Opiate for the Masses
Photo: Century Media

If you listen very closely to Opiate for the Masses' latest LP, Manifesto, which dropped this week, you may hear some slight snoring.

That's because the album, which is the band's first in three years, was tracked in guitarist Jim Kaufman's home studio. Kaufman is a dog lover, and his two bulldogs were a constant presence in the studio during the recording sessions.

"You can probably hear them on several of the tracks on the record, because they sleep all the time and snore, and the microphones picked that up all the time," explained Opiate's newest member, Anna Kjellberg, who has played bass for Drain STH, Hanzel und Gretyl and, for one tour back in '06, Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen's Revolting Cocks. "They're a pretty big part of the album, actually."

But the canines would never have made the record if Kjellberg had not replaced Ryan Head last year. Opiate for the Masses — who are on the road with the reunited Filter through August 8, and will join Sevendust, Drowning Pool, and Nonpoint for the GrindCo Tour on August 10 — had actually been sitting on the effort for several months before it was decided they'd update the opus, with Kjellberg rerecording all the bass parts.

"It was kind of a weird procedure to get this album together," she said of the set, which features a cover of Portishead's "Wandering Star" ("We thought it was a really cool song," she said, "and I think we did make it our own, even though it's still true to the original in many ways"). "When I joined the band, they basically had a finished album, and they all, including me, felt that we needed to update it a bit and add some songs and take others away. We basically ripped up the mixes and started over with a second producer. So we wrote three songs together that we added onto the album, and I retracked the bass on all of the songs, so, really, there were two editions of the album.

"I think the record is more solid and more uniform than the previous album," the bassist continued. "It is a lot more straightforward and more cohesive. All of the songs fit together really well. The melodies are still there. Opiate always had very melodic songs. It's still heavy, and there's still lots of guitars, but you still have the choruses and all that."

Kjellberg said she's looking forward to working on the follow-up to Manifesto so she can be there from start to finish. "I am very much a songwriter, and I love to be involved in the whole songwriting process," she said. "I'm glad I got a chance to be as involved as I turned out [being] on this record, because I came into the band at such a late stage. We actually have a studio in the back lounge of our bus. We're not jumping on it yet, but when the time comes, and the inspiration comes, we can start tracking those ideas."

For Kjellberg, the Opiate experience has been drastically different from those she'd had with her previous bands, because this time around, she's playing side-by-side with her husband of five years, drummer Seven Antonopolous.

"When Opiate decided to change bass players, it was [frontman Ron Underwood] and [Kaufman] who suggested they should bring me in," she said. "Seven and I discussed it thoroughly: Was it a good idea or not, to be married and be in the same band and be on tour together? But it's actually working out really well. He's my best friend, and we're lucky to be able to do this together. It's easier than I think we both thought it would be. We talked so much about it, because we didn't want to risk our marriage, and we didn't want to be that annoying married couple in the band. It would be a nightmare for the other guys, to have a married couple bickering at each other all the time. But we don't. It works really well."

But the couple's wedding rings do little to dissuade third parties from making their moves. "We know where we are in this relationship, and we're both very aware, of course, that there will be guys hitting on me and there will be girls who will hit on Seven," she said. "That's part of the job. As long as we don't do anything, there's no reason to get jealous that other people find my husband attractive. I can't blame them."

While Kjellberg gets her fair share of male groupies, she said they're not nearly as upfront as their female counterparts. "These girls come to a show with a purpose," she said. "They know which bandmember they want, and they go for it. They dress not-so-much and go for it, and they get it. Girls come more prepared for that. Guys are much more polite. They'll bring you gifts, flowers ... it's a different approach. They don't come up and suggest that you go to the back lounge with them — girls will. Guys send love letters, and they're more creepy about it, actually. I think that's because, for a guy, it's more intimidating to approach a girl who can play an instrument, goes out on tour, and does the things they wish they could do."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Sad news to report this week, as Paul Stitt, the former lead singer for 1990s metallers Angellic Rage, was shot to death during a liquor-store holdup in Las Vegas on July 8. Stitt was working as a clerk in the store when two men, wearing baseball caps, entered the business, guns drawn. Police believe the gun may have fired accidentally, striking Stitt in the head. Police are now reviewing surveillance footage of the murder and hope the tape will help lead them to the two gunmen. ... Opeth will be touring this fall, with High on Fire, Baroness and Nachtmystium along for the ride. That tour is set to commence September 16 in Buffalo, New York, and runs through October 26 in Baltimore. ...

Calling all Maggots! On July 18, MTV will be filming a new episode of "FNMTV," during which Slipknot's video for "Psychosocial" will make its world premiere. Interested in being part of the taping? Well, if you live in or around the L.A. area, head on over to 1Iota.com and sign up for free tickets. Make sure to enter "Slipknot" in the comments box when making your ticket request. ...

Did Lemmy Kilmister break a German law by wearing a Nazi cap? Seems there's an investigation into a picture of the Motörhead frontman that appeared in a German newspaper before the band's July 5 performance at "Wacken Rocks Seaside." In Germany, "anti-constitutional propaganda" is illegal. ... A September 30 release date has been set for Trivium's forthcoming album, Shogun. Look for the effort to feature 11 tracks, including "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis," "Into the Mouth of Hell We March" and "Like Callisto to a Star in Heaven." Whatever. ...

Clutch will be teaming up with the Sword for a spate of gigs this fall. The first has been booked for September 19 in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and the trek is expected to wrap October 9 in Sacramento, California.

• Opiate for the Masses
• Opeth
• Slipknot
• Portishead
• Filter

Disturbed's David Draiman
Photo: Bruce Glikas/ Getty Images

Ozzy Osbourne has Ozzfest, Korn, the Family Values Tour. Megadeth rocks Gigantour, and Slayer's got the Unholy Alliance Tour.

For Disturbed, who spent this summer co-headlining Ozzfest with System of a Down in Osbourne's intermittent absence, there's the Music as a Weapon Tour. This year, David Draiman and the boys will be bringing back the tour — its last run was in 2003 — and bringing Stone Sour, Flyleaf and Nonpoint along for the ride.

The third installment of Music as a Weapon is set to kick off November 15 in Providence, Rhode Island, with 23 total dates scheduled through December 22 in Madison, Wisconsin. The tour will be Disturbed's first U.S. run since Ozzfest wrapped August 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida (see "Avenged Win Over Crowd, System Snore, Ozzy Returns To Form At Ozzfest Launch" and "Disturbed, Four-Time Ozzfest Veterans, Scared To Be 'Old Ones' On Tour"). Stone Sour and Flyleaf are fresh from this year's Family Values, which concluded September 22 in Virginia Beach, Virginia (see "Korn Resurrect Family Values Tour With Deftones, Stone Sour").

"It's our major headlining run," Draiman told MTV News. "We bring out all the bells and whistles — it's our stadium run. The bill is really strong, and we're looking into pyrotechnics this time around, as well as different stage setups, different versions of songs, solos, extended sets. It's going to be the big rock show that people expect from us. You have to keep raising the bar each respective year. It gets more and more difficult to do that, but it's definitely going to be one big, crazy rock show this year."

Draiman said the band will encourage more crowd interaction on this fall's Music as a Weapon, and plan to stage even more dramatic moments during the trek.

"We've become the type of band you can count on to pull off live versions of the songs that sound close enough to what you hear on the record," he explained. "But after awhile, it kind of gets monotonous, playing the same versions over and over again — especially the hits you have to play every show. So, making it a little bit different, giving people a little something they didn't expect and keeping the show fresh is very important."

After Ozzfest, but before the band jetted to Europe for a string of pre-Weapon dates that wrap October 10 in London, Draiman had surgery to repair a deviated septum that made breathing difficult for him, causing the band to miss several gigs. The operation, which corrected the damage three broken noses rendered over the last few years, was successfully completed on August 15.

The band heads into Music as a Weapon riding on the success of its latest single, a cover of Genesis' "Land of Confusion" (see "Todd McFarlane To Make Genesis' 'Confusion' Clip Even More Disturbed"). Disturbed's third studio LP, Ten Thousand Fists, has sold more than 1.2 million copies and remained in Billboard's top 200 since its #1 debut a little more than a year ago.

Disturbed's Music as a Weapon Tour dates, according to the band's publicist:

• 11/15 - Providence, RI @ Dunkin Donuts Civic Center
• 11/17 - Portland, ME @ Cumberland County Civic Center
• 11/18 - Hartford, CT @ New England Dodge Music Center
• 11/19 - Amherst, MA @ Mullins Center
• 11/21 - Manchester, NH @ Verizon Wireless Arena
• 11/24 - Battle Creek, MI @ Kellogg Arena
• 11/25 - Dayton, OH @ Hara Arena
• 11/28 - Nashville, TN @ Gaylord Entertainment Center
• 11/29 - Duluth, GA @ The Arena at Gwinnett Center
• 12/1 - Fort Myers, FL @ City of Palms Park
• 12/2 - Orlando, FL @ TD Waterhouse Centre
• 12/3 - Biloxi, MS @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum
• 12/5 - Hollywood, FL @ Seminole Hard Rock Live
• 12/6 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
• 12/9 - Grand Prairie, TX @ Nokia Theatre
• 12/10 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Ford Center
• 12/12 - Lincoln, NE @ Pershing Auditorium
• 12/15 - Indianapolis, IN @ Pepsi Coliseum
• 12/16 - Detroit, MI @ Cobo Arena
• 12/18 - Peoria, IL @ Civic Center Arena
• 12/19 - Green Bay, WI @ Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena
• 12/21 - Cedar Rapids, IA @ U.S. Cellular Center
• 12/22 - Madison, WI @ Alliant Energy Center

• Disturbed
• Stone Sour
• Flyleaf
• Nonpoint

Strata (file)
Photo: Wind Up Records

You've got to hand it to Strata: They've got balls.

Well, actually, one ball. After they were forced to pull out of their tour with Nonpoint and Skindred due to singer Eric Victorino's ailing vocal cords, they did what any responsible group would do. They went bowling.

"We found out we had to cancel the rest of the tour, and we're not the type of band that sits around, so I told the guys we should do a 'Bowling Across America' thing," said guitarist Ryan Hernandez. "Our drummer, Adrian [Robinson], is going to buy his own shoes, I thought it was time for us to get embroidered bowling shirts and Hrag [Chanchanian, Strata's bassist] owns his own ball."

And thus, the Bowling Across America Tour was born. While Victorino rests his voice in New York, his bandmates are heading back home to California, stopping at bowling alleys along the way to roll a few frames with fans. Dates are posted on the band's Web site (www.Stratadirect.com).

"Fans can come out and bowl with us. It's us and our two crew guys, and we'll take on fans," Hernandez said. "If [the fans] win, they'll get a free CD or something. I just wanted to do something fun for our fans, I didn't want to make us canceling the tour a disappointment. We have a week to kill, anyway."

The tour began Thursday night in Chicago, stops Friday night (August 27) at the AMF Sonesta Lanes in Denver and wraps up Saturday at Salt Lake City's AMF Ritz Classic Lanes. And fans don't exactly need to bring their A-games to compete: Chanchanian's average is only about 160, while Hernandez rolls a paltry 120.

"Whenever I bowl, I start out getting strikes, but as the games go on, my scores get lower and lower," Hernandez said. "That's not too good."

But a lack of talent hasn't stopped Strata from issuing an open challenge to any band out there. Inspired by "The Big Lebowski," they're ready for some serious competitive play, yet so far they've had little luck finding any opponents.

"Bands just want to play Halo on their tour buses. And bands would take it to us in Halo," Hernandez said. "So we'll take it to bands on the lanes. Plus, bowling is good exercise. It strengthens the arm, which is important."

• Strata
• Nonpoint
• Skindred

Kelly Clarkson in her video "Breakaway," from "The Princess Diaries 2" soundtrack
Photo: RCA

Riding high atop the list of albums hitting stores Tuesday is the soundtrack to "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement."

"Breakaway," the first single off the compilation comes from Kelly Clarkson, by way of Avril Lavigne, who co-wrote the song. Lindsay Lohan lets out her inner pop star on the Diane Warren-penned track "I Decide." Also featured on the album are tracks by Lavigne herself, Raven (who has her own track, as well as one sung with Julie Andrews), Pink and Wilson Phillips.

In other album-release news, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy release their first live LP this week, the aptly named Live. The zoot-suit-clad, big-band-influenced group, which helped usher in the swing fad of the late 1990s, has released five studio albums, including 2003's Save My Soul.

Rockers Nonpoint will release their fourth studio album, Recoil, the follow-up to 2002's Development, which saw the band taking a turn toward more radio-friendly tracks with more melodic vocals and instrumental hooks.

French pop singer Cherie made her debut with the song "Ready," included on the soundtrack to "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen." Her self-titled first album hits stores this week.

Out Tuesday, August 3:

• Willie Alexander & the Confessions - Autre Chose: Live (Last Call)
• Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Live (Vanguard)
• Marc Broussard - Carencro (Island)
• Joey Calderazzo - Haiku (Marsalis Music/Rounder)
• Cherie - Cherie (Lava)
• Alex Chilton - Live in Anvers (Last Call)
• Down to Earth Approach - Another Intervention (Vagrant)
• Kevin Fowler - Loose, Loud and Crazy (Equity Music Group)
• House of Lords - The Power and the Myth (Deadline)
• I See Hawks in L.A. - Grapevine (Western Seeds)
• Boney James - Pure (Warner Bros.)
• Al Jarreau - Accentuate the Positive (GRP)
• Dayna Kurtz - Beautiful Yesterday (Kismet)
• James L. Venable - Holding Space (Screaming Fans)
• Lil Sicko - Best of 2004: Behind Bars (Thump)
• Macha - Forget Tomorrow (Jetset)
• Maria Marquez - Nature's Princess (Adventure Music)
• Masta Ace - Long Hot Summer (Yosuma/M3)
• Stephanie Mills - Born for This! (JM/Lightyear)
• Ming & FS - Back to One (Spun)
• Morning 40 Federation - Morning 40 Federation (M80/Birdman)
• Nonpoint - Recoil (Lava)
• Number One Fan - Compromises (PRC/Universal)
• Pierce Pettis - Great Big World (Compass)
• Ruth Ruth - Right About Now (Flaming Peach)
• Lisbeth Scott - Passionate Voice (Zone)
• The Shore - The Shore (Maverick)
• Ricardo Silveria and Luiz Avellar - Live: Play the Music of Milton Nascimento (Adventure Music)
• Tim Stafford - Endless Line (High View)
• Theodore Unit - 718 (Sure Shot)
• Mickey Thomas - Over the Edge (Deadline)
• Randy Travis - Very Best of Randy Travis (Rhino)
• Various artists - This Is Americana (American Music Association)
• Various artists - "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" soundtrack (Walt Disney)
• DVD: Boz Scaggs - "Greatest Hits Live" (Rounder)
• DVD: Various artists - "Psycho Town Tour" (Thump)

August 10:

• Alter Bridge - One Day Remains (Wind-Up)
  Read: "Life After Creed: Alter Bridge Look To A Stapp-Free Future"
• Richard Marx - My Own Best Enemy (Manhattan)
• Mobb Deep - Amerikaz Nightmare (Jive)
  Read: "Mobb Deep Blinded With '80s Science For 'Twisted' Beat"
• Shyne - Godfather ... Buried Alive (Def Jam)
  Read: "From Prison, Shyne Calls 50 Cent 'A Joke,' Records Dis Track"

August 17:

• Ryan Cabrera - Take It All Away (Atlantic)
• Saliva - Survival of the Sickest (Island)
  Read: "Saliva Get The Girls In 'Survival Of The Sickest' Video"
• Talking Heads - The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (Rhino)
• Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous (Warner Bros.)

August 24:

• R. Kelly - Happy People/ U Saved Me (Jive)
• Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying (Curb)
• Jason Mraz - Not Tonight Again — Live at Eagles Ballroom (Elektra)

• Kelly Clarkson
• Lindsay Lohan
• Avril Lavigne
• Raven
• P!nk

Nonpoint
Photo: MCA

Old-school Nonpoint fans who were disgruntled by the melodic vocals and musical hooks of the band's third record, Development, will be pleased to know the band plans to release a grinding, cathartic EP in early 2003 that will overlook tunefulness in favor of rage.

"A lot of our fans were expecting something a little bit more on the edgier, heavier side," vocalist Elias Soriano explained. "But unfortunately, this is our livelihood and we have to be smart about the way we write music. But we have a Pro Tools rig in the back of the bus, so we've been writing a couple songs and we're gonna put together a five-song EP to satisfy the small group of our fans that need the crazy, heavy music that radio won't play."

Soriano admits that the band's current style of songwriting was partially influenced by its desire to get played on the radio, but stressed that the songs on Development are more melodic mostly because the band has developed since writing the stomping aggro tunes of its 1999 self-released debut, Struggle, which will be re-released at the end of this year.

"I'm 27 years old, and when we wrote that first album I was 21 and I was just starting to listen to metal music," Soriano said. "My exposure was Korn and Rage — heavy, screaming kind of stuff. But I grew up singing choir and Broadway music onstage, so we wanted to take advantage of my voice this time, and that's why the more melodic stuff came out this time."

Another reason Nonpoint wanted to mix up the vocals on Development was because they're getting tired of the fist-in-face fury of most nü-metal bands. They still want to be loud and intense, but they're interested in finding ways to communicate energy without stressing anger.

"I'm a lot more blessed than a lot of people," Soriano remarked. "I have the opportunity to do what I love so I can't be that upset about things. So many bands have this let's-beat-each-other-up-in-the-pit kind of sound, but that's just not me. I try to keep our messages and shows positive. There's no parental advisory sticker on this album."

In addition to crafting a more musically diverse album, Nonpoint wanted to be more conceptual than they've been in the past. All the songs on Development are about the growth of the band from its infancy up to the present day, and the tracks are bridged with snippets from a nature program about the development of a frog.

"This whole album is about trying to get security in what we're doing," Soriano said. "It's about us trying to make it as a band, so we decided to use the frog metaphor to show how difficult [it] is surviving from tadpole to adult frog."

On September 10, Nonpoint released the DVD The Story So Far, which features their video for the Development track "Your Signs," along with "Endure," "What a Day" and "Mindtrip" from their 2000 disc, Statement. The DVD also includes behind-the-scenes clips and concert footage shot in Europe.

Nonpoint just got off the road with the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour, where they played the second stage alongside Blackalicious and Borialis. The main attractions for the event included Jay-Z, 311, Nappy Roots, N.E.R.D., Hoobastank and Talib Kweli (see "Jay-Z Intros Blueprint 2; Hoobastank, N.E.R.D. Challenge Security At Tour Launch" ).

"We usually play to fans who know who we are and are there to see either us or bands like us," Soriano said. "This tour gave us an opportunity to get in front of people who didn't come to see what we do, but by the end of the shows we had 2,000 or 3,000 people watching, which was really cool."

• Nonpoint

Jay-Z performs at the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour
Photo: Walik Goshorn

WANTAGH, New York — When you hear Jay-Z say "Hovie's home," try not to just think in terms of his hometown. Think about Jigga returning to the stage for his first tour run since last year's Blueprint outings.

Jay had the best of both worlds Tuesday night, performing in New York City's unofficial sixth borough, Long Island, for the start of the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour along with 311, Nappy Roots, Hoobastank, N.E.R.D., Talib Kweli, Borialis, Nonpoint and Blackalicious. (Click here for photos from the show)

Literally making himself at home, Jay — who came on after 311 sang and rapped about losing love, getting the urge to smoke and always being down despite changing some (some) — dubbed the Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theater "the Roc-A-Wear Theater" as he stood in front of backdrop of a project building with NYC skyscrapers behind it.

"Hovie's home," he proclaimed before going into "Guess Who's Back," while Beanie Sigel entered the stage riding on a low-rider bicycle. "Guess who's bizack, the boy B. Mizack," Sigel rhymed after Jay finished the first verse.

"How many people out there're ready for The Blueprint [2]?" Jay asked the crowd, whose cheers were their vocal thumbs-up. Jay took the response as a signal to perform a selection from his November 5 release (see "Jay-Z Returns From European Vacation, Ready To Hit Studio").

"Just the intro, just the intro," Jay said of what he was about to unleash. With no music playing in the background, Jigga started to rhyme about a dream he had in which he talked to the Notorious B.I.G.'s ghost. The two discussed the all the playa hating going on in rap, why Biggie died and why Jay should pay his naysayers no mind ("Then he said, 'Like I said before, just keep doing your thing,' he said/ Say no more").

This led into the most energetic portion of Jigga's set as he and Dame Dash pounded the air with their fists for "You Don't Know,' then Memphis Bleek joined the fray to exchange verses with Jay and Beans on "You, Me, Him and Her" ("Amil-lion, gone!" the trio said on the chorus, referring to the former Roc first lady Amil) and "Change the Game," where the audience exclaimed along with Bleek, "Who the f---/ Want/ What?"

The Killer B's weren't the only Roc family members Jay showcased. Freeway, whose debut, Philadelphia Freeway, is dropping in October, had a mini-set within Jay's program. (Cam'ron and the Diplomats were the only members of the R.O.C.'s rap clique who were not in attendance.)

"It's Freeway in the place with B. Sig," he rhymed on his duet with Sigel, "Roc the Mic." "And I got what it takes to rock the mic right, yeah/ Still watch what you say to me, p---k/ 'Cause I got what it takes to dump the AK clip." Verses from his guest spot on Faith Evans' "Burnin' Up" remix and Jay's "1-900-Hustler" followed before he closed with a new selection from his album, "What We Do."

Bleek then ran through a solo set of his own, with his finale being "1, 2, Y'all," the new single from his October 29 release, Misunderstood, which features Jay-Z and Geda K.

Jay squelched any tedium the audience may have been feeling hearing some of the newer, unfamiliar material with his crossover classics "N---a What, N---a Who (Originators '99)" and "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)." The show then came to a halt again as Dash took time out to present Jay with a plaque, commemorating over 15 million records sold.

Jay couldn't decide which one of his hits from those albums he wanted for his grand finale. Lenny Santiago, Jay's A&R at Roc-A-Fella and DJ for the night, threw a few songs at him, but none were moving him.

Finally, "Big Pimpin' " won out as Jay bounced along with his fans until a loud pyro explosion scared the usually calm and collected wordsmith. Hunched over and laughing at himself, Hovie left his home, telling everyone, "That's it."

The Sprite show came to a halt for some audience members even earlier in the day. Security guards escorted out fans who were jumping railings to come to the front of the then-half-empty venue as one of the first acts on the main stage, N.E.R.D., were performing.

"You should let the fans do what they want to do," the group's frontman, Pharrell Williams, urged the security team a few songs into his group's set. As some crowd members continued scurrying about the venue and being chased by security, Pharrell and company seemed to revel in the disobedience.

"In life, it's all about being a rebel," Williams rationalized after "Let's Stay Together." "We're not breaking the rules because we want to be a--holes."

The energy level for N.E.R.D reached its zenith as Pharrell started beat boxing the drum pattern to "Grindin'," the street anthem by his artists, the Clipse.

"The world is about to feel something that they've never felt before," Pharrell boasted, reciting his intro on the song. Meanwhile, the beat kicked in and the song's stars made a surprise appearance to perform. "Griiin-din'/ You know what I keep in a line-in'/ N---as better stay in line when/ You see a n---a like me shiiin-in'," the crowd sang along in unison.

The crowd and performers remained unified in their disdain for the security personnel during Hoobastank's set.

"I just thought that I'd let you know/ Being near you is/ A gift I only wish I could treasure/ But for now I'll sit and wait," lead singer Doug Robb sang on "Let You Know" before being distracted.

"You're gonna kick them out?" Robb asked security, questioning their treatment of few fans standing in the aisles, separated from the stage by a steal barricade. "I'm gonna come to you, then."

Robb then came down into the floor seats, giving the audience all the intimacy of a lounge singer. "You want to take a picture?" he asked a girl who was clamoring for flicks before saying cheese. "Who else wants to take a picture?" Walking down the aisles, he started talking to the crowd, even telling one guy he should pursue singing. By the time the band started playing "Hello Again," a small crowd of spectators formed around Robb and they all started jumping, conjuring memories of Kris Kross in their first video.

Meanwhile, Talib Kweli was performing in front of a small crowd of his own on the second stage, which also housed Nonpoint, Blackalicious and Borialis. Kweli kicked his titanium-strong metaphors, performing hits such as "The Blast" and new selections like "Waiting for the DJ."

On the mic, Talib showed no signs of frustration, but after his performance, he lamented about not being able to reap the benefits that come from being a part of such an eclectic mix of performers.

"I'm not going to get new fans if they keep me on the lower herb stage," Kweli griped. "They need to move me to the bigger stage, that's what they need to do. We're going to try and make it happen."

Clutch, whose group, Nappy Roots, was the first act up on the main stage with an early afternoon timeslot, assessed the situation. "You gripe at the beginning, but then you realize that you have to get over it, so it don't even matter," he said.

"It's a dirty job, but someone has to get the party started," his rap brethren Skinny DeVille added, before Clutch conceded it wasn't so bad.

"It was a lot of love out there," Clutch said. "We got good feedback."

• Jay-Z
• Hoobastank
• N.E.R.D.
• 311
• Talib Kweli

Sevendust's Lajon Witherspoon
Photo: Jason Perlman

While the status of the granddaddy of summer package tours — Lollapalooza — is shrouded in mystery, don't be fooled by a tour with a similar-sounding name. Locobazooka is the one that's actually happening.

Filter, Sevendust, Fu Manchu, Nonpoint, Mushroomhead, Gravity Kills, Reveille and Earshot are set to perform on the summer trek, which begins June 27 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to promoters. The music fest will visit a total of 16 smaller markets before wrapping up July 21. Two more bands are expected to be added to the bill, and a full itinerary should surface in the next two weeks.

Locobazooka launched a decade ago as a one-off show in Worcester, Massachusetts, sponsored by radio station WAAF, and continued as such until last year. For its 10th anniversary, organizers decided to take their show — which last year included Disturbed, Kittie and Rollins Band — on the road. The organizers' objective is to bring bands that individually would only play major markets to smaller cities. Tickets should cost approximately $20.

• Sevendust
• Fu Manchu
• Filter
• Nonpoint
• Mushroomhead

Fuel
Photo: Sony

Fuel, who spent the summer opening for Aerosmith, will kick off a headlining outing of their own on October 18 in Mansfield, Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania quartet has tapped as openers Saliva, supporting their major-label debut, Every Six Seconds, and their Memphis neighbors Breaking Point, whose first album, Coming of Age, is due September 25, a Fuel publicist said.

Atlanta's Sevendust, whose Animosity is due November 13 (see "Staind's Aaron Lewis Joins Sevendust On Upcoming LP"), and Miami's Ozzfest 2001 veterans Nonpoint take hold of the opening reins for the final three shows confirmed at press time. Additional dates are expected, according to Sevendust's publicist.

Fuel will part company with their tourmates for a slot on the Buzz Fest in the Woodlands, Texas, on November 17. Their latest album, last year's Something Like Human, birthed two radio hits in "Bad Day" and "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" and has sold more than 1.5 million copies, according to SoundScan.

Fuel tour dates, according to their publicist:

• 10/18 - Mansfield, PA @ Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
• 10/20 - North Andover, MA @ Merrimack College
• 10/21 - Syracuse, NY @ Landmark Theatre
• 10/26 - Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
• 10/27 - Salt Lake City, UT @ SaltAir Pavilion
• 10/29 - Cedar City, UT @ Centrum Theatre
• 10/31 - Davis, CA @ Freeborn Hall
• 11/1 - San Jose, CA @ Event Center Arena
• 11/2 - San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
• 11/3 - West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
• 11/4 - West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
• 11/7 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
• 11/8 - San Diego, CA @ 4th & B
• 11/9 - Phoenix, AZ @ Web Theatre
• 11/10 - El Paso, TX @ County Coliseum
• 11/11 - Lubbock, TX @ Coliseum
• 11/14 - Waco, TX @ Heart of Texas Coliseum
• 11/15 - Dallas, TX @ Bronco Bowl
• 11/17 - The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (Buzz Fest)

• Fuel
• Saliva
• Sevendust
• Nonpoint

MTV.com Exclusive: Nonpoint Photos 08.24.2004

• Nonpoint

Nonpoint live at Bowery Ballroom in NYC 08.24.2004

• Nonpoint

• Nonpoint

Ozzfest 2001 Tour Kickoff Photos

• Papa Roach
• Black Sabbath
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Slipknot
• Mudvayne