Type O Negative
Photo: SPV

A haunting portrait of Grigori Rasputin — the Siberian mystic who was influential in the later days of Russia's Romanov dynasty — graces the cover of Type O Negative's Dead Again, the Brooklyn metallers' first collection of fresh material since 2003's Life Is Killing Me. For frontman Peter Steele, going with Rasputin's image as the LP's art was a no-brainer, for several reasons.

"He's, like, probably the best-looking Type O Negative member," Steele joked. "He really puts us to shame. Also, I feel a kind of special affinity with him. The guy was an Orthodox Russian, and I'm a Roman Catholic. He was an alcoholic, a drug addict, a womanizer. ... He got into fights after Mass, and the communists couldn't kill him. The Bolsheviks tried to assassinate him a whole bunch of times and failed, and I thought, 'Man, this guy gets away with it. He dodges a bullet with everything he f---ing does, and so do I.' Plus, Rasputin was able to cure hemophilia, and that comes into the blood theme — you know, Type O Negative. And he looks like one of us — he hasn't bathed in two months, he's unshaven and he hated the world."

The bigger question, though, is what took Type O so long to churn out some new tunes. For three years, little was heard from the band, beyond unconfirmed reports that Steele had died (he hadn't, by the way). The delay, Steele explained, was partly fueled by the bandmembers' escalating ages and personal responsibilities. According to Steele, "Life happened," and sometimes life can make being in a rock band damn near impossible.

"There was also a period there where we were in renegotiations with Roadrunner Records, and that kind of fell through," he offered. "I was in a psychiatric institute for a while, too, and I went through rehab [for cocaine, alcohol and 'Burger King']. As the band has gotten older, you have wives and kids and house payments and divorces and separations and all this other f---ing sh-- that goes on, so when we'd schedule rehearsals, they'd start revolving around, 'Well, can we find a babysitter?' It just becomes more and more complicated."

Steele said he was also grappling with the deaths of several people who were close to him, including his mother and late Pantera/Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (see "Dimebag Darrell, Four Others Killed In Ohio Concert Shooting"). "It was like a slap in the face with a frozen hand," he said of his losses. And, of course, there was that brief stint at Riker's Island that kept him, um, tied up. (While Steele wouldn't discuss his incarceration in detail, he did say that he'd been arrested for "accidentally punching someone in the face 50 times.")

His mother's death, Steele said, was a major eye-opener for him, and it made him "realize my own mortality. That's why this forthcoming album has more of a punky, hardcore edge, because I'm pissed off at life 'cause I know I'm going to f---ing die. I just want to beat up the reaper." Still, the singer said, Dead Again — which is set for a March 13 release — is perhaps Type O's "least negative" work to date.

"I believe that this forthcoming album is more about revelation in one's life and dealing with frustration," he said. "It's about leaving the past behind and trying to move on — trying to grow up. I'm 45, but my motto has always been, 'Act your shoe size,' " which, for Steele, is 15.

Dead Again clocks in at more than 77 minutes and boasts 10 tracks, including "Tripping a Blind Man," "These Three Things" and "An Ode to Locksmiths." The most difficult part of making the record, Steele said, was coming up with the lyrical content.

"After writing almost 100 songs, I have to think of other subjects to write about," he said. "It's like, 'OK, women, fire, wolves, ghosts, Dracula, Frankenstein, swamp things — what the f--- else is there, you know?' It was hard to come up with subject matter."

The one song Steele struggled with the most was "Halloween in Heaven," which features Lycia's Tara VanFlower. The song, he said, was written for Dimebag but doesn't explicitly name the slain axeman. "Dimebag was a very close friend of Type O, but I didn't want to exploit his name because it was so soon after his death," Steele said. "I didn't want people to think I was making money off of this man's tragic death, but he's in a much better f---ing place, there's no doubt. It was out of love for him that this song was written."

Type O began recording the effort back in August, and Steele said this time around, it was a completely different process for his band.

"This album was done quite differently from the past two or three," he said. "The last album we'd done with live drums was [1993's] Bloody Kisses. Everything after that was a drum machine. I've always felt that that sounded a little — even though most people didn't realize it was programmed drums — but just to me, it sounded synthetic. I'd have to write all the songs and then come down to the band, rehearse them, and the drums would be programmed. With this new album, I went in clean. I didn't have any ideas. We just let the tape roll, and we'd start jamming. I'd write a part and ask if the guys liked it. There was band input this time, and this album has a more live and — dare I say — positive attitude to it. It sounds like you've got four guys playing together at once. That's kind of refreshing after 17 years, even though it feels like 17 centuries."

• Dimebag Darrell Photos

• Type O Negative
• Dimebag Darrell

We just got an album. We just got an album. We just got an album. Wonder who it's from?

Steve Burns, former host of "Blue's Clues," of course.

Newly minted indie rocker Burns delivers his debut record, Songs for Dustmites, which features a little help from his friends, members of the Flaming Lips and their producer David Fridmann. Songs like "Mighty Little Man," "What I Do on Saturday" and "Troposphere" showcase Burns' wide-eyed innocence with the Lips' penchant for the absurd.

Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba, the reluctant emo poster boy, releases A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar. The critical consensus is that Carrabba finally exhibits his full power as a musician on songs like "So Beautiful," "Ghost of a Good Thing" and "Several Ways to Die."

Ben Lee tries hard to get your attention on Hey You. Yes You. Dan the Automator produces the Australian rocker's fifth album, and the combination makes for catchy pop songs and spaced-out sounds. According to Lee, "Chills," a power ballad co-written by Jason Schwartzman, was written with high-school proms in mind, with the aim being that the song be played at the pre-summer festivities for years to come.

State Property's Beanie Sigel Presents 2: The Album features Beanie, of course, as well as fellow Roc-A-Fellas like Freeway, Peedi Crakk and Young Chris. Broadcast release Haha Sound, the band's second, ethereal album, alongside Goodie Mob rapper Big Gipp's Mutant Mindframe and Pat Benatar's Go.

The soundtrack for the slasher buddy flick "Freddy Vs. Jason" features the aggro-rock of Powerman 5000, Stone Sour and Type O Negative, while a kinder, gentler compilation, Powerpuff Girls: Power Pop, features the Sahara Hotnights on "On Top of Your World," Cherish on "Power of the Female" and "Me and My Girls," and Shonen Knife's ode to the crankiest super heroine, "Buttercup (She's a Supergirl)."

Out Tuesday, August 12:

• Howard Alden and Bucky Pizzarelli - A Mellow Tone (Concord Jazz)
• Sherrié Austin - Streets of Heaven (BBR)
• Ballboy - A Guide for the Daylight Hours (Manifesto)
• Danny Barnes - Dirt on the Angel (Terminus)
• Martin Barre - Stage Left (Fuel 2000)
• Tywanna Jo Baskette - Fancy Blue (Sweet Tea/Terminus)
• Pat Benatar - Go! (Bel Chiasso)
• Big Gipp - Mutant Mindframe (Koch)
• Blusom - Go Slowly All the Way Round the Outside (Second Nature)
• Broadcast - Haha Sound (Warp)
• Steve Burns - Songs for Dustmites (PIAS)
  Read: "Ex-'Blue's Clues' Host Steve Burns An Indie Rocker At Heart"
• Calico System - The Duplicated Memory (Eulogy)
• Carbon Leaf - 5 Alive (two CDs, Carbon Leaf)
• The Cash Brothers - A Brand New Night (Rounder)
• Eva Cassidy - American Tune (Blix Street)
• Cat on Form - Structure and Fear (Southern)
• Eddy Clearwater with Los Straitjackets - Rock 'n' Roll City (Bullseye Blues & Jazz)
• Dashboard Confessional - A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (Vagrant)
  Read: "Dashboard Confessional Singer Heals Scars, Stops Singing The Blues On New LP"
  Hear A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar first on MTV.com
  Buy Now: A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (Vagrant)
• Jason Crosby - Four Chords and Seven Notes Ago (Artists House)
• Dapp Theory - Y'all Just Don't Know (Concord)
• Dead by July - Before Dishonor (Bockhorn)
• Disfear - Misanthropic Generation (Relapse)
• Dishwalla - Live ... From the Flow State (Immergent)
  Buy Now: Live ... From the Flow State (Immergent)
• DJ Craze - Rugged Radio Saturday (Audio Research)
• DJ Keoki - KeokiClash (Hypnotic)
• Dudoos - Kogidaso! Shura-Shu-Shun! (Sound Pollution)
• Extol - Synergy (Century Media)
• Béla Fleck and the Flecktones - Little Worlds (Columbia)
• Gene Loves Jezebel - Exploding Girls (Triple X)
• Scott Hamilton Quartet - Live in London (Concord Jazz)
• Inhuman - The New Nightmare (A-F)
• Alan Jackson - Greatest Hits 2 (Arista)
• The Joykiller - Ready, Sexed, Go! (Epitaph)
• Jude the Obscure - The Coldest Winter (One Day Savior)
• Ben Lee - Hey You. Yes You. (F2)
  Buy Now: Hey You. Yes You. (F2)
• Los Lonely Boys - Los Lonely Boys (Or Music)
• Low Flying Owls - Elixir Viritae (Stinky)
• Tom Mabe - A Wake-Up Call for Telemarketers (Megaforce)
• Marizane - Stage One (Vibro-phonic)
• The Mexican Blackbirds - Just to Spite You (Dirtnap)
• Mosquitos - Mosquitos (Bar None)
• Judy Mowatt - Sing Our Own Song (Shanachie)
• Ken Navarro - All the Way (Shanachie)
• Michelle Nixon - It's My Turn (Pinecastle)
• Tim O'Brien - Traveler (Sugar Hill)
• Pansy Division - Total Entertainment (Alternative Tentacles)
• Danilo Pérez - ... Till Then (Verve)
• Sarah Pierce - Love's the Only Way (Little Bear/Valley Entertainment)
• Pigface - Head (Invisible)
• Rap Mania - The Roots of Rap (X-Ray)
• Kurt Rosenwinkel - Heatcore (Verve)
• Arundhati Roy - Come September ... In Conversations With Howard Zinn (Alternative Tentacles)
• Diane Schuur - Midnight (Concord Jazz)
• Slack Family - Pickin' Up the Slack (Planetary)
• Smith, White & Fairchild - Love Never Fails (Skaggs Family)
• Smoo - Traffic in My Soul (Valley Entertainment)
• South Central Cartel - South Central Hell-A (D3)
• The Spotlight Syndicate - ... Forget the Static Past ... (Substandard)
• State Property - Beanie Sigel Presents 2: The Album (Def Jam)
• These Arms Are Snakes - This Was Meant to Hurt You (Jade Tree)
• Walter Trout - Relentless (Ruf)
• Truxton - Truxton (Substandard)
• Viki/Hair Police - Split (Load)
• Vortis - God Won't Bless America Again (Thick)
• Wehrwolfe - Godless We Stand (Magick)
• Robin Williamson - Skirting the River Road (ECM)
• World Inferno Friendship Society - Hallomas — Live at North Six (DCN)
• Various artists - 7Heads R Better Than 1, Vol. 1: No Edge Ups in South Africa (7Heads)
• Various artists - Boston Scene Report (TKO)
• Various artists - "Cheetah Girls" soundtrack (Walt Disney)
• Various artists - "Freddy Vs. Jason" soundtrack (Def Jam)
• Various artists - Fueling the Flames of Revolution (A-F)
• Various artists - "Grind" soundtrack (Atlantic)
• Various artists - An Irish Holiday (Eagle)
• Various artists - Japanese Assault (Relapse)
• Various artists - !K7150 (!K7)
• Various artists - Kids Bop Vol. 4 (Razor and Tie)
• Various artists - "The Last Great Wilderness" soundtrack (Domino)
• Various artists - Metamorphic: The String Quartet Tribute to Tool 2 (Vitamin)
• Various artists - "Open Range" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - Powerpuff Girls: Power Pop (Kid Rhino)
• Various artists - Shout, Sister, Shout: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta
• Thorpe (M.C.)

• DVD Bloodhound Gang - One Fierce Beer Run (Geffen)
• DVD DJ Tiesto - Another Day at the Office (Black Hole)
• DVD Kottonmouth Kings - Endless Highway (Music Video Distributors/Suburban Noize)
• DVD New Order - 316 (Rhino)
• DVD Skid Row - Under the Skin: The Making of Thickskin (Music Video Distributors)

August 19:

• Kraftwerk - Tour de France Soundtracks (Astralwerks)
  Buy Now: Tour de France (Astralwerks)
• Neil Young - Greendale (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - Neptunes Presents: Clones (Arista)
  Read: "Summer Music Preview: Neptunes' Star Trak Presents ... Clones"
  Buy Now: Neptunes Presents: Clones (Arista)
• Bow Wow - Unleashed (Columbia)
  Buy Now: Unleashed (Columbia)

August 26:

• Hilary Duff - Metamorphosis (Disney)
  Read: "Hilary Duff: Not Just For Kids"
  Buy Now: Metamorphosis (Disney)
  
• Peter Frampton - Now (33rd St.)
• Anthony Hamilton - Coming From Where I'm From (Arista) Read: "Eve, D'Angelo Can Testify: Anthony Hamilton Is 'Hellified Powerful' "
  Buy Now: Coming From Where I'm From (Arista)
• Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face)
  Buy Now: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face)
• Triumph the Insult Comic Dog - Songs in the Key of Poop (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Eminem Enemy Triumph Previews LP; Beefs With Bow Wow, Benji"

September 2:

• Mariah Carey - Remixes (Sony)
• Raveonettes- Chain Gang of Love (Sony)

September 9:

• John Mayer - Heavier Things (Sony)
  Read: "John Mayer Tries Hip-Hop With Help From Roots' ?uestlove"
• Seal - Seal (Warner Bros.)

September 16:

• Elvis Costello - North (Universal)
• Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance (Interscope)
  Read: "Bubba Sparxxx Softens Bumpkin Image, Teams Up With Justin For A 'Hootnanny' "
  
• Carnie Wilson - For the First Time (KMA)

October 7:

• Jin - Almost Famous (Virgin)
  Read: "Ruff Ryders' New Dog: Jin"

• Dashboard Confessional
• State Property
• Steve Burns
• Ben Lee
• Powerman 5000

Boyd Tinsley's through playing second fiddle. This week Tinsley, best known as the violinist for the Dave Matthews Band, releases his solo album, True Reflections. He reworks Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" and is joined by pal Dave Matthews on the title track.

Underground heads can turn to Swollen Members' Bad Dreams Instrumentals or the Notwist's self-titled album, and the FTW constituency can tune in to the Suicide Machines as they light up their latest album, A Match and Some Gasoline, or Type O Negative's Life Is Killing Me.

Tricky gets Vulnerable this week. The British trip-hopper follows in his own tradition of including cover songs on his albums. This time he reinterprets the Cure's "The Love Cats" and XTC's "Dear God." Meanwhile, A Tribe Called Quest's Hits, Rarities and Remixes features "Award Tour," "Can I Kick It?," "Bonita Applebum" and some previously unreleased tracks like "Mr. Incognito" and "The Night He Got Caught."

Monica, who last was seen fighting with Brandy on "The Boy Is Mine," tells us what it was like After the Storm. Five years since her last album, Monica returns with the first single "So Gone," produced by Missy Elliott. Other guests on the album include DMX on "Don't Gotta Go Home" and Tyrese on "Go to Bed Mad." PMD's Awakening consists of tracks produced by Kutmasta Kurt, Pete Rock and DJ Honda, among others, plus collaborations with Fat Joe, B Real and, of course, Erick Sermon.

Now for some quick rock hits: Clutch release their first live album, Live at the Googolplex, while Death in Vegas trade in their electronica sounds for some good old-fashioned rock on Scorpio Rising. Liam, one half of the scowling Gallagher brothers from Oasis, appears on the title track, in full Beatles homage/rip-off regalia. Finally NYC "it" band the Fever release their Pink on Pink EP.

Out Tuesday, June 17:

• Bryan Adams - Live at the Budokan (A&M)
• Alchemist - Austral Alien (Relapse)
• All Girl Summer Fun Band - Summer of 98 (EP, Magic Marker)
• The American Analog Set - Promise of Love (Tiger Style)
• Amorphis - Chapter (Relapse)
• Animosity - Shut It Down (Tribunal)
• John Arch - Twist of Fate (EP, Metal Blade)
• Atomsmasher - Drop the Bomb (Rip Off)
• Jon Auer/Ken Stringfellow - Private Sides (EP, Arena Rock)
• Aurelie - Desde Que Naci (Swim)
• Bad Brains - Banned in DC: Bad Brains' Greatest Riffs (Caroline)
• Hank Ballard & the Midnighters - Best of the Best (Federal)
• The Banner - Posthumous (Blackout)
• Behemoth - Pandemonic Incantation (Season Mist America)
• Behemoth - Chaotica (Season Mist America)
• Madison Smartt Bell and Wyn Cooper - Forty Words for Fear (Gaff Music)
• Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys - It's Time! (Yep Roc)
• The Black Dahlia Murder - Unhallowed (Metal Blade)
• Bleu - Redhead (Red Ink)
• Bluestring - Bluestring (Flying Frog)
• Suzy Bogguss - Swing (Compadre)
• Brand New - Deja Entendu (Razor & Tie)
• Brand New Disaster - Maybe We Should Run (Tribunal)
• The Bug/Cutty Ranks - Gun Disease (EP, Rephlex)
• Calibretto - Dead by Dawn (Standard)
• Jack Casady - Dream Factor (Eagle)
• Johnny Cash - 20 All-Time Original Greatest Hits (TeeVee)
• Clem Snide - Soft Spot (Spin Art)
• Patsy Cline - Hall of Fame 1973 (Federal)
• Club 8 - Strangely Beautiful (Hidden Agenda)
• Clutch - Live at the Googolplex (Mega Force)
• Comets on Fire - Comets on Fire (Alternative Tentacles)
• Cranes - Live in Italy (Instinct)
• Criteria en Garde - Criteria en Garde (Initial)
• Julian Curry - Guide to Wine (Naxos)
• Death in Vegas - Scorpio Rising (Sanctuary)
• Deep Purple/Rainbow - Winning Combinations (Universal)
• Dirt Bike Annie - Show Us Your Demons (Dirtnap)
• D.O.A./Thor - Are U Ready (Sudden Death)
• Fats Domino - 20 Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Hits (TeeVee)
• The Drive-By Truckers - Decoration Day (New West)
• Duvall - Racine (Asian Man)
• Eastmountainsouth - Eastmountainsouth (DreamWorks)
• Ephel Duath - Painter's Palette (Earache)
• Faith & Disease - Passport to Kunming (Projekt)
• Fasts - Fasts (Pollution)
• Fatback Band - Remixes (Southbound)
• The Fever - Pink on Pink (EP, Kemado)
• Finger Eleven - Finger Eleven (Wind-Up)
• Firewater - Man on the Burning Tightrope (Jetset)
• Forty Foot Echo - Forty Foot Echo (Hollywood)
• Pete Francis - Untold (Hollywood)
• King Geedorah - Take Me to Your Leader (Ninja Tune)
• Green Carnation - Blessing in Disguise (Season Mist)
• Steve Hackett - To Watch the Storms (Inside Out)
• Hella - Bitches Ain't Sh-- But Good People (EP, Suicide Squeeze)
• High Strung - These Are Good Times (Tee Pee)
• Himsa - Courting Tragedy and Disaster (Prosthetic)
• Claire Holley - Dandelion (Yep Roc)
• The Honor System - Rise and Run (Suburban Home)
• Ilya - Poise Is the Greater Architect (Second Nature)
• In Flames - Trigger (EP, Nuclear Blast America)
• George Jones - Best of the Best: Hall of Fame 1992 (Gusto)
• Kid Gorgeous - This Feeling Gets Old (Uprising)
• Knockout Drops - Killed by the Lights (Mayhem)
• Andre Lee - Simple Dre (Mardis Gras)
• A Life Once Lost - Great Artist (Deathwish Inc.)
• Limbeck - Hi, Everything's Great (Doghouse)
• The Love Scene - Blood Is the New Black (EP, Fenway)
• Lullatone - Computer Recital (Audio Dregs)
• Mad Parade - Bombs and the Bible (Dr. Strange)
• Magic Magicians - Magic Magicians (Suicide Squeeze)
• Barbara Mason - Greatest Hits (Empire Musicwerks)
• Nicolas Matar - Sun Dance (Journeys By DJ)
• Minus - Halldor Laxness (Victory)
• Mogwai - Happy Songs for Happy People (Matador)
• Moneen - Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? (Vagrant)
• Monica - After the Storm (J)
  Read: "Monica Revises LP With Help From Missy Elliott"
  Buy Now: After the Storm (J)
• No Motiv - Lola (Vagrant)
• The Notwist - Notwist (Bubble Core)
• On Broken Wings - Some of Us May Never See the World (Eulogy)
• O.T.T. - Blumenkraft (EFA)
• Outrageous Cherry - Stay Right Here For a While (Rainbow Quartz)
• Passenger - Passenger (Century Media)
• Pele - Elephant (Polyvinyl)
• PMD - Awakening (Solid)
• Portorock Blades - Hijo de Gloria (Universal Latino)
• Mr. Quintron - Are You Ready for an Organ Solo (Three-One-G)
• Eros Ramazzotti - 9 (RCA)
• Rated R - Ghetto Psychic (Universal)
• Razor Skyline - Bitter Well (Cop)
• Rhythm Makers - Funk Grooves (Classic World)
• Rifles at Recess - Whisper in Tongues (Tribunal)
• Sam Roberts - We Were Born In A Flame (Universal)
• Chuck Roberson - Woman Wants a Freak (Ecko)
• Rufio - MCMLXXXV (NIT)
• Rune - End of Nothing (Willowtip)
• Michael Schenker - Arachnophobiac (Shrapnel)
• Peggy Scott-Adams - Busting Loose (Miss Butch)
• Matt Sharp - Puckett's Versus the Country Boy (EP, In Music We Trust)
• The Sick Lipstick - Sting Sting Sting (Tiger Style)
• Sightings - Absolutes (Load)
• Singapore Sling - Curse of the Singapore Sling (Stinky)
• Phoebe Snow - Natural Wonder (Eagle)
• Soldado Lil 40 Oz - Malt Lyrics (Cinsity)
• Soul Purpose - Breaking Records (Coup d'Etat)
• Soviettes - Soviettes (Adeline)
• Spitalfield - Remember Right Now (Victory)
• Statistics - Statistics (EP, Jade Tree)
• Stills - Rememberese (Atlantic)
• Suicide Machines - A Match and Some Gasoline (USA Side 1 Dummy)
• Swollen Members - Bad Dreams Instrumentals (Battle Axe)
• Telescopes - As Approved by the Committee (Committee to Keep)
• Testors - Testors Complete Recordings 1976-79 (Swami)
• This Day Forward - In Response (Equal Vision)
• Thyrane - Hypnotic (Century Media)
• Robert "Duke" Tillman - Still Thinking (Waldoxy)
• Tindersticks - Waiting for the Moon (Beggars Banquet)
• Boyd Tinsley - True Reflections (RCA)
• Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine (Inside Out)
• Devin Townsend - Infinity (Inside Out)
• Tractor Kings - Gone to Heaven (Mud)
• A Tribe Called Quest - Hits, Rarities and Remixes (Jive)
  Buy Now: Hits, Rarities and Remixes (Jive)
• Tricky - Vulnerable (Sanctuary)
• The Tyde - Twice (Sanctuary)
• Type O Negative - Life Is Killing Me (Roadrunner)
• UGK - Best Of (Jive)
• Ugly Duckling - Taste the Secret (Emperor Norton)
• Vico-C - 15 Canciones Favoritas (RCA)
• Virus Nine - Blastin' Away (Af)
• Von Bondies - Raw and Rare (Dim Mak)
• The Wailers - Wailers Wailers Everywhere/Out of Our Tree (Big Beat UK)
• Doug Wamble - Country Libations (Rounder)
• Johnny Winter - Winter Essentials 1960-1967 (Varese)
• Steve Winwood - About Time (Sci Fidelity)
• Woven - 8 Bit Monk (Interscope)
• Yonder Mountain String Band - Old Hands (Sci Fidelity)
• Various artists - 20 All Time Country Hits (King)
• Various artists - Ambulance (TVT)
• Various artists - American Heritage Music Set (King)
• Various artists - Black Music (LTM)
• Various artists - British Dance Bands, Vol. 2 (Naxos)
• Various artists - Closure (TVT)
• Various artists - Essential Patriotic Collection (King)
• Various artists - First Damned (Season Mist America)
• Various artists - Food for Woofers (SPG)
• Various artists - Hardest Hits (SPG)
• Various artists - Juke Joint Saturday Night, Vol. 2 (Ecko)
• Various artists - Legends of the Fiddle: 20 Bluegrass Favorites (King)
• Various artists - "Nine: The Musical" soundtrack (PS Classics)
• Various artists - Old School Funk Jams (Thump)
• Various artists - Punk Seven Inch CD, Vol. 1: 1988-1989 (Lookout)
• Various artists - Radio Waves of the 80's: Pop Hits (Universal)
• Various artists - Ready Steady Go: The Countdown Records Story (Big Beat UK)
• Various artists - Sequence Mixtape, Vol. 1 (Sequence)
• Various artists - Smokey Mountain Pickin': 24 Great Bluegrass Ins (Rural Rhythm)
• Various artists - Summer Booty Party Vols. 1,2,3 (DM)

• Monica
• Tricky
• Boyd Tinsley
• Type O Negative
• Mogwai

For the third year in a row, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs has been recognized by the Council of Fashion Designers of America for his Sean John clothing line. He's nominated as the leading Menswear Designer of the Year, along with Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren. ... Mike Myers must be skipping about merrily at the moment, as he's now free and clear to use the title "Austin Powers in Goldmember" for the third installment of his spy spoof series, due July 26, according to Reuters. Sentinels of the James Bond franchise, MGM, went all antagonistic on Myers and New Line Cinema in January for using the title, which MGM then felt too closely trod upon the turf of Bond's "Goldfinger" (which is, of course, the point). ... Meanwhile, stills from "Goldmember," including photos of Destiny's Child songstress Beyoncé Knowles in full Afrolicious splendor as Foxxy Cleopatra, can be viewed at www.austinpowers.com. ...

Type O Negative are aiming to release their next album around Hallowe'en. The band has been demoing material for the as-yet-untitled record and also taken time out to cover Deep Purple's "Highway Star" for the upcoming NASCAR-sponsored compilation album Crank It Up. ... Slayer, who were originally due to do "Highway Star" for the NASCAR LP, will instead tackle Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild." ... Swedish rockers the Hives will swarm the States from May 26 in San Diego, California, to June 15 in Washington, D.C., in support of Vini Vidi Vicious, the quintet's second album, which was released by indie Epitaph subsidiary Burning Heart Records in 2000 and is set for a major-label reissue by joint venture Sire/Burning Heart/Epitaph in May. Fellow garage group the Mooney Suzuki have been tapped as openers. ... The second phase of Rhino Records' campaign to chronologically reissue LPs by California punk band X gets underway May 21, with newly pressed versions of More Fun in the New World (1983), Ain't Love Grand (1985) and See How We Are (1987) that feature remixes and bonus tracks. A re-release of the influential group's first three albums kicked off the operation in September. ...

04.11.02

Brandy, Babyface, the Village People, KC & the Sunshine Band and A Taste of Honey have been added to the list of performers to be featured on "American Bandstand's 50th ... A Celebration!," joining Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Cher, Alanis Morissette and KISS. The special, to air May 3 on ABC, will also include appearances by 'NSYNC, Janet Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, Jennifer Lopez and Whitney Houston, and an all-star band featuring Little Richard, the Go-Gos' Jane Wiedlin, the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs and Debbi Peterson, Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood, Leif Garrett, Spinal Tap's Michael McKean and others. ... 'NSYNC has another TV appearance in store before then, as their IMAX movie, "'NSYNC: Bigger Than Live," is set to air April 25 on the WB network. The hour-long special, which documents their No Strings Attached tour, features hits such as "Bye Bye Bye," band interviews, and the guys' dance moves captured by seven different camera angles. ...

Xzibit, Ice-T, Kurupt, Tha Liks, Ras Kass and former members of Zapp are among the performers scheduled to honor late funk king Roger Troutman at "An Evening of Still More Bounce: The Celebration" in Los Angeles on April 25, the third anniversary of Troutman's death. Still More Bounce: A Tribute to Roger Troutman is due May 14 and features the above artists along with Snoop Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Defari and Chico Debarge, who is hosting the April 25 tribute. ... Jennifer Lopez has inked a three-year first-look feature film development deal for her Nuyorican Productions company through Columbia Pictures, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Both J. Lo's label, Epic Records, and Columbia are owned by Sony. ...

Mary J. Blige canceled a concert scheduled to take place Tuesday in Milan in response to warnings of possible terrorist threats against U.S. citizens in several Italian cities, according to the Associated Press. ... Pet Shop Boys will hit the road next month for a 20-date North American tour to promote their latest album, Release, due April 23. The outing kicks off May 14 in Miami and stops in New York City for three shows (May 21-23) before wrapping with a two-night stint in San Francisco on June 8 and 9. ... Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg will next feel the cinematic vibrations in the actioner "The Italian Job," which will be directed by former video auteur F. Gary Gray ("Friday," "Set It Off"), according to Variety. ...

Patti Smith was forced to revise her spring touring plans after Jay Dee Daugherty, her drummer for 27 years, was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. Daugherty's leg was crushed when he was hit by a motorist making an illegal turn, and he isn't expected to recover fully until late summer. ... Former Squeeze frontman Glenn Tilbrook has lined up a tour of the U.S. in support of his first solo album, The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook. Kicking off at McNears Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, California, on Friday (April 12), the tour will hit Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Toronto and New York City before wrapping up in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 27. ... Timo Maas supporting his recently released debut studio album Loud with a five-week tour beginning May 3 in San Francisco and ending June 9 in Boston. MC Chickaboo, who appears on Maas' latest single, "Shifter," will accompany the German DJ on the trek.

• Diddy
• Destiny's Child
• Type O Negative
• The Hives
• Slayer

Biohazard
Photo: MTV News

Slipknot, Pantera's Phil Anselmo and Cypress Hill's Sen Dog will appear on Biohazard's sixth studio album.

Uncivilization, due September 11, also features collaborations with various members of Sepultura, Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta, Agnostic Front's Roger Miret and Type O Negative's Peter Steele.

Biohazard — singer/guitarist Billy Graziadei, singer/bassist Evan Seinfeld, guitarist Leo Curley and drummer Danny Schuler — produced most of the album on their own in their Brooklyn, New York, studio, according to management.

Miami producer Jive Jones, the man behind Mandy Moore's sugary single "Candy," co-produced the album's first single, "Last Man Standing," with Biohazard. The track features Sen Dog and New York's DJ Rizz (see "Biohazard's Next Features Sen Dog, Mandy Moore Collaborator").

Sen Dog last worked with the band on "How It Is," from 1994's State of the World Address. Uncivilization marks Biohazard's first release since signing to Sanctuary Records, a metal renaissance label whose roster includes Megadeth, Rollins Band, Corrosion Of Conformity, Halford and Dust to Dust.

The 13-track album finds the band collaborating with their many friends in the metal world. Slipknot appear on "Domination," Phil Anselmo on "H.F.F.K.," Peter Steele on "Cross the Line," Jamey Jasta on "Domination" and Roger Miret on "Unified." Sepultura's Igor Cavalera appears on "Gone," while bandmates Andreas Kisser and Derrick Green add guitars and vocals to "Trap." Biohazard will promote Uncivilization with a mid-August tour of the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, before heading to Europe in September for the Tattoo the Planet Tour. A full North American outing is expected to commence upon their return.

Meanwhile, fans can catch Seinfeld as recurring character Jaz Hoyt on HBO's prison drama, "Oz." Biohazard formed in 1988 and released several rap-metal landmarks, including 1996's Mata Leao and two collaborations with rappers Onyx, a remix of "Slam" and the title song on the "Judgment Night" soundtrack.

• Biohazard
• Slipknot
• Pantera
• Sepultura
• Hatebreed

Coal Chamber frontman Dez Fafara is going stir crazy.

• 2/15 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
• 2/16 - Memphis, TN @ New Daisy
• 2/29 - Toledo, OH @ Sports Arena
• 3/1 - Detroit, MI @ State Theatre
• 3/3 - Toronto, Ont @ Warehouse
• 3/4 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora
• 3/7 - Lewiston, ME @ Central Main Civic Center
• 3/9 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
• 3/10 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
• 3/12 - Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
• 3/14 - New York, NY @ Roseland
• 3/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
• 3/18 - Scranton, PA @ Cultural Arts Center
• 3/19 - Washington, DC @ Nation
• 3/21 - Norfolk, VA @ Boathouse
• 3/26 - Miami, FL @ Sunrise Theatre
• 3/31 - Houston, TX @ Aerial Theatre
• 4/4 - Dallas, TX @ Bronco Bowl
• 4/12 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre

-- Robert Mancini

• Coal Chamber
• Type O Negative

Just as the band prepares to renew the push behind its 1999 sophomore album, the nouveau metallers of Coal Chamber got a bit of good sales news about their 1997 self-titled debut.

-- Robert Mancini

• Coal Chamber
• Type O Negative

Bassist Rayna Foss Rose is ready to return to the road with her fellow Coal Chamber comrades after a maternity leave that began last fall.

-- Robert Mancini

• Coal Chamber
• Type O Negative

The gloom-drenched gentlemen of Type O Negative aren't likely to crack a collective wide smile about it, but things are going well on the band's current U.S. tour.

• 10/14 - San Francisco, CA @ Maritime Hall
• 10/15 - Hollywood, CA @ Palace
• 10/17 - Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theatre
• 10/18 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
• 10/20 - Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Live
• 10/21 - Houston, TX @ Numbers
• 10/22 - Shreveport, LA @ Malibu Beach Club
• 10/23 - Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theatre
• 10/25 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Abyss
• 10/26 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 10/28 - New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
• 10/29 - New York, NY @ Roseland
• 10/30 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
• 10/31 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
• 11/3 - State College, PA @ Crowbar
• 11/4 - Scranton, PA @ Tink's 11/5 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Metropol
• 11/6 - Buffalo, NY @ Showplace
• 11/7 - Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon
• 11/9 - Montreal, QC @ Le Spectrum
• 11/11 - Portland, ME @ Asylum
• 11/12 - Albany, NY @ Northern Lights
• 11/13 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel

• Type O Negative

The men of Type O Negative kept it local last weekend when shooting a new video from their recently released album, "World Coming Down."

The Brooklyn-bred doom rockers headed to that borough's New York Shipyard as well as a spot under the Brooklyn bridge to shoot a clip for "Everything Dies" on Saturday and Sunday.

The shoot saw the band team with director Michael Martin, whose previous experience includes Master P's breakthrough clip "Make 'Em Say Uhhh." Martin also spent some time over the weekend shooting a video for Type O labelmates Machine Head (see "Machine Head Taps Master P Director For New Video").

"Everything Dies" serves as Type O's first salvo from its new album, and it gives a good indication as to the lyrical gloom and musical heaviness that awaits on the rest of "World Coming Down."

frontman Peter Steele told MTV News of the origin of the song. "My father passed away and I guess it's kind of self explanatory that it's really kind of painful to love and painful to you know get attached to something when life is just one long goodbye.

"There's little like ballad thing, where I'm explaining like who passed away," Steele added, "and then when I start to sing 'everything dies,' it's a little bit heavier and a little bit more angry because I'm not too happy with the way life is and I'm not too happy with God, if he or she does exist, to give and then take. If that's supposed to make me a stronger person, it's having the opposite effect." [RealVideo]

The band hopes to have the video finished in three weeks. In the meantime, you can catch the band on the road. Type O kicks off a U.S. tour next week in Cleveland, and here's where you can catch them:

• 9/29 - Cleveland, OH @ Odeon Concert Club
• 9/30 - Toronto, ON @ Guvernment
• 10/1 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
• 10/2 - Toledo, OH @ Main Event
• 10/4 - Chicago, IL @ Metro / Smart Bar
• 10/5 - Milwaukee, WI @ Rave
• 10/6 - Minneapolis, MN @ Quest Club
• 10/8 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
• 10/9 - Salt Lake City, UT @ DV8
• 10/11 - Seattle, WA @ RKCNDY
• 10/12 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
• 10/14 - San Francisco, CA @ Maritime Hall
• 10/15 - Hollywood, CA @ Palace
• 10/17 - Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theatre
• 10/18 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
• 10/20 - Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Live
• 10/21 - Houston, TX @ Numbers
• 10/22 - Shreveport, LA @ Malibu Beach Club
• 10/23 - Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theatre
• 10/25 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Abyss
• 10/26 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 10/28 - New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
• 10/29 - New York, NY @ Roseland
• 10/30 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
• 10/31 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
• 11/3 - State College, PA @ Crowbar
• 11/4 - Scranton, PA @ Tink's
• 11/5 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Metropol
• 11/6 - Buffalo, NY @ Showplace
• 11/7 - Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon
• 11/9 - Montreal, QC @ Le Spectrum
• 11/11 - Portland, ME @ Asylum
• 11/12 - Albany, NY @ Northern Lights
• 11/13 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel

• Type O Negative