Phil Anselmo
Photo: Amy V. Cooper

Phil Anselmo, ex-Pantera frontman and current singer for Superjoint Ritual, joined sludge-metal outfit Eyehategod onstage Monday night during the band's set at New York's CBGB. Anselmo played guitar with the group, according to a CBGB employee, in what was his first public appearance since the murder of his Pantera bandmate "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott in December. ...

Though their set will not be televised, Good Charlotte are on the bill for the September 8 free concert celebrating the opening of the NFL season. The band will perform alongside Kanye West and Maroon 5 outside the Los Angeles Coliseum. ... Ludacris has signed Field Mob to his Disturbing Tha Peace imprint. The Albany, Georgia, duo's third release, Light Poles and Pine Trees, is due in November and will feature Luda, Bun B, Bone Crusher, Jazze Pha, Bobby Valentino and Ciara, who guests on the second single, "So What." The first offering is titled "Friday Night," while another track, "Georgia" (which samples Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind"), is also garnering radio play in the South. ...

There's more legal trouble this week for Mystikal. The "Shake Ya Ass" rapper, who was convicted of sexual battery in early 2004 and is currently serving out a six-year prison sentence in Louisiana, was charged on Friday with two counts of failing to file federal income-tax returns, according to The Associated Press. The Internal Revenue Service claims Mystikal didn't file in either 1998, when he made more than $820,000; or 1999, when he brought home more than $930,000. If convicted, Mystikal could be sentenced to two more years behind bars. ... Whatever you call it — purple rain, sizzurp or lean — apparently too many people in Houston are sipping on it, and officials are looking to put a stop to it. Six Houston-area pharmacists who dodged a verdict for illegally peddling prescription cough syrup back in May are facing jail time once again. The pharmacists are accused of distributing 2,500 gallons of codeine-fortified cough syrup — a substance that largely fueled the "chopped-and-screwed" movement in hip-hop — in a little over a year, according to the Houston attorney general's office. ...

Every teenage private investigator needs a killer soundtrack to follow his or her, um, private investigating, and Veronica Mars is no exception. So it's probably a good idea that Nettwerk Records is planning to release the "Veronica Mars" soundtrack, featuring 14 tracks by artists like the Dandy Warhols (performing the UPN show's theme, "We Used to Be Friends"), Tegan & Sara and Spoon. The album is due in stores on September 27. ... Avril Lavigne is auctioning off concert tickets, autographed photos and other items to benefit Health Care for All - California, a nonprofit organization supporting single-payer-model approaches to universal healthcare. Details are available at AuctionsForChange.com. ...

"A Girl Like You" singer Edwyn Collins was finally allowed to return home after spending six months in a hospital following brain surgery to repair two brain hemorrhages, according to a BBC News report. In a note on his Web site, Collins, who recently took his first steps, said he was feeling "fine" and thanked fans for their support. ... The Gorillaz are checking into the Habbo Hotel virtual hangout. The band will be fielding questions from thousands of "Habbos," the visual avatars of hotel guests in attendance, during an interactive Q&A session on August 24. Also, 24 lucky Habbos will be selected to conduct private one-on-one interviews with each of the bandmembers. ...

Spearhead leader Michael Franti has announced the lineup for his seventh annual 911 Power to the Peaceful music/art fest in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The September 10 concert — the theme of which is Bring 'Em Home — will feature sets from Spearhead, Jean Grae, Saul Williams, Anti-Flag, Zap Mama's Marie Dauln and J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science. Among the guest speakers are Woody Harrelson and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. The social justice-themed event is also adding an extreme-sports element this year, with an ecologically correct skate ramp made from "forest stewardship certified" wood, which will be donated to a local high school after the concert. ...

Ryan Seacrest will co-host and executive produce the 34th edition of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" special live from Times Square in New York on December 31. Seacrest signed a deal with ABC that will eventually find him taking over as sole host. ... Leonard Cohen is suing his business manager, claiming she stole more than $5 million from him over the course of seven years. His lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court this past week, claims Kelly Lynch misappropriated money beyond her standard 15 percent cut by gaining control of nearly all of Cohen's royalty income, arranging to sell it, and devising "unnecessarily complex corporate structures" that allowed her a bigger percentage. Cohen also names Richard Westin, a tax lawyer, in the suit. ...

08.15.2005

Kanye West, Maroon 5, Green Day, Santana and Trisha Yearwood are among the artists slated to perform a series of free concerts to kick off the NFL's 2005-2006 season, The Associated Press reports. The concerts will be held in three cities across the country: outside the Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the first Super Bowl; Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, home of the current Super Bowl champs, the New England Patriots; and in Detroit, where the next Super Bowl will be held on February 4. The televised special will precede the season opener between the Patriots and the Oakland Raiders on September 8. ...

Justin Timberlake is writing songs with his longtime friend/ Nashville songwriter Matt Morris. Morris, who co-wrote five songs on Christina Aguilera's Stripped, said that the two will hit the studio in the next couple of months, and that their creations run the gamut from R&B to Southern rock to pop music and could end up on either Timberlake or Morris' album at this point. "Writing with Justin is one of my favorite things," Morris said. "He's got incredible instincts, unmatched by anyone I've worked with." The two have written at least an album's worth of songs, about 15 to 20, he said, but since the subject matter is so personal, discussing them "should be reserved for close friends and therapists," he laughed. ... Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, George Lopez and "Sin City" director Robert Rodriguez are among the 25 most influential Hispanics in America, according to the cover story in the August 22 issue of Time magazine. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and newsman Jorge Ramos also make the list. ...

A collection featuring Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Usher, Jamie Foxx and Mary J. Blige tackling Luther Vandross classics is about to hit stores. So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross, due September 20, includes Blige performing "Never Too Much," Usher doing "Superstar," Beyoncé singing "So Amazing," John Legend performing "Love Won't Let Me Wait," Keys duetting with Jermaine Paul on "If This World Were Mine," Foxx singing "Creepin' " and Elton John performing a duet with Vandross on "Anyone Who Had a Heart." "His legacy will live on forever and I'm happy that I could contribute to that," Usher said. ... Who says only rappers can release mixtapes? Former President Bill Clinton will be putting out a CD compilation of his own, The Bill Clinton Collection: Selections From the Clinton Music Room, according to The Associated Press. The 11-track disc — the first in a series of compilations containing Clinton's favorites — will feature tunes from John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Nina Simone and Judy Collins. The album is slated for release in the next four to five weeks. ...

David Banner will now drop his third studio album, Certified, on September 20. Guests on the record include Twista, 8Ball, Dead Prez and Jadakiss. ... Tommy Lee is getting naked once again — but this time, it's for animal rights. Following his ex-wife Pam Anderson's lead, the rocker sheds all for a PETA-sponsored poster for New York nightclub Home, which is instituting a "no fur" door policy this week. On the poster, alongside the slogan "Ink, Not Mink," Lee says, "Be comfortable in your own skin and let animals keep theirs." "A lot of hip-hop artists wear fur and they think it's a status symbol," Lee said. "That doesn't register. I just see dead animals." The poster was shot by Paul McCartney's daughter Mary. ...

Rob Thomas is hitting the road for his first full-scale solo tour. The two-month trek kicks off October 5 in Albany, New York, and wraps December 10 in Detroit. Before heading out, Thomas will take the stage at the Fashion Rocks concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall on September 8, which will be broadcast the following night on CBS. ... Garage-rock duo the Kills are back with a new album. Sort of. On Tuesday, they'll release Run Home Slow, an EP featuring remixes of tunes from their second album, No Wow, and a couple of tracks previously unavailable in the U.S. Starting on September 8, the Kills will hit the road with Bloc Party, on a North American tour that'll run through the end of September. ... Punk innovators the Damned will hit a British recording studio next month to start work on their next LP — the follow-up to 2001's Grave Disorder, according to a posting on their Web site. ...

• Good Charlotte
• Ludacris
• Ciara
• Avril Lavigne
• Gorillaz

Artists from the 2004 Ozzfest lineup gather for the tour announcement
Photo: MTV News

HOLLYWOOD — Sharon Osbourne sees two distinct characteristics in this year's Ozzfest lineup.

"It's harder than hard, and my God is it ugly," the tour organizer said Friday (February 20) at a press conference to announce the trek. "But we feel like it's what the fans want."

The metal festival's ninth incarnation will find Sharon's headliner husband and tour namesake, Ozzy Osbourne, sharing the main stage with Judas Priest, reunited with longtime singer Rob Halford; Slayer; Norwegian black metal sextet Dimmu Borgir; Black Label Society; and Superjoint Ritual, fronted by Pantera's Phil Anselmo. Tickets go on sale February 28.

"It would almost be blasphemy for me not to be a part of this Ozzfest because it's so classic heavy-metal oriented," Anselmo said after the press conference. "Each Ozzfest has its own taste and flavor of the day ... [but this year's] has zeroed in on bands that have longevity."

Two-time Ozzfest veterans Slipknot will headline the second stage, where (unlike the main stage) fans can mix it up in the pit (see "Slipknot Headlining Ozzfest's Second Stage"). "This is the meaning of the heaviest Ozzfest of all time," Slipknot's Paul Grey said. "We're ready to throw down."

"If there's any Ozzfest you would want to be on, it's this one," bandmate Joey Jordison added.

Ozzy's participation in the two-month tour, which kicks off July 10 in Hartford, Connecticut, is surprising. He sustained severe injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken collarbone that required emergency surgery, in December (see "Ozzy Seriously Injured After Crashing All-Terrain Vehicle"). Shortly after his release from the hospital, doctors estimated it would take Osbourne six months to recover.

"Considering I died twice, I'm feeling pretty good," Ozzy said. "This morning somebody said, 'Is there going to be a team of paramedics on the side of the stage?' I'm not dead. I'm ready to rock, man!"

Sharon said later that headlining Ozzfest was the best thing Ozzy could do. "It's so great because he now has a goal to work towards, July 10, and he'll be there," she said. "He is the 'Iron Man,' nothing can stop him."

She compared Ozzy's situation to her own experience in 2002, when planning Ozzfest helped pull her through chemotherapy. "It's a reason to get up every morning and not think about what's going on in your body," she said.

As always, Sharon had help planning Ozzfest from her kids, Jack and Kelly, who each handpicked a second-stage band — Lamb of God and Lacuna Coil, respectively.

The latter is an Italian goth metal band fronted by Cristina Scabbia, who said she's not interested in being noted as the lone female so far on the bill. "I'll keep my femininity, but I'll be happy to share the same energy and passion as the other bands."

As for the other second-stage bands, which include Hatebreed, God Forbid, Atreyu, Bleeding Through, Every Time I Die and Unearth, the Osbournes turned to fans, who voted on www.ozzfest.com, to help choose the lineup. Additional artists are expected to be announced later.

Ozzfest 2004 will be the first time Judas Priest tour the U.S. with Halford since he left the band in 1992. Tim "Ripper" Owens, the singer in a Priest cover band, filled the frontman slot from 1996 until last year, when Halford reunited with his bandmates (see "Judas Priest Discuss Emotional Reunion, Leaving Ripper Owens Behind").

"In out hearts, we never left each other," Halford said. "We all felt the day would come that we would regroup. There's too much history in the music we make. ... And this is a wonderful way for us to be back in the United States. It's a very cool thing to do, there's always a broad cross-section. This is going to be the most extreme as far as crossing the board of metal."

Priest's reunion had the musicians at Friday's announcement literally cheering with excitement.

"I'm probably one of the biggest Priest fans on the face of the earth," Slayer guitarist Kerry King said as he mingled in the green room. "I'm looking forward to when we get done playing, I can stand stage left some nights, stage right some nights and watch the original guitar heroes."

Although Sharon and Ozzy cracked jokes throughout Friday's press conference, it was Priest's Halford who got the loudest laughs. It started when Sharon was asked why this year's lineup had all metal bands and nothing that could be considered rap-rock or alternative.

"Because that's what Ozzfest is about," she said. "If you want alt, go to other festivals, not ours. We're not gay." Halford then pointed out dryly, "I am."

Ozzfest is one of the summer concert season's most successful outings. The 9-year-old festival has grossed more than $146.5 million and has staged 236 shows for 3.8 million fans. Not that the Osbournes are in it for the money.

"Ozzy would make more money if he went out on his own," Sharon said. "This is something we do because we love it. How could we not do it? It's our summer camp."

Ozzfest tour dates, according to its publicists:

• 7/10 - Hartford, CT @ ctnow.com Meadows Music
• 7/12 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center
• 7/14 - Wantagh, NY @ Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Amphitheater
• 7/16 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
• 7/18 - Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion
• 7/20 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheatre
• 7/22 - Nashville, TN @ Starwood Amphitheatre
• 7/24 - Englewood, CO @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
• 7/27 - Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
• 7/29 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
• 7/31 - Devore, CA @ Hyundai Pavilion of Glen Helen
• 8/3 - Albuquerque, NM @ Journal Pavilion
• 8/5 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Center
• 8/7 - San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• 8/10 - Kansas City, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• 8/12 - Maryland Heights, MO @ UMB Pavilion
• 8/14 - East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
• 8/17 - Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Center
• 8/19 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
• 8/21 - Tinley Park, IL @ Tweeter Center
• 8/24 - Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
• 8/26 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
• 8/28 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake
• 8/31 - Raleigh, NC @ Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek
• 9/2 - Tampa, FL @ Tampa Bay Amphitheatre
• 9/4 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Sound Advice Amphitheatre

• Judas Priest
• Slayer
• Slipknot
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Superjoint Ritual

The Phil Anselmo-fronted Superjoint Ritual will start working on their new album soon after their tour ends December 21 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The LP is expected to surface late next year. Before the band heads back out on the road in March, bassist Hank Williams III will embark on a tour of his own beginning January 17 in Houston. ... Exhumed and Cannibal Corpse are teaming up for a monthlong North American tour, beginning February 12 in Houston. The outing will support Exhumed's latest album, Anatomy Is Destiny, which arose this summer. ...

New York death metal band Pyrexia's Cruelty Beyond Submission is due January 27. ... The Agony Scene have parted ways with guitarist Chris Emmons and subsequently pulled out of their planned tours with Mushroomhead and Integrity while they seek a replacement. ...

Bleeding Through were involved in a serious van accident while driving down a snow-drenched section of highway near Salt Lake City but suffered only minor injuries. The footage from the crash, captured by a local news crew on hand covering another wreck, was so spectacular that it was picked up by CNN, "Good Morning America," the Weather Channel and "Inside Edition." The Orange County metalcore mob subsequently canceled their remaining dates on the Pure Hatred Tour with Chimaira and Soilwork and returned home. Their label has set up a PayPal account at www.trustkill.com for donations to help them cover their considerable expenses, including repairing their trailer that exploded all over the highway and the van they were borrowing from the band Sinai Beach. ...

Killswitch Engage are finishing basic tracks for their next album, their first since enlisting Blood Has Been Shed drummer Justin Foley and singer Howard Jones, who will begin recording vocals in the next few days. ... Demon Hunter have selected March 4 as the date to drop their second album, Summer of Darkness, which will feature 13 tracks recorded in their hometown of Seattle. They'll be shooting a video for the album's first single in Los Angeles in February. ...

Norma Jean will begin writing their new album, the follow-up to 2002's Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child, in January. They plan to begin recording the LP and touring the States in the spring following a U.K. run with Beecher in February. ... Swedish grindcore band Gadjet will drop their Relapse Records debut, Remote, February 3. ...

Slipknot will return home to Iowa for the holidays before resuming work on their third album in Hollywood with producer Rick Rubin. Singer Corey Taylor recently performed a solo acoustic set, which included takes on songs by Steve Miller, Wild Cherry, Metallica and his other band, Stone Sour, as part of an Axis of Justice show organized to benefit California's striking grocery workers. ... Arch Enemy canceled three shows in the U.K. due to singer Angela Gossow being taken with an undisclosed illness. ...

Gurkkhas are hard at work in their native France on a new album's worth of death metal tunes called Tyranny, which is due early next year through Chrash Music. ... Narcissus have broken up, just two months after releasing Crave and Collapse through Century Media imprint Abacus Recordings. ... Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato has formed a side project with Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz called Error. The band will reportedly release a self-titled debut EP on February 24 through Gurewitz's Epitaph label. ...

British doom-metal merchants My Dying Bride will unleash their eighth studio album, Songs of Darkness, Words of Light, on February 16. ... Anthrax are filming what their management promise will be "the most kick-ass, zombie-filled video of all time" in January for the track "What Doesn't Die" based on a concept from comedian Brian Posehn, best known for his work on "Mr. Show" and "Just Shoot Me." The band recently shot a performance in Chicago for a forthcoming DVD release and is still taking votes from fans on its Web site for the track list of Metallum Maximus Aeturnus, an album that will see vocalist John Bush tackling 'thrax tunes originally recorded with singers Neil Turbin and Joey Belladonna. ...

Fireball Ministry will support David Lee Roth at the House of Blues in West Hollywood on New Year's Eve, following their return home from a run through Germany with Uriah Heep and Blue Öyster Cult in support of their newly released The Second Great Awakening. ... Mexican death metal band Ravager have decided to call it a day, with two of the members already forming a new outfit called Hacavitz. ... Former Oppressor guitarist Jim Stopper has joined the band Twelfth Gate. ...

Deicide will release their ninth album, Scars of the Crucifix, on February 24. The new record was produced by Neil Kernon (Judas Priest, Cannibal Corpse). Tracks include "Mad at God," "Conquered by Sodom," "F--- Your God" and "Pentecostal." ... Poland's Decapitated will issue their third record, The Negation, on March 9. Tracks include "The Fury," "Three-Dimensional Defect" and "Sensual Sickness." ... Sworn Enemy, As I Lay Dying and Himsa will launch a 16-date U.S. tour January 17 in Philadelphia. ...

New York's Every Time I Die will re-release their second album, Hot Damn!, with a bonus DVD on February 24. ... Soulfly's still-untitled next album will include the songs "The Prophecy," "Living Sacrifice" and "Defeat U." Former Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson will guest on four tracks, and frontman Max Cavalera will produce the record. ... Dutch art-metal ensemble the Gathering will return to North America for the first time since 1999 when their tour kicks off February 12 in Cleveland. ...

Swedish Christian nü-metal band Blindside recently shot a video in Romania for the single "All of Us" with director Patrick Hoelck. Blindside's fourth album, About a Burning Fire, comes out February 24. ... Sepultura will return to their former hometown, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on Saturday to play a benefit soccer match against some of the country's former professional players. The game will be broadcast on Brazilian television. ...

• Superjoint Ritual
• Cannibal Corpse
• Bleeding Through
• Killswitch Engage
• Exhumed

• Cypress Hill
• Hatebreed
• Xzibit
• Superjoint Ritual
• Papa Roach

• Cypress Hill
• Hatebreed
• Xzibit
• Superjoint Ritual
• Papa Roach

Yo. Your usual Metal File host, Iann Robinson, is off this week, but the rest of us are dedicated to keeping you fully stocked with fresh metal headlines. Tear into 'em:

Black Box, the delayed box set from Black Sabbath, will now hit stores on March 2. The set includes all of the band's Ozzy Osbourne-era albums as well as a DVD of never-before-seen live footage. ... Organizers have unveiled the final schedule for the New Jersey Metal and Hardcore Fest, set for this weekend in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Seventy-three bands — including Cradle of Filth, Superjoint Ritual, Danzig, Morbid Angel, Type O Negative and Biohazard — will play. A complete schedule can be found at the festival's Web site. ... Re-formed '90s thrash outfit Prong hope to release their new Scorpio Rising in February. ...

Killswitch Engage singer Howard Jones will make a guest appearance on Summer of Darkness, the second album from Demon Hunter, which the group is currently tracking in its hometown of Seattle. Tentative song titles include "Coffin Builder," "I Play Dead," "Beheaded" and "Everything Was White." ... Eyes of Fire, an Orange County, California, band that includes former members of Mindrot in its lineup, has completed a video for the song "Hopeless" with director Bill Henderson (Sepultura). The track will appear on the group's debut, Ashes to Embers, due in March. ... Pig Destroyer are working on a conceptual album/DVD tentatively titled Terrifyer. ... Darkane's video for "Chaos Vs. Order" can be viewed at the Nuclear Blast Records Web site. ...

Zakk Wylde has donated his very first guitar, a 1985 Gibson Les Paul, to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. ... Norway's prosthetic-face-wearing ghoul Mortiis has begun work on a new album with producer Vegard Blomberg. It's the former Emperor bassist's first record since 2001's The Smell of Rain, which saw him abandoning moody atmospherics. ... A new track by Zyklon called "An Electric Manner" has been posted on their Web site. ... The mathematically inclined madmen of the Dillinger Escape Plan are hitting the road with the similarly crazed guys of the Locust. The tour kicks off mid-January in the Midwest and wraps up in early March. ...

Former At the Gates frontman Tomas Lindberg's The Great Deceiver have finished the follow-up to last year's A Venom Well Designed. The disc is due in February. ... There's an unmixed and unmastered version of the new All That Remains track "The Deepest Gray" on their label's Web site. The song is from the band's forthcoming This Darkened Heart, produced by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewitz. ... Strapping Young Lad frontman Devin Townsend will produce the debut from Misery Signals in February. ... Remembering Never have completed mixing their sophomore record, Women and Children Die First, due next year. ...

My Dying Bride have finished their eighth studio album, due early next year, but have yet to pick a title. ... Former Barbed Wire Dolls singer Johnny Weils will make his live debut with Alabama Thunderpussy in Baltimore on December 5, the start of a string of East Coast dates. Weils, who replaced singer Johnny Throckmorton, will make his recorded debut with the band on their forthcoming second album, tentatively titled Fulton Hill. ... Peaceville Records is planning DVD releases from Katatonia and long-defunct gore metal legends Autopsy next year. ... Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Isis are teaming up for a split EP to raise money for Shaun Luu, who has been diagnosed with brain cancer. Due in the spring, the record will include live and "special" recordings as well as a remix of the Isis track "Carry." ...

Static-X have added nine more dates to their tour with Soil, Skrape and Twisted Method. The first new show is November 26 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and dates are scheduled until December 17 in Anaheim, California. ... Impaled Nazarene will release their eighth album, All That You Fear, in January. The album will mark the first appearance of guitarist Tuomio. Former guitarist Teemu Raimoranta died in March after falling from a bridge in Helsinki. ... Israel's Melechesh will release their third album, Sphynx, in January. The disc will include a cover of Celtic Frost's "Babylon Fell." ... Recently re-formed Long Island, New York, death metal demolitionists Suffocation will release a new album, Souls to Deny, in the spring. ...

Today Is the Day have shot a video for "The Descent," from Sadness Will Prevail, in Philadelphia with directors Adam Albrandt and Brian D. Lange. ... Monster Magnet drummer Michael Wildwood has left the band for unspecified reasons. Meanwhile, the band is working on its next record, tentatively titled Monolithic Babies. The record will feature new bassist Jim Baglino, who replaced Joe Calandra last year. ... Anthrax have delayed the shoot of their "What Doesn't Die" video until January. ...

• Black Sabbath
• Danzig
• Prong
• Superjoint Ritual
• Killswitch Engage

Howdy metallions, what's up? Iann Robinson, back again. I guess the big news this week is all the stuff going down with Exodus. Now for those new to the scene, Exodus were part of the Bay Area thrash scene that exploded in the '80s. Metal suffered a serious blow when original Exodus vocalist Paul Baloff died of a stroke in February of 2002. Well Exodus are back now and going strong. They've signed to Nuclear Blast Records and have finished up an album titled Tempos of the Damned, which will hit stores in February on the two-year anniversary of Paul's death. The band is also planning to hit you with a DVD that traces the roots of Exodus, going back beyond the Bonded by Blood era.

It's also a big weekend for us wrestling fans, as current WWE champion Triple H takes on Goldberg at this Sunday's pay-per-view "Unforgiven." It's not exactly metal, but this will be a killer match, and if Goldberg loses he has to retire from wrestling forever, which would suck. Plus, you have Shane McMahon in a "Last Man Standing Match" with Kane — that'll be trouble. It's gonna be a killer card for everybody who loves wrestling like I do. Well that's all for me, enjoy Metal File and I'll see you at the shows.

Superjoint Ritual, Dimmu Borgir, Type O Negative, Morbid Angel and Cradle of Filth will headline the two-day New Jersey Metal and Hardcore Fest in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on November 14 and 15. Other confirmed acts are Nile, Nevermore, Children of Bodom, Hypocrisy, Strapping Young Lad, Deicide, Suffocation, Hate Eternal, Biohazard and Krisiun. Hundreds of other skull-crushing bands will play the event, which will take place at Asbury Park's Convention Hall complex. Tickets are $40 for Friday, $45 for Saturday and $75 for both days. ... Speaking of Nile, the acrobatic death metal band will embark on the Art of Noise II Tour on October 1 in Houston. Dates run through October 31 in Atlanta. Support acts will include Kreator, Vader, Amon Amarth and Goatwhore. The first Art of Noise Tour was last January, and featured Nile, Napalm Death and Strapping Young Lad. Nile's latest album, In Their Darkened Shrines, came out in August 2002. ...

Six Feet Under, Skinless, the Black Dahlia Murder and Behemoth with play the Un-Natural Born Killers Tour, which will launch October 16 in Tampa, Florida. Dates run through the end of November. Six Feet Under's new album, Bringer of Blood, comes out September 23. ... Meanwhile, the Black Dahlia Murder have run into more trouble. The band is now looking for a new vocalist. To expedite the search, Black Dahlia have put an instrumental MP3 for the song "Funeral Thirst" on their Web site. Hopefuls should go there, download the song and put their vocal stylings over it. ...

Long Island screamo band Bayside will enter Phase Studios in College Park, Maryland, on October 7 to record their new album, Sirels and Condolences. Ex-Jawbox frontman J. Robbins will produce. After a month in the studio, Bayside will tour through the end of the year. The new album will be released early next year. ... The fifth studio album by hardcore metal band Speedealer, titled Bleed, will come out November 25. The disc was recorded on June 10 and 11 at Top Hat studios in Austin, Texas, by ex-Butthole Surfers bassist J.D. Pinkus. The band will launch a tour on September 20 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dates run through September 28 in Springfield, Massachusetts. ... December are reissuing their album Praying, Hoping, Nothing on October 7 through Porn King Matt Zane's Inzane Records. ...

Brujeria's first show ever in the U.S. — which was supposed to take place at Allen's Theatre in Southgate, California, on September 27 — has reportedly been scrapped. No reason was given for the cancellation. ... Manowar are back in the studio recording a new album for release in 2004. … Seattle band Zeke are releasing a DVD called "Zeke You" to commemorate their 10-year anniversary. The DVD will hit stores November 18. ...

Russ Herpich from the band Watch Me Burn is directing the video for Cattle Decapitation's "To Serve Man." The clip is expected to surface in October. ... Vehemence recently hit the studio to begin recording their next album, tentatively titled Helping the World to See. The band hopes to have the album in stores early next year. ...

The recently reunited Cancer will release an EP titled Corporations in early November. ... Former Nile members Chief Spires and John Ehlers have joined forces in a new band called Shaitan Mazar. … And again, it ain't quite metal, but it's close: the movie "Bubba Ho-Tep," which stars Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis as delusional retirees who think they are Elvis and JFK, respectively, battling a mummy, will be released Friday in Portland, Oregon, and will then slowly open in theaters through the States. ...

—compiled by Iann Robinson, Robert Mancini and Jon Wiederhorn

• Superjoint Ritual
• Dimmu Borgir
• Exodus
• Manowar

Fireball Ministry
Photo: Bong Load Records

Greetings fellow metalers, how goes it? Iann Robinson here. This week was particularly good for me. I got to check out the Black Flag reunion in NYC with Henry Rollins, Keith Morris and the Rollins Band. I know a lot of people are complaining that there's no Greg Ginn or Chuck Dukowski, but I gotta tell you, you'd be a fool to miss this show. First off, it's for a great cause, the West Memphis Three Defense Fund, and if you don't know about the West Memphis Three, then check out www.wm3.org and the movies "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Lost 2." Plus, the show is just killer. Keith comes out and does like 10 songs, and then Rollins steps out and does an hour or so of pure high-octane Black Flag magic.

I'm an old Black Flag fanatic and I was totally impressed by this show. There's also a raffle at the show that could win you a Lucite Dan Armstrong guitar signed by everybody involved with the Black Flag tribute album for the West Memphis Three. The guitars come with signatures from guys like Corey Taylor from Slipknot, Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age, Mike Patton and on and on. If you haven't checked out Rise Above: A Tribute to Black Flag, the West Memphis Three benefit album, then you should do so. If you want to catch the show, go to www.henryrollins.com and see when the tour hits your town. That's it for this week — on to the news ...

Powered by their recent success, organizers of the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival are branching out. Promoters will launch the New Jersey Metal and Hardcore Fest on November 14 and 15 at Asbury Park's Convention Hall complex. A lineup is expected to be announced soon. ... Iron Maiden will roll out a new album, Dance of Death, in September. The album, the group's 13th, once again sees the band teaming up with producer Kevin Shirley, who co-produced Maiden's last effort, Brave New World. ...

Superjoint Ritual, the metalcore band featuring Pantera singer Phil Anselmo and bassist Hank Williams III, will tour the United States in July. The tour kicks off on July 4 in Orlando, Florida, and ends July 19 in Flint, Michigan. The band's second album, A Lethal Dose of American Hatred, comes out July 22. ... The second album by Fireball Ministry, The Second Great Awakening, is tentatively due in late September. The disc was produced by Nick Raskulinecz and includes the songs "Master of None," "Flatline" and "The Sinner." ... After their tour with In Flames, Chimaira will take a second stage spot on this summer's Ozzfest. The band's stint starts July 31. ...

Kreator's live DVD Live Kreator: Revisioned Glory will turn up in stores on July 22, coming on the heels of the band's upcoming live album. The release features 17 live tracks, plus a 55-minute history of the band that includes new interview footage. … Type O Negative's Kenny Hickey and Johnny Kelly have teamed up with Dust to Dust's Rob Traynor to work on a new project. Details, including a name for the group, have yet to be hammered out. ...

Repulsion have reunited 14 years after the release of their one and only influential LP, Horrified. Relapse Records reissued a deluxe double-disc version of the album in February, and the band will perform at the 2003 Milwaukee Metalfest, July 25-26. ... Six Feet Under have finished mixing and mastering their fifth studio disc, Bringer of Blood, due September 23. The album is the follow-up to 2001's True Carnage, which featured guest vocals by Ice-T on the track "One Bullet Left." Six Feet Under issued the half-live, half-compilation disc Double Dead in late January. ...

Zyklon — a band featuring ex-Emperor members Samoth (guitar) and Trym (drums) and Myrkskog's Destructhor (guitar) — will release their latest disc, Aeon, in early September. Emperor's Faust penned lyrics for the record. The album was produced by Fredrik Nordstrom and includes the tracks "Psyklon Aeon," "Core Solution" and "Subtle Manipulation." ... Black metal outfit Abigor have split up, according to main man Peter Kubik. ... Amorphis will release the single "Evil Inside" on June 20, the first from the band's upcoming album, Far From the Sun. ... Soilwork have tapped drummer Richard Evensand (Ebony Tears, Dog Faced Gods) to replace recently departed Henry Ranta. ...

—compiled by Iann Robinson, Jon Wiederhorn, Robert Mancini and Joe D'Angelo

• Iron Maiden
• Fireball Ministry
• Repulsion
• Superjoint Ritual
• Kreator

When they're not shaking stadiums with their visceral vibes on the Summer Sanitarium Tour with Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and Mudvayne, Deftones will do some club shows on the off days. Seven shows are scheduled thus far, beginning with Lincoln, Nebraska, on July 1, and ending with Boise, Idaho, on August 6. ...

The July 3 opening date of Lollapalooza in Ionia, Michigan, has been canceled due to technical problems. The tour will now kick off July 5 in Noblesville, Indiana. ... Comedian, talk-show host, and all-around guy's guy Jimmy Kimmel will host the 31st annual American Music Awards, which will be broadcast live on ABC on November 16. Nominations for the 17 AMA statuettes will be announced in September. ...

The as-yet-untitled follow-up to Nelly Furtado's 2000 debut, Whoa, Nelly!, is scheduled for a November 25 release. That album provided Furtado with a Grammy in 2001, for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, for its single "I'm Like a Bird." ... Aerosmith drummer and former Bronx resident Joey Kramer will be inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame at a June 22 ceremony, along with DJ Red Alert and "Raging Bull" boxer Jake LaMotta, among others. ...

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds will release their first DVD, "God Is in the House," August 26. Featuring music videos and live footage recorded in Lyon, France, in 2001, the home video includes the documentary "No More Shall We Part - The Recording Sessions," which chronicles the making of the group's 2001 album. ... The vertically challenged but mighty Glenn Danzig has hired ex-Comes With the Fall drummer Bevan Davies to fill the stool of Joey Castillo, who split in September to join Queens of the Stone Age. Davies will debut with Danzig July 4 in Spain at the Bilbao Accion Rock Festival. The band is expected to begin recording a new studio album in July. ...

Alice Cooper will survive his upcoming Bare Bones Tour without being guillotined, electrocuted, hung or otherwise disposed of. The shows, which begin July 12 in Walker, Minnesota, will be free of theatrics and pyrotechnics, featuring only Cooper and his band banging out winners like "School's Out," "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "I'm Eighteen" to an audience that might miss the drama and excitement of pythons, dancing girls and a few well-placed flash pots. ... Seattle rock museum Experience Music Project is currently hosting a Kiss exhibit, which features stage costumes worn by the band through the years and other memorabilia. The display runs through the fall. ...

Superjoint Ritual, which features Pantera frontman Philip Anselmo, will shoot videos for "Dress Like a Target" and "Waiting for the Turning Point" on June 28 during a show the State Palace Theatre in New Orleans. Both songs are from the band's upcoming disc, A Lethal Dose of American Hatred, which comes out July 22. Tom Mignone, who worked on the band's DVD "Live From Dallas," will direct. ... Reel Big Fish drummer Carlos de la Garza has left the band to spend more time with his family. Justin Ferreria, who played in Fish singer Aaron Barrett's side project the Forces of Evil, is filling in on the band's current tour, which ends August 5 in San Francisco. The group's last disc, Cheer Up!, came out in July 2002. ...

06.13.03

A wax sculpture of Britney Spears at Madame Tussaud's in London will have inflatable breasts that pulsate in time to her dancing, according to Reuters. The figure will be posed shimmying around a pole and is set to be accompanied by dance instructors — real ones, not wax — who will teach visitors a routine. ...

Queen Latifah will play a cab driver who teams up with a young cop to solve a series of bank robberies in "Taxi," a remake of the 1998 French movie of the same name. Tim Story ("Barbershop") is in negotiations to direct the flick, scheduled to start filming in September. ... Ja Rule and comedian George Carlin will make brief appearances in "Scary Movie 3," which is currently being shot in Canada. Pamela Anderson, Denise Richards, Charlie Sheen and Simon Cowell will also make cameos in the movie. ...

It's a boy! Hot 97 New York radio personality/rapper Angie Martinez and Dru Hill's Nokio welcomed their baby, whom they named Niko, into the world on Thursday in New York. ...

Zwan have canceled 23 dates of their international tour because of an unspecified family illness. Dates were scheduled between June 15 in Imola, Italy, and July 25 in Fuji, Japan. No additional details are available. ... Pretty soon there will be more anarchy in the U.S., as the Sex Pistols are scheduling their first American tour in seven years. The first on-sale date is for August 21 in Wantagh, New York, but the tour launches a day earlier in Boston, according to the band's Web site. If it doesn't implode in its first week, the tour runs through late September. The Sex Pistols' last Stateside appearance was in September at the KROQ 2002 Inland Invasion Concert. ...

• Deftones
• Nelly Furtado
• Alice Cooper
• Superjoint Ritual
• DJ Red Alert

Pantera's Philip Anselmo
Photo: Robert Mancini

It looks like the cowboys from hell might be headed for the cemetery gates.

Pantera frontman Philip Anselmo said that although the band has not officially broken up, there are no immediate plans to work together.

"If five or 10 years down the way, [everyone] wants to get together and do more Pantera music, then we'll see," Anselmo said. "Of course, it would take some soul searching from all of us."

For now the singer is focusing his attention on his hardcore metal band Superjoint Ritual, while guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul work on their new outfit, New Found Power.

Pantera's last studio album was 2000's Reinventing the Steel. Last year, after releasing the second disc by his side project Down, Down II, Anselmo announced that Pantera would return to the studio before the end of the year. It never happened.

"I think each and every one of us needs to get some other pieces of music out of their systems," he said. "And I think that some of us need to take some time for ourselves to get on with life again instead of reliving the past over and over and over."

Anselmo insisted that he and his former bandmates are still on good terms but that no one feels emotionally ready to revisit Pantera. The band's label hasn't made things any easier.

"They're looking for a new Pantera record," Anselmo said. "And I guess they just don't understand English. If you're not happy in a situation — which none of us were at the time — you take time off and you let the air clear."

Despite his frustration, Anselmo still has fond memories. He's especially proud that no matter how many fads came and went, Pantera's fans remained endlessly devoted.

"Pantera always had its definite, deadly hardcore following," he said. "You get your name of the week on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine because they sold 100,000 copies in two days and no one realizes that they're a band that's gonna be gone in six months or a year. Hell, give 'em two years. Pantera put out Cowboys From Hell in 1990. Our crowds never diminished."

Pantera is not Anselmo's only project on indefinite hold. Down, the sludge band he was in with Brown, Corrosion of Conformity frontman Pepper Keenan, Crowbar guitarist Kirk Windstein and Eyehategod drummer Jimmy Bower (who's also in Superjoint Ritual), may also be down for the count.

"As much work and as much blood and sweat that we gave to those two records is how much we weren't given back or helped or even pushed a minute at all by our record label," he growled. "It's basically sabotage and it's painful to take a knife in the back like that. They don't give a sh-- at all that Down is some people's favorite band. They don't care that the new Metallica sounds a lot like Down. They don't care that Jack Osbourne, who's on the cover of People magazine, has a Down shirt on. No way. They're just telling us that this record's run its course and it's over with. So until a lot of business is taken care of with and between the record labels, it's very tough for a band like Down to function at all."

Superjoint Ritual's upcoming A Lethal Dose of American Hatred, which sounds a lot like '80s bands Agnostic Front, D.R.I. and Crumbsuckers, may be one of the heaviest and most intense projects Anselmo has worked on, but being furious is what makes him the most happy.

"Right now it feels absolutely thrilling to be playing back in smaller clubs and to have kids right dead in front of my face and be playing hard-ass-core music that people are reacting to violently," he said. "I f---ing love that, and that is Superjoint Ritual."

• Pantera
• Down
• Superjoint Ritual

Ozzfest at the CTNOW.com Meadows Music Centre in Hartford, CT 07.10.2004

• Slipknot
• Slayer
• Otep
• Lacuna Coil
• Lamb of God

Superjoint Ritual Live Photos, NYC July 21, 2002

• Superjoint Ritual