My Chemical Romance's <I>The Black Parade</I>
Photo: Warner Bros./ Reprise

Join the Black Parade: By now you probably know about My Chemical Romance, their new LP The Black Parade and the saga it consists of, which revolves around a central character called the Patient. If this is enough to get you marching to the record store, be sure to look out for the limited-edition box-set version of the release. It comes in an 11-by-6-inch skinny container, debossed and wrapped in black velveteen. Inside you'll find a 64-page paperback with singer Gerard Way's drawings, making-of-the-album notes and more. Take that, bonus DVDs.

Watch ( to see John Norris interview the band on the eve of the release. MCR talk about the influences behind The Black Parade, comparisons to Green Day and overcoming the conflicts and crises that almost tore the band apart.

John Legend made a name for himself just two years ago when Kanye West snatched him up for his G.O.O.D. Music label, but since then he's grabbed just about every award except the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his Get Lifted LP. He's hoping for more accolades with Once Again, which features "P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)," "Where Did My Baby Go" and "Each Day Gets Better." Alas, there are no enhancements or special editions planned, but production by West, Will.I.Am and Raphael Saadiq will please those who have been jonesing for John.

Seventies Revisited ... Again: From fashion to hairstyles to cover songs and guitar techniques, young rock bands have been trying to re-create the '70s incessantly for the last five or 10 years. But the Walkmen are taking a more specific and original approach with their retro rebirth: They are retreading a fiery path intoxicatingly blazed by John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr and Keith Moon on a party-and-experimental-music binge they indulged in when Lennon separated from Yoko Ono in 1974. The Walkmen aren't redoing the resulting album, Pussy Cats, note-for-note or even song-for-song, but rather channeling the spirit of the original project and birthing a batch of their own originals. The album co-stars Ian Svenonius (Weird War, the Make-Up), Quentin Stoltzfus (Mazarin) and Alessandra Maria (Tomorrow's Friend), and they dabble with more instruments than you could name.

Current Affairs: "The future needs these wasted seeds" is the key line in "Taking Back Control," Sparta's new single. Frontman Jim Ward has said the lyric refers to children who are in war-torn areas and is his attempt to follow Neil Young's lead in criticizing the Iraq debacle. But the song title itself could refer to Ward's handle on his band: With a series of staff changes since the band formed five years ago, he's hoping new guitarist Keeley Davis (Denali, Engine Down) will bring the band back under control. A special edition of Threes will boast another political item: a short film called "Eme Nakia," which revolves around drummer Tony Hajjar and his flight from the Lebanese civil war.

A New 'Nightmare': It'll be easy to spot the reissued soundtrack to Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" — like the theatrically re-released version of his film, it's in 3-D. The second disc to the set should also have moody-rock fans seeing triple: It features fresh slabs of macabre music by Fall Out Boy, She Wants Revenge, Marilyn Manson and Fiona Apple, as well as demos from composer Danny Elfman. The only thing it's lacking is a new track from Helloween.

Ten One-on-Ones: The Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals are duking it out on the baseball diamond this week, but there are 10 less obvious contests happening in the music racks this week:

The "Masters of Horror II" soundtrack vs. the "Saw III" soundtrack: Fear-inducing directors take turns at helming episodes of Showtime's "Masters of Horror" series, and accordingly, a procession of grisly bands shares the soundtrack honors, including Children of Bodom, Hatebreed, Lacuna Coil and the scary-sounding but ultimately goofy Eagles of Death Metal. That soundtrack faces off against the one for "Saw III," which has even more blood-curdling contributions from Lamb of God, Mastodon, Meshuggah and big names Avenged Sevenfold, Static-X and Disturbed.

Children of Bodom vs. Children of Bodom: CoB are making three appearances this week: They contribute to the "Masters" soundtrack, plus carve up a new LP, Chaos Ridden Years: Stockholm Knockout Live, and DVD of the same name. The double-CD is crammed tight with 18 songs, including "Follow the Reaper" and "Clash of the Booze Brothers," but the video has much more material: all nine videos the band has ever made, two documentaries, a photo gallery and more.

Freddie Cruger vs. Horrors: Which is more terrifying? Well, neither, really: Cruger's Soul Search is actually a reggae/disco mash-up venture, while the Horrors' self-titled EP is heavy on the garage guitar rock (but not on bass, since they don't have a bass player). Let's save the Halloween fun for next week.

Bright Eyes vs. Bright Light Fever: Sacramento, California, garage-rockers BLF are having plenty of fun on their debut, Bright Light Fever Presents the Evening Owl — and they're sure to gain a few fans with "Papa's Got a Brand New Liver." But they're no match for one of indie rock's biggest troubadours, Conor Oberst, who's lumping 21 hard-to-find tracks onto Bright Eyes' Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998-2005).

Skid Row vs. Winger: A week after Twisted Sister quietly brought their career to a close with A Twisted Christmas, two more hair-metal greats are rearing their heads. Skid Row's first album in three years and second without singer Sebastian Bach, Revolutions Per Minute, finds them joined by a three-part string section and kicking into country-rock mode on "You Lie." But it's been almost 15 years since we've heard from Winger, so their IV — which does feature founding member Kip Winger — wins out.

Song Title of the Week:

"I Am Warm & Powerful" from Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin's Broom

Other Notables:

+/-'s Let's Build Fire: The Death Cab for Cutie tourmates are a bit easier to verbalize than !!!, who can also be tricky to find in the record racks. But to make matters more complicated, this record by the mostly ex-Versus musicians was issued in Japan earlier this year and has since been tweaked with different tracks, remixed sound and remastering.

Converge's No Heroes: Metal and hardcore converged — for the first time, some would argue — with this Salem, Massachusetts, band. The group is as direct as ever as it wails through the 40-minute disc, which includes "Heartache," "Hellbound," "Plagues" — plus a guest-vocal appearance by Only Living Witness' Jonah Jerkins.

The Curtains' Calamity: Chris Cohen spends most of his time spazzing out in Deerhoof, but he had enough energy to squeeze out 13 tracks for his other project. While he laid down the initial tracks for the Curtains' fourth release by himself, Cohen is joined by Sufjan Stevens collaborator Half-Handed Cloud, ex-Mae-Shi member Corey Fogel and others through his alternately brooding and bubble-gum pop songs.

New Releases:

• +/- Let's Build Fire (Absolutely Kosher)
• Alabama - Songs of Inspiration (RCA)
• Amy Annelle - Songs for Creeps (High Plains Sigh)
• George Benson & Al Jarreau - Givin' It Up (Concord)
• Jello Biafra - In the Grip of Official Treason (Alternative Tentacles)
• The Blow - Paper Television (K)
• Bright Light Fever - Bright Light Fever Presents the Evening Owl (Stolen Transmission)
• Children of Bodom - Chaos Ridden Years: Stockholm Knockout Live (Spinefarm)
• Converge - No Heroes (Epitaph)
• Cowboy Junkies - Long Journey Home: Live in Liverpool (with DVD; Zöe)
• Freddie Cruger - Soul Search (Ubiquity/ Raw Fusion)
• The Curtains - Calamity (Asthmatic Kitty)
• De La Soul - AOI Presents - Impossible: Mission (Red Lion)
• Devastations - Coal (Brassland)
• Driveblind - Driveblind (Geffen)
• Drones - Gala Mill (ATP)
• Dynasty Handbag - Foo Foo Yik Yik (enhanced; Lovepump United)
• Electric Six - Switzerland (Metropolis)
• Electro Quarterstaff - Gretsky (Willowtip)
• Gliss - Love the Virgins (Mountain Lo-Fi)
• Grey Does Matter - Your Job Will Kill You (Pop Rally)
• Miho Hatori - Ecclysis (Rykodisc)
• Heart Attacks - Hellbound and Heartless (digipak; Hellcat)
• Brooke Hogan - Undiscovered (SMC)
• Horrors - Horrors (EP; Stolen Transmission)
• Frida Hyvönen - Until Death Comes (Secretly Canadian)
• Jibbs - Jibbs Feat. Jibbs (Geffen)
• Jóhann Jóhannsson - IBM 1401, a User's Manual (4AD)
• John Legend - Once Again (Sony Urban)
• Kill the Vultures - The Careless Flame {Locust)
• Krokus - Hellraiser (Locomotive)
• Gucci Mane - Hard to Kill (Big Cat)
• Aimee Mann - One More Drifter in the Snow (Superego)
• Manning - Anser's Tree (Progrock)
• Manowar - The Sons of Odin (EP with bonus DVD; Magic Circle)
• Matt & Kim - Matt & Kim (IHeartComix)
• Miss Nine - Yoshitoshi Ibiza (Yoshitoshi)
• Montgomery Gentry - Some People Change (Columbia)
• My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade (limited-edition version in velveteen box also available; Reprise)
  Read: "My Chemical Romance Unveil Black Parade Track List, Album Art"
• Roger O'Donnell - The Truth in Me (Great Society)
• Partyline - Zombie Terrorist (Retard Disco)
• Kelly Price - This Is Who I Am (Gospocentric)
• Ratos de Porão - Homem Inimigo Do Homem (Alternative Tentacles)
• Rachael Ray - How Cool Is That Christmas (Epic)
• Brian Setzer - 13 (Surfdog)
• Shareefa - Point of No Return (Def Jam)
• Pal Shazar - The Morning After (Funzalo)
• Skid Row - Revolutions Per Minute (Steamhammer)
• Skygreen Leopards - Disciples of California (Jagjaguwar)
• Slumber Party Girls - Dance Revolution (Geffen)
• Smile Empty Soul - Vultures (Bieler Bros.)
• Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Broom (Polyvinyl)
• Sparta - Threes (Hollywood)
  Read: "Sparta Return With New LP, Outlook, Tour — And No Need For 'Hipster Points' "
• Paul Stanley - Live to Win (New Door)
• Street Dogs - Fading American Dream (with DVD; Brass Tracks/ DRT)
• Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift (Big Machine)
• Carl Tanner - Hear the Angel Voices (TMG)
• TM Juke - Forward (Ubiquity/ Tru Thoughts)
• Totimoshi - Ladrón (Crucial Blast)
• Under Byen - Samme Stof Som Stof (Paper Bag)
• Vains of Jenna - Lit Up/ Let Down (Filthy Note)
• Various - The World Is Gone (XL)
• Andreas Vollenweider featuring Carly Simon - Midnight Clear (Denon)
• Peter Walker - A Raga for Peter Walker (digipak; Tompkins Square)
• The Walkmen - Pussy Cats Starring the Walkmen (Record Collection)
• Wee Hairy Beasties - Animal Crackers (Bloodshot)
• Whitey - The Light at the End of the Tunnel Is a Train (Dim Mak)
• Winger - IV (Frontiers)
• Zebrahead - Broadcast to the World (Icon)
• Various artists - Butchering the Beatles: A Headbashing Tribute (Restless)
• Various artists - Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook, Volume 1 (Old Town School)
• Various artists - Six the Hard Way (Heartbeat)
• Various artists - "Hannah Montana" soundtrack (with DVD; Disney)
• Various artists - "Masters of Horror II" soundtrack (Downtown)
• Various artists - "The Nightmare Before Christmas" soundtrack (special two-CD edition; Disney)
  Read: "Fall Out Boy, Panic, Marilyn Manson Add To New 'Nightmare Before Christmas' Soundtrack"
• Various artists - "Saw III" soundtrack (Warcon)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

• 2 Live Jews - Christmas Jews (Empire Musicwerks)
• Angel - Live Without a Net (Polygram)
• Atari Teenage Riot - Atari Teenage Riot: 1992-2000 (Digital Hardcore)
• Biz Markie - Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz (Traffic)
• Bright Eyes - Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998-2005) (Saddle Creek)
• Ray Brown - The Best of the Ray Brown Trio 1977-2000 (two CDs; Concord)
• Climax Blues Band - Sense of Direction (Fuel)
• John Coltrane - Gold (Hip-O)
• Def Leppard - Hysteria (two-CD deluxe edition; Island)
• John Denver - Annie's Song: A Collection of His Finest Recordings (two CDs; Music Club Deluxe)
• The Derailers - The Derailers Retrospective (Varèse Sarabande)
• The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics (limited-edition version with DVD; Warner Bros.)
• Ben Folds - Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the LP (Epic)
• Jim Hall - Hallmarks: The Best of Jim Hall (two CDs; Concord)
• Hoodoo Gurus - Stoneage Romeos (Hoodoo Gurus)
• Greg Howe - Collection: The Shrapnel Years Collection (Shrapnel)
• Moby - Go: The Very Best of Moby (V2)
• MxPx - Let's Rock: Rarities (Side One Dummy)
• The Number 12 Looks Like You - Put on Your Rosy Red Glasses (enhanced; ECA)
• Andy Partridge - The Official Andy Partridge Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album (nine-CD box set; Ape House)
• Saxon - An Introduction to Saxon (Fuel)
• Duncan Sheik - Brighter/Later: A Duncan Sheik Anthology (two CDs; Rhino)
• Soul Men - Their Greatest Hits (Fuel)
(Varèse Sarabande)
• Cat Stevens - On the Road to Find Out (four-CD box set; A&M)
• Don Walser and the Pure Texas Band - Texas Legend
• Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (two-CD deluxe edition; Mercury)
• Frank Zappa - Trance-Fusion (Zappa)
• Various artists - The Harry Smith Project: The Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited (box set with two CDs and two DVDs; Shout! Factory)
• Various artists - Jazz in Paris Remixed (with DVD; Fontana)
• Various artists - The Mistletoe Lounge (Brash)
• Various artists - Six the Hard Way (Heartbeat)

Music DVDs:

• Children of Bodom - "Chaos Ridden Years: Stockholm Knockout Live" (Spinefarm)
• Hoodoo Gurus - "Tunnel Vision" (Hoodoo Gurus)
• Waylon Jennings - "Nashville Rebel" (RCA)
• Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation - "Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation" (Rounder/Zöe)
• Rick Springfield - "Live in Rockford" (Gomer)
• Jeff Tweedy - "Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest" (Nonesuch)

Coming Attractions:

October 31:

• Ron Artest - My World (Lightyear)
  Read: "Ron Artest Battles In Basketball/Boxing Game, Funds His Own Rap LP"
• Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist (Maverick)
  Read: "Deftones Plan Tour With Deadsy Before LP Drops On Halloween"
• Lady Sovereign - Public Warning (Def Jam)
• Kevin Federline - Playing With Fire (Reincarnate)
  Read: "Federline Moving Songs From The Lab To Clubs For Testing"
• Pitbull - El Mariel (TVT)
  Read: "Pitbull Barks About Parties, Politics On October's El Mariel"

November 7:

• James Blunt - Back to Bedlam (limited-edition version with bonus CD; Atlantic)
• Foo Fighters - Skin and Bones (RCA)
• Jim Jones - Hustler's P.O.M.E. (Product of My Environment) (Koch)
• Dave Matthews Band - The Best of What's Around, Vol. 1 (two CDs; RCA)
• Old Dirty Bastard - A Son Unique (Def Jam)

November 14:

• Army of Anyone - Army of Anyone (Firm)
  Read: "Army Of Anyone Want To Be Judged By Their Fifth Album, Not Their Debut"
• Fat Joe - Me, Myself and I (Virgin)
  Read: "Fat Joe On September Release: 'Bet The Kitchen Sink On Me' "
• The Game - Doctor's Advocate (Geffen)
  Read: "Game Says Song On New LP Makes Him 'The One-Man N.W.A' "
• Plus-44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating (Interscope)
  Read: "Plus-44 Address Blink Breakup On LP, Want Fans To 'Hear The Truth' "
• Tenacious D - "The Pick of Destiny" soundtrack (Epic)

• MCR RAW: A Night At The Opera

• My Chemical Romance
• John Legend
• The Walkmen
• Sparta
• Bright Eyes

Sparta
Photo: Hollywood Records

At the end of an April 2005 show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Sparta frontman Jim Ward walked offstage and told his bandmates that he couldn't finish the last scheduled 13 dates of the tour. After more than 10 years on the road and in the recording studio, being in a band had become like an odious day job for Ward, who needed to take time off immediately to reassess his life.

Sixteen months later, Sparta are getting ready to return with Threes (out October 24), and Ward is more than ready for his comeback. "It was the greatest break of my life, and I returned with the desire to make the greatest album I've ever made," he said. "I really feel like we're at a crossroads, and this record is a major accomplishment."

Ward's enthusiasm is pretty amazing considering how desperate he was before he put the band on hold. Not only was he tired of Sparta, he had lost the incentive and inspiration that once drove him to become a musician, and he felt like a disgruntled widget salesman.

"I just remember a girl coming up to me crying, and her boyfriend saying, 'Your music got her through a really hard time,' " Ward recalled. "Obviously it's a nice thing to hear. But at the time I was just thinking, 'Aw, man, I wish somebody would help get me through this.' I know it was unprofessional to just walk out, but I think it would have been more unprofessional to lie artistically and keep going on."

In part, Ward's disillusionment stemmed from his unhappiness with Sparta's former record label, which, he claims, did nothing to support the release of the band's second LP, 2004's Porcelain. At the time, the group's label, DreamWorks, was being absorbed into Interscope, which assigned the act to Geffen. Geffen did put out Porcelain, but with all the personnel-shuffling, Sparta fell through the cracks. They have since signed to Hollywood Records, which Ward says considers them a priority artist.

"I think a lot of people aren't even sure we had a second record," said Ward. "I've never been somewhere where we were completely 100 percent ignored by the people who make the decisions."

After bailing on his bandmates — guitarist Paul Hinojos, bassist Matt Miller and drummer Tony Hajjar — Ward returned to his El Paso, Texas, home and spent time refinishing cabinets, painting doors, doing yard work and hanging out with his wife and 18-month-old niece. But pretty soon, he was back in his home studio writing with more gusto than ever and before long, he had 27 new songs.

"I think you have to cool off sometimes to be able to reignite," he said. "By leaving our former label and having no pressing commitments, I was able to get back to the point where I could walk into the studio and go, 'I'm so lucky to be doing this,' instead of, 'I don't want to be here.' "

When he was ready to convert his new song ideas into full compositions, he called his bandmates to join him in the studio with producer Dave Bassett (Lisa Loeb, Silos). But Hinojos — who had worked with Ward and Hajjar since 1994 when they started their former band At the Drive-In with the Mars Volta's Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez — had moved on and decided not to partake. Around the same time, Richmond emo outfit Engine Down were going belly-up, so their guitarist, Keeley Davis, called up Sparta's manager and asked if he knew of any bands looking for a guitar player.

"We had toured with Keeley before, so we already knew him, so it was great," Ward said. "It was a breath of fresh air, and it was good to have someone new, who didn't have any baggage, come in and remind everybody how cool it is to be in a band."

In some ways Threes is comparable to Porcelain, a lively album rife with tension, melody and unexpected twists. But the new disc is more atmospheric and a bit less jarring. "Crawl" combines choppy guitar lines and sinewy bass grooves with yearning, contagious vocals, while "Unstitch Your Mouth" blends haunting acoustic guitars with curls of feedback reminiscent of early Radiohead, and "Translations" weaves stuttering drums, moody rhythms and subdued vocals with eerie guitars and a booming background choir reminiscent of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

"Some of the arrangements are really challenging, but some of it is as straightforward as anything I've done," Ward explained. "The real difference this time, I think, is we tried to be completely honest with ourselves and not purposely sabotage anything. This time we didn't say, 'OK, that sounds too mainstream, so let's make sure it gets so noisy and echoey that you can't understand anything.' Because for me, I want to die a good songwriter, so I want to do whatever it takes to get better. I don't need hipster points or accolades — what I need is the satisfaction of moving people with my music."

The band will be dishing up some of that new material on the road in the near future. Sparta have lined up seven tour dates so far, according to their publicist:

• 9/28 - Pomona, CA @ Glass House
• 9/29 - Las Vegas, NV @ Jillian's
• 10/2 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
• 10/3 - Austin, TX @ Emo's
• 10/8 - Winston-Salem, NC @ Ziggy's
• 10/9 - Richmond, VA @ Alley Katz
• 10/10 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat

• Sparta

"Madden NFL 07"
Photo: EA Sports

"Madden" football may be one of the most popular franchises in video games these days, but the man behind the newly announced soundtrack for the series' 2007 version says this time the music will be short on one thing: pop.

The music is taking a harder edge, according to Steve Schnur, a former MTV and record-label executive who has been selecting songs for "Madden" for the last five years in his role as the head of music and music marketing at games publisher Electronic Arts. "There's many more independent-signed bands here than we've ever had before," he said, citing songs from Matchbook Romance and Atreyu. "The rock is credible and hard."

And as for hip-hop, "A lot of it is pop music right now," he said, lamenting that moms are now aware of who the big rap stars are. In response, Schnur went more underground with this year's soundtrack. "We have really tried to establish where we think hip-hop is going, musically speaking," he said. He's particularly bullish on Dr. Dre protégé Bishop Lamont.

Ten acts will debut songs on "Madden" before releasing them on their own albums, including Audioslave, the Panic Channel and Shorty Da Kid. The soundtrack includes already-released tracks from artists such as Wolfmother, Lupe Fiasco, Underoath and Rise Against.

Whereas previously Schnur would have to ask for songs for "Madden," now artists come to him. According to Schnur, all of the music for the new game was pitched to EA by record labels because labels want the exposure. It makes selecting songs difficult, though there's one type of track Schnur had an easy time dismissing: songs about "Madden."

"We do get songs submitted to us, year after year, by sometimes very significant artists, who write songs for 'Madden,' " he sighed. "And they're always about, 'Throw me the ball,' 'Hit the "x" button.' " That's an approach Schnur stopped embracing a few years ago, especially when other game companies started featuring those types of songs. "I think it's a bit cliché," he said.

Schnur acknowledged that his annual "Madden" soundtrack announcements may soon become obsolete. All of the next-gen consoles are expected to support broadband-based online gameplay out of the box, encouraging gamers to get online and stay online. With that kind of setup, Schnur has pointed out in the past, EA could keep adding to the soundtrack of a game throughout the year.

So when's that happening? "It's almost here," he said. "By the time 'Madden 2008' comes out, we should be able to deliver some of the exciting ideas here. We're going to have a much deeper 24/7 relationship with 'Madden' gamers."

"Madden" soundtracks have solid track records, helping in previous years to launch Good Charlotte, Franz Ferdinand and Yellowcard. Green Day's "American Idiot" made its debut in "Madden 2005" (see "Green Day Unveiling New Song In 'Madden 2005' Video Game"). Combined with the fact that "Madden" is a multimillion-selling game every year, Schnur said he feels the pressure to find new hits.

"I need to know that in three months there will be X-million people who will go, 'Of course I love Atreyu! That's my "Madden" band.' "

"Madden NFL 07" will be released on all major home and portable gaming platforms in early August. The soundtrack will be included on all home consoles as well as Sony's PlayStation Portable.

Tracks that will debut on the "Madden NFL 07" soundtrack, according to EA:

• Audioslave - "Revelations"
• Bishop Lamont (featuring Chevy Jones) - "The Best"
• Cord - "Go Either Way"
• Dynamite MC - "Bounce"
• Glasses Malone - "Right Now"
• Omnisoul - "Not Giving Up"
• Shorty Da Kid - "Get Loose"
• Sparta - "Future Needs"
• The Panic Channel - "Teahouse of the Spirits"
• The Rapture - "WAYUH"

• Audioslave
• Sparta

Sparta's Jim Ward (File)
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — "Here's the bottom line," Sparta singer/guitarist Jim Ward said from the stage of CBGB on Saturday night. "Our [new album] doesn't come out until July. We could maybe sit around and be lazy, but we decided to tour some clubs and have fun." 

The New York stop of that tour found the El Paso, Texas, band performing a pile of new songs alongside favorites from its 2002 debut album, Wiretap Scars. The crowd showed its approval with pumping fists and bobbing heads.

Sparta, of course, include three-fifths of At the Drive-In, a revered postpunk band that split up in March 2001 (see "Sparta Rise From At The Drive-In's Ashes With EP, Tour"). And although many expected Sparta to sound identical to ATDI, the foursome debunked this notion with Wiretap Scars, a straightforward, guitar-based rock album laden with hard-driving melodies and Ward's growling vocals.

Songs from the group's upcoming album, Porcelain (slated for release July 13), fit in perfectly alongside the crowd favorites from Wiretap. Tracks like "Breaking the Broken," "Guns of Memorial Park," "La Cerca" and "Lines in Sand" were fraught with intense riffs, layered guitars and solid hooks.

"We've wanted to play here [at CBGB] for a long time," Ward told the crowd on Saturday night. "It's cool that we have a chance to now and play for a fun crowd." That crowd was with the band every step of the way, shouting along as Ward's vocals leaped from earnest, tremulous crooning into throaty, melodic yelling, while guitarist Paul Hinojos, drummer Tony Hajjar and bassist Matt Miller hammered out dynamic rhythms and powerful crescendos.

And while ATDI reportedly split up because the members had, according to Ward, "burned out on each other," something he said onstage suggests that that's unlikely to happen to Sparta. Before closing the night, Ward said, "Maybe you have to live our lives to understand how all four of us are connected, how close the four of us really are. Well, today someone of ours lost someone. There have been so many times when we've been away on tour and we've lost someone — and we just keep on touring." Dedicated to Hinojos' aunt, who had passed away, Sparta then plunged into the set-closing "Air," and the crowd passionately shouted along. For the last chorus, Ward threw down his guitar, grabbed the mic and jumped into the audience.

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

• Sparta

Snoop once accused fans of only loving his Doggy Style, and this week, that just might be true. Hopefully going over better than Doggy's Angels is Snoop Dogg Presents... Doggy Style All Stars: Welcome to Tha House, Vol. 1, featuring tracks by the Doggfather himself plus Lady of Rage, RBX and Soopafly.

The Reindeer Section — brainchild of Glasgow musician Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol — showcase the talents of their 27-odd members including folks from Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub, the Vaselines and Arab Strap on their new release, Son of Evil Reindeer.

Brit rock doyenne Marianne Faithfull releases Kissin' Time with guest spots from Beck, Blur, Pulp and Billy Corgan alongside new albums from Sparta (Wiretap Scars), Brad (Welcome to Discovery Park), and Slum Village (Trinity).

And just when we thought it was possible to go a week without writing some such about so-and-so's new remix album, along comes Dance for Me by Mary J. Blige. The album features re-workings of "No More Drama," "Rainy Dayz," and "Family Affair." No hateration, please.

Out Tuesday, August 13:

• Bernard Allison - Storms of Life (Tone-Cool)
• Karrin Allyson - In Blue (Concord Jazz)
• Yolanda Aranda & Enrique Coria - Intimo (Acoustic Disc)
• Beatsteaks - Living Targets (Epitaph)
• Howie Beck - Hollow (Future Farmer)
• Mary J. Blige - Dance for Me (MCA)
• Blue Mountain - Tonight It's Now or Never (2 CDs, DCN)
• Joe Bonamassa - So, It's Like That (Medalist)
• Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park (Redline)
• Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (Saddle Creek)
   Read: "Dashboard Confessional, Custom, Abandoned Pools Don't Need No Stinkin' Band"
• Constant Flux - All Things Change (:\run)
• The Cost - Chimera (Lookout!)
• Éamonn Coyne - Through the Round Window (Compass)
• Do or Die - Back 2 the Game (Virgin)
• Bill Douglas - Homeland (Hearts of Space)
• Cliff Eberhardt - School for Love (Red House)
• End on End - Why Evolve We Can Go Sideways? (Substandard)
• Marianne Faithfull - Kissin' Time (Virgin)
   Read: "Marianne Faithfull Records With Billy Corgan"
• Jay Farrar - ThirdShiftGrottoSlack (EP, Artemis)
• Flipp - Volume (Popularity/ Artemis)
• Steve Forbert - More Young Guitar Days (Rolling Tide)
• Russ Freeman - Drive (Peak)
• Frou Frou - Details (MCA)
• The Future Sound of London - The Isness (Hypnotic)
• Vance Gilbert - One Thru Fourteen (Disismye/ Louisiana Red Hot)
• Thea Gilmore - Rules for Jokers (Compass)
• Guttermouth - Gusto! (Epitaph)
• Winsor Harmon - Stars of Texas (Neurodisc)
• Hellnation - Dynamite Up Your Ass (Sound Pollution)
• Alan and John Kelly - Fourmilehouse (Compass)
• Paul Krassner - Irony Lives (Artemis)
• Made Men - Black Friday (Surrender)
• Branford Marsalis - Footsteps of Our Fathers (Marsalis Music/ Rounder)
• Mary Lee's Corvette - Blood on the Tracks (Bar/None)
• Maserati - The Language of Cities (Kindercore)
• Brad Mehldau – Largo (Warner Bros.)
• Milemarker - Satanic Versus (EP, Jade Tree)
• Peter Mulvey - Ten Thousand Mornings (Signature Sounds)
• Nerf Herder - American Cheese (Honest Don's)
• Nickel Creek - This Side (Sugar Hill)
• Noise Therapy - Tension (Redline)
• Norma Jean - Bless the Martyr, Kiss the Child (Solid State)
• Paul Oakenfold - A Voyage Into Trance (Hypnotic)
• Eliades Ochoa - Estoy Como Nunca (Higher Octave World)
• Plankton Man vs. Terrestre - Plankton Man vs. Terrestre (Provider/ :\run)
• Pseudopod - Pseudopod (Interscope)
• The Reindeer Section - Son of Evil Reindeer (PIAS America)
• Rockapella - Smilin' (Amerigo)
• Roy Rogers & Norton Buffalo - Roots of Our Nature (Blind Pig)
• Saeta - Resign to Ideal (Fish the Cat)
• Sick of It All - Live in a Dive (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Slum Village - Trinity (Priority/ Capitol)
• Soundisciples - Audio Manifesto (Peaceville)
• Sparta - Wiretap Scars (DreamWorks)
   Read: "Sparta Rise From At The Drive-In's Ashes With EP, Tour"  
• Peter Stuart - Propeller (Vanguard)
• Keith Sweat - Rebirth (Elektra)  
• James Taylor - October Road (Columbia)
• Paul Thorn - Mission Temple Fireworks (Back Porch)
• The Two Dollar Pistols - You Ruined Everything (Yep Roc)
• Various artists - AC/DC Tribute: Backed in Black (Reverberations)
• Various artists - Blue Light One (Nettwerk)
• Various artists - Old Skars & Upstarts 2002 (Disaster)
• Various artists - Raices Latinas: Smithsonian Folkways Latino Roots Collection (Smithsonian Folkways)
• Various artists - Snoop Dogg Presents... Doggy Style All Stars:
• Welcome to Tha House, Vol. 1 (MCA)
• Various artists - Hairspray (Sony Classical)
• Various artists - So Little Time (Trauma)
• Wonderlick - Wonderlick (Future Farmer)
• Zeromancer - Eurotrash (Cleopatra)

• Lady May - May Day (Arista)
   Read: "Lady May: Savage Hip-Hop Straight From the Suburbs"
• Maná - Revolución De Amor (Warner Music Intl.)
• Murderdolls - Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls (Roadrunner)
   Read: "Corey Taylor Insists His Other Band Is No Slipknot Jr."
   
  
• Orbital - Work 89-02 (FFRR/ WSM)  

• Erykah Badu - TBD (EP, Motown)
• Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash - Distance Between (Ultimatum)
• BBMak - Into Your Head (Hollywood)
   
  
• Beenie Man - Tropical Storm (Virgin)
• The Black Crowes - The Black Crowes Live (V2)
• Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head (Nettwerk/ Capitol)
   
  
• The Dillinger Escape Plan - Irony Is a Dead Scene (EP, Epitaph)
• Dixie Chicks - Home (Open Wide/ Monument/ Columbia)
• Eve - Eve-olution (Ruff Ryders/ Interscope)
   Read: "Eve, Alicia Keys Team Up For Some 'Gangsta Love'"
   Buy Now: Eve-olution (Ruff Ryders/ Interscope)
  
• Gus Gus - Attention (Moonshine)
• Aimee Mann - Lost in Space (Superego)  
• Mudhoney - Since We've Become Translucent (Sub Pop)
• Ms. Jade - Girl Interrupted (Beat Club/ Interscope)
   Read: "Ms. Jade's 'Big Head' Is Meant To Move Your Big Butt"
• Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf (Interscope)
   Read: "Queens Of The Stone Age Flex Their Star Power"
   Buy Now: Songs for the Deaf (Interscope)
  
• Silverchair - Diorama (Atlantic)
   Read: "Silverchair Craft U.S. Diorama, Plan New York Dates"
• Stone Sour - Stone Sour (Roadrunner)
   Read: "Corey Taylor Insists His Other Band Is No Slipknot Jr."
• Trina - Diamond Princess (Slip-N-Slide/ Atlantic)
   Read: "Diamond Princess Trina Recruits Tweet For 'No Panties' Single"
• Viva Death - Viva Death (Vagrant)

• Cassius - Au Rêve (Astralwerks)
• Ladytron - Light & Magic (Emperor Norton)
• Nine Days - So Happily Unsatisfied (Epic)
• OK Go - OK Go (Capitol)
• Shadows Fall - The Art of Balance (Century Media)
   Read: "You Hear It First: Shadows Fall"

• Snoop Dogg
• Mary J. Blige
• Sparta
• Bright Eyes
• Slum Village

Sparta's Jim Ward
Photo: DreamWorks

Bands can spend years paying their dues in the hopes their local buzz will transcend state lines and turn them into "the next big thing," so it seemed odd that At the Drive-In would pull their own plug just when they were poised to give a tired music scene a wake-up call. For guitarist Jim Ward, however, to be in a band teetering on the brink of breaking big was to be on unsteady footing.

"All [the hype] did was accelerate the already waning interest," Ward said. "Maybe we could have carried on if we had more time between tours, but we were just burned out on each other. The bigger you get, the more intense it gets, and the more intense it gets, the more you have to realize that you're not really happy doing it anymore."

After a few months of mourning following the announcement of ATDI's demise last March (see "At The Drive-In Suspend Activity, Cancel April Dates"), Ward and his ATDI bandmates Paul Hinojos and Tony Hajjar, along with bassist Matt Miller, began writing songs for their new endeavor, Sparta, and hit the studio with producer Jerry Finn (Green Day, Blink-182). The group recently inked a deal with DreamWorks Records, which will release the four-song Austere EP on Tuesday so that fans will have something to remember them by during their two-month tour, which began March 15 at the South By Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas. Sparta's as-yet-untitled full-length debut is due this summer.

Given that ATDI singer Cedric Bixler and guitarist Omar Rodriguez, who were working on their dub side project De Facto while ATDI were still active, were receiving most of the attention from the media, Ward, Hinojos and Hajjar perceived themselves dismissed as the backing band, the ones without the Afros.

"There were moments where we thought, perhaps foolishly, that we had to prove something," Ward said. "Not in reality, but it was our first taste of major press, especially British press, and they immediately try to blow up the singer. There was a hint of that in the beginning, like, 'We're gonna show that British press what's up.' But that [mindset] didn't last very long, because it's sort of a silly reason to have a band."

Eventually the challenge of proving their mettle to the press gave way to setting a standard for themselves.

"I don't have anything to prove," he continued. "I do it because this is the only thing I know how to do, and I do it better than anything else in the world, and I love it. This is my trade, but sometimes it takes a band ending to really appreciate what you do, what you have, the gifts you were born with. We have such a special life, it's just lame when bands or artists blow it [by giving up]. This was a good test for me to see if I would stop because the going got rough."

The three-fifths of ATDI persevered, and although playing with most of their old bandmates isn't the freshest of starts, Ward, who now sings as well as plays guitar, and Hinojos, who swapped his bass for a six-string axe, adopted unfamiliar roles to give the group a new edge.

"It was kind of like skipping school," Ward said of the shift in instrumentation. Because playing was fresh and fun again, they tore through nine songs in their first week together. They chose three of the four songs that appear on the EP — "Mye," "Cataract" and "Vacant Skies" — randomly from their new repertoire, and it's likely they'll also appear on the album.

Although Sparta's works — left-of-center songs that lock melodies in a stranglehold until the entire construction crumbles in an exhausted heap — aren't exactly polar opposite of ATDI's sound, Ward isn't making any apologies for the similarities.

"I'm not good enough to fake it," he said. "If [Sparta] songs sound like At the Drive-In's, it's because I write the way I write. I'm not good enough to say, 'In this band, we're going to sound like this,' or 'I'm only going to write songs like this from now on.' All I can do is grow at my own natural pace, and I think Paul and Tony are the same way.

"We'll probably always be judged for what we did in At the Drive-In, which is fine with me because I did it a quarter of my life. I'm totally proud of what we did in it, and I loved everything. I loved the experience, but it's rad that it ended before it got sh--ty."

Despite the announcement that the group was on an indefinite hiatus, Ward is doubtful ATDI will ever reform. "It was just over," he explained. "We had been together for six and a half years, and that's longer than most marriages. It just wasn't what it was supposed to be anymore. We didn't get along on that level anymore. It wasn't an intimate band."

In addition to De Facto, Bixler and Rodriguez also formed the Mars Volta with four other musicians. They, too, recently signed a major-label deal of their own and will release an EP on indie label GSL on March 25, following a few live performances. Ward has yet to experience his former bandmates' new project, though his parents and cousins have.

"It's not a personal thing; it's not even a big deal," he said. "I just want to hear it when I'm in the right mindset to appreciate it. I have nothing but love and respect for them and hearing them needs to be on a rad level, where I'm stoked and ready for it."

While most of 2001 for Ward was marked by upheaval, the past twelve months grounded the singer/guitarist, who's excited for the future. "It's been an awesome year," he enthused. "I have a new band now. I turned 25, which is a pretty big age, sort of a turning point. I got married last year. So it's been rad. I really feel like I have a fresh start."

Sparta tour dates, according to their publicist:

• 3/30 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Industrial Nation
• 3/31 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
• 4/1 - Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
• 4/2 - Omaha, NE @ Ranch Bowl
• 4/3 - Des Moines, IA @ Hairy Mary's
• 4/4 - Minneapolis, MN @ Ascot Room
• 4/5 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
• 4/6 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
• 4/7 - Cleveland, OH @ Agoura Ballroom
• 4/8 - Toronto, ON @ The Reverb
• 4/9 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Club
• 4/11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
• 4/12 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
• 4/13 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
• 4/15 - Louisville. KY @ Headliners
• 4/16 - St. Louis, MO @ The Galaxy
• 4/28 - Austin, TX @ Emo's
• 4/29 - Dallas, TX @ Trees
• 5/1 - Tempe, AZ @ Nita's Hideaway
• 5/2 - San Diego, CA @ The Scene
• 5/3 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
• 5/4 - Santa Cruz, CA @ Veterans Hall
• 5/6 - Seattle, WA @ Graceland
• 5/7 - Portland, OR @ Meow Meow
• 5/8 - Orangevale, CA @ The Boardwalk
• 5/9 - West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour

• Sparta

Best of 2006: The Red Carpet

• Fall Out Boy
• Beyoncé
• Gwen Stefani
• Gavin Rossdale
• Sean Paul

MTV.com Exclusive: Sparta Photos 10.24.06

• Sparta

2004 Coachella Valley Music Festival

• The Pixies
• Beck
• Howie Day
• The Distillers
• Kinky

SXSW 2002 Highlight Photos

• Jerry Cantrell
• Alice in Chains
• The X-Ecutioners
• Quarashi
• Sparta