Atari Teenage Riot's Carl Crack
Photo: Michael Lavine

Atari Teenage Riot cofounder Carl Crack has died at age 30.

Crack (born Karl Bohm) was found in his Berlin apartment on September 6, a spokesperson for Digital Hardcore Recordings, the Berlin techno band's label, said Monday (September 24).

Alcohol and unspecified pills were found in Crack's stomach.

The vocalist had received psychiatric treatment in the past, but friends had not reported anything recently that would give rise to concern, Digital Hardcore said in a statement.

ATR were taking a year off after touring for several months behind 1999's 60 Second Wipe Out. Crack was working on the follow-up to his instrumental solo debut, Black Ark.

"His sudden death has hit me very hard and it is not easy for me to find the right words," ATR cofounder Alec Empire said in a statement. "I played in a band with Carl for 10 years. We've been through a lot together in all those times. He was my friend."

ATR, whose controversial first single was titled "Hunting for Nazis," are the forerunners of a politically charged hardcore techno movement that includes the Prodigy and EC8OR. Two years after forming Digital Hardcore in 1994, the group signed on for U.S. distribution via the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal label, which released 1997's Burn, Berlin, Burn, a compilation of songs from its European releases.

Empire and Crack had communicated only by email since ATR's most recent tour concluded in March 2000.

"There was too much between all the members of the band and we all needed space to recover," Empire said. "He wrote to me that things were going better for him, he was playing music in different projects. And that he wanted to start a long-term therapy. He had suffered since a teenager from psychotic attacks, which I watched getting worse each year. I hoped that he would be able to work things out. His letters sounded positive and optimistic.

"I am very proud of him, and of what he has achieved as an artist," Empire continued. "People like us can't even imagine how hard it must have been for him to deal with those attacks, to record and perform, and on top of that, to take care of his personal life and relationships. I just wish we had talked in person one more time, even though we cleared things in the letters. I will miss him. Carl, we'll never forget you."

Empire recently finished recording a solo album and is preparing to tour, the Digital Hardcore spokesperson said. ATR had not planned to reconvene until 2003. Empire and bandmate Hanin Elias have not discussed the group's future.

• Atari Teenage Riot
• Alec Empire

One of the highlights of this past weekend's CMJ MusicFest in New York City was the showcase for the German-based Digital Hardcore Recordings, which was held at the legendary punk club CBGB's and hosted by label founder and Atari Teenage Riot frontman Alec Empire.

Shortly before Empire and labelmates Cristoph de Babalon, Ec80r, and Bomb 20 unleashed their industrial-driven tech punk on the industry-laden crowd, MTV asked Empire for his thoughts on Rammstein, Germany's most successful musical export since Einstürzende Neubauten.

"I haven't seen a show over here," Empire said of the German metal group, "but what was really bad was that in Germany, [Rammstein is] successful for all the wrong reasons. I think they're not a fascist band at all, but I think in Germany there's a lot of misunderstanding and that's why they sell records and I think that's dangerous."

"And I'm still waiting for them to make a real statement," he continued," because you just can't make a Leni Riefenstahl video and just say that it's just a joke, because my grandfather died in a concentration camp and for me, that's not a joke at all." [28.8 RealVideo]

Rammstein have headed back to Germany after recently completing a successful stint on Korn's Family Values Tour. As for Empire, the man behind Digital Hardcore, he is finishing up work on Atari Teenage Riot's new album, which is due out in January.

• Atari Teenage Riot
• Alec Empire
• Rammstein

Fear Factory's Dino Cazares managed to kill two birds with one trip to New York this week as the guitarist managed to record some licks for the next Atari Teenage Riot album while in town to play the Roseland Ballroom with Monster Magnet and Rob Zombie.

On Tuesday, Cazares told MTV News that he was heading to a New York studio that evening to work with the German digital hardcore outfit.

"They just called me," Cazares explained. "I've done other stuff too. I've done Junkie XL, I played on guitar on the whole record. Soulfly, I played on the record… Nail Bomb, Limp Bizkit, stuff like that."

"I think Atari Teenage Riot is a pretty extreme band," Cazares added. "I think they called me out because they want some pretty heavy riffs."

Cazares added that Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello was also expected to contribute to the project.

Of course, Cazares still has his plate full with Fear Factory work as well. The band will continue as part of the Rob Zombie/Monster Magnet tour through late November, and then hopes to stage its own Stateside tour early next year.

Here's where you can see them before then:

• 10/28 - New York, NY @ Roseland
• 10/29 - Utica, NY @ Utica Mem. Auditorium
• 10/30 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ Mid-Hudson Civic Center
• 10/31 - Lewiston, ME @ Central Maine Civic Ctr.
• 11/1 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium
• 11/3 - Mississauga, ON @ Arrow Hall
• 11/4 - Detroit, MI @ State Theatre
• 11/6 - Madison, WI @ Dane County Exhibit Hall
• 11/7 - St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
• 11/8 - Fargo, ND @ Civic Mem. Auditorium
• 11/10 - Kansas City, KS @ Memorial Hall
• 11/12 - Denver, CO @ Mammoth Events Center
• 11/13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ SaltAir Pavilion
• 11/14 - Nampa, ID @ Idaho Center
• 11/16 - Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum
• 11/17 - Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
• 11/18 - Salem, OR @ Salem Armory
• 11/21 - San Jose, CA @ Event Center Arena
• 11/22 - Sacramento, CA @ Memorial Auditorium
• 11/24 - Las Vegas, NV @ Joint
• 11/25 - San Bernardino, CA @ Orange Pavilion
• 11/27 - Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre

• Atari Teenage Riot
• Alec Empire
• Fear Factory

Ice Cube, who cracks the "Billboard" top ten this week with the soundtrack to his directorial debut, "The Player's Club," has been trading tracks with Alec Empire of the digital hardcore trio Atari Teenage Riot.

The two have been mailing work back and forth to each other for a project that could turn up this summer on Ice Cube's next album, "War And Peace."

Cube is also busy preparing for the release of "Player's Club," which arrives in theaters on April 8. The movie was written and directed by Cube, and will feature the rapper in a small supporting role.

The film tells the story of a woman, played by Lisa Ray (who turned up in Tupac's "Toss It Up" video), who dances at a strip club to put herself through college.

• Atari Teenage Riot
• Alec Empire
• Ice Cube

September 30 [12:00 EDT] -- Billboard is reporting that the film on the rave scene being shot by video producer Jonathan Reiss is now tentatively tagged "Better Living Through Circuitry." The full length documentary was original referred to as "Rave: An Electronica Documentary."

Billboard reports that filming, which has been underway since March, is in its final stages. A theatrical release is expected in the Spring, although the producers, Cleopatra Films and Entertainment, have not confirmed a distributor.

The project features interview and performance footage of Moby, DJ Spooky, Aphex Twin, Sneaker Pimps, The Crystal Method, Alec Empire of Atari Teenage Riot, DJ Frankie Bones, Electric Skychurch and Rabbit in the Moon. Key behind-the-scenes personnel from the techno scene have also been interviewed including Todd Muellor, the producer of MTV's Amp, MixMag founder Tony Prince and New York Sputnik rave promoter Scott Richmond.

Reiss's credits include Nine Inch Nails' "Happiness in Slavery" video as well as productions for the Black Crowes, Type-O Negative and Diamanda Galas.

• Aphex Twin
• Atari Teenage Riot
• The Crystal Method
• Alec Empire
• Moby

August 28 [14:00 EDT] -- The German digital hardcore trio Atari Teenage Riot is doing it's best to hold its own on one of the hardest tours in recent memory as they continue in the opening slot for the Wu-Tang Clan and Rage Against The Machine.

The group, whose anarchistic attitude is summed up in the title of their next video "Destroy 2000 Years Of Culture," is used to opening for the likes of Beck and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

"It's just different," ATR's Alec Empire told MTV News of the crowds the group's facing this time out. "I think it's good to have a whole line-up like that this time, because people who come here are into hard music anyway, so it's not like... it's a bit different because people are not that shocked as they used to be when we play." [600k QuickTime]

Fans in Indianapolis will be the next to face the Wu/Rage/Atari juggernaut on Thursday.

Here's where else the tour will stop:

• 8/28 - Indianapolis, IN @ Deer Creek Amphitheater
• 8/29 - Chicago, IL @ World Amphitheater
• 8/31 - St. Louis, MO @ Riverport Amphitheater
• 9/1 - Kansas City, MO @ Sandstone Amphitheater
• 9/3 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
• 9/5 - Dallas, TX @ Starplex Amphitheater
• 9/6 - Austin, TX @ Southpark Meadows
• 9/8 - Denver, CO @ Fiddlers Green Amphitheater
• 9/11 - Vancouver, Canada @ PNE Coliseum
• 9/12 - Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Arena
• 9/13 - Seattle, WA @ Tacoma Dome
• 9/15 - San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheater
• 9/16 - Sacramento, CA @ Arco Arena
• 9/18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre

• Atari Teenage Riot
• Alec Empire

July 18 [16:00 EDT] -- In a double bill likely to rattle the sturdiest of venues to its foundations, Rage Against The Machine are set to hit the road with special guest the Wu-Tang Clan, and show openers Atari Teenage Riot.

Rage is still riding high on the success of their "Evil Empire" LP, which has gone double platinum, and Wu-Tang scored a major success recently when "Wu-Tang Forever" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" album chart. Meanwhile, Atari Teenage Riot has been bringing its digital hardcore to the masses on "Burn Berlin Burn."

Rage was most recently seen in the States slamming crowds on the opening dates of U2's PopMart tour.

If you think you're up to the challenge, here's where you can catch the Rage/Wu/ATR tour:

• 8/8 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Blockbuster Coral Sky Amph.
• 8/10 - Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheater
• 8/12 - Nashville, TN @ Starwood Amphitheater
• 8/13 - Charlotte, NC @ Blockbuster Pavillion
• 8/15 - Washington DC @ Meriweather Post Pavilion
• 8/16 - Philadelphia, PA @ Blockbuster Entertainment Ctr.
• 8/17 - Hartford, CT @ Meadows Music Theatre
• 8/19 - New York, NY @ TBA
• 8/20 - New York, NY @ TBA
• 8/21 - Boston, MA @ Great Woods Amphitheater
• 8/23 - Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
• 8/24 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Star Lake Amphitheater
• 8/25 - Toronto, ONT @ Molson Amphitheater
• 8/27 - Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
• 8/28 - Indianapolis, IN @ Deer Creek Amphitheater
• 8/29 - Chicago, IL @ World Amphitheater
• 8/31 - St. Louis, MO @ Riverport Amphitheater
• 9/1 - Kansas City, MO @ Sandstone Amphitheater
• 9/3 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
• 9/5 - Dallas, TX @ Starplex Amphitheater
• 9/6 - Austin, TX @ TBA
• 9/8 - Denver, CO @ Fiddlers Green Amphitheater
• 9/11 - Vancouver, Canada @ PNE Coliseum
• 9/12 - Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Arena
• 9/13 - Seattle, WA @ Tacoma Dome
• 9/15 - San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheater
• 9/16 - Sacramento, CA @ Arco Arena
• 9/18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
• 9/20 - Phoenix, AZ @ TBA

• Atari Teenage Riot
• Alec Empire
• Ghostface Killah
• Inspectah Deck
• Killah Priest

June 11 [16:00 EDT] -- The "Spawn" soundtrack, which teams hard rock's finest with their electronica counterparts, will turn up in stores next month.

The soundtrack, which teams Henry Rollins with Goldie, Slayer with Atari Teenage Riot, and Marilyn Manson with Sneaker Pimps among others, should arrive in record stores on July 29. [For more, see "Marilyn Manson Enters Studio With Sneaker Pimps As Uproar Continues" from June 4]

The set also features Filter and Crystal Method, KoRn and the Dust Brothers, and Soul Coughing and Ronnie Size, and is the musical to the big screen adaptation of Todd McFarlane's "Spawn" comic book.

In addition to sparking a motion picture, "Spawn" (the top selling comic in the U.S.) has inspired an animated series on HBO, and a line of action figures from McFarlane Toys (who also produce a line of recently released Kiss action figures).

None too surprisingly, the hybrid-fueled soundtrack comes from the folks at Immortal Records, who released the rock-and-rap tag team soundtrack to 1993's "Judgment Night" (which boasted efforts from Cypress Hill with Pearl Jam and Ice-T with Slayer among others).

The latest re-working of Spawn, starring Michael Jai White, Martin Sheen, and John Leguizamo will hit theaters on August 1.

• Atari Teenage Riot
• Alec Empire
• Marilyn Manson
• Henry Rollins
• Sneaker Pimps

April 24 [16:00 EST] -- The German digital hardcore trio Atari Teenage Riot will no doubt spout the philosophies behind the title of its recent album, "Burn Berlin Burn," during an Internet chat this Friday.

The trio will be appearing on SonicNet starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

The members of Atari Teenage Riot first came together in 1992, sharing a common disgust for the racism that was taking over rave and techno culture in their homeland, a point that the group clearly illustrated with its first single, "Hunt Down The Nazis."

Five years later, the band is just as politically motivated, which will more than likely be apparent during the SonicNet chat.

Alec Empire will be mixing his digital hardcore sound at a happening this Friday at the Chelsea Arts Building in New York.

• Atari Teenage Riot
• Alec Empire