Corey Taylor
Photo: Dave Etheridge-Barnes/ Getty Images

Hear ye, hear ye, devoted maggots: Fear not, for there will be a new Slipknot record in the not-so-distant future. But whether the band carries on after that, no one can say for sure.

Frontman Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root are off doing Stone Sour, and drummer Joey Jordison is filling in for Korn's on-hiatus drummer David Silveria during this summer's Family Values Tour (see "Korn, Evanescence, Hellyeah Top Family Values Tour Bill"). So the members of Slipknot don't have any definitive plans to begin writing new material for their next LP and have no idea when they'll record it (see "The Last Days Of Slipknot? Clown Explains Making Of 'Voliminal' DVD").

"Nothing's really been written yet, and it's just kind of up in the air right now," Taylor said. "We're definitely going to do at least one more Slipknot album, let's put it that way. But after that, who knows? You get to a point in life where you've said all you can really say with one thing, and I've still got some stuff I want to say with Slipknot. But who knows where I'll be after that. So I want to at least make one more, and then I don't know what's going to happen."

Taylor is well aware that the band's fans will be summarily bummed if the 'Knot decide to call it a day after reconvening for the recording of — and subsequent touring around — their impending studio offering, to which the singer responded, "Grow up!" Taylor said he'd like Slipknot to go out when the time is right and doesn't want to see the band hanging on past its prime.

"If [the fans] really sat down and thought about what Slipknot is and what Slipknot was, I think it would make sense to them," he said. "Anytime you drive something into the dirt, it's not the same as it was. It doesn't have the same potency, the same meaning. I think any real Slipknot fan would appreciate that. I'm not saying it will be the last album from us — I'm saying it most likely ... I mean, we're at least doing one more. People are very pessimistic, and instead of looking at things in a pragmatic mindset, they go, 'Oh, I can't live.' Please."

Taylor is more certain about Stone Sour's future. "I will always make music with Stone Sour," he said. "Stone Sour will always be here" (see "Stone Sour's Sweet Success May Mean Slipknot-Free 2007").

To that end, the band's label, Roadrunner Records, plans to reissue Stone Sour's 2006 LP, Come What(ever) May, in expanded form, with loads of unreleased material. Taylor said the special digipak edition of the disc will be in stores this summer and will feature six acoustic tracks that either didn't make the cut the first time around or have been recorded since Come What(ever) May's release — including a cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game." The set will also boast two DVDs, which will include all the videos the band shot for the album and a live performance captured in November when the band played before 8,000 people in Moscow.

"Five of the tracks were actually recorded during the original album sessions," Taylor said. "And there's a spoken-word piece I was going to put on the album, but the songs were so strong that we decided, 'Screw it, we can always release it somewhere.' And with 'Wicked Game,' the original is amazing, but the way that we play it, it's not as technical. But at the same time, there's a melancholy about it that's really cool."

Taylor said that while he hasn't given it much thought, he wouldn't be opposed to releasing material as a solo artist. "People keep asking me about that, and I don't know," he explained. "It's a little soon to talk about that. If I wanted to, I could — I have enough songs that I've written on my own. But right now I have two bands [not counting his two cover bands, Audacious P and Dum Fux] — I don't need a third."

• Slipknot
• Stone Sour

Lordi
Photo: The End Records

Life is good for Lordi.

The empire is strong and the franchise is booming. With his stomach full from a multi-course meal at Lordi's Rocktaurant in Rovaniemi, Finland, frontman Tomi Petteri Putaansuu — a.k.a. "Mr. Lordi" — picked up the phone to spread the gospel of his band to North America.

"It's a cool thing to have your own restaurant," he said as he prepared for dessert. "You can taste a little of everything on the menu and not worry about missing anything."

If he had wanted to, Putaansuu could have washed down his meal with a bottle or two of Lordi Cola, but he ordered Pepsi because the restaurant doesn't have the Lordi drink on tap — yet. And, if he had to pay for the sumptuous meal, he could have used a Lordi credit card. Fortunately he owns the restaurant. Even more fortunately, he doesn't have an active credit card.

"That would actually ruin me to bankruptcy," he said. "It would lead me to order Kiss artifacts from the 'Net. I'm a big collector of these things, and to this day I'm the president of the Kiss Army in Finland."

It goes without saying that without Kiss, Lordi — Putaansuu, guitarist Jussi Sydänmaa ("Amen"), bassist Samer el Nahhal ("Ox"), keyboardist Leena Peisa ("Awa") and drummer Sampsa Astala ("Kita") — wouldn't exist. Like Putaansuu's heroes, Lordi wear makeup and costumes, play anthemic melodic metal and believe strongly in branding. And like Kiss, Lordi are huge. Sure, they're still relatively unknown in North America, but their 2006 album, The Arockalypse — which comes out on these shores March 20 — is triple-platinum in Finland and nearly as huge across the rest of Europe.

But there's a major difference between Lordi and Kiss. While Kiss' image stems from cartoons and comic books, Lordi's comes straight from horror movies, which has drawn them comparisons to Gwar. "I am not offended, but I didn't know [about] Gwar until people in Germany asked me about them in interviews," Putaansuu said. "They are so obscure in Europe that it's easy to miss them. I was much more influenced by people like Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface and Pinhead and the Cenobites from 'Hellraiser.' I have always been fascinated with monsters and learned to do prosthetic makeup when I was 10 years old."

Putaansuu started Lordi in 1992 as a one-man project and released the band's first demo. Three years later, he recruited friends from the Kiss Army and wrote songs that blended the simplicity of Kiss, the edge of W.A.S.P. and the drive of Accept. Numerous label auditions fell on deaf ears before Lordi were signed in 2002 and released their debut, Get Heavy. They followed two years later with The Monsterican Dream, but Lordi remained an underground phenomenon until last year, when they were contacted by staffers at the pop-music Eurovision Song Contest to represent Finland.

"It's a really kitschy competition, and there was no way in hell any band in Europe would join if they wanted to take themselves seriously," Putaansuu said of the event that launched his band's mainstream career. "But at the time, we had nothing to lose because we were kind of marginal. Metal people thought we were too melodic and mainstream audiences thought we would come and burn their churches."

Lordi played the stomping "Hard Rock Hallelujah" on the televised program and swept the semifinals with 42 percent of the total vote for 12 different contestants, many of whom played Finnish folk music or pop. Then, in January 2006, Lordi competed at the finals. "We felt so out of place there," Putaansuu said. "It was like if Bob Dylan went to a black-metal festival. But all the hard-rock people and metal people came out of the woodwork and voted for us and we won with the highest-ever points in Eurovision history."

The victory propelled Lordi to stardom and piqued the interest of former Kiss manager Bill Aucoin, who linked up with the band. Lordi will make their U.S. debut May 5-6 at the Bamboozle festival in East Rutherford, New Jersey. A full U.S. tour is also being planned.

"I don't know if we'll have the same success in the States, but we'd like to," Putaansuu said. "All of our influences come from the States — metal and movie culture. So it would be a great way of saying we have arrived."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The dates have been revealed for the upcoming Jägermeister Music Tour featuring Stone Sour, Lacuna Coil and Shadows Fall. The tour kicks off March 23 in Maplewood, Minnesota, and is scheduled to hit Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta before wrapping up May 4 in West Des Moines, Iowa. ... Sevendust and Killswitch Engage have been tapped to headline the Red, Black and Blue Festival, which will take place February 22 at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, New York. Joining them on the bill will be DragonForce, Chimaira and Diecast. ... Caliban are entering the studio this week to begin working on their forthcoming LP From Sorrow to Serenity with producer Benny Richter. The disc is slated for release this summer. ...

Frontman Nick Brooks has skipped out on It Dies Today and been replaced by Jason Wood of the Orphan. "The last six years have been incredible and I've seen and done more things than I ever thought were possible with this band," Brooks said in a statement. "I also met so many amazing people along the way and I want to thank all of the fans for being so supportive. ... I've decided to leave the band because that is what is best for everyone at the moment. I will miss everyone, but be sure that you will be hearing from me again. I have a new band called Queen City Station and we should be recording sometime this spring." ... According to drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, the forthcoming self-titled album from his new band Hellyeah — which features current members of Mudvayne and erstwhile members of Nothingface — "is the best record I've collaborated on since [Pantera's 1992 LP] Vulgar Display of Power. The vibe is 'positive with a kick-your-ass-attitude.' The incredible music we've created [has] brought me back to what I love." The disc is slated for release April 10. ...

Through the Eyes of the Dead have decided on Malice as the title for their upcoming sophomore LP, the follow-up to 2005's Bloodlust. The album is being produced by Hate Eternal's Erik Rutan (Goatwhore, the Absence) and recording will get under way February 16. The band plans to have the effort in the bag by March 15. ... Metal extremists Vital Remains have finished recording their forthcoming album with said producer Rutan. It is the group's second LP with Deicide's Glen Benton on vocals and will be in stores April 3. ... Swedish metallers Carnal Forge have signed with Candlelight Records, and new material from the band is expected to land in stores later this year. Carnal Forge had previously released several albums through Century Media Records, including their most recent, 2004's Aren't You Dead Yet? ...

Drummer Eric Schnee has left Nebraska metal outfit Paria and returned to his native New Jersey to revive his former band the Binding. "After a year or so of being away from the band, we have decided that it is time to resurrect this beast again and continue with what we started," Schnee explained in a statement. "We will be touring this coming summer, promoting our now critically acclaimed self-titled EP starting in late June and going until July. I can't even begin to express how excited we are." ... Naglfar's next album Harvest will see release March 13. The effort will contain nine tracks in all, including "Into the Black," "The Mirrors of My Soul" and "Feeding Moloch." ...

Swiss mathcore conjurers Knut are down a guitarist following the departure of Jeremy (just Jeremy), who has split to focus his energies on Mumakil, a grind side project. "This marks the end of an eight-plus-year partnership and a big letdown considering the atmosphere that prevailed within the band and the amount of enthusiasm towards our latest performances," the band expressed in a statement. "We can't help thinking that the best Knut lineup is history. What the future holds for Knut after 12 years of incredibly fulfilling activity, and what might be one too many changes in its shape and form, remains to be determined." ... Obituary, Atheist and Repulsion have been confirmed for the Los Angeles Murderfest Version 3.0, which is set for March 24-25 at the Knitting Factory Hollywood. Also on the festival's bill are Kylesa, Genghis Tron, Brutal Truth, Pig Destroyer and Cretin. ...

Machinemade God have lost guitarist Holger Kiparski but didn't' waste any time finding his replacement, as they've added Marc Niedersberg to the fold. "With this new and strong lineup, we're hitting the road in February for a short headlining tour together with our friends in Deadsoil and Koroded," read a statement from the band. Machinemade God plan to hit the studio in March to begin tracking their second album. ... Thrash titans Byzantine will issue Oblivion Beckons in July. The LP will boast a dozen tracks, as well as note-for-note guitar transcriptions with standard musical notations and guitar tablatures. Byzantine will head out on the Chains of Humanity tour with God Forbid, Goatwhore, Mnemic and Arsis starting January 31 in Houston. In related news, Arsis have parted company with drummer Mike Van Dyne, replacing him with Darren Cesca of Burn in Silence and Goratory note. ...

Suicide City, which features former Biohazard lynchpin Billy Graziadei and former Kittie bassist Jennifer Arroyo, began tracking their forthcoming full-length earlier this month. The effort should be out this spring. "The new material is taking Suicide City to the next level, and we can't wait to share it all with you," the band said in a statement. ... Norwegian black-metal legends Emperor will return to the U.S. for three shows this spring. The band played four Stateside gigs last summer, all before sell-out crowds. "The shows last summer were very successful and we had an amazing turnout and support from all the fans," the band said in a statement. "We feel a few more shows are due and this time, all visas are in order and the band will appear in its full command." Emperor will storm Chicago on May 30, hit New York on June 1 and plays West Hollywood, California, on June 3.

• Lordi
• Emperor
• Knut
• Vital Remains
• Stone Sour

Black Dahlia Murder
Photo: Mark Coatsworth/ Metal Blade Records

"I think this third one's going to be a beast," Trevor Strnad, frontman for Detroit death-metallers the Black Dahlia Murder, recently proclaimed of the band's fresh material.

There was genuine excitement in Strnad's voice as he spoke about the yet-untitled album they'll record in March. Could it be that these tracks are just that good? Or could it be that he was actually excited about something else: making significant progress in the 1987 Nintendo game "Friday the 13th," based on the masked-murderer horror flicks? He's been playing the game for years but has yet to beat it. "Today I killed Jason's mom's flying severed head," he boasted.

But there's much more going on in Strnad's life these days than tracking down a hockey-masked psycho and sauntering around a virtual Crystal Lake. The first item of business for the Black Dahlia Murder — who fired former drummer Zach Gibson early last year — is finding a replacement to help them finish the LP they're nearly done writing.

"Writing and looking for a drummer simultaneously has been a pain in the ass," he said. "We're trying to keep things on schedule. We have the album written, largely. We just need to get the drummer in and work everything out with him."

Strnad said Black Dahlia have auditioned several hopefuls, like Nick Pierce of technical-metal outfit the Faceless, and that he wants the band to make a decision before the end of the month. But finding a new drummer has been tough "because we have a bad reputation now. When we lost Zach, he slandered us pretty bad" on his MySpace page, according to Strnad. Gibson wrote that the band was "nothing without me," "were nothing until I joined" and that some bandmembers didn't care "about anything accept making money."

"It's still hanging over us, kind of," Strnad said. "[The posts] went public, and it was all over the place. ... There are still people who talk about that, and we're trying to dispel those rumors."

So far the Black Dahlia have written eight cuts for the follow-up to 2005's Miasma and have been using computer programs to craft drum tracks for the songs. "It's going to be an impressive record," Strnad promised. "[Guitarist Brian Eschbach] is the songwriter usually, and we all help with arrangements, but that kid never ceases to amaze me. The longer we're together, the more that we play, and the more experience we have on the road, it all makes you into a better player. So, whenever it comes time to start writing, he's just full of surprises. He's really been blowing me away with the new sh--. It's definitely in the same vein as our older stuff. Nothing drastically changed. It's just more tasteful, and some of this new stuff will be faster than the last record."

When the band does enter the studio in March, it'll do so without the benefit of a producer. Instead, the Black Dahlia will record with Eric Rachel, who mixed Miasma. "There's going to be a lot more soloing than we've done previously," he explained. "This record's a bit more European-sounding, I think. More so than we already were, if you can imagine that. The solo stuff has a black metal-ish flavor to it. We messed around with that a little bit previously, but some of the songs have a major Dissection kind of feel to them."

Lyrically, Strnad said the record — due in the fall — will be "more horror-oriented" than Miasma. "As far as gore and death and stuff like that goes, I mean, that's all been done — into the ground," he said. "I am just trying to do something like that, but with my own flavor to it. There are still ways to repulse people out there — I just need to figure it all out."

The Black Dahlia Murder will preview several new tracks when they head out on a U.S. tour in April. Strnad can't say who they'll be touring with just yet, but he did confirm that his band will appear at this year's annual New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, which has been set for April 27-28 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He said the Black Dahlia are also working on their first DVD release, which he hopes will include footage documenting the making of their next record.

The rest of the week's metal news:

The debut album from Hellyeah — the new band featuring Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, Mudvayne's Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett, and Tom Maxwell and Jerry Montano of Nothingface — will hit stores April 10. In the meantime, check out some song samples over at the band's MySpace page. ... Stone Sour, Lacuna Coil and Shadows Fall will tour together under the Jägermeister Music Tour banner. The routing has yet to be revealed, but the tour is expected to launch March 23 and hit St. Paul, Minnesota; Milwaukee; Chicago; Detroit; New York; Boston; and Atlanta. ... A compilation of post-'80s songs by Bay Area thrash-metal legends Testament will come out February 13. The Spitfire Collection will include newer tracks like "Careful What You Wish For" and "The Burning Times," as well as live versions of classics such as "Practice What You Preach" and "Souls of Black." ... Kittie will launch a North American tour February 9 in Hartford, Connecticut, with dates running through March 24 in Warren, Michigan. Support will come from Walls of Jericho, 36 Crazyfists and Dead to Fall. Kittie's new album, Funeral for Yesterday, comes out February 20 on their own X of Infamy label. ...

Job for a Cowboy have added drummer Jon "The Charn" Rice to the fold. "For me, it's a dream come true," he said via press release. "It's one of those things where you take a chance and send a demo over and then your life is changed. I'm really looking forward to living on the road." The band recently wrapped the recording of its Metal Blade Records debut, which is slated for release this spring. ... Metal-influenced prog band Porcupine Tree are wrapping up their new album, Fear of a Blank Planet, at Galaxy Studios in Belgium. The album is scheduled for release April 24. On March 6, a collaboration between Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and Israeli songwriter Aviv Geffen, Blackfield II, will also be released. ... Nora are expected to enter the recording studio this month to begin recording their next LP, Save Yourself. Frontman Carl Severson said there are 10 songs written and ready to be put to tape, and that the tracks "are definitely heavier, and we have our fastest songs on here and our most plodding and slow, sludgy material as well." ...

Obsessed Pantera fans A Perfect Murder will enter the studio January 29 to record their third album, War of Aggression. The disc will be produced by Pierre Rémillard (Cryptopsy, Gorguts) at Wild Studio in Quebec and is scheduled for a June 12 release. According to guitarist and songwriter Carl Bouchard, the disc will be "more structured and well-balanced. Having more experience as a performer has impacted my songwriting, but just growing up as a person has helped create a more mature sound in the band." The Canadians' new disc will mark the debuts of guitarist Kyrill Ducharme and bassist Francois-Michel Labrie. ... Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe will assist A Life Once Lost with the recording of their forthcoming album, Iron Gag, which they'll start putting to tape February 8. Blythe will brainstorm with singer Bob Meadows on the album's vocal direction. ... Cory White, guitarist for the Esoteric, has left the band for personal reasons. His replacement will be announced shortly. In addition, drummer Marshall Kilpatric has been ousted and replaced by the group's old drummer, Adam Mitchell, who played on the Esoteric's early material but left after the release of their 2002 EP, A Reason to Breathe. "This band is a living, breathing entity, and in the life of a band that makes music for music's sake, change is an undeniable part of evolution," read a group statement. ...

Watain have posted some fresh darkness on their Web site, in the form of a track called "Sworn to the Dark." The song will be the title cut to the Swedish black metallers' forthcoming third LP, which lands in stores April 17. ... From a Second Story Window, Nights Like These and See You Next Tuesday will team up in February for a spate of gigs. The trek commences February 24 in Memphis and runs through March 4 in Columbus, Ohio. ... Hardcore metal/ screamo howlers Poison the Well will release their new album, Versions, in April. The disc is being produced in Umea, Sweden, by Pelle Henricsson and Eskil Lovstrom, who recorded 2003's You Come Before You. "It's going to be a really different sounding album in hardcore," frontman Ryan Primack said of the effort, which will feature slide guitar, horns and banjo. ... Finnish death-metallers Omnium Gatherum have put the finishing touches on their new one, Stuck Here on Snakes Way, which will be in stores April 3. The set will feature a dozen tracks, including "Dysnomia," "Undertaker" and "In Sane World." ...

Finnish heavy-metal cellists Apocalyptica will release the double-DVD "The Life Burns Tour" February 6. The package will include covers of Metallica's "Fight Fire With Fire" and "Master of Puppets," as well as Sepultura's "Refuse/Resist." Many of the songs feature guest vocalists too: Soulfly's Max Cavalera and Bullet for My Valentine's Matt Tuck perform on "Repressed"; H.I.M.'s Ville Valo and the Rasmus' Lauri Ylönen contribute to "Bittersweet"; and "Seeman" features Nina Hagen. Apocalyptica are currently working on a new album for release later this year. ... Angtoria singer Sarah Jezebel Deva and bassist Dave Pybus will perform on Cradle of Filth's upcoming U.S. tour. Dates run from January 23 in Sayreville, New Jersey, through March 4 in New York. Angtoria's critically acclaimed symphonic-metal album God Has a Plan for Us All came out in October. ... Frontman Ian Campbell has left Neuraxis and has been replaced in short order by Atheretic's Alex Leblanc.

• The Black Dahlia Murder
• Stone Sour
• Lacuna Coil
• Shadows Fall
• Testament

Stone Sour
Photo: Roadrunner Records

"It's just f---in' insane!" Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor said of his band's recent triumphs, which include its second album Come What(ever) May going gold in the U.S. and the group being nominated for a Grammy in the Best Metal Performance category for "30/30-150." "We couldn't be happier. We're just sitting here going, 'Where do we go from here?' So, the sky is really the limit."

In an effort to kiss the sky, Stone Sour will remain on the road throughout 2007. On January 5, the band will launch a Canadian tour in Vancouver, British Columbia, and return to the U.S. for a January 19 show in Seattle. Then, it's back to Europe in February. "I want to tour on this record for at least another year," said Taylor. "When we went in to do the album, we knew we wanted it to be big, but we didn't realize what that would entail. But any problem that makes you smile isn't really a problem at all."

Stone Sour's success is extra-sweet because it confounds the expectations of everyone who considered the band to be just a Slipknot side project or worse — a one-hit wonder. Since their 2002 hit "Bother," Stone Sour have already racked up three successful singles: "30/30-150," "Through Glass" and "Sillyworld" (see "Corey Taylor Hits Rock Bottom On Way To New Stone Sour LP").

"For so long, nobody wanted to give us the respect that's due, and now it's really starting to come out," Taylor says. "And f--- man, it feels really good and it just makes us fight even harder."

When Stone Sour's self-titled debut came out in 2002, the band's audience was largely composed of curious Slipknot fans. Now, there are still kids that like both bands, but a large percentage of Stone Sour's fanbase consists of hard-rock fans that have little loyalty to the 'Knot, Taylor said.

"It just blows my mind, because Slipknot had such an impact on the culture and on the music, so for me to turn around and to have someone tell me, 'I don't really care about Slipknot, but I really, really dig the music of Stone Sour' is wild," Taylor said. "I mean, to have the same type of impact in two different bands? It's like, f---in' hell, whatever I'm doing right, I need to repeat as many times as possible."

While Stone Sour's second single, "Through Glass," is still charting high, "Sillyworld" has caught up and will probably receive a boost from a video that will hit in early 2007. The band plans to hire an animator for the clip, which Taylor hopes will be a cross between Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and Queens of the Stone Age's video for "Go With the Flow." "There will be a little principal photography, but mostly it'll be animated," Taylor said. "We definitely want to do something that fits with the different themes of the song, but at the same time is really cool to watch."

Taylor said that he has a director in mind for "Sillyworld," but the deal hasn't yet been sealed. He added that Stone Sour won't stop at three singles. While "Sillyworld" is making the rounds in the U.S., "Socio" will be released in Europe, and if the European single and video do well, they will likely be released here in the future. Also, Taylor wants to cap off the Come What(ever) May crusade with "Zzyzx Rd.," which should hit radio and video outlets in late 2007.

Of course, working so exhaustively with Stone Sour means Taylor and guitarist Jim Root won't be able to devote their energy to Slipknot until early 2008. While this seems to contradict percussionist M. Shawn Crahan's claim that the 'Knot would be writing together next fall or early summer (see "The Last Days Of Slipknot? Clown Explains Making Of 'Voliminal' DVD"), Taylor said he never planned to do much with the band in 2007.

"I just don't see anything serious happening until the beginning of early 2008," he reiterated. "But that was my plan from the get-go. Between recording and touring for Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses, we spent two and a half years, and that period was just so f---in' crazy that you kind of have to give it at least that much equal time to settle down and get the interest back up."

• Stone Sour
• Slipknot

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

DMX's <I>Year of the Dog, Again</I>
Photo: Sony Music

Should Kidz Beware of Dog?: All five DMX albums have debuted atop the Billboard albums chart, making the gravelly voiced rapper the Grand Champ of rap (as he titled his last LP). But while he edged past A Perfect Circle and Erykah Badu the last time around, he's locking horns with a wave of pint-sized pests for his latest effort, Year of the Dog, Again.

With four cuts spruced up by Swizz Beatz — plus one produced by Scott Storch ("Give 'Em What They Want") and an intro cut with Dame Grease — X also beckoned Busta Rhymes for "Come Thru (Move)," Jadakiss and Styles P. for "It's Personal," and Amerie for "Dog Love." Janyce also appears on the latter track, but she's not the only fresh Bloodline artist on the album, with Bzr Royale and Jinx also representing X's label.

DMX has some worthy teammates in his corner, but could he be toppled by a krew of karaoke-krazed kiddies? That's what indie label Razor & Tie is hoping for the 10th installment of its most successful venture ever, Kidz Bop. Being released barely five months after the latest entry, this one has the buggers brushing up Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You," Pussycat Dolls' "Stickwitu" and Nickelback's "Savin' Me" over the course of its 18 tracks.

But if the kids want to pick on competitors their own size, they've chosen the right week to bop heads. The Doodlebops — who have a TV show on Playhouse Disney and made their live debut at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus — have sketched out two DVDs and a CD for release this week, immortalizing such gems as "Wobbly Whoopsy," "Gibble Gobble," "Cauliflower" and "I Want to Be Bigger."

And there's yet another juvenile in the mix: Rachel Piña Trachtenburg, the 12-year-old brainchild (of sorts) who tours with her parents as the nomadic Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. The "Off & On Broadway" DVD captures day-in-the-life and performance footage from the group, which crafts songs out of old slides they find at random yard sales.

Spider Men: On a related note, garage pop-punkers the Pink Spiders are a little older than the aforementioned competitors, but they're fighting wrinkles with their major-label debut, Teenage Graffiti. The "You Hear It First" artists — who recently played a show at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium after a ballgame — worked with ex-Cars frontman/ Weezer production guru Ric Ocasek and pre-eminent mixer Tom Lord-Alge for the effort, which features "Saturday Nite Riot," "Little Razorblade" and "Pretend That This Is Fiction."

And Now for Something Completely Brutal: This week's remaining heavyweights will have kids, dawgs and insects alike ducking for cover. First up is Stone Sour, the Slipknot ancillary affair that puckers up with its first studio release in four years. The band's hoping for more Grammy nominations with Come What(ever) May, which features the first single "Through Glass," plus "30/30-150," "Reborn" and "Zzyzx Road."

Powerman 5000 have also been away for a while — about three years and two months — but with a new lineup and label, a rebirth could re-energize their fanbase. With guitarists Adam 12 and M.33 being replaced by former Alien Ant Farm-er Terry Corso and Johnny Heatley (Half Cocked), Spider One and the gang will surely deafen the Pink Spiders with Destroy What You Enjoy, which features "Return to the City of the Dead," "Murder" and "All My Friends Are Ghosts."

Also on the metal front, Ice-T is strapping on his armor again for Murder 4 Hire, the first album by his revived Body Count in almost a decade. T also revives his feud with the fuzz on "Invincible Gangsta," the leadoff track that features the phrase "F--- the Cops," but he also has a few things to say about "The Passion of Christ," "Dirty Bombs" and "Relationships."

Chicago's Kill Hannah keep up the violence with their Atlantic record Until There's Nothing Left of Us and the tracks "Black Poison Blood" and "Love You to Death," and if you're up for even more gore, don't miss Ollabelle's Riverside Battle Songs — which was crafted by Amy Helm, daughter of drum legend Levon Helm — the American Black Lung's ... And They Rode Their Weapons Into War and Towers of London's Blood Sweat & Towers.

Seeming violent but much more tame are Five for Fighting, which is actually just one dude: John Ondrasik. His Two Lights has already drawn some VH1 attention with "The Riddle," and while FFF are best remembered for the post-9/11 staple "Superman (It's Not Easy)" (which was actually written before those events), Ondrasik has a few things to say about the state of the nation on "Freedom Never Cries" and "Johnny America."

Song Title of the Week:

"George Romero Will Be at Our Wedding" from Showbread's Art of Reptiles

Other Notables:

Various artists' Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited: Serge Gainsbourg is name-dropped left and right these days, but to many Americans, that's all he is: just a name. Michael Stipe, Franz Ferdinand, Cat Power and others are trying to change all that with this collection of reworked songs by the French neoclassical musician. Placebo, Tricky, the Rakes, the Kills and Marianne Faithfull also chime in on the disc, which has already been released overseas.

Poison vs. Journey reissues: The '80s titans go head-to-head this week with three and five revitalized albums, respectively. Poison's first three multiplatinum records — Flesh & Blood, Look What the Cat Dragged In and Open Up and Say ... Ahh! — arrive in 20th anniversary packages, with unreleased and rare bonus tracks. In the other corner, Journey's Departure, Escape and Greatest Hits also come with bonuses, while Infinity and Evolution are straight reissues.

TRS-80's Mystery Crash: The Chicago electro-rockers have been cranking out music for nearly 10 years — and hopping from label to label ever since — but they're hoping their music will get recognized beyond fleeting appearances in Coca-Cola and Nike commercials. The bandmembers — some of whom have been friends since high school — have also created tunes for NPR's "This American Life" and seen their songs used in "CSI."

New Releases:

• Peter Bradley Adams - Gather Up (High Wire/ Fontana)
  
• The American Black Lung - ... And They Rode Their Weapons Into War (Burning House)
  
• Body Count - Murder 4 Hire (Escapi)
  
• Caribbean Jazz Project featuring Dave Samuels - Mosaic (Concord)
  
• DMX - Year of the Dog, Again (Columbia)
  Read: "DMX Signs With Columbia, Will Release Long-Delayed LP This Spring"
  Buy Now: Year of the Dog Again (Sony)
  
• Doodlebops - Rock & Bop With the Doodlebops (Disney)
  
• Thomas Dybdahl - One Day You'll Dance for Me, New York City (Recall)
  
• Kahil El'Zabar - Deeper Soul Remix Project (two CDs; Deeper Soul)
  
• Five for Fighting - Two Lights (Columbia)
  Buy Now: Two Lights (Columbia)
  
• FM Static - Critically Ashamed (Tooth & Nail)
  
• G. Love - Lemonade (enhanced; Brushfire)
  Buy Now: Lemonade (Brushfire)
  
• Gasoline Heart - You Know Who You Are (Mono Vs. Stereo)
  
• Gisli - How About That? (Titan/ Pyramid)
  
• Grand Mal - Love Is the Best Con in Town (New York Night Train)
  
• Glenn Hughes - Music for the Divide (Frontiers)
  
• Kacey Jones - Kacey Jones Sings Mickey Newbury (Image)
  
• Kill Hannah - Until There's Nothing Left of Us (Atlantic)
  Buy Now: Until There's Nothing Left of Us (Atlantic)
  
• Mars Lasar - Yosemite, Valley of the Giants (Gemini Sun)
  
• John McLaughlin - Industrial Zen (Verve)
  
• Monty Are I - Wall of People (Stolen Transmission)
  
• Messer Für Frau Müller - Triangle, Dot & Devil (AeroCCCP)
  
• Ollabelle - Riverside Battle Songs (Verve Forecast)
  
• Jeannie Ortega - No Place Like Bklyn (Hollywood)
  Buy Now: No Place Like Bklyn (Hollywood)
  
• Kelly Joe Phelps - Tunesmith Retrofit (Rounder)
  
• Pink Spiders - Teenage Graffiti (Geffen)
  Read: "Upstaging Everyone: That's What Pink Spiders Are All About"
  Buy Now: Teenage Graffiti (Geffen)
  
• Powerman 5000 - Destroy What You Enjoy (DRT)
  Buy Now: Destroy What You Enjoy (DRT)
  
• Michael Schenker - Tales of Rock'n'Roll: 25 Years Celebration (Locomotive)
  
• Derek Sherinian - Blood of the Snake (Inside Out)
  
• Showbread - Art of Reptiles (Tooth & Nail)
  
• Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May (Roadrunner)
  Read: "Slipknot's Taylor Gearing Up For Stone Sour LP — And Tenacious D Tribute"
  Buy Now: Come What(ever) May (Roadrunner)
  
• Towers of London - Blood Sweat & Towers (enhanced; TVT)
  
• TRS-80 - Mystery Crash (One Cell)
  
• Vaux - Beyond Virtue, Beyond Vice (Outlook)
  
• Various artists - Kidz Bop 10 (Razor & Tie)
  
• Various artists - Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited (Verve Forecast)
  
• Various artists - "The Ant Bully" soundtrack (Varèse Sarabande)
  
• Various artists - "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" soundtrack (Lakeshore)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

• Audio Adrenaline - Adios: The Greatest Hits (Forefront)
  
• Count Basie - One O'Clock Jump: The Very Best of Count Basie (Columbia/ Legacy)
  
• Eddie Boyd - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  
• Brecker Brothers - Sneakin' Up Behind You: The Very Best of the Brecker Brothers (Arista/ Legacy)
  
• Rosemary Clooney - Come On-A My House: The Very Best of Rosemary Clooney (Bluebird/ Legacy)
  
• Johnny Copeland - An Introduction to Johnny Copeland (Fuel)
  
• Snooks Eaglin - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  
• Dizzy Gillespie - Night in Tunisia: The Very Best of Dizzy Gillespie (Bluebird/ Legacy)
  
• Daryl Hall & John Oates - The Philadelphia Years (Varèse Sarabande)
  Buy Now: The Philadelphia Years (Varèse Sarabande)
  
• Billie Holiday - God Bless the Child: The Very Best of Billie Holiday (Columbia/ Legacy)
  
• Lightnin' Hopkins - An Introduction to Lightnin' Hopkins (Fuel) and The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  
• Journey - Departure, Escape, Evolution, Greatest Hits and Infinity (Columbia/ Legacy)
  
• Memphis Slim - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  
• Ronnie Milsap - The Essential Ronnie Milsap (two CDs; RCA/ Legacy)
  
• Buck Owens - 21 #1 Hits: The Ultimate Collection (Rhino)
  
• Charlie Parker - Charlie Parker for Lovers (Verve)
  
• Poison - Flesh & Blood, Look What the Cat Dragged In and Open Up and Say ... Ahh! (Capitol)
  Buy Now: Flesh & Blood, Look What the Cat Dragged In and Open Up and Say ... Ahh! (Capitol)
  
• Elvis Presley - Elvis: Live, Elvis: Movies and Elvis: R&B (BMG Strategic Marketing)
  
• Otis Rush - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  
• J.D. Short - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  
• Steely Dan - The Definitive Collection (Geffen)
  
• Sunnyland Slim - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  
• Allen Toussaint - Life, Love and Faith and Southern Nights (Water)
  
• Sarah Vaughan - Send in the Clowns: The Very Best of Sarah Vaughan (Columbia/ Legacy)
  
• Dinah Washington - Dinah Washington for Lovers (Verve)
  
• Robert Pete Williams - The Sonet Blues Story (Verve)
  
• Sonny Boy Williamson - The Best of Sonny Boy Williamson (Fontana)
  
• Various artists - The Best of Classic Country '70s (Time Life)
  
• Various artists - Billboard #1s: The '70s (Rhino)
  
• Various artists - No Limit Records: Greatest Hits (Priority)
  
• Various artists - Rap It Up (three-CD box set; Thump)

Music DVDs:

• Chris Botti - "Chris Botti Live With Orchestra & Special Guests" (with CD; Columbia)
  
• Jimmy Buffett - "Live at Wrigley Field" (Bayside)
  
• The Clash - "Rude Boy" (Epic/ Legacy)
  
• Alice Cooper - "The Nightmare Returns" (Geffen)
  
• Dissection - "Rebirth of Dissection" (Escapi)
  
• Doodlebops - "Dance & Hop With the Doodlebops" and "Rock & Bop With the Doodlebops" (Lionsgate)
  
• Pitbull - "Mr. 305: The Pitbull Story" (Clanagan)
  
• Elvis Presley - "Aloha From Hawaii" and " '68 Comeback" (BMG Heritage)
  
• The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players - "Off & On Broadway" (Sarathan)

Coming Attractions:

August 8:

• Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor (Atlantic)
  Preorder: Food and Liquor (Atlantic)
  
• Rick Ross - Port of Miami (Def Jam)
  Read: "A Newcomer 10 Years In The Making: Rick Ross Gets Help From Jay-Z, Akon On First LP"
  Preorder: Port of Miami (Def Jam)
  
• Slayer - Christ Illusion (Warner Bros.)
  Preorder: Christ Illusion (Warner Bros.)

August 15:

• Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics (two CDs; RCA)
  Read: "Christina Makes Her Comeback Twice As Nice By Expanding Basics Into Double LP"
  Preorder: Back to Basics (RCA)
  
• Obie Trice - Second Round's on Me (Aftermath)
  Preorder: Second Round's on Me (Aftermath)
  
• Various artists - Snakes on a Plane: The Album (enhanced; New Line)

August 22:

• Kelis - Kelis Was Here (Jive)
  Read: "Kelis Preparing To Get 'Bossy' With Her Next 'Strong Kind Of Girl Record' "
  Preorder: Kelis Was Here (Jive)
  
• Lamb of God - Sacrament (deluxe edition with DVD also available; Epic)
  Read: "Lamb Of God Ease Up On Bush But Get Deep Musically On Sacrament"
  Preorder: Sacrament (Epic)
  
• Method Man - 4:21 ... The Day After (Def Jam)
  Read: "Method Man Drops Diddy, Seeks Clarity On New LP, 4:21 ... The Day After"
  Preorder: 4:21 ... The Day After (Def Jam)
  
• Outkast - Idlewild (La Face)
  Read: "Missing Outkast? They've Already Lined Up Three 'Idlewild' Singles"
  Preorder: Idlewild (La Face)
  
• Paris Hilton - Paris (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Paris Hilton's Debut Merges Hip-Hop, Reggae, Rod Stewart"
  Buy Now: Paris (Warner Bros.)
  

• DMX
• Stone Sour
• Pink Spiders
• Powerman 5000
• Body Count

Stone Sour
Photo: Roadrunner Records

If it weren't for Corey Taylor's wife, Scarlett, there might never have been a second Stone Sour album.

She didn't exactly encourage the Slipknot frontman to return to the studio with his side project — she just prevented him from doing himself in before the record was written.

"I tried to jump off the balcony of the eighth floor of the Hyatt on Sunset [Boulevard] on November 14, 2003," Taylor explained. "Somehow she stopped me. It wasn't the first time I tried to kill myself, either."

Back then, Taylor was a full-blown alcoholic. He drank from the moment he woke up to the second he blacked out, and while he says drinking didn't impair his ability to write, play and perform, it destroyed almost everything else in his life.

"I would disappear for long periods with no regard for my own safety or anyone else's," he said. "I wouldn't even know where I was until the next morning. I didn't care about myself, my family, anything. I'd just remember being at a bar, and then all of a sudden — nothing."

After Taylor's near-suicide, his wife gave him an ultimatum: either he sober up and become a dedicated husband and father, or she was taking their two kids and leaving. It wasn't the first time she'd made such a threat — but this time he knew she meant it, and for the first time in his life he felt the urge to change.

"I took a good, long look in the mirror and I hated what I saw," he said. "I was very bloated, I looked like crap. It wasn't me. And that was it. I haven't touched a drop since."

Stone Sour's new album, Come What(ever) May, which is due in August, is stocked with ruminations about Taylor's drinking days and confessions about his road to recovery. In "Socio," he sings, "Fear is in my heart/ Just when I stop, it starts/ And I can never live this way," and in the piano-washed "Zzyzx Rd," he softly croons, "I'm falling asleep and I can't see straight/ My muscles feel like a melee, body is curled in a U-shape."

"The first year I was sober was probably the worst year of my life," Taylor continued. "My immune system was screwed. I completely isolated myself. I was weak all the time. I didn't know who I was. Sometimes you define yourself by your vices, and I was known as the partyer. I was the guy that was always ready to go out and do shots. And all of a sudden, I had to figure out who I was without that, and it took me a long time. I pushed my wife away for a while and was a really selfish, cold d---."

It was only after Taylor stopped lamenting the loss of his former life that he realized being sober wasn't a creative limitation. Suddenly, he felt more alive, more motivated and far less cynical. "I came to the realization that I'm more interested in doing good than bad," he said. "I'm more interested in helping people. And that was a big step. Every day I just got stronger and, unfortunately, more honest. I just decided I was sick of pulling punches."

Positivity and self-belief color Come What(ever) May. Not only are the lyrics brighter, the music is strikingly melodic — especially for Taylor and guitarist Jim Root, two members of one of the world's angriest metal bands, Slipknot.

While Stone Sour's 2002 self-titled debut was catchy, the new one is even more melodic. The vocals are mostly sung, and the choruses are filled with classic-rock hooks polishing a rhythmic framework that alternately resembles Soundgarden, Helmet and Aerosmith. Fans can catch the band's revamped sound on this summer's Family Values Tour, which kicks off July 27 in Virginia Beach (see "Korn Resurrect Family Values Tour With Deftones, Stone Sour").

"Everything came out sounding above and beyond the first record, and I loved that record," Taylor said. "It's a bigger step away from Slipknot and more in the heart of why we do Stone Sour. Every song is different and yet each has continuity. These days everybody sounds like one-note wonders, and we're putting the diversity back in. There's nothing that says you can't have different songs and still be the same band, but most people are just too chickens--- to do it."

The first single, "30/30-150," which features drumming by Godsmack's Shannon Larkin, is one of the louder songs on the record. The verse is bludgeoning, barbed and heavy, and the refrain is soaring and triumphant, easing Slipknot fans into Stone Sour's less-turbulent world. "It's about never forgetting where you came from, who you are and why you do this," Taylor explained. "Everybody has a reason for what they do in life, especially if you love what you do. So this is just about the cement that holds those beliefs in place."

From there, Come What(ever) May becomes more accessible. For every thrash riff there's a tunefully grungy passage, for every flailing guitar line there's a rock-radio hook. To help achieve a commercial sheen for the record, Stone Sour hired Foo Fighters producer Nick Raskulinecz, who brought out the band's radio-friendly side without sapping its heaviness.

Even so, Stone Sour are bound to get flak from Slipknot fans.

"You know what?" said Taylor. "I don't give a f---. At the end of the day I'm totally proud of what we've done. The first time I heard this album mixed and everything I almost started crying. It was the first time in a long time that the music on record sounded close to the music I heard in my head. This album blows away the first one, and if nobody listens to it, I'll still listen to it, because it's awesome."

• Stone Sour

Korn's Jonathan Davis
Photo: Kristina Sisti

LOS ANGELES — Eight years after creating and headlining the inaugural Family Values Tour, Korn are relaunching the traveling festival this summer with co-headliners the Deftones.

"The first [Family Values] with us on it was the best, and we just decided, let's do this again," Korn singer Jonathan Davis said of 1998's outing with Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube, Rammstein and Orgy. "We're gonna break out the old Family Values stuff we got in storage and really put on a cool show."

Rounding out the mainstage lineup will be Stone Sour, Flyleaf and Dir En Grey, who Davis described as "this crazy Japanese band that are just out of their minds."

For the first time, the trek will also feature a second stage, with acts to be announced soon. "We're gonna have some hip-hop acts and some other variety stuff gong on," Davis said during a recent studio session with Dem Franchize Boyz (see "Are Korn Coming Undone? Rockers Turn To Crunk, Acoustic Songs"). "I think it's gonna be a really cool summer show."

Korn are putting the value in Family Values, offering $9.99 lawn tickets at each stop on the tour, which kicks off July 27 in Virginia Beach.

"No band can go down to $9.99 and do the production and that kind of stuff that we're doing, but the deal we did [becoming equal partners with EMI and promoters Live Nation] allows us to be able to do that, which is really cool," Davis said. "I don't want to slap bands for making their ticket prices so high, 'cause I understand production and that stuff costs a lot. ... But Madonna's are like 300 bucks a ticket. I can't even believe that. Ten bucks for a show is ridiculous, and I think kids that aren't Korn fans will wanna go just to check out other bands or just go to have a good time."

Having a good time will also be a priority for Korn, who will balance their intense sets with a lot of backstage hanging out.

"We haven't toured with [the Deftones] since '97 or '96, and we're really excited," Davis said. "We love those guys. We started out together. Literally it was us and them, and back in the day we used to drive to Sacramento [California] and play at their home clubs. And they would drive to Huntington Beach and play the clubs we'd play, so we've been friends for a long, long time, and it's cool to be back together again and sharing the same stage."

And the feelings are mutual, according to Deftones singer Chino Moreno.

"We've had a crazy relationship because we've always distanced ourselves from Korn so we could be our own band," Moreno said. "Their first record came out before ours, so it was always like we were following in their footsteps. And I think we had to do that, and now it's time to just have fun. We don't care so much about that stuff anymore. We just want to play with friends."

Moreno also confirmed Davis' promise that their bands will be performing their collaboration "Wicked" onstage together. "There's a bunch of cool stuff I want to do," Moreno said.

Korn just finished a headlining arena trek heavy on album tracks (see "Korn Rock Hometown, Have Street Named After Them On 'Official Korn Day'") but are planning a much different show for the summer.

"We're gonna bring in different songs and play for two hours," Davis said. "That's our new thing. We never played for two hours in our whole career. We thought we would die, but now when I get onstage, I want to do more. So it might be more, you never know."

Deftones will be using the tour to debut new material from their fifth studio album, due in September (see "Why Is The New Deftones Album Taking So Long?"). The bandmembers just came off the Taste of Chaos Tour with Thrice and Atreyu but are looking forward to another festival (see "Taste Of Chaos '06 Tour Dates Revealed").

"That was weird because we were the oldest band there. You see a lot of the younger bands, and it's just a reminder of how things are now," Moreno said. "It was a good time, but we felt like grandparents out there sometimes."

After 1998's run, Family Values returned a year later with Limp Bizkit, Filter, the Crystal Method, Primus, Staind, Mobb Deep, Ja Rule, and Method Man and Redman. In 2001, Stone Temple Pilots, Linkin Park, Staind, Static-X and Deadsy revived the name.

Dates for the 30-city Family Values Tour will be announced later, but organizers released a list of cities:

• Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Alpine Valley, Wisconsin
• Atlanta
• Boston
• Camden, New Jersey
• Cleveland
• Columbus, Ohio
• Dallas
• Darien, Connecticut
• Denver
• Detroit
• Hartford, Connecticut
• Holmdel, New Jersey
• Houston
• Indianapolis
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Nashville
• Phoenix
• Pittsburgh
• Raleigh, North Carolina
• Sacramento, California
• San Antonio
• San Bernardino, California
• Saratoga, New York
• St. Louis
• Toronto
• Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Wantagh, New York
• Washington, D.C.
• West Palm Beach, Florida

• Family Values: A Look Ahead

• Korn
• Deftones
• Stone Sour
• Flyleaf

Stone Sour
Photo: Roadrunner Records

Corey Taylor isn't going to waste his time composing another Grammy acceptance speech. In fact, the Slipknot/ Stone Stour frontman isn't even planning on attending the awards on February 8 — even though Slipknot's track "Before I Forget" is nominated in the Best Metal Performance category, facing stiff competition from Rammstein, Mudvayne, Shadows Fall and Ministry.

"I'm not going to the f---ing Grammys, dude," he said last week. "This is the eighth nomination for me. I cared the first two times. Now, I don't. The one time I got my hopes up I was crushed, so maybe I'm just disgruntled. But I don't care. A Grammy's a Grammy. Men at Work won a Grammy, and then they disappeared. The main thing for me is to just keep making music. I want to be around for 20 years. Putting all my f---ing hopes and dreams on some statuette that'll probably sit in my bathroom? That's not what I'm about."

What Taylor is about these days is Stone Sour, his long-running side project with 'Knot guitarist Jim Root. He'll be flying out to Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl's Los Angeles studio on January 22 to begin recording the as-yet-untitled follow-up to the band's self-titled 2002 debut, which has sold more than 500,000 copies. (Slipknot's hanging up its vomit-coated masks for 2006, after two years of nonstop touring.)

Taylor and his fellow Sours wrote more than 30 songs for the effort — some during the recording of Slipknot's Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) — and they'll put 18 of those tracks (none of which have working titles) to tape with help from producer Nick Rasculinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver).

"This is the first time that [guitarist] Josh [Rand] and [drummer] Joel [Ekman] and [bassist] Sean [Economaki] get to go through the whole experience," Taylor said; Stone Sour's first album was Taylor and Root's handiwork and caused some contention in the band and among its fans (see "Slipknot Slide Past Breakup Rumors And Begin Work On New LP"). "The first time around, there weren't any expectations. We were going to do our thing, put our art out there and just see what happened. And people really dug it, and there's a lot of anticipation for this, so we're stepping it up. We've got so many different styles going on right now that it's really cool. We were just like, 'What can we do to top the first album? What can we do to take it to the next level?' And I think we have. The material on this [album] is so much stronger than the first album, it's almost a pity."

Taylor said Stone Sour's fans can expect some "very atmospheric stuff," along with the "the hard rock and the heavy stuff" that'll saturate the outing. "It's a lot more melodic this time around, a lot more from the spirit of what the band started with in 1992," he continued. "It represents so much more of what we do. There's a really beautiful piano tune. There's a song that's borderline funk that's really cool — I'm really digging the hell out of it. It's like a cross between the theme song from 'Shaft' and I don't know what. It's melodic as f---."

Taylor promises a more "contemplative" album, and said he wrote one track for his wife. "It's a real love song about how she helped me get through being an alcoholic for so long. She really saved my life."

The album, which the band hopes to have out sometime this summer, will be preceded by tons of touring and chased with a full U.S. trek. But before heading to the studio, Taylor will perform one more time: not with Slipknot, but former Slipknot member Josh Brainard. The duo is called Audacious P, and yes, they're a Tenacious D tribute band. They'll be performing covers — including an acoustic rendition of Iron Maiden's "Wasted Years" — during a benefit for to aid victims of muscular dystrophy on January 21 at the House of Bricks in his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa.

Before Slipknot announced they would be taking 2006 off, Taylor said the band was offered the headlining spot for this summer's Ozzfest.

"We were out on the road for two years, and we did the entire 2004 Ozzfest," he explained. "It [was] time for some of us to take a break. They offered us a lot of money, but it wasn't about that. If you burn up the audience, they're not going to come back. How much more can you do, on an album that came out two years ago? I'm much more interested in doing Stone Sour these days.

"Now, if they asked me to do Stone Sour on Ozzfest, that's a different story."

• Stone Sour
• Slipknot

Notorious B.I.G.
Photo: WireImage

A Notorious B.I.G. duets album-release party advertised as being hosted by Diddy was marred by violence on Wednesday morning (December 21). At 3:10 a.m., police responded to a call of shots fired outside of New York's Club Exit, where the party was being held. Police found one person shot in the leg. A few minutes later, police responded to a fight inside the club, where two people were cut on the face and one man was stabbed in the stomach. At press time, the names of the victims had not been given out. Police have no suspects as of yet. ...

On Thursday, Lil' Kim's charity organization Lil' Kim Cares — in partnership with the Fight for Life Foundation, Mitchell & Ness clothing and boxing champion Zab Judah's charity — will donate toys to underprivileged children in the Philadelphia area. Kim is serving a 366-day sentence in a Philly prison, following her conviction in March on federal perjury charges. Kids 13 and younger can swing by the Francis J. Myers Recreation Center between 4 and 6 p.m. to pick up a present. In addition, Kim has sent a handwritten letter to her fans from jail. "I thank all of you for your heartfelt, overwhelming, tremendous love and support," the letter, which is now posted on her Web site, reads. "It has been your wonderful letters that has helped my time pass." ... U2 were the most in-demand ticket of the year, according to Ticketmaster, which has just tallied the country's most-requested events and concerts for 2005. U2 topped both the events and concerts lists, with the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, the Eagles, Elton John and Nine Inch Nails rounding out the concerts list. ...

While Michael Jackson's lawyers continue to try to sort out his overdue $270 million loan with Fortress Investment Group, which could cost him his Neverland Ranch as well as his stake in the Beatles catalog, the singer's troubles seem to be mounting. First, his ex-wife Debbie Rowe is accusing Jackson of abducting their children, by taking Paris and Prince to live in Bahrain during the custody battle. In a hearing on Monday, Rowe filed a motion asking a judge to order Jackson to return the children to the U.S., claiming that the singer lied about having sole custody in order to get the children passports. Judge Stephen Lachs has yet to rule on the matter. Meanwhile, despite reports to the contrary, Jackson has not defaulted on a second, smaller loan of $2.2 million, for which he put up his parents' $7 million house in Encino, California, as collateral. A Jackson family lawyer said that the Encino home is not in jeopardy, and that even if it were, Janet Jackson recently bought a house in Las Vegas that family members could use. That's probably good news to those worried about Neverland being a back-up plan, since a second lien could be placed on that property. Former Jackson associate Marc Schaffel, who's suing the singer for non-payment, has filed a motion for a writ of attachment on Neverland, so that in the event he wins his $3 million lawsuit, he will still be able to collect. A judge is scheduled to hear the matter on January 19. ...

The Strokes, the Darkness and the Super Furry Animals are the first bands announced for the One Earth benefit concert scheduled for January 28 at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The concert, which will be broadcast around the world in an effort to raise awareness about the problem of global warming, is being organized by the environmental group Climate Change Now. In an attempt to help cut down on the emission of dangerous greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the organization is hoping to convert 1 million European homes so that they can make use of clean, renewable energy sources. ... Tommy Lee joined hair-metal cover band Metal Skool onstage Monday at the Key Club in West Hollywood, where the band has a weekly residency. Lee drummed on "Girls Girls Girls" while ex-wife Pamela Anderson, in a sexy Santa outfit, danced around the stripper pole and doused herself with water. ...

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor's side project Stone Sour will begin recording the follow-up to the band's self-titled 2002 debut on January 25, and have enlisted the talents of producer Nick Rasculinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver) for the effort. More than 30 demos were written for the LP, which is due in June. ... During a recent visit to Nairobi, Kenya, Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello performed as his alter-ego the Nightwatchman in Cork, a local nightclub. Morello stopped into the club with no intention of playing, but was recognized by the house band and the members talked him into taking the stage. Morello borrowed an acoustic guitar and performed a bunch of his politically-tinged folk songs, including "House Gone Up in Flames" and "Flesh Shapes the Day." ...

Starting this month, Vice Records will issue an unreleased track every two weeks from an artist on the label (which includes Bloc Party, Death From Above 1979 and the Streets) on its official blog. The first offering is a remix of Bloc Party's "Two More Years" by MSTRKRFT. ... Pennywise frontman Jim Lindberg, a father of three, is planning to make good use of his experience. He's just signed a book deal with Collins to write a post-punk fatherhood guide called "Punk Rock Dad." ...

12.20.2005

50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " will get the video game treatment next month — but owners of the various consoles won't be able to bring the G-Unit captain's character to life unless they pick up the phone. 50's inked a deal with mobile entertainment firms Fathammer and Zingy to give gamers the chance to step into his "Get Rich" characters' shoes, according to Interscope Records. The cell-phone game's plot will follow the film's story line of an aspiring rapper who works his way up from the streets to the top of the hip-hop game. The game will be available for download in mid-January. ...

The reason Lauryn Hill had to step away from the spotlight, she told Essence magazine for its new issue, was that it was a "very toxic situation" for her, because she wasn't able to be herself. "I discovered people could only acknowledge red and blue and I was somewhere between. I was purple," she told the magazine. "And when I can't be whole, I have a problem. I was like, 'I've got to get out of here.' " So she spent two or three years "away from all social interaction," with no music and no television. "It was a very introspective and complicated time because I had to really confront my fears," she said. During her downtime, Hill also wrote a lot — music as well as screenplays — and even dabbled in fashion design, endeavors that helped her become "older, wiser, and clearer." Still, she vetoed plans to do a clothing line, because it bothered her to see her look "exploited, appropriated, copied and reproduced" by others. "Fashion is something I breathe," Hill said. "I wasn't really trying to share my style, I was just trying to be me and exist." Now that's she back with the Fugees, Hill says her hope is that other artists don't get "trapped in images that don't really reflect who they are." ... Mary J. Blige isn't about to turn down an opportunity to do a clothing line, though. The R&B singer recently revealed to MTV Europe that she's hoping to do one in the vein of Catherine Malandrino, because the designer has a classic sensibility. "I can pull clothes of hers from five years ago, those are the kinds of things I want to make," Blige said. "I definitely want to do a clothing line, and not just because everyone else is doing one. I want a clothing line which is around forever." ...

Pink's happy about her time away from the spotlight as well, "if you forget about stalkerazzi," she joked to MTV Europe. Keeping a low profile helped her record her fourth album (I'm Not Dead, due in the spring) and film her first major film role (in the upcoming "Catacombs"). "I haven't had any time off," Pink said. "I just haven't done any reality TV shows." But now that she's back, the tabloids, which usually "kind of skip" her and her fiance, Carey Hart, have shown a new interest, even if that means bringing back a few old rumors. "I've been pregnant for three years," Pink laughed. "I've had the longest pregnancy in the history of mankind." Mostly, though, the tabloids "don't really target" them on a major scale, "which is good," and is probably aided by the couple's lack of clubbing. "We don't go out much, we're normal," she said. "We make it a Blockbuster night." Still, Pink's not about to tip off the press when the wedding will be. Instead, she'll just say that Hart said yes when she proposed "because he's smart" and the engagement has been "an emotional time." "But we're happy and really excited and I love him a lot," she said, before gushing, "I'm going to be a girl, and I'm going to wear a dress!" ... Snoop Dogg was among the hundreds of mourners who congregated at the Bethel AME Church in Los Angeles on Tuesday for Stanley "Tookie" Williams' funeral, according to The Associated Press. A recording of Williams' voice was played and the Reverend Jesse Jackson told the crowd the recently executed Crips co-founder was a "healer, not a predator." Snoop recited a poem that read, in part, "It's nine-fifteen on twelve-thirteen and another black king will be taken from the scene." ...

Michael Jackson is in dire financial peril — Tuesday (December 20) is the deadline for him to make good on a $270 million loan, which, if his creditors foreclose, could cost him his Neverland Ranch as well as his stake in the Beatles catalog. Fortress Investment Group bought and consolidated the singer's loans in April from Bank of America, loans that Jackson had secured with his 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV publishing, a song catalog estimated to be worth $1 billion (the other 50 percent is held by Sony Corporation, which has the option to be the first to buy back Jackson's share if he defaults on the loan). Sources close to the singer and to the situation, though, said that Jackson has painted himself into a corner, by refusing to participate in the talks and shutting out advisors, save for a sheik from Bahrain. "He's not talking to anybody" was the common refrain from those who used to be in Jackson's inner circle. They also described Jackson as being divorced from reality, paranoid and withdrawn, mostly because of his criminal trial earlier this year. "He's fed up with the U.S. and its court system," one associate said. "And he's upset about the personal stuff that came out, how much porn he collects, how much he drinks." Fortress and Sony had no comment. ...

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Elizabeth Hurley, Bryan Adams and Kid Rock were among the guests who attended Elton John's bachelor party Monday night inside a London nightclub, The Associated Press reports. John and his partner, David Furnish, will be united in a private civil ceremony on Wednesday. ... Madonna's latest album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, has inspired an entire line of limited-edition, collectible wines from California's Celebrity Cellars. For $29-$40, fans of the singer can own a bottle of either Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Grigio sporting a label with Confessions' album art. There's also a non-alcoholic version of the vino available. The manufacturers promise a wine "as complex and sophisticated as the artist herself." ...

As announced last month, "American Idol" will not shift its finals weeks from a Tuesday-Wednesday to a Wednesday-Thursday schedule as was considered, but FOX will air the semifinals once again on a Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday schedule. For three weeks beginning February 15, the male semifinalists will perform on Tuesdays, the females on Wednesdays and the results will be announced on Thursdays. ... Diddy's lending his voice for a commercial advertising Biggie ring tones, which are being culled from the master recordings in the Notorious B.I.G. catalog, including his posthumous Duets: The Final Chapter album, in stores Tuesday. The spot will be shown on BET. ...

Head Automatica, who're working on the follow-up to 2004's Decadence, will hit the road with Morningwood in tow on January 24. The 13-date trek kicks off in Seattle, with dates running through February 25 in Boston. ... Staind have mapped out a 14-date North American tour with openers Theory of a Deadman. The outing launches in Philadelphia on January 29 and wraps up in Maplewood, Minnesota, on February 19. ...

• Notorious B.I.G.
• Lil' Kim
• Michael Jackson
• U2
• Stone Sour

Roadrunner United 12.15.2005

• Slipknot
• Stone Sour
• Hatebreed
• Murderdolls
• Deicide

Stone Sour Photos

• Stone Sour

Stone Sour Live In New York

• Stone Sour