Two years and one major label mishap have passed since Pitchshifter launched its acclaimed "www.pitchshifter.com" into record stores, and the band will soon return with a fresh sampling of drum-and-bass-flavored metal.

In 1998, the British band's major label debut caught the ear of numerous critics; however, that album came courtesy of Geffen Records' subsidiary DGC, which soon slashed its roster after Geffen's parent company, Universal Records, merged with Polygram Music. Pitchshifter was left label-less as a result, and the band was soon snatched up by MCA.

Next month's release of "Deviant" will not only mark the end of the group's label turmoil; it will also see Pitchshifter unveil a new lineup. The band's official Web site (www.pitchshifter.com) notes that rhythm guitarist and programmer Johnny Carter recently left the group, and drummer D soon followed. Pitchshifter's camp notes that the split was amicable, and has recruited Bivouac guitarist Matt Grundy and Stimulator drummer Jason Bowld to round out the group.

In addition to shuffling labels and lineups, Pitchshifter also had to change the cover art for "Deviant" when the Norman Rockwell-esque portrait the band commissioned turned out to be a bit too similar to the original. Artist William George lampooned Rockwell's famous Thanksgiving dinner portrait in the original cover art for "Deviant," putting together a scene in which an apple-cheeked family gathers round a giant hand grenade. Fearing potential legal action, the band opted for a different cover, so when the album arrives next month, fans will find the visage of the Pope morphing into the Queen of England.

Pitchshifter is already road testing its new material on the road in support of Static-X. Here's where you can catch them:

• 4/28 - Columbus, OH @ Al Rosa Villa
• 4/29 - Tampa, FL @ WXTB Radio Show
• 5/1 - Rochester, NY @ Harro East
• 5/3 - Old Bridge, NJ @ Birch Hill Nite Club
• 5/4 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
• 5/5 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero
• 5/6 - Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
• 5/7 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
• 5/9 - Winston-Salem, NC @ Ziggy's
• 5/10 - Atlanta, GA @ Cotton Club
• 5/11 - San Antonio, TX @ Sunken Garden Amph.
• 5/12 - San Antonio, TX @ Sunken Garden Amph.
• 5/15 - El Paso, TX @ Club 101
• 5/16 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
• 5/17 - Tucson, AZ @ The Rialto
• 5/18 - Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theatre
• 5/20 - Las Vegas, NV @ KXTE Radio Show
• 5/21 - Hollywood, CA @ The Palace

• Pitchshifter

After they finish their opening stint with Powerman 5000 next month, the men of Static-X plan to rub elbows with fellow high tech rockers Pitchshifter as well as Brit pop phenom Robbie Williams... sort of.

Once Powerman 5000's "Rockets And Robots" tour wraps up in late March, Static-X will set its sights on what the band calls its "first real headlining tour" with Pitchshifter opening up.

"I'm a big fan of those guys," Static-X frontman Wayne Static told MTV News of its soon-to-be tourmates. "I met them when we were in Holland last year, and they were really cool, so I'm excited to have them out."

Static-X has yet to line up those dates, but we'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, the group will also turn up alongside Robbie Williams on the soundtrack to the upcoming 20th Century Fox animated sci fi epic "Titan A.E." As we previously reported, Williams is currently working on a new track for the film (see ), and Static-X will kick in an unreleased track called "Head" for the soundtrack as well.

"It's a song that we recorded originally for the record, and it was another one of those things where it didn¹t really fit with the record," Static explained. "But what we're going to do is sort of approach it from a remix standpoint. We're going to totally tear it down to each piece and put it back together to make it this cool, up-tempo breakbeat track."

Lately, the band has been in soundtrack overdrive, kicking in new songs for CDs from "Scream 3" and the upcoming "The Crow: Salvation." However, the band notes that they are intrigued at the chance to be a part of "Titan A.E."

"They're saying that the film is either going to set the whole industry on its ear, or it's going to flop," Static-X drummer Ken Jay said.

Before the soundtrack arrives and before launching its headlining road trip, Static-X still has to wrap up the "Rockets And Robots" tour with Powerman 5000 (along with Chevelle and Dope). Here's where to catch them:

• 2/22 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Metropol
• 2/23 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
• 2/25 - Detroit, MI @ Harpo's
• 2/26 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
• 2/27 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
• 2/28 - Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
• 3/1 - Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
• 3/2 - Milwaukee, WI @ Rave
• 3/3 - St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
• 3/4 - Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium
• 3/6 - Des Moines, IA @ Super Toad
• 3/7 - Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre
• 3/10 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
• 3/11 - Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues
• 3/12 - Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Chili Pepper
• 3/14 - Spartanburg, SC @ Ground Zero
• 3/15 - Birmingham, AL @ Five Points Music Hall
• 3/16 - New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
• 3/18 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
• 3/20 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
• 3/21 - Salt Lake City, UT @ SaltAir Pavilion
• 3/23 - Tucson, AZ @ Rialto
• 3/24 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre

• Pitchshifter
• Static-X

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ANAHEIM, California — Creed vocalist Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti will start working nights this week as they resume writing the follow-up to 1999's smash Human Clay. Refreshed from taking the holidays off, the songwriting duo plans to buckle down four nights a week and pen an album that intensifies the larger-than-life feel of its predecessor.

"It's gonna be more extreme on all extremities — the harder stuff a little harder, the epic stuff a little more epic," Tremonti said Saturday.

Creed plan to spend the next few months writing before heading into the studio in July and hopefully releasing the disc in October or November. Tremonti said the band, which worked with longtime friend and producer John Kurzweg on both My Own Prison (1997) and Human Clay, has not picked a producer for the album.

The spiritual Florida rockers parted ways with bass player and founding member Brian Marshall in August and hired Brett Hestla as their touring bassist. Hestla will be working on an album with his group Virgos while Creed are recording their LP as a trio, but the bands are considering a joint fall tour after both albums hit stores. Hestla said he would play both sets.

Tremonti, Hestla and Creed drummer Scott Phillips attended last weekend's National Association of Music Merchants trade show in Anaheim, where Paul Reed Smith Guitars unveiled Tremonti's new signature model.

Tremonti said he had been working with PRS to design the guitar for about a year. "It's the baddest guitar on the planet. It's a technically perfect, thick, massive-sounding guitar. I think it's the best in the world today." Creed, who cleaned up at several recent award ceremonies, are up for two Grammys next month. "With Arms Wide Open" is nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Rock Song, the latter of which would go to its songwriters, Tremonti and Stapp.

"A Grammy would be great — I'm just not gonna count on it," Tremonti said. "We've won a lot of awards this year, and I'm happy about 'em. If we don't win a Grammy, we don't win a Grammy. We've got a lot more albums ahead. But we're up for two of them, so we'll keep our fingers crossed." For much more on Creed, don't forget to check out the MTV News Online feature Creed: Higher Learning"

• Pitchshifter

Most of us wait until this time of year to get into a giving mood, but fans of the British tech-metal band Pitchshifter have been showering the band with gifts all year long.

During its various tours this year behind its album "www.pitchshifter.com" with the likes of the Deftones, Fear Factory, and Gravity Kills, the band found itself on the receiving end of a steady stream of trinkets, most of them bearing the band's flowering eye logo. The group has received ashtrays, jars of marmalade, a cast iron clock, and hunks of aluminum and rock carrying the logo. The symbol has even turned up as a crop circle, but that's not the least useful offering made to the band.

"We had a woman came up to me in Rhode Island and said, 'I've got a present for you,'" frontman J.S. Clayden told MTV News recently.

If you also would like to share your self-mutilation with Pitchshifter, you'll have to wait as the band will be touring in the U.K. through early 1999.

• Pitchshifter

The Internet has meant a great deal to England's drum-n-bass meets metal purveyors Pitchshifter who have used it as a direct link to its fans, a pipeline to potential collaborators, and now as a path to a higher spiritual standing… or at least a fuller résumé.

"Myself and Johnny (Carter) the guitarist got ordained on the Internet the other night," frontman J.S. Clayden told MTV News when the band visited New York recently. "It's the Universal Church of Life, which is actually recognized in some states. You can get ordained over the Internet, so I'm a minister now... The Reverend J.S. Clayden, thank you very much." [28.8 RealVideo]

Talking about the duties that he is now allowed to undertake as a man of the cloth, Clayden said, "I was hoping to do divorces, but you can only marry, bury, and baptize people. I think I'll marry drunk people who later have to seek divorce."

Clayden's stop at the Universal Church of Life is certainly not the work of a novice surfer. The band's affinity for the Net is perhaps best evidenced by the title of the group's last album, www.pitchshifter.com , which also serves as URL of the band's official website. There, fans will find news, tour dates, merchandise, and a tour diary in which Clayden chronicles life on the road.

The band also offers downloadable audio samples free for the taking on the site, and encourages fans to with them what they like.

If you'd like to hear what Pitchshifter did with them in the first place, you can catch the band with the Deftones and Quicksand on the following dates:

• 11/20 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Convention Hall
• 11/21 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
• 11/22 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium
• 11/23 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
• 11/24 - Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
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  ]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1433199/19981119/pitchshifter.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1433199/19981119/pitchshifter.jhtml 19 Nov 1998 04:30:00 EST