Metallica have launched a new Web site that will allow fans to download their shows within four days after they occur. The site, www.livemetallica.com, will provide unedited soundboard recordings of all shows on the Madly in Anger Tour, which kicks off Wednesday night (March 3) in Tucson, Arizona. The full concerts will be available in standard MP3 ($9.95) and CD-quality FLAC files ($12.95), and can be burned to disc, transferred to portable players or played through a computer. Printable booklets, tray inlays, and CD labels are also available with purchase. ...

C-Murder appeared in a Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, court on Tuesday for the final hearing in his effort to gain a new murder trial. Judge Martha Sassone said she would rule later on the request to overturn the rapper's conviction of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Steve Thomas during an MC battle. His defense argued that he should be given a new trial because prosecutors failed to inform them that some key witnesses had criminal records. Prosecutors countered that they were not aware of one witness' record because it had been expunged, and that the defense knew during the trial about the trouble the other witnesses had with the law but had chosen not to cross-examine them. C-Murder, whose real name is Corey Miller, is looking at a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. Meanwhile, his deposition in the wrongful-death suit brought by Thomas' parents is scheduled for April 13. ...

To mark the 10th anniversary of Nas' classic Illmatic, the LP will be reissued March 30 as a double-disc set comprising a remastered version of the original album and a disc featuring four new remixes, including one of "The World Is Yours," and two new songs, "Star Wars" and "On the Real," which was produced by rap pioneer Marley Marl. A DVD, Video Anthology Vol. 1, will be released separately to coincide with the reissue. ...

Puddle of Mudd's March 29 show at Minnesota State University was canceled by the school after it found out about frontman Wes Scantlin's February 22 arrest for disorderly conduct and criminal mischief after a concert in Toledo, Ohio. Scantlin reportedly spat at the audience and threw a bottle at the crowd, acts that the university felt might jeopardize the safety of its students should they happen again. ...

Before they hook-up with No Doubt for a monthlong summer tour in June, Blink-182 will play nine shows with Cypress Hill, beginning April 29 in Nampa, Idaho. Cypress Hill's seventh album, Till Death Do Us Part, drops March 23. ... Sparta's second album, Porcelain, will come out in June. The disc, produced by Mike Major and mixed by Andy Wallace, will include the songs "Guns of Memorial Park," "Breaking the Broken," "Hiss the Villain" and "While Oceana Sleeps." Before their May 1 appearance at Coachella, Sparta will play six shows, beginning March 11 in Hollywood and concluding April 18 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. ...

Chimaira are the latest addition to the work-in-progress Within the Mind, a tribute LP honoring late Death frontman Chuck Schuldiner. Those already onboard for the album, due in June, include CKY, King Diamond, Slipknot and Six Feet Under. ... Dio will release a DVD of their 1985 Sacred Heart tour on March 23. In addition to a complete concert, the disc includes bonus interviews with the bandmembers. ...

Staind's Aaron Lewis makes a guest appearance on and co-wrote "Fallin' Out," the first single from Jimmie's Chicken Shack's upcoming album, re.present. Marcy Playground singer John Wozniak also makes an appearance, and Everclear's Art Alexakis, Marvelous 3's Butch Walker and Creed's Mark Tremonti have co-written songs for the LP, due April 27. ... Two new Who songs are featured in the upcoming hits collection Then and Now!, due March 30. "Old Red Wine" and "Real Good Looking Boy," which was recorded with drummer Zak Starkey in November, appear alongside favorites like "The Kids Are Alright," "Magic Bus" and "I Can't Explain." ...

03.02.2004

Just a couple of weeks after his debut album blasted its way to #2 on the albums chart, about 15 unreleased Kanye West songs have leaked onto the Internet. Included in the set is a song called "Hey Mama," which finds Kanye writing a thank-you love song to his mom over a Donovan-like '60s folk vocal loop. In previous interviews, Kanye said the song would appear on his third album. Also amongst the tracks are original versions of "All Falls Down" and "Family Business" and various instrumentals. ... Meanwhile, Kanye and the Young Gunz will headline the first benefit for the Heart & Voices concert series March 11 at New York's Show club. The bi-monthly performances will raise awareness for HIV prevention in the black community and funds for LIFEbeat: The Music Industry Fights AIDS. ...

Claymates are flocking to the North Carolina Museum of History. On Tuesday (March 2), the museum debuted a new exhibit featuring a white shirt, black pinstriped pants and shoes Clay Aiken wore on "American Idol" last March. "Today's popular culture often becomes tomorrow's history," curator Elizabeth F. Buford told reporters. ... Forget about the Artist or other monikers, Prince is happy being called Prince. "There's a new song on the new CD called 'Call My Name' and the song basically talks about the fact that no one had really said my name for a long time because I changed it," the singer said recently. "My friends respected my wishes and they didn't use the name Prince. They just called me 'friend' or 'sir' or something like that. It was interesting being called 'sir' for so long. So anyway, look for that track 'cause I think it's one of the best ones I've done." ...

The Ying Yang Twins are trying to keep the ladies shaking through the spring with two remixes of their hit single "Salt Shaker." The first one features Lil Jon, Murphy Lee, Juvenile and Fat Joe. The second boasts appearances by all the same players, in addition to B.G., Fat Man Scoop and newcomers Pitbull and Jacki-O. ... Snoop Dogg has a couple of songs recorded for his next solo album, Snoopafly, but admits to being a long way from completion. "It's like a movie," he said recently. "You can shoot a whole bunch of scenes but you don't know how you're gonna cut the movie up until you really get it all done." ...

DJ Vlad will follow up his award winning Rap Phenomenon mixtape series with the first Rock Phenomenon mixtape, due later in the month on www.djvlad.com. Ex-Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha, Everlast, M.O.P. and Cypress Hill are some of the collaborators who worked on the project with Vlad in DJ Muggs' studio during NBA All-Star weekend. ... Danger Mouse will be the keynote speaker at the M3 (Miami Music Multimedia) Summit Sunday in Miami. The hip-hop producer behind the now infamous Grey Album will also be headlining the M3 Sunset Sessions that night at the Surfcomber Hotel, where he will be spinning sections of his Jay-Z vs. the Beatles experiment for the first time, along with tunes from Ghetto Pop Life, his new album with rapper Jemini. ...

Story of the Year, Sugarcult, Reel Big Fish, Atreyu and My Chemical Romance are among the bands slated for the 9th annual Extreme Thing sports and music festival, set for March 27 at the Desert Breeze Skate Park in Las Vegas. ... Something Corporate and Yellowcard are teaming up for a co-headlining tour beginning March 18 in San Francisco and wrapping April 30 in Kingston, Rhode Island. Afterwards, Yellowcard will hit the road again, with the Vans Warped Tour. ...

The sequel to Rob Zombie's directorial debut, "House of 1000 Corpses," will be called "The Devil's Rejects," according to a post on his Web site. The film, which features all of the original cast members, is expected later this year. ... Mathew Knowles, a.k.a. Beyoncé's father, has signed old-school soul crooners the O'Jays to a new multi-record deal. The group's new music is to be released on Sony via Knowles' own Music World Music label before the end of the year. ...

British rapper Mike Skinner, better known as the Streets, has set a May 18 release date for his second LP, A Grand Don't Come for Free. The concept album tells a story from song to song (with two different endings). ... Melancholic New York quartet Interpol are looking to begin working on their second album at the end of the month. A late 2004 due date is expected. ...

While Kittie work on their third album, Until the End, due this summer, lawyers for the female-fronted metal band have settled a lawsuit with former label Artemis Records. The terms of the suit, filed in April and alleging the withholding of royalties, were undisclosed. ... With a new single, "Sister Savior," hitting the airwaves, the Rapture will launch a North American tour Friday at the Winter Music Conference in Miami. The outing wraps up May 4 at Coachella in Indio, California. ...