City, Iowa. Ion Dissonance are on the road to support their second album, Solace, which came out September 6. ... Ex-Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley's former label Megaforce will release the compilation album Greatest Hits Live on January 24. Frehley's first release since 1989's Trouble Walkin' will feature former members of Frehley's Comet, including drummers Anton Fig and Jamie Oldaker, bassist John Regan, and guitarist/singers Richie Scarlet and guitarist/singer Todd Howarth. Frehley was dismissed from the never-ending Kiss reunion in late 2002. ... Most Precious Blood, With Honor and the Distance launched a tour on December 1 in Seattle. The bands will remain on the road through December 16 in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania. Most Precious Blood's third album, Merciless, came out September 20. ...

Tennessee melodic death-metal band Epoch of Unlight are working on their fourth album, the follow-up to this year's The Continuum Hypothesis. The band's touring guitarist, Steve Blagburn, has joined full-time and is contributing to the writing process. So far the group has written three songs and hopes to have the album finished in time for a 2006 release. ... Chicago dark metal band Novembers Doom are hard at work on songs for the follow-up to The Pale Haunt Departure, which came out in March. So far the new material is heavily influenced by early Chicago death metal. The band hopes to start recording in April 2006. ... Belgian black-metal band Ancient Rites have been hard at work in the studio, which they entered on November 21 with producers Oliver Phillips and Christian Moos. The disc, which should be out by summer, will mark the return of guitarist Raf Jansen and keyboardist Domingo Smets, who left in 1997 and 2001, respectively. ... Italian black-metal band Aborym will release their fourth album, Generator, February 20. The disc features Emperor drummer Faust on all tracks and Mayhem vocalist Atilla on "Man Bites God." ... Massachusetts ambient jazz-metal band Kayo Dot will release their sweeping second album, Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue, January 10. Tracks include "Gemini Becoming the Tripod," "Aura on an Asylum Wall" and "Immortelle and Paper Caravelle." The band features ex-members of progressive metal-band Maudlin of the Well.

• Bleeding Through
• Himsa
• Anthrax

Jessica Simpson
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Jessica Simpson, who is "in talks for many projects," according to her rep, has a new one to add to the list — "Employee of the Month." If she signs up for the role, her first since "The Dukes of Hazzard," the singer would play a new cashier at a discount superstore who makes fellow employee Dane Cook try to win her over by competing for the "Employee of the Month" title. The movie is slated to start shooting in the spring. ...

Anxious for new music from the Foo Fighters (even though they just put out a double album in, like, June)? Well, you're in luck, provided there's a Best Buy in the neighborhood. Joining the ranks of artists like Usher and the Rolling Stones, the Foos just released an untitled EP exclusively through the home-entertainment store. The EP features a live version of "Best of You," a demo of their current single, "D.O.A.," plus B-sides and a cover of Cream's "I Feel Free." ... Missy Elliott, Eve and 3 Doors Down are among the final presenters announced for Tuesday's American Music Awards. Michelle Branch, Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, Babyface, James Denton, Katherine Heigl and Serena Williams have also been added. ...

Link Wray, the guitarist credited with inventing the power chord, died on November 5 of undisclosed causes in Copenhagen, Denmark, according to a post on his Web site. He was 76. On tunes such as his landmark 1958 instrumental "Rumble," Wray produced a fuzzed-out sound that influenced generations of rock, punk and metal bands. He said he achieved the blown-out effect by purposely punching holes in the speakers of his amps. ... The Edge has launched a campaign to raise funds to replace the lost instruments of musicians affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The U2 guitarist, who started Music Rising after visiting New Orleans last week, has teamed with Gibson Guitar for the nonprofit undertaking. ...

Police in Vietnam arrested British glam rocker Gary Glitter (born Paul Gadd) on Saturday morning on child-molestation charges. According to reports, the "Rock and Roll Part 2" singer was detained by immigration police at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat airport as he was attempting to board a plane to Bangkok, Thailand. He is under investigation for allegedly taking home several girls who were 15 or younger, according to a Reuters report. Glitter was sentenced to four months in jail in Britain in 1999 after authorities found child pornography on his computer's hard drive. ... Kylie Minogue is bringing it back home. The 37-year-old pop diva, who had to cancel the homecoming leg of her Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour earlier this year after being diagnosed with breast cancer, has announced that she'll tour at the end of 2006, according to The Associated Press. ...

Anthrax will reunite for three dates next year: January 7 in New York, January 13 in Chicago and January 21 in Hollywood. God Forbid and Sworn Enemy are opening. ... Supergrass will be back on the road to promote Road to Rouen starting February 6 in Toronto. The 15-date North American trek wraps February 26 in Vancouver, British Columbia. ...

Attention man-machines: We have the perfect holiday gift for you. On December 6, Kraftwerk will release "Minimum-Maximum," a two-DVD set documenting their 2004 world tour. The discs feature more than two hours of live music, recorded in Japan, Europe and the U.S. ... On December 6, Glaswegian popsters Belle & Sebastian will release a live version of their 1996 album, If You're Feeling Sinister, for download at the iTunes music store, with all proceeds going to Disasters Emergency Committee's Asian Quake Appeal. The album was recorded at London's Barbican club during the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in September. ...

11.18.2005

"Laguna Beach" star Talan Torriero's just wrapped his first movie role, for an indie film called "Driftwood," about an attitude-adjustment correctional facility for teens that's haunted by the ghost of a kid murdered there. Torriero plays Yates, a security guard who beats on the kids. Meanwhile, he's also nearly completed his debut album, and anticipates that "by the end of the week, it'll be done." ...

In two weeks, Madonna's 1998 album, Ray of Light, will be rather hard to come by if you live in Belgium. That's because a Belgian judge has ordered the disc pulled from store shelves in the country, as part of a ruling he handed down Friday morning (November 18). Back in May, Salvatore Acquaviva, a Belgian songwriter, sued the Material Mom, claiming she bit the melody for the track "Frozen" from his 1993 song "Ma Vie Fout L'camp (My Life's Getting Nowhere)." According to Reuters, Acquaviva's attorney's claiming victory against Madonna, and said the ruling further barred the airing of the song or video on radio and television in the nation. It's unknown whether Acquaviva was awarded monetary damages. ... Ashanti will be on hand at a dance workshop in Hollywood, Florida, on Sunday to help raise money for the Hurricane Bank Relief Fund. The hip-hop dance workshop is being taught by the singer's choreographer Brice Vick, "You Got Served" choreographer Shane Sparks and Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers Tour choreographer Shotyme. You can register for the class at popstarzinc.com. ...

Scott Stapp will sing the national anthem at NASCAR's Ford 400 race, the final race of the Nextel Cup Series, which takes place at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. The race will be broadcast on NBC at 3 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, Stapp's first solo album, The Great Divide, will hit stores Tuesday. ... AC/DC's Angus Young has gotten his fair share of accolades, but he's probably never received an honor quite like this. The manic guitarist, who stands at 5 foot 2, tops Maxim's list of the "25 Greatest Short Dudes of All Time." For its December issue, the magazine is fighting back against women's "shallowness" when choosing a partner, boosting a host of praiseworthy shorties into the limelight. "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, director Martin Scorsese, NBA player Spud Webb, Prince and Kurt Cobain also claimed spots on the list, as did "Star Wars" Jedi master Yoda and "Lord of the Rings" hobbits Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. ...

Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme is getting busy with foul-mouthed electro-clash star Peaches. He's contributed a song to her new album, due this spring, and she's returning the favor by joining him at his Rancho De La Luna studio in Joshua Tree, California, for his next round of Desert Sessions, for which Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins is also supposed to tag along. Meanwhile, in addition to Homme, Peaches has snagged Eagles of Death Metal's Jesse Hughes, Joan Jett, and Imperial Teen's Will Schwartz for her third album, which she's working on in Los Angeles. ... Nine Inch Nails will close out their current North American tour with Queens of the Stone Age this weekend, and will then head to South America for a quick visit. After that, the group plans to return for three newly announced West Coast gigs: Santa Cruz, California, on December 6; San Luis Obispo, California, on December 7; and Reno, Nevada, December 8. ...

Tommy Boy Records is celebrating its 25th anniversary in style. The label is releasing a 12-CD retrospective called Hip-Hop Essentials 1979-1991, with the first four volumes in stores now, to be followed by the next four on January 24 and the final four on March 7. Among the artists on the set are the Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Ice-T, Grandmaster Flash, N.W.A, Salt-N-Pepa and Eric B. & Rakim. ... Can't make the John Mayer Trio show on Wednesday at the Bowery Ballroom in New York? Don't worry, you'll be able to hear it via Network LIVE, which is simulcasting the show on XM Satellite Radio and AOL at 9 p.m. ET. Try! John Mayer Trio Live in Concert, which was recorded throughout various venues during a six-week tour, is out Tuesday, featuring new songs and covers of Jimi Hendrix and Ray Charles classics. On the day of release, the band will play an in-store at New York's Tower Records in the East Village. ...

Gary Glitter, the '70s British rocker behind the ubiquitous sports anthem "Rock and Roll Part 2," is on the run from Vietnamese authorities. The Associated Press reports that police are searching for the 61-year-old singer to talk about his relationship with a 15-year-old Vietnamese girl they found staying in his home in the Southeast Asian country. If charged with sexual abuse, Glitter could face punishment as severe as the death penalty. In 1999, Glitter served a four-month prison sentence after thousands of pornographic photos of children were found on his personal computer. He still remains on Britain's sex-offender registry. ... The Cure plan on hitting the studio in January to begin work on a new album, according to a post written (in all CAPS) by frontman Robert Smith on the band's Web site. In the post, he writes that a host of Cure-related projects, including reissues of older albums like 1984's The Top and '87's Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, has delayed work on the new album. "We will now not be in the studio 'for real' until January 2006, but we are still on course for a summer release, as it's all in the preparation," he wrote. ...

Motorola has plans to roll out two new versions of its iTunes-enabled Rokr cell phone next year. After the somewhat chilly reception the first phone received thanks to its limited music capacity and clunky design, the second generation of the phone will be sleeker and should allow users to tap download services besides iTunes. A more stylish phone is expected in the first quarter, followed by another one mid-year that will be able to download songs wirelessly, according to a Reuters report. ...

• Jessica Simpson
• Foo Fighters
• Missy Elliott
• Eve
• Anthrax

Anthrax's Scott Ian (file)
Photo: Getty Images

The classic Among the Living lineup of speed- and thrash-metal icons Anthrax has finally regrouped, meaning for the first time in 13 years, guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Spitz, vocalist Joey Belladonna, bassist Frankie Bello and drummer Charlie Benante will once again be making brutal music together.

On Thursday morning (March 24), the influential New York band released an official statement on the reunion, confirming weeks of Internet rumblings and metal-scene gossip. But Anthrax fans have been expecting some big news ever since the Ozzfest 2005 lineup was announced (see "Ozzfest Lineup, Itinerary Announced"). Beginning March 15, the front page of the band's Web site has featured an ominous countdown clock that continues to tick away to April 1. Just what April Fools' Day would hold for Anthrax lovers, beyond a practical joke, was unclear.

According to the Anthrax statement, the band has scheduled a press conference for April 1 at 2 p.m. at the headquarters of Sirius Satellite Radio in New York City, to formally announce their reunion, kick off the "Spreading the Anthrax Weekend" on Sirius' Hard Attack channel and "make an important statement regarding the U.S. Government and the anthrax vaccine." The release says the group wants to raise public awareness about the dangers of the vaccine, as well as the newly legislated Project BioShield Act, which explicitly allows the Food and Drug Administration to approve drugs and vaccines that have not been fully tested during times of declared emergency.

While nothing has been confirmed yet, Anthrax have been discussing possible "new music releases," and are expected to make additional touring announcements as well. For now, Anthrax have confirmed that they'll be playing two shows at the House of Blues in Chicago, on April 30 and May 1, and will head to Europe for the Dynamo Open Air Festival in Hellendoorn, Netherlands, on May 7 and the Download Festival on June 11 at England's Donington Park.

The band will also appear at other European rock fests, including the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, which runs June 9 through June 11; the Gods of Metal Festival in Bologna, Italy, taking place on June 11 and 12; the Fury Fest in Le Mans, France, running June 24 through June 26; the Metal Camp Festival in Tolmin, Slovenia, also running June 24 through June 26; and With Full Force, which takes place July 1 through July 3 in Löbnitz, Germany.

Said Judas Priest's Rob Halford of the reunion, "Everyone in Judas Priest congratulates our good friends from Anthrax for passing their 20th year metal milestone. We have always been fans of the band and had the pleasure to do many shows together. Anthrax are true pioneers with their unique style, sound and heavy brand of metal. They have always and will continue to inspire and influence those around them within the metal world."

• Anthrax
• Scott Ian

Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta
Photo: Universal Records

Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta will produce the next album by Agnostic Front. The renaissance metal man is working on pre-production at Planet Z studios in Massachusetts. Jasta will follow up that project by producing the debut album from the Autumn Offspring. ... Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian recently proposed to longtime girlfriend Pearl Aday, daughter of singer Meat Loaf, according to the band's Web site. Ian's fiancée recorded a duet with her father for his last album, which was co-written by Nikki Sixx, who once toured with Aday when she was a backup singer for Sixx's Mötley Crüe. ...

Lamb of God singer Randall Blythe has recorded guest vocals with Canada's female-fronted Bloodshoteye. Blythe will sing on "F.U.B.A.R.," from the group's album Without Any Remorse, due next month. ... Lubbock, Texas' Speedealer will launch a tour in Houston on February 6. Dates run through March 28 in Dallas. Bleed will support. ... Biohazard singer/guitarist Billy Graziadei and Kittie bassist Jennifer Arroyo have formed band called Rodek and recently recorded several demo tracks. Songs include "Undone," "Marching Backwards" and "Not My Year." ...

Brooklyn, New York's Life of Agony are set to embark on a monthlong trek with Flaw and Skrape beginning January 20 the state's capital, Albany Two dozen shows, though February 21 in Buffalo, have been scheduled thus far. ... Florida's Six Feet Under are set prove themselves King of the Roadkill with a three-week tour of the same name. The jaunt runs from January 31 in High Point, North Carolina, through February 17 in Louisville, Kentucky. ... Latin metal band Ill Niño will shoot a video for "This Time's for Real" next week in Spanish Harlem. The track is from the group's most recent album, Confession, which came out in September. ...

December have parted ways with singer/guitarist Mark Moots. His last show with the band was December 28 in Reno, Nevada. No reason was given for his departure. December, whose last album was 2002's The Lament Configuration, are seeking a replacement. ... England's Bolt Thrower are writing new songs for their yet-untitled eighth studio album, due by November. The band will support the release with its first U.S. tour in a decade. ... Fear Factory finished mastering their new Archetype this week in New York. Due April 2, the disc will be the group's first disc since the departure of founding guitarist Dino Cazares. ...

Even though Soilwork drummer Ricky Evensand has left his Swedish comrades to join Cleveland's Chimaira (who recently toured with Soilwork on the Pure Hatred Tour), there isn't any bad blood. "The guys in Soilwork gave me their blessing, so we will always remain good friends," he wrote on Chimaira's Web site. ... Haste have parted ways with singer Kelly Reaves, leaving co-vocalist Chris Mosley to handle frontman duties by himself. ... Converge will now release the tentatively titled You Fail Me, the follow-up to 2001's Jane Doe, through Epitaph and not Equal Vision Records. Vinyl will be handled by singer Jacob Bannon's Deathwish Inc. label. ... Scarlet's Cult Classic hits stores March 9 and will include the songs "Get Your Gun," "Suicide Soundtrack," "No One's Getting Out Alive" and "You're My Fix" among its 16 tracks. ...

Following reports of fisticuffs during a recent string of West Coast dates, Cleveland's Integrity have decided to go on indefinite hiatus. The band had been touring in support of To Die For, its first album of new material since breaking up a couple of years ago. ... Twelve Tribes have reinvented themselves as Prodigal Zoo and are working on an album called The Rebirth of Tragedy, due on Ferret Records in May. ... Most Precious Blood recently shot a video for "The Great Red Shift," from their newly released Our Lady of Annihilation, with director Dale Resteghini (Hatebreed). ... Dark Funeral will release a still-untitled live album March 29, their first release through a new deal with Regain Records, according to the band's Web site. ...

— compiled by Joe D'Angelo, Ryan Downey, Robert Mancini and Jon Wiederhorn

• Hatebreed
• Anthrax
• Lamb of God
• Six Feet Under
• Life of Agony

Roadrunner United 12.15.2005

• Slipknot
• Stone Sour
• Hatebreed
• Murderdolls
• Deicide