Dark New Day (file)
Photo: Warner Music Group

Technically, Dark New Day are a new dream team, but the band was actually more than 12 years in the making.

The story began when guitarist Clint Lowery and his brother, bassist Corey, were in their teens jamming in rural North Carolina with their neighborhood friend, guitarist Troy McLawhorn. With dreams of stardom, they formed the melodic hard-rock band Still Rain and toured through the Southeast playing to dismissive crowds in divey clubs.

On the road, they bumped into singer Brett Hestla and drummer Will Hunt, who were playing in other bands, and they struck up fast friendships. "We used to say to each other, 'Man, we'd have a ripping band if we all played together,' " Clint said. "But we were all doing other things. Over the years, we'd get back together and jam and write stuff from time to time, but we were all committed to other groups."

These weren't just any groups. Clint was in Sevendust for almost 10 years, Corey co-formed Stereomud, Hestla sang for Virgos Merlot and then became Creed's touring bassist, McLawhorn played in Doubledrive, and Hunt performed in Skrape and contributed to Tommy Lee's solo project. But even when powering ahead with their main gigs, they were always looking over their shoulders to see what their pals were up to. "We remained friends and huge fans of each other's bands over the years," Clint said. "So that window to get back together was always open."

It was Corey Lowery who dragged his pals through that window a little over a year ago. At the time, Stereomud were disillusioned by their lack of success and basically on life support, and Sevendust were coming off the sales disappointment of their most mainstream offering, Seasons (see "Sevendust Sober Up, Emphasize Hooks On Seasons"). When Creed broke up (see "Creed Break Up") and Skrape fell apart, the members of Dark New Day were finally the displaced heroes they needed to be. The only big problem was Clint didn't want to quit Sevendust.

"I wanted to do both, but that just wasn't possible," he explained. "I didn't want to leave Sevendust because of the brotherhood I had with those guys. I wanted to do another record with them and continue on, I just knew I couldn't tour with both bands at the same time. And, in the end, Sevendust saw how much I wanted to do this project, and they wanted someone that was gonna be there for them 110 percent. So we both decided to end it."

With the Sevendust cord finally severed, Dark New Day started writing songs for their just-released debut, Twelve Year Silence, the title being a reference to how long the band remained in limbo before being conceived. To say it was worth the wait would be apocryphal, but songs like "Taking Me Alive" and "Brother" should make the heavy-rotation playlist of anyone that likes moody, anthemic metal with surging riffs and strong melodies.

"We called the band Dark New Day because the music pulls out emotions and topics that are generally pretty dark," Clint said. "It has this aggressive, sad nature to it, so you don't put it on when you want to clean the house. But it's not woe-is-me kind of music and it's not self-loathing at all. It's more about taking these difficult situations and dealing with them."

Much of Twelve Year Silence addresses missed opportunities, personal trauma and the sometimes hefty price of circumstance. Clint wrote "Brother" about how a career in music has distanced him from his loved ones, and "Lean," which was penned by Hestla, is about Clint's struggle with alcoholism. "I read the lyrics, and I was like, 'Huh, some of this is really familiar,' " Clint said. "Then, when we were in the control room, he said, 'This is about you.' I thought that was really touching. He was writing about being my friend through that experience no matter what happened."

The lyrical turbulence of Twelve Year Silence parallels the storms Dark New Day weathered in the studio — not the metaphoric type, but the kind that blow roofs off houses and send trees crashing through cars. "We did the record in Orlando [Florida], and there were five massive hurricanes when we were there," Clint said. "Corey and Troy would be driving from Atlanta to Orlando and everyone else would be driving the other way to evacuate the city. It looked like a nuclear bomb was about to drop or something and it really created this somber feel to everything."

While Dark New Day were in a rush to finish the album, they weren't that pressed for time, and many of their friends and peers were dumbfounded that they refused to leave the area. Looking back, Clint laughs at the band's stubbornness, but he still considers the decision more of a test of faith than an act of stupidity.

"The whole time the winds were kicking all around us and stuff was getting demolished, we were like, 'Hey man, should we be doing this?' But we kept going because we felt like, 'Well, if we get through it, maybe it's a sign that it will be worth it.' "

• Dark new Day
• Creed
• Sevendust
• Stereomud
• Skrape

The White Stripes' Elephant, their first release since becoming the darlings of the music world, finds Jack and Meg up to their same old — and good — tricks. The album continues their trend of lo-fi rock and blues with numbers like "Seven Nation Army" and sugary love songs like "I Want to Be the Boy."

Meanwhile, cheeky British singer Robbie Williams wants to be the boy who, after umpteen tries, finally hits it big in the U.S. market with his latest effort, Escapology.

The soundtrack to Rob Zombie's directorial debut, "House of 1,000 Corpses," features the score by Zombie himself, plus tracks by the Ramones, Slim Whitman and Buck Owens.

The Faint remix their electro-pop Danse Macabre, while Placebo and their glamour/sleaze rock are busy Sleeping With Ghosts, and Ghostface Killah — ostensibly sleeping with ghosts, too — proves that he's Shaolin's Finest.

The X-ecutioners' Rob Swift mixed Under the Influence,an album less devoted to scratching (though there are some chances for Swift to show off)than to showcasing '60s soul, '80s hip-hop and present-day Latin grooves.

Out Tuesday, April 1:

• 808 State - Outpost Transmission (Shadow)
• Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley - Give Us Mystery (Sony)
• Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Altered States of America (Relapse)
• The Alarm - 68 Guns (Simply the Best)
• Aphrohead - Thee Underground Made Me Do It (Clashbakk)
• A.R.E Weapons - A.R.E Weapons (Sanctuary)
• Asleep at the Wheel - Served Live (Acadia)
• Bass Syndicate - Slow Low Techno (D.M)
• Big Mountain - Cool Breeze (Rebel Ink)
• Billy Blanks - Taebo Mix (Red Ball)
• Blue Flames - Drivin' and Dyin' in Texas (Voodoo Valley)
• Boo - Naughties (Sheer Sound)
• Boo - Shooting Star (Sheer Sound)
• Boy Sets Fire - Tomorrow Comes Today (Wind-Up)
• Bridge - Blown Away (Hole)
• Chris Cagle - Chris Cagle (Capitol)
• Cenobites - Demons to Some Angels to Others (Drunkabilly)
• Cheka Tu Mail - Cheka Tu Mail (Universal)
• Chromatics - Chromatics (Gold Standard Labora)
• County Sareno - 13 With a Bullet (Teen Angel)
• Dangerous Garden - Dreams and Rain (The Orchard)
• DJ Napey - Illfinger (P-Vine Japan)
• DJ Zappi - Enjoy the Silence (KJU)
• Ester Drang - Infinite Keys (Jade Tree)
• Even in Blackouts - Myths & Imaginary Magicians (Lookout)
• Exploding Heats - Guitar Romantic (Dirtnap)
• The Faint - Danse Macabre Remixed (Astralwerks)
• Flamers - 20 Super Flamazos (I.M)
• The Fugees - Greatest Hits (Sony)
  Buy Now: Greatest Hits (Sony)
• Ghostface Killah - Ghostface Killah: Shaolin's Finest (Sony)
  Buy Now: Ghostface Killah: Shaolin's Finest (Sony)
• G-Man - Electro-Bop (Delvian)
• G-Man - Grin Groove (Delvian)
• Gob - Foot in Mouth Disease (Arista)
• Godflesh - Messiah (Relapse)
• Grand Drive - Grand Drive (RCA)
• Isaac Hayes - At Wattstax (Stax)
• Hellbats - Fast and Heavy (Pure and Proud)
• I-Roy - Deejay Menace Babylon (Varese)
• J Geils - Showtime (EMI)
• Bob James - Hi-Fi (Morada)
• James Boy - Raps and Ballads (The Orchard)
• Jets - Bolt of Lightning (Krypton)
• Angela Johnson - They Don't Know (Purpose)
• Kendalls - Love Is a Long Hard Road (Varese)
• Kills - Keep on Your Mean Side (Rough Trade)
• Langhorns - Mission Exotica (Bad Taste)
• Lil Flip - Lil Flip & Sucka Free: 713 and Undaground Legend (Sony)
• M Path - Wanderer (Razor & Tie)
• Millencolin - Battery Check (Burning Heart)
• Millencolin - E20 Norr (Burning Heart)
• Mirahj - Bounce All Night (The Orchard)
• Mistahs - Mistahs (Aries)
• Modeste - Modeste (Space Shop)
• M.O.P. - 10 Years and Gunnin' (Sony)
• Mötley Crüe - New Tattoo (reissue, BMG)
• Numbers - Death (Tigerbeat6)
• Numbers - Ee-Uh (EP, Troubleman)
• Roy Orbison - Essential Sun Years (Metro)
• Peepshows - Refuge for Degenerates (Burning Heart)
• Phantom Rockers - Rise Up (Drunkabilly)
• Pieces - Pieces (Benchmark)
• Placebo -Sleeping with Ghosts (Astralwerks)
• Puffball - Leave Them All Behind (Burning Heart)
• Punkles - Beat the Punkles (Bitzcore)
• Radio Dept -Lesser Matters (Shelflife)
• Red Snapper - Red Snapper (Lo)
• Sid Selvidge - Little Bit of Rain (Archer)
• Smash King All Stars - Smash Rhythm (P-Vine Japan)
• Starvations - One Long Night (Kapow)
• Steamhammer - MK II (Akarma)
• Stereomud - Every Given Moment (Sony)
  Buy Now: Every Given Moment (Sony)
• Stitches - 5 More Songs from the Stitches (Kapow)
• Rob Swift - Under the Influence (Six Degrees)
• Swirlies - Cats of the Wild 2 (Bubble Core)
• Devin Townsend - Accelerated Evolution (Inside Out)
• Triggers - Shoot Your Mouth Off (Dirtnap)
• Vaux - There Must Be Some Way to Stop Them (Volcom)
• Ventures - Surfin' with the Ventures (EMI)
• Venus Hum - Big Beautiful Sky (MCA)
• White Stripes - Elephant (V2)
  Read: "White Stripes To Put Their Best Trunk Forward On April Fool's Day With Elephant"
  Buy Now: Elephant (V2)
• Robbie Williams - Escapology (Virgin)
  Buy Now: Escapology (Virgin)
• George Winston - Velveteen Rabbit Anniversary Edition (Windham Hill)
• Lucy Woodward - While You Can (Atlantic)
  Buy Now: While You Can (Atlantic)
• Various artists - Aromatherapy (Nukarma)
• Various artists - "Assassination Tango" soundtrack (RCA)
• Various artists - Booty Essentials from Da ATL (D.M.)
• Various artists - Chicano Rap Oldies (Sideshow)
• Various artists - Cosmic Sounds Remixed (Cosmic Sounds)
• Various artists - "Crossing Jordan" soundtrack (Sony)
• Various artists - Dinner at Eight (Varese)
• Various artists - Dinner for Two (EMI)
• Various artists - "Dreamcatcher" soundtrack (Varese)
• Various artists - Drum and Bass Sessions (Sessions)
• Various artists - Dutch Assault (Relapse)
• Various artists - Euromix Greatest Hits: A Decade of Dance (SPG)
• Various artists - Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan (Sony)
• Various artists - "The Guys" soundtrack (Sony)
• Various artists - House Breaks Sessions (Sessions)
• Various artists -"House of 1,000 Corpses" soundtrack (Interscope)
• Various artists - Inside Deep Note: Music of 1970s Adult Cinema (OST)
• Various artists - More Hot N Hip Harmony (Sweet Beat)
• Various artists -Music from Woody Allen's Films (Soundtrack Factory)
• Various artists - Old School Lowrider (Thump)
• Various artists - Skank Mania (P-Vine Japan)
• Various artists - Then: Totally Oldies 80s (Varese)
• Various artists - Troubleman Sampler (Troubleman Unlimited)
• Various artists - "What a Girl Wants" soundtrack (Atlantic)

April 22:

• Evan Dando - Baby I'm Bored (Bar None)
• Flaming Lips - Fight Test (EP, Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: Fight Test (EP, Warner Bros.)
• Madonna - American Life (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Madonna To Follow Spiritual Muse For New Album"
  Buy Now: American Life (Warner Bros.)

April 29:

• Kelly Price - Priceless (Universal)
  Buy Now: Priceless (Universal)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell (Touch & Go)
• Various artists - American Idol Season 2: All-Time Classic American Love Songs (RCA)

May 13:

• Macy Gray - The Trouble With Being Myself (Epic)
• Third Eye Blind - Out of the Vein (Elektra)
  Read: "Third Eye Blind Recruit Fred Durst, Andrew W.K. For Third Album"
  Buy Now: Out of the Vein (Elektra)

June 10:

• Metallica - St. Anger (Elektra)
  Read: "Metallica To Give Rock And Roll A Good Thrashing"

June 17:

• Limp Bizkit - Bipolar (Interscope)
  Read: "Snoop Dogg, Bubba Sparxxx May Appear On Limp Bizkit Album"

• The White Stripes
• Ghostface Killah
• The Faint
• Robbie Williams
• Stereomud

Music as a Weapon Tour Photos

• Disturbed
• Adema
• Drowning Pool
• Stereomud