Beyonce's <i>I Am... Sasha Fierce</i>
Photo: Columbia

Three mega releases hit stores last week, but of course, there's room for only one at the top of the chart. So would Beyoncé debut at #1 with her latest, I Am ... Sasha Fierce, or would Nickelback's Dark Horse ruin Thanksgiving dinner at the Knowles abode? Or would "American Idol" winner David Cook's self-titled debut outsell them both?

No one could have predicted the outcome with any certainty, but as expected, the three releases will sweep the chart's top three spots on next week's Billboard albums chart.

With just over 482,400 copies of Sasha Fierce snatched up during that album's first week in stores, Beyoncé makes it three #1's in a row, following the chart-topping successes of her previous solo efforts, 2003's Dangerously in Love (which sold 317,000 copies to open on top) and 2006's B'Day (which also entered at #1 with 541,000 scans).

Canadian rockers Nickelback were poised to score back-to-back #1 openings, but will instead have to settle for second, as Dark Horse enters the chart with with close to 326,400 sold, according to the latest sales figures releases by Nielsen SoundScan. Cook's eponymous debut lands at #3, with week-one sales clocked at almost 279,600. Only one other new release cracked the chart's Top 10, and that album belongs to Il Divo. The Promise bows at #5 with nearly 161,600 scans.

The rest of the Top 10 is teeming with some of the year's biggest albums. Last week's chart-topper, Taylor Swift's Fearless, falls three spots to #4 with around 217,000 copies scanned, and the "Twilight" soundtrack slides one place to #6, selling nearly 125,000 units. The Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 29 compilation disc follows at #7 with 115,300 sold, while the soundtrack to "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" comes in at #8, with almost 85,800 scans. Enya's Winter Came sold 83,300 copies to claim the #9 opening, and rounding things out at #10 with just under 73,000 sold its AC/DC's Black Ice.

Also new to next week's chart is Dido's latest, Safe Trip Home, which opens at #13, after selling 50,600 copies. Mudvayne's New Game, which follows at #15 with week-one sales reported at 48,300. Rapper Slim's latest, Love's Crazy, enters at #32, with sales of 26,800, while Ace Hood's Gutta follows at #36 with sales of nearly 24,700.

• Beyoncé
• Nickelback
• Taylor Swift
• David Cook
• Dido

In This Moment
Photo: Century Media

Maria Brink can't help the way she looks (tall, blond, blue-eyed and voluptuous), just as she can't help who shows up (uncouth, basement-dwelling dudes with spare tires and beer muscles) to her melodic metal band In This Moment's gigs. But she can control who stays and who goes at her shows.

"I won't let people disrespect me," she told Metal File last week, just days before In This Moment's sophomore LP, The Dream, hit stores. "I've been onstage and I've had people harass me, and if it gets to be too much, I just have security usher them out. [Last fall's] Megadeth tour was probably the most challenging for me, as far as learning how to deal with an aggressive crowd. Most of the crowds we played to were 95 percent male, and the drunker they got, the louder they got."

And, apparently, the cruder they got. Brink — who by most men's standards is a bona fide knockout — said she's learned to deal with the rude hand gestures she's often met with when she takes the stage. She's also learned to block out the boorish comments guys toss her way. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, hasn't — and he's been known to take care of business from time to time.

"I've been onstage and guys have yelled, 'Show me your t--s, bi---,' and I've been able to ignore them, but then I see my boyfriend plowing through the crowd, into the pit, attacking somebody, and I'm trying to sing, and he's on top of someone, and I'm singing and I'm terrified," she explained of her beau, DevilDriver bassist Jon Miller. "He definitely doesn't take too kindly to people sexually harassing me when I'm onstage. On the Megadeth tour, some guy in the crowd said something, and I stopped the show to have him kicked out. I remember the next day, [Megadeth frontman] Dave Mustaine wanted to have a meeting with me, because he'd heard about what had happened, and he told me I was 100 percent right. He told me to tell the crowd that Dave Mustaine would kick their ass if they stepped out of line, and that was pretty awesome."

Unfortunately, Miller and Mustaine won't be able to shield Brink and In This Moment — who'll be on tour with Five Finger Death Punch, Bury Your Dead and Another Black Day through December 4 in San Diego — from some of the critical backlash they're liable to face from fans. The Dream is a decidedly different album than the band's 2007 debut, as it forsakes the metalcore feel of Beautiful Tragedy in favor of a more straight-up rock sound. But Brink says she wouldn't call it a drastic departure.

"It actually, to me, feels a lot more comfortable than the first album," she said. "I think our fans are really going to like it. We didn't really want to worry about what everybody else was going to say. We tried to just do what we wanted to do. Of course we care about our fans, but we thought if we stayed true to what we really wanted to do, that hopefully everyone else would get it. Not everyone is going to like it, and that's OK. We are who we are, and we never claimed to be a brutal metal band or that we're really heavy and hard. We just do what we do — that's it."

On The Dream, Brink elected to give her pipes a break, so instead of screaming her way across the album's 11 tracks, she wanted to let her natural singing voice shine through. Brink said the rest of the band was cool with her ditching the screams, and the music just naturally followed suit.

"As a vocalist, screaming always came really easy for me — it wasn't much of a challenge, it just came out of me," Brink explained. "The singing vocals were always more challenging. People always complimented me on my scream, but I didn't get a lot of feedback on my singing, so I just wanted to challenge myself a lot more on this record. I'm not anticipating a backlash. If people like us, then they like us. If they don't because we don't fall into their standard of being a brutally heavy band, then that's OK. We don't feel like we have anything to prove to anybody."

And just as she's learned to ignore chauvinistic fans, she's also learned to ignore criticism. "I try not to read what the critics write or Blabbermouth," she said. "A lot of people love Blabbermouth, but some of the people who write on it are just brutal."

Brink said she's thrilled with the band's maturation, which is more than evident on The Dream, but ultimately, the album isn't everything she'd hoped it would be — thanks to Chino Moreno.

"I wanted Chino to sing on this album with me more than anything," she said of the Deftones frontman. "That was, like, my dream, and I had somebody talk to his management, and he sounded like he was maybe into it but wanted to hear the song. But we just didn't have enough time to push it or dwell on it, unfortunately. He's my favorite singer, so I'm really disappointed that didn't get to happen. Let's see — maybe we'll get it to happen on the next album."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Contrary to online reports, Dimmu Borgir have not inked a three-year deal with Roadrunner Records. Guitarist Silenoz told Metal File this week that he's heard rumors suggesting his band's next album would not be issued by Nuclear Blast but shot them down. "I don't know where this rumor is coming from," he said. "People have been asking me about that. They've also been asking me if Max Cavalera would be producing the new album, and if we're going to Egypt to record it. Where the hell do people take this from? I've never said anything like that. Sometimes confusion is good, but not when it haunts you like that." Check back next week for the rest of our interview with Silenoz, who will be heading out with Dimmu on October 9 in Miami Beach, Florida, for the Blackest of the Black Tour (with Danzig, Moonspell, Winds of Plague and Skeletonwitch). ...

How's this for a collaboration to end all collaborations? System of a Down's Serj Tankian and ex-Faith No More frontman Mike Patton have written a song together, called "Bird's Eye," which will appear on the soundtrack for the film "Body of Lies." Awe. Some. ... If you've ever wanted to be in a Mudvayne video, you'll soon get your chance — so long as you're willing to travel to New Jersey. On Saturday, the band will be in East Hanover to shoot a clip for "A New Game," the first single from their forthcoming album, The New Game. The shoot starts at 11 a.m., and those interested in taking part in the video should send an e-mail to Casting@BlueStreakEnt.com for more information. ...

With the band's forthcoming album almost in the can, frontman Jon Gula has decided to leave Turmoil. A founding member of the group, Gula's departure followed some serious soul-searching. He told Lambgoat that he "just [couldn't] devote 100 percent of myself to Turmoil anymore. I've got too many things to attend to right now, and I didn't think it would be fair to our fans, or to the rest of the band, to delay the inevitable." He also said he wasn't sure what the future holds for the band but that he'd "understand if they carry on with someone else. I'm not sure if I would call it 'Turmoil' going forward, but I support whatever decision they make. Obviously, they've got to do what's right for them." ...

The Black Dahlia Murder, Misery Index and Soilent Green will be hitting the road together this December for a mostly Canadian run of shows. Aside from a gig in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on December 3, the remainder of the tour will take place north of the border, wrapping December 18 in Toronto. ... Brutal Truth will be entering the studio next week to start tracking their next LP. They've written 24 songs for the effort, including "Grind Fidelity," "Evolution Through Revolution" and "Detached." ... Born of Osiris, Shai Hulud, After the Burial and Burning the Masses will kick off the Progressive Damnation Tour next month. The trek launched in Seattle on November 16 and runs through December 22 in Des Moines, Iowa.

• In This Moment
• Dimmu Borgir
• Mudvayne

Mudvayne's Chad Gray
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/ Getty Images

Back in 2005, metal-leaning hard-rock troupe Mudvayne found themselves in unfamiliar territory. They had just released Lost and Found, which sold close to 152,000 copies in its first week. That sales total was more than enough to land the LP at #2 on the Billboard albums chart. Sure, it wasn't the elusive #1 opening they'd been hoping for, but it was still a monumental feat for Mudvayne.

That week, it was Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi that took the chart's top spot, with more than 403,000 copies flying off store shelves. Finishing third, behind Mudvayne, was 50 Cent's The Massacre.

"I remember that day, when we found out we'd gotten #2. It was like, 'Oh, man — #2,' and we were all pretty bummed," frontman Chad Gray recalled. "But I told the guys, 'You know what today is? Today's the day that 50 Cent and Mariah Carey learned who Mudvayne is.' 50 Cent was the #3 album that week, and I guarantee you he went, 'Who in the hell is Mudvayne?' Maybe even Mariah Carey went, 'Who's Mudvayne?' "

Since then, Mudvayne have expanded their fanbase through constant touring and a stint on Ozzfest. And they've been dormant for so long, perhaps fans will race right out and pick up their forthcoming album, the Dave Fortman-helmed The New Game, when it drops November 18. With Slipknot earning the first chart-topping debut of their career a few weeks back and Metallica topping the charts this week with their fifth straight #1 opener, perhaps this time around, Mudvayne can do what Mariah prevented them from doing three years ago. Still, Gray isn't holding his breath.

"I've never had a #1 record. ... #2 was pretty cool, but ultimately, it's not super-important to me to have a #1 record," he admitted. "It'd probably be good for the band, but the whole climate's changed since then. I think that we have one of the most loyal fanbases ever, and we have fans that like to be challenged. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter to me, man. I would like to have a #1 record, but it's been three years, and I almost can't remember what a Mudvayne release feels like. Maybe we've been gone too long?"

But if The New Game does open on top (which might be hard, considering "American Idol" champ David Cook, Kelly Clarkson, Beyoncé and Nickelback are all eyeing that same date for their efforts), Gray wouldn't complain. "It would let me know that the fans still believe in what we do," he said. "But we're coming out at a weird time, towards the end of the year — there will be lots of stuff dropping that week. I don't think we know what we're up against at this point."

He did, however, know that November 18 would not be the day 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct is due.

Mudvayne are giving their fans ample incentive to help them in their cause. The boys have concocted a scheme that they hope will discourage fans from illegally downloading the disc, while at the same time saving them some cash — it's called "The Album Is the Ticket" program. When a fan buys The New Game, they'll be able to purchase tickets to the band's upcoming tour — which kicks off October 28 in El Paso, Texas, and will feature the reunited Snot and 10 Years in the opening slots — and will earn membership to the band's fan club, where a number of free goodies await.

"Giving back is kind of the theme of this whole record," he said. "We're just trying to help people who are getting squashed. This economy is affecting everyone, and we're not Bill Gates over here — driving Ferraris and sitting on a pile of money — but we're trying to do new and creative things just to help our fans out and drive this market a little bit. When you buy the record, it will be your ticket into the show, and we're saving you some money."

So how does the new material sound? "It sounds great, man — I love it," Gray said. "It's just surpassed my expectations, and I'm really proud of it. It's obviously a more mature record, because we've matured since the last one. We're just pretty tuned in to what we do now. It's not easier for us to write records, but I think we understand each other better, so it kind of makes it a little easier. But it's still calculated. We're just refining what we do.

"The key is to keep moving forward," he continued. "It's the same type of Mudvayne, where we don't question what we do. Things are still as disjunctive as they ever were, but the spaces between the craziness are a little more fluid. They kind of slide into each other a bit easier, so it makes it seem more like it's a little straighter. But if you really get into the nuts and bolts of what we're doing, I think it's just as intricate as anything we've ever done."

With Mudvayne taking up most of his time for the foreseeable future, Gray said his other project, Hellyeah, has been put on the back burner for now. But that band — which also features former Pantera kitman Vinnie Paul and Mudvayne guitarist Greg Tribbett — won't be in storage for long.

"Everybody in Hellyeah knows we're absolutely planning to continue," he said. "I think we'd be shooting ourselves in the foot and letting down a lot of fans if we didn't continue it. Our first record sold 330,000 copies. ... That's a pretty good indicator that you should keep writing records."

• Mudvayne

Korn's Jonathan Davis (file)
Photo: Kristian Dowling/ Getty Images

Korn, Mudvayne, Clear Channel Broadcasting and national concert promoter Live Nation have been named in a lawsuit filed earlier this year in Denver District Court by a 27-year-old waitress who was injured during a concert that took place March 8, 2006.

The woman claims several rowdy concertgoers knocked her to the ground and trampled her as they made their way toward the stage. The University of Denver, which was the site for the KBPI-FM "Birthday Bash" concert, is also named as a defendant in the suit.

According to a Rocky Mountain News report, the show was Nicole LaScalia's first concert experience. She ended up leaving the event in an ambulance after one of her legs was crushed by the weight of the crowd. She is seeking unspecified damages, and her case is likely to proceed slowly, to allow time for the numerous parties involved to respond to its claims.

The report says LaScalia underwent surgery to fix a fractured tibia and fibula, as well as her badly injured ankle. She has accrued about $60,000 in medical bills, and the suit will seek damages for "severe pain and suffering."

According to the suit, LaScalia fell to the ground when several fans surged toward the stage just as Mudvayne began their performance. "Something like this is reasonably foreseeable," LaScalia's lawyer, Darrell Elliott, told the paper. "There has to be sufficient supervision if you have festival seating to protect patrons. In this case, it didn't happen. Oversight was lacking."

Meanwhile, Clear Channel has responded to the suit, calling the victim's claims "frivolous and groundless." The company blamed the injuries on either her negligence or the actions of those in the crowd.

At press time, Elliott and representatives for Mudvayne had not responded to MTV News' requests for comment. In a statement, Korn's management said: "Although we can verify that Korn was not onstage during the alleged incident, we cannot comment further on the suit as it is a legal matter."

• Korn
• Mudvayne

Justin Timberlake's <i>FutureSex/LoveSounds: Deluxe Edition</i>
Photo: Jive

Well, music lovers, hopefully you're happy with the releases you snatched up this year, because from here on out, it's going to be mostly slim pickings till late January. But that doesn't mean all is quiet on the music front — here are this week's top players and the other suspects worth keeping tabs on ...

Back to the Future: Justin Timberlake fans who scooped up his Best Buy-exclusive "FutureSex/LoveShow - Live From Madison Square Garden" DVD last week are going to need a little more green on hand — the singer has slapped together a fresher version of his sophomore album too. FutureSex/LoveSounds: Deluxe Edition has a trio of bonus tracks: a new take on "Until the End of Time" that features vocals by one Miss Beyoncé, as well as alternate takes of "SexyBack" and "Sexy Ladies." The heftier price tag is also due to an extra DVD containing videos for three tunes — "SexyBack," "What Goes Around ... Comes Around" and "LoveStoned/ I Think She Knows" — as well as making-of elements and concert clips. For the sake of fans' bank accounts, let's hope Timberlake has worn out this album.

The Bark, Not the Bite: Miami MC Pitbull got some limelight love last year with a featured spot on DJ Khaled's "Born N Raised" — a tribute track to Miami-Dade County that also featured Trick Daddy and Rick Ross. Well, it seems Pitbull has learned that it helps to have friends: For his third studio LP, The Boatlift, he snagged T-Pain, Jim Jones, Twista, Lloyd, Trick Daddy, Don Omar, Frankie J, Lil Jon and more. And in case you were wondering if the album title had anything to do with the immigration debate, you wondered right: As Pitbull said in a press release, "Most immigrants that came to this country came through some type of boatlift. This is my way of taking everybody on a ride through my eyes; this is my boatlift — my way of bringing them to freedom through the universal language of music." Enjoy the ride.

Soul Train: Chuck D is always ready to take on a good cause — his latest release, The Peeps of SoulFunk: Tribb to JB, is an obscurely titled tip of the hat to departed Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Brown. By D's side is former Air America Radio pal Kyle Jason — who was featured on Public Enemy's 2004 effort, There's a Poison Goin' On — and other peeps from D's Slam Jamz label. Together, the crew redoes Brown staples like "Say It Loud (I'm Black and Proud)" and "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved." Something smells funky indeed.

Do "Look" Back: Now that Incubus have wrapped their extensive Light Grenades jaunt, it's time to take stock of their travels with a new DVD. Fans who preordered the 120-minute "Look Alive" were gifted with bonus audio downloads of four songs performed in concert: "Anna Molly," "Megalomaniac," "Oil And Water" and "Dig." But everyone will be able to enjoy Incubus footage from their July 25 gig at Chicago's Northerly Island, as well as performances from other places across the globe. The 17-song main dish has a few other appetizers as well: rehearsal clips, documentary footage and original music interludes crafted by guitarist Mike Einziger.

Simply the Best: Common has been busy hyping his latest release, Finding Forever, and its four accompanying singles, but in the meantime, one of his former labels, Relativity, is pumping out a greatest-hits disc via Sony's archival division, Legacy. ThisIsMe Then: The Best of Common doesn't really live up to its name, since it only showcases the Chicago rapper's primo product from 1994-'97, but it does feature hookups with Lauryn Hill ("Retrospect for Life") and Cee-Lo ("G.O.D. [Gaining One's Definition]"), among others. The enhanced CD is rounded out by four bonus videos, for "Take It Ez," "I Used to Love H.E.R.," "Invocation" and the aforementioned "Retrospect for Life."

Taking a much different approach at retrospection are Mudvayne, who asked fans to pick the selections for their aptly titled By the People, for the People. Along with live recordings of their vintage songs, Mud also sling forth demos, rarities and two recently recorded cuts: "Dull Boy" and a cover of the Police's "King of Pain." By the way, fans should fret neither the release of this non-studio album nor frontman Chad Gray's participation in metal all-star squad Hellyeah — Mudvayne are threatening a new studio LP next year.

Four for Fore: If you think Thrice are biting off more than they can chew with their four-part Alchemy Index series, wait till you hear what Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman has in store: a quartet of conceptual EPs he's putting out all by himself. Fall — to be followed next year by Winter, Spring and, you got it, Summer — comes out in digital form this week, although it will be issued as a two-disc set with Winter the day the latter effort is released, on January 15. "Because of the autobiographical nature of these songs, they became a self-portrait that was far too personal for a band to release," Foreman said in a statement. "The rest of the band [has] been pushing me to get these types of songs out there for years. So I decided to let them go." But while the rest of Switchfoot are taking a back seat for the releases, the EPs are nonetheless christening the band's own lowercase people records.

Song Title of the Week:

"Trombone Gulch" from Audience's Lunch

Album Cover of the Week:

Rob Jungklas' Gully

Other Notables:

Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh's "Holdin' Our Own" and Other Country Gold Duets
Haven't heard of so-called "turbo country" artist Dayton? Well, maybe you're familiar with a guy named Waylon Jennings or a band called the Supersuckers — he's played lead guitar for both over the years. Dayton has also worked with Willie Nelson and, on a slightly more bizarre note, was tapped by Rob Zombie to be part of the fake band Banjo and Sullivan for his flick "Devil's Rejects." Now he's teamed with 23-year-old singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Leigh for this oddly titled collection of country faves and original tunes like "Something to Brag About With You" and "Two Step Program."

T.H. White's The Private Spotlight
The New York multi-instrumentalist was all the rage at the city's CMJ Music Marathon last month — he's been named a "Band to Watch" on Stereogum.com too — and now the distinctively urban artist churns out his second album. Look out for the seven-minute "Blue + Cream," as well as guest-vocal appearances by Meghan Wolf, whose debut album White is co-writing and producing for release next year.

The Rumble Strips' Alarm Clock EP
In the mood for some Thin Lizzy? OK, then how about an indie-rock take on Thin Lizzy? OK, then how about an indie-rock take on Thin Lizzy that involves trumpets and saxophones? Glad we piqued your interest. The U.K. up-and-comers tackle their fellow Britons' best-known song, "The Boys Are Back in Town," and chalk up five more songs on their first Stateside release. The Rumble Strips snuck videos for "Alarm Clock" and "Oh Creole" onto the disc as well, so let's get ready to ... oh, never mind.

New Releases:

· Bear Hands - Golden EP (Freedom in Exile)
· Chuck D featuring Kyle Jason and the Banned - The Peeps of SoulFunk: Tribb to JB (Slam Jamz)
· Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh - "Holdin' Our Own" and Other Country Gold Duets (Stag)
· Brittney Elizabeth - Breathe In (Desert Sunrise)
· Rob Jungklas - Gully (Madjack)
· Pitbull - The Boatlift (TVT) [Buy Now]
· The Rumble Strips - Alarm Clock EP (enhanced; Kanine)
· T.H. White - The Private Spotlight (Sky Council)
· Renée Zawawi - Legends (Sapiens, Inc.)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· Alcoholics Unaminous - 20 Years of Tanked Up Tunes (Steel Cage)
· Common - ThisIsMe Then: The Best of Common (enhanced; Relativity/Legacy) [Buy Now]
· Ian Gillan - Gillan's Best (Great American Music)
· Freddie King - Texas in My Blues (Great American Music)
· Mudvayne - By the People, for the People (Epic) [Buy Now]
· Os Mutantes - Everything Is Possible: The Best of Os Mutantes (Luaka Bop/ Redeye)
· Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds: Deluxe Edition (with DVD; Jive) [Buy Now]
· Various artists - Guys and Dolls: A Musical Fable of Broadway (Blue Moon)
· Various artists - Ultimate Grammy Collection: Contemporary Pop and Contemporary R&B (Shout! Factory)
· Various artists - "At Last the 1948 Show" soundtrack (él)

Music DVDs:

· Incubus - "Look Alive" (Epic) [Buy Now]
· The Irish Tenors - "The Irish Tenor Christmas" (Trinity)
· Keane - "Live at the O2" (Universal) [Buy Now]
· Simply Red - "Stay: Live at the Royal Albert Hall" (Universal)
· Dusty Springfield - "Live at the BBC" (Universal)
· Various artists - "Bickershaw Festival: North West England 1972" (Ozit)

Digital Releases:

· As Tall as Lions - Into the Flood (available Thursday; EP; Triple Crown/ East West) [Buy Now]
· Audience - Lunch (Virgin) [Buy Now]
· Bats for Lashes - What's a Girl to Do? (EP; iTunes exclusive; Caroline)
· Bracken - We Cut the Tapes and Scatter (Steinbeck Ultramagnetic Remix by Buddy Peace) (Anticon)
· Burnside Project - Burnside Project (Fraga)
· Flogging Molly - Alive Behind the Green Door; Drunken Lullabies; Swagger; Whiskey on a Sunday; and Within a Mile of Home (Side One Dummy) [Buy Now]
· Jon Foreman - Fall (EP; lowercase people/ Credential)
· The Michelles - Sober Rain (Kitty-Yo)

Coming Attractions:

December 4:
· Daft Punk - Alive 2007 (limited-edition version comes with bonus CD; Virgin) [Preorder]
· Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab (Def Jam) [Preorder]
· Godsmack - Good Times, Bad Times: 10 Years of Godsmack (also available with DVD; Republic) [Preorder]
· Wyclef Jean - Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant (Best Buy edition comes with three Rhapsody Original bonus tracks; Columbia) [Preorder]
Read: "T.I. Kick-Starts Wyclef Jean's LP; Mary J. Blige, Akon Tagging Along"
· Styles P - Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman) (Koch) [Preorder]

December 11:
· Bow Wow and Omarion - Face Off (also available with bonus DVD; Columbia)
Read: "Bow Wow Says His Face Off With Omarion Will Mean A 'Whole Bunch Of #1 Records' "
· R. Kelly - "Trapped in the Closet, Chapters 1-22" DVD (Jive) [Preorder]
· Mario - Go (J) [Preorder]
· Wu-Tang Clan - The 8 Diagrams (Best Buy edition comes with exclusive DVD; Def Jam) [Preorder]
Read: "Wu-Tang Clan's 'First-Ever Cleared Beatles Sample' Claim Is Incorrect"

December 18:
· Christina Aguilera - "Back to Basics: Live and Down Under" (RCA) [Preorder]
· Mary J. Blige - Growing Pains (Geffen) [Preorder]
Read: "Mary J. Blige Says She's 'Just Fine' With Her New Album, Losing 'Umbrella' To Rihanna"
· Chamillionaire - Mixtape Messiah 4 (Universal) [Preorder]
· Rivers Cuomo - Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo (Geffen)
· Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's the Cool (Atlantic) [Preorder]
Read: "Lupe Fiasco's Cool World: Tragedy Meets 'Mad Poppy Beats'"
· Rick Ross - Trilla (Def Jam) [Preorder]

• Justin Timberlake
• Pitbull
• Common
• Keane
• Mudvayne

Mudvayne's Chad Gray
Photo: Karl Walter/ Getty Images

Theoretically, Mudvayne could have a new album in stores next week if they wanted to. Problem is, the alterna-metal outfit doesn't want to. They're not ready to part with it yet and won't be for a while — despite earlier reports that the band's fourth studio LP would be finished in time for an early 2008 release.

That's because frontman Chad Gray has had a change of heart. He'd like to tinker with the songs the group has worked on, and he wants his band to come up with even more material he can work with.

"We basically have a record done, but I stepped away from it for a while, while doing this Hellyeah thing," he said, referring to the side project he's touring with through early December that has him and Mudvayne guitarist Greg Tribbett teaming up with Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, Damageplan bassist Bob Zilla and Pantera kitman Vinnie Paul (see "Vinnie Paul Returns To Make 'Hellacious' Magic With Hellyeah"). "I started seeing some themes inside of what we were doing that we could, like, really go for. I kind of pulled off the initial direction and concept for the record, and I started seeing some things I was really into. I need more content, so I can go as far as I can with the concept of the newest record."

While he wouldn't discuss the forthcoming album's concept, he did explain that it won't be a concept piece as we've come to know it: "It's not Pink Floyd's The Wall," he said, "but it means something to us. One of the great things about Mudvayne is [our fans] know something's in there — we just don't tell them what."

But if they did decide to issue the album — the follow-up to 2005's Lost and Found — as it exists, Gray still thinks "it would surprise a lot of people. There's some f---ing home runs on the record." He said the material is a little more complex than typical Mudvayne fare — which is the way he wants it.

"Ultimately, music is art," he said. "If you're creating it for other people, you're missing the whole damn point. It has to mean something to you first. We've always written for ourselves. We never wrote for radio; radio came to us. This record is a really important record — as they all are — and now I've wrapped my head around it and have brought some other outside ideas into the mix. With this new record, I had one thing I was drawing material from, but the more I stood back and stared at it, the more I was like, 'You know what? I can introduce this and this, and I can expose this process of thought.' So this thing, to me now, has become a lot bigger than what it might have been before. It might have been a little more linear. Now it's growing, and I'm really excited about it."

Basically, if you're looking for cookie-cutter metal, this isn't the album for you.

"Music isn't always about being easy. Art's not always easy," Gray continued. "You can look at a Georgia O'Keefe [painting], and it's right there. If you look at a Jackson Pollock or a Barnett Newman, it's a whole different bag of tricks. And to try and really get where the artist is coming from isn't easy. That's what we've tried to do with our music — challenge our listeners a bit. There's enough cattle-call stuff out there, and we like to try and challenge our fans. Because of that, we haven't sold millions of records. You go one way or the other. You can write no-brainer, 'Did it all for the nookie' stuff and sell 8 million records. That appeals to more people because not everybody wants to think or work for entertainment."

Given all this, Gray can't even guesstimate when the LP will be in stores. He's on the road with Hellyeah until the holidays and plans to hit the studio with Mudvayne in January. But there's still a lot of work to be done. So in the meantime, the band will release By the People, for the People on November 27, "to remind everyone the band's still together." The compilation disc will boast a track list chosen entirely by Mudvayne fans (via the band's MySpace page), as well as two new songs: "Dull Boy" and a cover of the Police's "King of Pain."

" 'Dull Boy' was actually written for the new record, and it's kind of cool because it kind of foreshadows what's to come with Mudvayne," Gray said. "Not to give anything away, but it's just a little piece of this new record that we're putting on this compilation set. It's kind of weird, and it has some themes in it that are pretty accurate to where we want to go or where we hope to get to. It's got a big chorus with a cool hook. It's badass and has a bizarre verse. It's a real brooding song."

Gray said the idea behind By the People, for the People was born out of a conversation the band had concerning the many hard drives full of songs they've amassed from various recording sessions over the years.

"We have a lot of f---ing music," he confided. "I think it's a great idea to have our fans pick the track listing, because our fans are very, very loyal, and they have been there since the beginning. This is for our fans, something we wanted to do to give back. We'll let them pick the tracks, and we'll determine what version they're going to get — whether it's a live version, the demo version, an acoustic version of a song. There's going to be a pretty extensive amount of stuff on it."

He said the effort may even include versions of Mudvayne songs no one outside the band has heard before. "There are versions of songs that don't have the same choruses," he explained. "Like 'Silenced' [from 2002's The End of All Things to Come] — it has a completely different chorus on the demo version. You'll be getting a behind-the-scenes, sneak peek into the creative process and be able to see how the song developed."

The Police cover, Gray explained, was originally tracked back in 1999, but the band re-recorded it for By the People, giving it a different sound.

"At first, we did it just for the hell of it because we loved the song, loved the band. It's a great title and a great track," he said. "But stylistically, I have changed over the years. I sing differently now than I did in '99. My attitude is different, and I look at things differently. I'm older, not as angst-ridden. I look at the world differently and I look at life differently. I wanted to do it over, the way we see it now, and the music's completely different now. It's a lot more mature, and I can't wait for people to hear it."

• Mudvayne

Mary J. Blige
Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Word to Mike Seaver and Boner: Mary J. Blige has some Growing Pains of her own. The singer has settled on that as the title for her new album — and has bumped its release by a week, from November 20 to November 27. The first single is called "Just Fine" and will be released to radio on Thursday (September 27). The track was produced by Jazze Pha and Tricky Stewart (Britney Spears, Mya), and is an uptempo party record with a dance/disco sound. On the track, Mary expresses the joy of having high self-esteem. "No time for moping around/ Are you kidding?" she sings. "And no time for negative vibes, 'cause I'm winning ... Got my head on straight, got my vibe right, ain't gonna let you kill it/ See, I wouldn't change, my life's just fine." ...

Is Kanye West the next MLK, Gandhi or Jesus? His mother, Donda West, didn't shy away from such comparisons in a recent interview with the Baltimore Sun — she was in town to promote her recent book, "Raising Kanye." "Kanye keeps it real," she said. "He touches the people. You never know how words can save a person's life, physically or otherwise. People like Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi or, in my view, Barack Obama, or Jesus Christ — people whose job it is to tell the truth — I see that in Kanye. Now, people like you are gonna go, 'Oh, Kanye's mom said he's like Jesus!' but ... when you have a gift, you didn't get it by yourself. ... Your truth is your truth." ...

Amy Winehouse isn't one to hold back either — the troubled U.K. starlet has named her new DVD "I Told You I Was Trouble," according to Uncut magazine. Packed onto the disc is a documentary, a full concert she played in April at London's Shepherds Bush Empire, her "Rehab" performance from the Brit Awards, an early acoustic version of "There Is No Greater Love" and more. "I Told You I Was Trouble" will drop November 6, her publicist confirmed to MTV News. ...

Paul Wall's next album is going to have more of a rock edge, now that Travis Barker is producing it. "Paul usually stays around the same element," Barker told MTV News in Las Vegas while he was in town for the VMAs. "Most of the Houston stuff is slow and real feel-good. This has faster tempos. Still feel-good, but it'll be different for Paul." ... Before he took his wild imagination to the big screen with "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," French director Michel Gondry was best known for his frequent collaborations with Björk, perhaps most memorably on the video for her song "Human Behaviour." Now the two are at it again. Gondry revealed to MTV News that a month from now, he will be directing the music video for "Declare Independence," from the Icelandic singer's latest album, Volta. ... Dave Grohl is getting axed — Gibson Guitar has come up with a new specialized model, the DG-335, for the Foo Fighters frontman. The instrument — which has a rare Pelham blue finish and looks like Grohl's signature guitar — will be available October 4. The price tag for the blue model is $4,468, while the ebony version is a bit cheaper at $3,880. ...

Evan Rachel Wood apparently isn't too afraid of boyfriend Marilyn Manson's fans. "I do feel [some of] his fans like me," she told People for its new issue, which streets Friday. But the actress revealed that she was a little more nervous about Manson seeing her sing onscreen in the new flick "Across the Universe." "I was shy because I didn't want to scare him off," she said. "I'm a singer too! Listen to me! But he's been really supportive, it's great. He's encouraged me about my singing more than anybody." The shock-rocker wasn't the only one who inspired Wood to sing, however — she also name-dropped David Bowie and let it be known that she has a tattoo of his Aladdin Sane lightning bolt. She also has matching tattoos with Manson. "We both got black hearts," she said. "It represents mad love." ...

The Smashing Pumpkins have issued a statement regarding the death of a man at their concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday night, in what police believe was a crowd-surfing accident. "The Smashing Pumpkins were deeply saddened to learn about the passing of a young man who attended their Vancouver show Monday night," read the statement, which was posted on their Web site. "As they and everyone else await news from the investigation into the nature of his passing, the band wants to express their sincerest condolences to his family and friends." ... Vivica A. Fox pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of drunk driving on Thursday, The Associated Press reports. The actress, who was arrested after being caught speeding in March, could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted. ...

Paris in Rwanda: Hilton is making good on her promise to engage in philanthropic efforts by traveling to the impoverished African country, according to "Access Hollywood." The heiress will travel with a member of Playing for Good, a group that connects celebrities with charity organizations, and she is expected to make a financial contribution as well. According to TMZ.com, Hilton will go to Rwanda in November after she finishes filming her horror rock opera "Repo! The Genetic Opera." ... Will Ferrell's charity auction has been won by a Dallas man, and his 10-year-old son will get the chance to play an extra in Ferrell's upcoming "Step Brothers" flick, People reports. The man, who has chosen to remain anonymous, put in a winning bid of $47,000, which will go to the Cancer for College foundation run by Ferrell's friend Craig Pollard. ...

Looks like it's almost Tool time again: The indefatigable heavy-rock band is putting together yet another stretch of dates in support of 10,000 Days, which came out way back in May 2006. Dates have yet to be confirmed, but according to Tool's site, they're stirring up a stretch across the West Coast that will begin in mid-November and last until Christmas. ... Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell recently told MTV News' Tim Kash that he wants to see the fest travel across the world "before I die," but while those plans haven't come about yet, the dates are in place for next year's annual Chicago installment. Lolla will go down August 1-3, once again at Grant Park. ...

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Magic isn't happening until Tuesday, but they snuck out a vinyl version of the release on Wednesday that will allow it to be considered for the Grammys, according to the Los Angeles Times. ... The Wu-Tang Clan's Killah Priest has been added to several dates on Bury Your Dead's upcoming headlining run. Look for him to take the stage in Richmond, Virginia (October 17); Wilmington, North Carolina (October 18); Jacksonville, Florida (October 19); and Tampa, Florida (October 20). ... Bad news for fans of hardcore hip-hoppers Twiztid: The band's upcoming Toxic Terror Tour, featuring openers Mower, has been nixed following a recent car accident involving Twiztid's Monoxide. He suffered a torn ACL muscle in his knee, which will require he stays off it for the next month or so. ...

While System of a Down's members go off and do their own things — what with the band on hiatus — drummer John Dolmayan has firmed up plans for his new comic book site, TorpedoComics.com. The Internet retail shop goes live November 1 and will boast some 15 million items, including comics, toys, graphic novels, trade paperbacks, superhero action figures and other related memorabilia. Dolmayan has also teamed with guitarist Daron Malakian for a new project, Scars on Broadway. ... Former Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, former Anthrax frontman Joey Belladonna, ex-Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson and Sevendust singer Lajon Witherspoon are among the celebrities who'll appear at the Morgan Rose Celebrity Golf Classic, scheduled for November 15-16 at the Heritage Golf Club in Tucker, Georgia. Proceeds from the event will help support the Atlanta Children's Shelter. ...

Mudvayne will release their latest LP, By the People, for the People, on November 27. The disc will boast several live recordings, rarities, demos and two new studio tracks, "Dull Boy" and a cover of the Police's "King of Pain." The album will be entirely fan-generated; the band is asking its fans to participate in creating the album's contents. Fans can visit the band's Web site and MySpace pageMySpace page to help pick the track list, submit fan-generated album artwork and participate in creating the video for "Dull Boy," the first single. ...

Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," which has been shown in some college and high school classrooms, got blowback earlier this year when a Washington school put a moratorium on the global-warming movie. Now a British school governor is taking an even stronger measure by suing the British government for distributing the movie to more than 3,500 secondary schools, according to AP. Paul Downes, a lawyer for Stewart Dimmock, said, "Given the serious inaccuracies in the film and the misrepresentations it contains, the film is irredeemable." The lawyer added that even though the movie has already been shown to some students, the High Court could still rule that the government had acted unlawfully and cease distributing it. ...

There's no stopping the Martin Scorsese rock-doc train. The esteemed director, who has directed films about the Rolling Stones, the Band and Bob Dylan in the past, will focus his lens next on the life of George Harrison, according to Variety. Scorsese will produce the yet-untitled picture with Harrison's widow, Olivia, and the late guitarist's former Beatles bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will also participate. The flick will revolve around Harrison's time in the Beatles and his later years, and also touch on his involvement with Eastern spirituality as well. In related news, McCartney and Starr are participating in Liverpool, England's European Capital of Culture celebration. Macca will perform at the Anfield soccer stadium on June 1. Starr will return to the city — where the Beatles hailed from — for a ceremony at St. George's Hall on January 11, and he will also appear at the Echo Arena on January 12.

09.26.07

Mariah Carey got a win in court last week when a federal judge decided that a copyright-infringement case against her had no merit. Singer Rachele Chafir had sued Carey in April 2006, claiming that Carey's hit "It's Like That" was copied from her song "Sexy" and lifted key pieces, including the music, for the chorus. Chafir, who copyrighted the song in 2004, claimed Carey had access to "Sexy" since it was available on a Web site, but U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood decided that wasn't proof Carey or her collaborators had gone to the Web site or lifted the material, which wasn't "strikingly similar" enough to be considered infringement. With "no genuine issues of material fact," Wood closed the case. "It was the right decision," Carey's lawyer Ilene Farkas told MTV News. "The record was clear in this case." Meanwhile, Carey is moving on with her yet-untitled follow-up to The Emancipation of Mimi, which her record label confirmed is now due December 4. ...

Going, going ... to Cooperstown. And with an asterisk on it. Baseball star Barry Bonds' record-breaking home-run ball, which was purchased two weeks ago in an online auction by hip-hop fashion mogul Marc Ecko, will be heading to the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum after all. Ecko bought the ball and launched a Web site giving fans the chance to vote on the ball's final destination: outer space or to Cooperstown, with or without an asterisk signifying Bonds' alleged steroid use in helping him become the all-time home-run king. The announcement was made Wednesday morning (September 26) on the "Today" show after a week of voting. According to Vote756.com, over 10 million votes were cast, of which 47 percent chose to send the tagged ball to the famed baseball museum. ...

The twisted saga of the investigation into the unsolved 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G. took another turn this week when Waymond Anderson, an inmate serving life for murder, recanted testimony in which he had implicated the Los Angeles Police Department in the rapper's murder. The Los Angeles Times reports that Anderson said in a recent deposition that he lied about LAPD involvement as part of a "scam" cooked up with two other convicts to get a big monetary settlement from the city of Los Angeles. Most shockingly, Anderson accused the rapper's family — which has filed a wrongful-death suit seeking damages from the city — and its lawyer of taking part in the scheme and offering to pay him a percentage of the settlement for false testimony against the LAPD. In the August 20 testimony, Anderson said he had never met the officers he implicated, despite earlier statements in which he described conversations with the two disgraced ex-LAPD cops. A lawyer for Biggie's family, Perry Sanders, called Anderson's allegations "100 percent, demonstrably false," adding yet another twist to the already-knotted-up story by saying that Anderson appeared to be changing his story at the behest of Chuck Philips, a Times reporter who has written extensively about the murder investigation and has questioned the theory of LAPD involvement. Phillips and the Times dismissed the allegations. ...

In other Biggie news, the recently released documentary "The Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life" follows the rapper's life from his early days to his death with interviews from many of the behind-the-scenes music-industry figures and friends who watched the rapper rise from a street-corner hustler to one of the biggest rap stars in the world. The film also features several minutes of previously unreleased footage shot by a bystander of the scene on the night Biggie was gunned down. The fan's video — which director Peter Spirer ("Beef," "Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel") said has been reviewed by authorities — doesn't capture the moment Biggie's car was shot at, but it does have audio of the shots and shaky footage of the chaotic aftermath. ...

Embattled football player Michael Vick is facing stricter release conditions after testing positive for marijuana earlier this month, The Associated Press reports. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson imposed the new conditions, which include restricting Vick to his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring and making him submit to random drug tests. He was ordered to continue participating in substance-abuse and mental-health counseling. Vick was put under pretrial release supervision in July, and the restrictions included refraining from the use of narcotic drugs or other controlled substances. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who pleaded guilty in August to federal dogfighting charges, is awaiting sentencing December 10 — and Vick's violation of the conditions of his release could be taken into consideration by the judge. He faces up to five years in prison for the federal charges, and has been indicted on additional state charges in Virginia as well. ...

A second woman has filed a lawsuit against Lil Wayne over a melee that broke out during one of his shows at Morgan State University in Baltimore in October. According to an AP story, Carlisa Dixon said she was impaled on a metal pole after the crowd surged to snatch up money that was being tossed from the stage. Dixon is seeking $1 million from Wayne's record label and touring companies, and another $1 million from the university, claiming she underwent surgery for a puncture wound as a result of the crowd surge. A lawsuit was filed in August by another woman who claimed she was trampled in the same money-throwing incident. A spokesperson for Wayne could not be reached for comment at press time. ...

A man died at a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Monday night in what police think may have been a crowd-surfing or moshing accident. The Canadian Press reports that Vancouver police say the man was unconscious when he was dragged out of the crowd at the Pacific National Exhibition Forum during the show and worked on by first-aid personnel on site before being transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have ruled out foul play. ... The Voodoo Music Experience is shifting locations, but just slightly. The fest, to take place October 26-28, has a new site in New Orleans City Park to accommodate ongoing restoration and improvement of the park. The shift brings the fest closer to Tad Gormley Stadium, where Voodoo was first held in 1999. ...

Do you march to Nelly's beat? The rapper is cobbling together a marching band for his performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards on October 13. Auditions will be held Sunday starting at 11 a.m. in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans and St. Louis, and Nelly is looking for girls who can play drums, tri-toms, bass drum, tuba or trumpet. Prospective players need to know how to perform his song "Grillz" and move to the beat of the song while playing their instruments. Final auditions will be held October 8 in Atlanta, and those who can't make the auditions in person can post a one-minute video clip on Nelly's drum-line-audition site. ... If you've been doubting Swizz Beatz's fashion sense, think again — Gap has tapped the hugely popular producer for its spring ad campaign. ...

VH1 Rock Docs picked up its first Emmy win on Monday as "DMC: My Adoption Journey" earned the award for News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming. The program, which revolves around the Run-DMC member's search for his birth mother, premiered in February 2006 and will re-air on VH1 on Saturday at 10 p.m. ... Have you already imported Babyface's Playlist into your own playlist? Then mark you calendar — the singer is putting together a tour in support of his recently released LP. Babyface will play a gig in the Philippines on October 13, followed by a stretch in Japan; after that he'll hit Oakland, California, on November 23, and Sparks, Nevada, the following day. ...

During a recent visit to "The Howard Stern Show," Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx spoke out about drummer Tommy Lee and his apparent departure from the band. He told Stern that Lee quit, and Sixx blamed the current legal problems the band is having with one of its former managers for the turmoil. Sixx said that, since Lee isn't the Crüe's frontman or chief songwriter, the band should be fine without him. He added that he harbors no ill will toward Lee. ... Snow Patrol keyboardist Tom Simpson was expected to appear in court in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday to answer to drug-possession charges filed against him this summer. While the charges weren't dropped, the prosecution doesn't intend on taking "further action," meaning the charges will either have to be re-raised again or dropped altogether. ...

Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard's side project Brad are getting back together for a one-night-only show on October 17 at New York's Webster Hall. The benefit event will also feature Billy Bragg and be hosted by Tim Robbins. It is being held to support Woody and Marjorie Guthrie, and the 40th anniversary of the Huntington's Disease Society of America, which was founded by Marjorie. ... Puddle of Mudd aren't ones for Southern hospitality, apparently. Frontman Wesley Scantlin has been banned from Memphis' Graceland after hopping in the pool in Elvis Presley's mansion during a tour on Monday. ...

The Eagles will perform on an awards show for the first time when they take the stage at the Country Music Awards, which will air November 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Carrie Underwood is also slated to perform. ... The Rolling Stones' recent tour didn't just carry the band to the top of Forbes' list of biggest-earning music acts — it landed them in the Guinness World Records, according to Reuters. The classic-rockers' A Bigger Bang tour took $437 million dollars to give them a new record, for the world's most successful music tour. ...

Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God will be teaming up for a late-fall co-headlining tour, which is set to kick off November 28 in Lowell, Massachusetts, with dates booked through December 17 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. DevilDriver and Soilwork will open on all dates. ... Chris Cornell has added another round of dates to his North American tour, which began in the spring. He has booked another 28 gigs, meaning the trek will continue through November 23, when he's expected to perform at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. ...

A photo from Elton John's collection has been pulled from a British gallery where it was to be displayed over concerns by police that it might be child pornography. The photo — which was taken by award-winning American photographer Nan Goldin — shows two young girls, one with her legs spread apart, and was to be displayed at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in northern England before it was seized by police, according to London's Times Online. John released a statement, explaining, "The photograph entitled 'Klara and Edda belly-dancing' (1998) is one of 149 images comprising the 'Thanksgiving' installation by renowned U.S. photographer Nan Goldin ... The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world [and] has been offered for sale at Sotheby's New York in 2002 and 2004, and has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid [Spain], New York, Portugal, Warsaw [Poland] and Zürich [Switzerland] without any objections of which we are aware."

• Mary J. Blige
• Travis Barker
• Paul Wall
• Marilyn Manson
• The Smashing Pumpkins

HELLYEAH
Photo: Chad Lee

At first, Vinnie Paul Abbott wasn't at all interested in making music again.

Not even two years had passed since the onstage assassination of his brother — and Pantera/Damageplan confederate — "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (see "Dimebag Darrell, Four Others Killed In Ohio Concert Shooting"), and really, much of his spare time was being spent running his label, Big Vin Records (see "Vinnie Paul Ready To Release Dimebag's Rebel Music"). Committing himself to a new band was just something he couldn't bring himself to do. But that didn't stop Nothingface bassist Jerry Montano from trying.

"Since May of last year, I started getting phone calls from Jerry, who I've known for a long time, just saying that they planned on putting something together and they needed a heavy hitter — they needed me," the drummer explained. "And I was like, 'Man, I'm so busy with my record company, and I don't know if I'm really ready to do this again' and all that. And after about seven or eight calls, he finally caught me one night when I was in the right frame of mind. I had been drinkin' and listening to some music, and I said, 'You know what? Let's give this thing a shot.' The next day, I talked to everybody in the band, and everyone was so super cool and had the same mindset."

Abbott invited the rest of the group that would inevitably become Hellyeah — Montano, Nothingface's Tom Maxwell and Mudvayne's Chad Gray and Gregg Tribbett — down to his Texas abode, and within eight days, the band had written seven complete songs. The guys jammed inside the same studio where Abbott had worked with Dime on the final few Pantera LPs, Damageplan's debut offering and the Rebel Meets Rebel album.

"It was just magic, man," Abbott recalled. "It was like it was meant to be. I think, just given everything I've been through, it's something that, if it hadn't fallen into my lap, I may not have ever been a part of again. It just sorta came to me."

And truth be told, Abbott's impressed with the final results: Hellyeah's self-titled debut, which drops April 10.

"I honestly think it's the best record I've been a part of since [Pantera's 1992 classic] Vulgar Display of Power," he said. "The thing that makes me feel that way about it is, when we made Vulgar, it was just magic. It happened. Everybody's mindset was in the right place. After that record, we never had that same vibe. We still made amazing records, but there were all these forces pulling us in different directions. So when we made [the Hellyeah] record, I had that same kind of feeling. It was just too easy. Everybody was into it. And I feel these songs are that strong, and I think everybody brought something special to the table.

"It's just a special record," he added, "and I really believe we're gonna be f---ing kick-ass live. We haven't done any live shows yet, but I know that everybody comes from a band that's been known as a kick-ass live band. So I know the five of us together are going to make some hellacious noise."

The upcoming album took the band about a collective month — spread out over several months — to write and record. When it hits shelves, it will boast a dozen brutal tracks, including "You Wouldn't Know," "GodDamn," "Rotten to the Core" and "Alcohaulin' Ass," which Abbott said is "a good song about drinking and something that all guys kind of tend to like, and that's ass."

Abbott thinks some fans will be surprised by Hellyeah's tracks, and he said the entire LP is a "very song-oriented record." To him, "it's music with an attitude. It's like a familiar groove but with a new sound. I really don't think it sounds anything like the bands that any of us are from. I think it has its own sound, its own identity, and it's special in that aspect."

While its members consider Hellyeah a bona fide band, its formation will not impact either Mudvayne — who are working on the follow-up to 2005's Lost and Found — or Nothingface's future. "The way that all of us talk about approaching this thing is being able to be in two bands and have 'em both function — kind of like Stone Sour and Slipknot," Abbott said. "This is a real band; it's no side project."

Hopping on the Hellyeah boat has been instrumental in helping Abbott heal and come to terms with his brother's death. It's also returned him to one of his first loves: making music.

"I didn't know if it was ever gonna be in the cards for me to do again," Abbott said. "It's a big step, and it's only been two years, but to me, it feels like a whole 'nother lifetime. And I just have to say, I give credit to these guys for making me feel comfortable and enjoying doing what we did and making it fun again. It's been a blast. So, I am glad I went ahead and did it. I knew I loved it, and I knew I missed it. I knew I wanted to get back to it, but it was just a matter of learning how to do it without Dime. It brings me back to what I love, and it's a new life, but it's something I'm going to embrace, and I'm going to go at it just as f---ing hard as I did with anything else.

"I'll never be the same, but I've kinda learned that this is my life now, and this is the way it is, and I've got to do the very best I can or Dime's gonna kick my ass one way or another sooner or later," he continued. "I've done my best to carry the torch, because he always used to say, 'You have to keep on keeping on.' So I am doing what I think he wants me to do and what I've got to do to stay sane."

Abbott said Hellyeah will tour extensively this year but that they're still mapping things out. Playing this summer's Ozzfest would make perfect sense for Hellyeah, considering all the bandmembers have taken the festival's stage before. And if Sharon Osbourne extended an offer, the band would gladly take her up on it, Abbott said.

"We will definitely be on tour all summer, and we're definitely looking forward to it," he said. "Ozzfest would be awesome. That's all I can say about that. I'm a veteran of Ozzfest. Everybody knows it's the premier summer tour, so if we were offered to be a part of that, that would just be super, man."

• Vinnie Paul
• Pantera
• Damageplan
• Mudvayne
• Nothingface

Korn frontman Jonathan Davis holds Korn Row street sign aloft
Photo: MTV News

BAKERSFIELD, California — It's not exactly one of Bakersfield's busiest streets, but the back access road to Rabobank Arena was named Korn Row on Friday, a day Mayor Harvey Hall officially declared Korn Day.

The green street sign, which stands just a few feet from train tracks that run behind the venue, uses the band's signature logo, backwards "R" and all.

(Check out photos from Korn's tour kick off.)

"It kind of makes us get teary-eyed a little bit," singer Jonathan Davis confessed to the few hundred fans who attended the mid-afternoon ceremony where the sign and a Korn plaque on the venue were unveiled. "It's because of all you coming and supporting us."

After the presentation, the singer told MTV News that the whole thing felt a little surreal.

"This [city] was a place that I dreaded as a teenager because there wasn't much stuff to do, but it's always going to hold a special place in my heart," he said. "It's a little bit too much to handle. Like, what are these politicians doing here saying they like us?"

It was quite a sight to see a gray-haired mayor man-hugging Fieldy, a state senator's spokesperson telling fans to "rock on" and a county supervisor calling Korn "the godfather[s] of heavy metal," but chalk it up to a little hometown pride.

"I asked them to name a Korn song, and they did," Davis said.

Friday's street naming was held in conjunction with the kickoff to Korn's See You on the Other Side tour (see "Korn Announce Tour Dates While Surrounded By Dead Celebrities"), which marked the band's fourth time playing Rabobank, more than any other band.

The show, living up to Davis' promise of a something special, was heavy on rarities and featured twice as many musicians on stage as a usual Korn performance.

Following sets from 10 Years and Mudvayne, the band took the stage with "It's On!" and followed with three additional lesser-known tracks ("Clown," "Divine" and "Love Song") before playing a hit single, "Falling Away From Me."

The first three songs featured the band's current lineup Davis, guitarist Munky, bassist Fieldy and drummer David Silveria — but before "Love Song," curtains on both sides of Silveria dropped to reveal a second percussionist, second guitarist, keyboardist and backup singer/multi-instrumentalist.

All wearing different animal masks, the additional musicians helped fill the shoes of departed guitarist Brian "Head" Welch and conquer the additional instrumentation on Korn's latest album, See You on the Other Side (see "Korn On New LP: 'Sadness,' 'Anger,' 'Darkness' ... 'Kind Of Perverted"). But more than anything else, the extra musicians gave the band an added thickness, especially with thunderous cannon drums.

"It's exciting with the new elements there," Davis said backstage. "We knew we wanted to do something different and over the top and not a typical Korn show, so we're doing new things."

Another Korn first was packaging some of their hits and live favorites into a medley, which kicked off with Davis returning to the stage in a kilt and playing the bagpipes intro to "Shoots and Ladders" — yielding the loudest crowd response of the night.

A few songs later, after "Got the Life," Davis closed the first set by himself, delicately singing "Tearjerker" over the sound of guitar feedback.

For the encore, Korn re-emerged with "Twisted Transistor" and another new one, "Hypocrites," before going out with the one-two punch of "Freak on a Leash" and "Blind," featuring a momentum-building extended opening from Silveria.

During both the show and the ceremony before, Davis kept his banter to a minimum.

"I'm not trying to go out there and be the center of attention," the singer explained backstage. "I don't have LSD: lead singer's disease."

During the street sign presentation, however, he did make sure to promise one thing to Korn's screaming fans, congregating in front of a massive "Welcome Home Korn" sign hanging from a nearby building.

"We will work on getting a real street some day," he said with a smile.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• Korn Kick Off 2006 Tour In Bakersfield, California

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• Mudvayne

Mudvayne's Chad Gray
Photo: Getty Images/Ethan Miller

It was a little more than three years ago, while Mudvayne frontman Chad Gray was mixing the band's The End of All Things to Come with drummer Matt McDonough at Los Angeles' Larrabee Studios, that Gray overheard a very strange conversation.

"We would stop into Bob's Big Boy every day on the drive to Larrabee," Gray explained. "And so we're sitting in Bob's Big Boy, and we're just talking in a booth and there's this guy sitting close to us and I hear him say something like, '... and he's got to cut his own eye out.' "

Gray asked McDonough if he'd overheard the same eye-plucking conversation; he hadn't. So Gray just sort of let it pass. He figured it was someone discussing a scene from a script — he was, after all, in Burbank — and continued scarfing down his double-decker Big Boy. But he's always remembered the meal.

Fast-forward to this past September: Mudvayne were in Canada, where they were about to shoot a video for "Forget to Remember," the next offering from their album Lost and Found and the lead-off single from the "Saw II" soundtrack.

"We walk in the day before the video shoot, and ['Saw II' writer/director] Darren [Bousman] is there, and he shows me a scene from the movie," Gray said. "What's strange is [the scene is of] this guy who has to cut his eye out of his skull to get to a key that unlocks this weird head trap. And I go, 'This is so strange.' I started talking to him, and asked him if he'd written his script as 'Saw II.' He told me it was an adaptation from a script he'd written years ago. I told him the story, and he's like, 'Dude, I held all of my production meetings at the Big Boy.' "

Things got even more bizarre when Gray learned he'd have to (gulp) do some minor acting in the video. At the start of the clip, we see Mudvayne's frontman — sans gorilla costume and red face paint — walking down a dark and grungy hallway, when he's spooked by an odd sound. He stops, turns and glances behind him, and then starts walking again, only to be grabbed by some strange creature with a pig face.

"We're used to working with video directors — guys who're used to working with bands," Gray explained. "Here I am, working with a guy who directs real actors in pulling out all of their acting skills. I was a little intimidated. 'Oh my God, this guy doesn't actually expect me to act, does he?' I was freaked at first, but once we were there, I wasn't nervous at all. And I made my acting dee-butt."

The video, which has been airing on MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" in recent weeks, features several clips from "Saw II" (see "Saw II: A Sequel With Guts?") as well as performance footage of the group shot inside one of the torture rooms used in the flick.

At the moment, Mudvayne are resting up before the November 18 kickoff of their Masters of Horror Tour (see "Mudvayne Take Sevendust On Masters Of Horror Trek"), to which they recently added 15 more stops, including the tour's final destination, Oklahoma City on December 20. Gray said Mudvayne have no plans to start writing anytime soon — not even while they're on the road.

"When we write, we like to just go away — just the four of us," he said. "We want to remove ourselves from everything — even family — and write music and get into that headspace of what that is. It keeps that level of honesty up, to where you're really speaking from what you're feeling right there at that moment."

Gray did say Mudvayne's lineup remains unbroken, despite recent rumors of guitarist Greg Tribbett's departure ("Why is it never me being the one who's leaving?" the singer joked), and that the band's been thinking about compiling a DVD.

"But I want to do something different, something creative, something unique," he said. "I am tired of the same old thing with these DVDs. But we're talking about it, for sure."

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Mudvayne live at Buzzfest XV in Houston, TX 04.23.2005

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MuDvAyNe live at the Rex Plex in Elizabeth, NJ October 26, 2002

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