Detritus
Issue #265
Week of April 12, 2004
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*** CAST OF CHARACTERS ***
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Tim Wadzinski, Editor
tsw512@...

Steve Shumake
vongoober@...
http://listen.to/vongoober-radio/

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*** LET IT BE KNOWN ***
*
-Avowed metalhead and all-around good guy Joe Paciolla, the bassist
from Enertia, wanted me to help spread the word about the Upstate
Metalfest, what he's calling "his version of Chicago Powerfest." This
festival is set for May 7-8 at The Upper Deck in Gloversville, NY, and
promises to rock just as hard 'n' loud as the Chicago area show did in
February. A $10 two-day pass lets you see Conquest (Missouri),
Division (Virginia), Enertia (New York), HavocHate (New Jersey), Ion
Vein (Illinois), Livesay (New York), Lucid Reality (New York), X
Factor X (Connecticut), and one more band TBA. For more information
check out http://www.upstatemetalfest.com/ , and see
http://www.enertia.cc/ for more on Enertia. - Tim

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*** PRESS RELEASE #1 ***
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-Wacken Open Air News

1. 15th Wacken Open Air, Aug 5 - 7

W:O:A - das anniversary festival 2004

You can use our reservation service for the camping ground at the
camping area this year again. There is no fee for camping - you only
have to pay for parking your car!

This makes your journey to W:O:A much easier. And it will work this
way:

Size of your group must be 50 persons or more.
You can reserve the ground from the 1st of March to the first of May.

The information we need:

- Name and address of the leader
- Name of the group
- How many persons
- How many tents
- How many cars
- Names of the drivers

You get a reservation number which you can change for a parking ticket
in Wacken.

NEW:

You will get the parking ticket for 20,- Euro per car (like 2003) if
you show us your reservation number and your Wacken ticket at the
check-in. It will be at the supermarket "Sparmarkt Jensen!. No advance
payment available!

This year you will find your area at the campinggrounds D + L again!

You can arrive from Wednesday, the 4th of August / 08:00 a.m. We
guarantee your area until Wednesday, 4th of August 12 p.m. Because of
the logistics it's not possible to arrive earlier!

From Thursday, the 5th on we can't guarantee your reservations.

Any questions?

Please contact:

campgroundreservierung@...
Fax: 0049 – (0) 4627 – 18 38 80
Contact person: Britta

All confirmed bands so far (in alphabetical order):

AFTER FOREVER + AMON AMARTH + ANTHRAX + ARCH ENEMY + ASTRAL DOORS +
BAL-SAGOTH + BOEHSE ONKELZ + BRAINSTORM + CANNIBAL CORPSE + CATHEDRAL
+ CHILDREN OF BODOM + DEATH ANGEL + DEICIDE + DESTRUCTION + DIO +
DIONYSUS + DISBELIEF + DORO feat. Metal Classic Orchestra + special
guests Udo Dirkschneider & Blaze Bayley + EKTOMORF + ELÄKELÄISET +
GRAVE DIGGER + GRIFFIN + HELLOWEEN with surprise guest + HYPOCRISY +
J.B.O + KNORKATOR + KOTIPELTO + MAYHEM + MISERY INDEX + MNEMIC +
MOTÖRHEAD + MYSTIC PROPHECY + NEVERMORE + ORPHANAGE + PARAGON +
QUIREBOYS + RAUNCHY + SATAN + SATYRICON (last show forever!!) feat.
special set with Nocturno Culto from DARKTHRONE + SAXON + SCHANDMAUL +
THUNDERSTONE + WARLOCK (Lineup from 1986) + ZODIAC MINDWARP and many
more...

DVD about the tour 2003

VÖ 29.03.04/ Laufzeit: 115 min.
feat.
ONKEL TOM Angelripper & band
Amon Amarth
Mob Rules
special guest: LORDI

The DVD about the Wacken Open Air (W:O:A) Roadshow has been available
since March the 29th. It contains live shows, backstage stories, news
sending out of the nightliner - the best of tour life.

The first Roadshow DVD surprises with many extras, specials and bonus
tracks.

You can order the W:O:A Roadshow DVD here:
http://www.metaltix.com/link/?item,33612,nlwoa20040704

2. W:O:A Roadshow 2004

- Now confirmed as headliner at the Roadshow: PRIMAL FEAR
- We also present you: FREEDOM CALL + METALIUM + DARK AGE

Tour dates:
20.04.04 (SWE) Gothenburg - Musikens Hus
21.04.04 (SWE) Stockholm - Klubben
22.04.04 (SWE) Malmö - KB
23.04.04 (GER) Hamburg - Markthalle
24.04.04 (GER) Wesseling - Lessingschule
25.04.04 (GER) Nordenham - Jahnhalle
27.04.04 (I) Bergamo - Motion
28.04.04 (A) Innsbruck - Hafen
29.04.04 (GER) Frankenthal - Krone Music Club
01.05.04 (GER) Osnabrück - Dütehalle
02.05.04 (GER) Kassel - Musiktheater
03.05.04 (GER) Bochum - Zeche
04.05.04 (CH) Pratteln - Z7
06.05.04 (ES) Valencia - Republicca*
07.05.04 (ES) Madrid - Aqualung*
08.05.04 (ES) Barcelona - Razzmatazz 2*
09.05.04 (ES) Bergara - Sala Jam*
11.05.04 (F) Paris - tba*
12.05.04 (GER) Ludwigsburg - Rockfabrik°
(*except Freedom Call & Dark Age/ °except Dark Age)

http://www.wacken.com/

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*** PRESS RELEASE #2 ***
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-Radiant Records Update

Hello there,

How are you? Good we hope.

We just got the new CPR compilation double CD in stock. It features
tracks by Glass Hammer, Neal Morse, Ten Point Ten, Ajalon, and Kerry
Livgrens Proto-kaw. Here's a bit of info about it:

CPR is the first collection of its kind. A collection of Christian
Progressive artists from across the US, an acronym for Christian
Progressive Rock, the CPR collection includes contributions from such
artists as Kerry Livgren, (Kansas) and Neal Morse (Spock's Beard,
Transatlantic) as well as other talented groups from all corners of
the country. Rick Wakeman (Yes) appears in a new song from Ajalon.
Supplies are limited so don't wait to order! Available now at a
special introductory price.

Order now at http://www.radiantrecords.com/

NEWS: Neal Morse to play at CalProg festival!

Neal wanted to let you know about a special event that he will be
performing at this summer on July 3rd. It's a daylong progressive
music festival in Whittier California called CalProg. He will be doing
a special unplugged acoustic set that will include songs from
throughout his career (Spock's Beard, Transatlantic, solo records and
the most recent Testimony album). If you like singing along, this will
be a perfect opportunity!

The other performers on the bill are: The Mike Keneally Band (with
Nick D'Virgilio on drums!), Enchant, Izz, and Erik Norlander. All
seats are reserved and they go on sale this Saturday, April 10, at
8:00am PDT. For more information and ticket sales please visit the
official CalProg website: http://www.CalProgDay.com/

Thanks and see you soon!

Jessica Mears,

Radiant Records

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*** PRESS RELEASE #3 ***
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-Last Band Confirmed For 2000 Decibel!

2000 DECIBEL - The festival that supports Swedish Metal

We can now present the last band for this year's 2000
Decibel-festival, which will be held May 21st and 22nd in Bengtsfors,
Sweden (180 km north of Gothenburg). Dark Tranquillity will have the
honour to end our fifth anniversary festival.

We feel that this year's line-up is the strongest in the history of
2000 Decibel. The following bands are confirmed: Cans (who makes their
live premier in Bengtsfors!), The Haunted, Hypocrisy, Dark
Tranquillity, Pain Of Salvation, Vintersorg, Ablaze My Sorrow, Amaran,
Arise, Astral Doors, Beseech, Beyond, Count Raven, Draconian, Electric
Earth, God Among Insects, Gorefight, Grand Magus, Ironware, Lefay,
Merciless, Morifade, Månegarm, Naglfar, Notre Dame, Persuader,
Repulse, Shattered, Shiftlight, Silent Scythe, Sovereign, Syconaut,
Tad Morose, The Generals, Trendkill and Wolf.

You will find the complete running order on our homepage (see below).

2000 Decibel is the only festival that is totally dedicated to Swedish
Metal. The previous festivals have gained a lot of attention from all
over the world, with visitors from as far away as New Zeeland, Canada,
USA and Mexico. The Swedish Metal scene has never been better or more
interesting so it is definitely a winning formula. This year we expect
more foreign visitors than ever before!

For more information visit our homepage @ http://www.mfdecibel.com/ or
contact:

Lennart Larsson
2000 Decibel
Box 84
660 10 Dals Långed
Sweden
Phone/fax: +46 531 407 47
Mobil: +46 531 52 60 22
phantom@...

SPREAD THE WORD!

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*** PRESS RELEASE #4 ***
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-Former Kiss Guitarist Records Guest Appearances For Lion's Share,
Audiovision - Apr. 12, 2004

Former Kiss/current Grand Funk Railroad guitarist Bruce Kulick was at
Stockholm, Sweden's Canvas studio ( http://www.jkproductions.org/ ) on
Saturday (April 10) recording guest appearances for the new Lion's
Share and Audiovision albums. The recording session was overseen by
producer and Lion's Share guitarist Lars Chriss.

Lion's Share's ( http://www.lionsshare.org/ ) follow-up to 2001's
"Entrance" will be recorded this fall/winter and will feature new
vocalist Patrik Johansson (Astral Doors, Space Odyssey) and drummer
Mats Karlsson.

The solo project of Narnia singer Christian Rivel, Audiovision's (
http://www.rivelrecords.com/audiovision/ ) debut CD will include
additional guest appearances by such hard rock/heavy metal luminaries
as Lars Chriss, Jeff Scott Soto (Talisman, Yngwie Malmsteen), Tony
Franklin (Whitesnake, Blue Murder, The Firm), Mats Levén (Krux, At
Vance, Yngwie Malmsteen), Mic Michaeli (Europe), Michael Höglund
(Punchline, Thunder), Thomas Broman (Hughes Turner Project, Glenn
Hughes Band, Electric Boys), Thomas Vikström (Brazen Abbot,
Candlemass), Tommy Denander (Radioactive), Janne Stark (Locomotive
Breath), Carl Johan Grimmark (Narnia) and Andreas Lindahl (Platitude).
The self-titled album will be released later in the year through Rivel
Records.

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*** PRESS RELEASE #5 ***
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-Upcoming Helloween Interview!

[Note: This came from Helloween Web master Tony Webster's Still We Go
'weenie mailing list. - Tim]

Hey all,

I am broadcasting an interview with Michael Weikath this Friday at
11:05PM EST on 88.3 WBWC here in Cleveland. You can also listen online
at http://www.wbwc.com/ with a real audio player if you don't have
one. Also if you are all interested my show airs from 10:05pm-1am and
you can check it out before and/or after the interview has concluded.

New tour dates are posted with the European festival dates. These are
the remaining tour dates for the band this year, then they will go and
try to record the next album very soon.

That's all for now go to http://www.helloween.org/ for more details!

-Tony

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*** PRESS RELEASE #6 ***
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-Rockdetector Global Gig Guide

www.rockdetector.com, the world's biggest Rock & Metal website,
launches the world's first Rock & Metal global gig guide.

We will be launching initially to RECORD COMPANIES ONLY for the first
month of operation. This first month of pre-registration is FREE – so
go for it. Please feel free to enter in all of your artists gigs –
anywhere in the world.

The gig guide, already featuring over 5,000 concerts, is linked into
individual artist pages, so fans can see exactly when and where their
favourite band is playing.

The gig database is fully searchable by:

· Artist name
· Music style
· Location
· Date

It includes venue details and support bands.

PLEASE NOTE: Although Rockdetector includes over 23,600 bands the ONLY
way to make sure your artists are included on both Rockdetector and
the global gig guide is to include us on your promotion list. (See
'FAQ' for address).

In May we open up the gig guide to other industry affiliates (PR
agencies, Booking agencies, etc,) and to artists / bands.

Further label affiliation is being scheduled now. Participating
members will be able to add data, photos, tour dates, press releases,
etc, straight onto the website.

http://www.rockdetector.com/

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*** PRESS RELEASE #7 ***
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-Emperor Multimedia Press Release

Hello to our media friends;

My apologies for not being in contact with you for sometime but we
have been very busy here at Emperor/Diskery.

Firstly, Diskery features several new artists and we encourage your
readers/listeners to visit us at http://www.diskery.com/ .

Our RRCA website ( http://rrca.diskery.com/ ) has undergone some
technological upgrades. For one thing there are new entries in the
biography and reviews archives, further to this you can access all
entries by one menu prompt instead of several, and finally the list is
alphabetic!! (YES that small detail was overlooked all this time....)
making it one of the largest Heavy Metal archives ever compiled on the
internet.

Emperor would like to announce that one of our latest Diskery
subsidiary signees, thrash act Sedamentreous, will be coming to
Toronto as part of their North American tour in July. Date: TBA, for
YOUR city information check local listings.

Emperor would also like to thank all those artists and labels who have
opted to participate in our Polishing Of Metal historical
compilation/e-book on Heavy Metal. We now have over 1000 artists
featured with more coming! We expect it to be a 2 multimedia CD set,
the cover and label artwork kindly rendered this time by Barry Waddell
("Skully") of Prog. Metal act Seasons Of The Wolf. The project is just
over half way completed at this time, and features more than 500
improvements from the previous Recorded History. Recorded History BTW
is available at a special sale price at our Diskery website.

Last week Emperor announced the next in our technological march
forward for our multimedia projects. The 'cat is out of the bag' so to
speak with this one since it was so big we couldn't keep it a secret
for long. Emperor is in the process of hiring computer science and
graphics students from around Canada, specifically here in our local
area, for the development of what is currently simply dubbed "the
celestial jukebox project" (those who understand legalese in the
entertainment business know what "celestial jukebox" means). The
project consists of a massive database based on the technology and
information in the Recorded History and Polishing of Metal projects
but far more advanced, allowing literally millions of artists, along
with their biographies, individual songs, credits, videos, etc. to be
compressed, encrypted and archived for interractive access using our
own proprietary technology. Already the "Unimed" (pronounced
"eunymeed") has been constructed and tested. The Unimed is a
machine/system that can copy any form of media and digitize it in our
format for use. The computer software needs to be constructed and is
expected to take the bulk of the development time. The final system
will allow a home PC user to download the software for free but pay
for the individual databases that are updated on a regular basis for
such music as Metal, Pop Rock, Jazz, Punk, etc.... The system may even
feature voice control. There is no set date of release, as much of the
technology is in the early stages but Emperor is determined to release
it, or some variation of it, in the next few years.

Thanks for your time.

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*** PRESS RELEASE #8 ***
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-Kittie Reveals Song Details For "Until The End"

LONDON, Ontario -- Kittie has unveiled the track listing for its
upcoming album, "Until the End," which was recorded during the month
of March in Massachusetts' Longview Farm Studios.

Songs titles are:

"Career Suicide"
"Burning Bridges"
"Look So Pretty"
"Pussy Sugar"
"Until the End"
"Red Flag"
"In Dreams"
"Daughters Down"
"Loveless"
"Into the Darkness"

"The heaviest song on this album is hands down 'Burning Bridges,'"
said frontwoman Morgan Lander. "It combines a huge melodic chorus with
a balls-out riffing. It is the perfect combination!"

Morgan's sister, drummer Mercedes Lander, agrees with Morgan's
assessment, adding that "Daughters Down" is equally heavy. "Both songs
have amazing heavy-ass guitar and bass riffs that tear your ass
apart," she said. "The drumming is heavy with lots of pounding double
kick and really awesome breakdowns."

Bassist Jennifer Arroyo also selects "Burning Bridges" as one of the
album's heaviest songs, also noting that "Looks So Pretty" is "tough
as nails. And I love, love, love 'Pussy Sugar.' That song has a ton of
dynamics and we just bring the house down in the end. It makes me want
to run free in the streets with a mallet!"

Six of the tracks were written prior to last summer's US tour,
allowing the band to try them out live as they trekked across the
country.

"I have always believed that if you tour on a song before you record
it, it always turns out better in the studio," said Mercedes Lander.
"Playing the song live helps it mature and makes you that much more
comfortable with the song."

Added Arroyo: "I love playing new material on the road because you get
to watch it grow, then when you head into the studio, you just nail
it. It's done nothing but help the recording process."

The remaining songs, which the ladies all agree are inspired by every
life, were written after the group returned from a June 2003 Mexican
tour.

"Lyrically, I write about mainly personal experiences," said Morgan
Lander. "Situations, relationships, human nature, and our emotional
and physical struggle just to get by and be heard. Musically, I think
what keeps us going is knowing that there are the people out there who
really love and appreciate what we are doing. That gives us a desire
to continue on, no matter what the obstacle."

Artemis Records will release "Until the End" this summer.

http://www.kittierocks.com/
http://www.artemisrecords.com/

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*** PRESS RELEASE #9 ***
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-Unearthed: Former Iced Earth Members' Demo Posted Online

[Note: This comes courtesy of PowerMetal.cl. - Tim]

Chilean "heavy & power metal webzine" PowerMetal.cl is currently
hosting the two-song demo from Unearthed, the new band formed by
former Iced Earth members Gene Adam (vocals), Dave Abell (bass), and
Mark Prator (drums), along with Bill Owen (guitar) of the pre-Iced
Earth band Purgatory. Download the songs by following the links below:

01. "Unearthed"
http://www.powermetal.cl/multimedia/mp3/unearthed_unearthed.mp3

02. "Fire In the Sky"
http://www.powermetal.cl/multimedia/mp3/unearthed_fire_in_the_sky.mp3

Unearthed, who are currently unsigned, will formally begin shopping
the demo during the coming weeks with a view towards releasing their
debut album in late 2004/early 2005.

http://www.powermetal.cl/

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*** PRESS RELEASE #10 ***
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-IcebergRadio.com's Metal Radio Adds

The following albums were added this week to IcebergRadio.com's Metal
Stations: BWBK.com, '80s Hair Bands, BlackDeath, ProgPower, Hair
Transplant, Doom & Distortion, '80s Aggression, Roots Of Metal.

BLISSED - Waking Up The Dead (Metal Mayhem): Hair Transplant
CHAOSBREED - Brutal (Century Media): BWBK.com, BlackDeath
DISBELIEF - Spreading The Rage (Nuclear Blast): BWBK.com, BlackDeath
EKTOMORF - Destroy (Nuclear Blast): BWBK.com, BlackDeath
EVERGREY - The Inner Circle (Insideout): BWBK.com, ProgPower
FALL OF THE LEAFE - Volvere (Rage Of Achilles): BWBK.com, ProgPower
FEINSTEIN - Third Wish (Magic Circle Music): BWBK.com, ProgPower
FINNTROLL - Nattfödd (Century Media): BWBK.com, BlackDeath
JERRY GASKILL - Come Somewhere (InsideOut): Hair Transplant
KOTIPELTO - Coldness (Century Media): BWBK.com, ProgPower
TANKARD - Beast Of Bourbon (AFM): BWBK.com
U.D.O. - Thunderball (AFM): BWBK.com
UNHOLY GHOST - Torrential Reign (Olympic/Century Media): BWBK.com,
BlackDeath

Brave Pick Of The Week: IN FLAMES - Soundtrack To Your Escape (Nuclear
Blast)

BWBK.com is BW&BK Magazine's noisy audio brother and can be found at
www.BWBK.com and via the Metal News section at www.HardRadio.com!

For more info about BWBK.com contact metaltim@icebergmedia or
metaltim@...

BWBK.com is the noisy audio brother to BW&BK Magazine!

http://www.BWBK.com/ - 24/7 Audio Assault!

*
*** FLAMES FROM THE LAKE ***
*
by Sean P. Gahgan (lof@...)

-Alright...so with the impending release of THE NEON GOD by W.A.S.P.
on April 20th, I was thinking about my favorite concept CDs of all
time and I said to myself, "That sounds like an awesome topic for a
Detritus poll!!!!" Since I got such a great response to the last poll
(Detritus Fantasy Festival I) I will ask you all to e-mail me your top
3-5 concept CDs of all time and I will tally them up and post the
results in a week or two. I know it will be hard for me to narrow it
down to just five but it makes it much easier counting all the votes.
;-)

-Other than that not a lot going on in the Lake this week other than a
great deal of recording so here are some random thoughts for the
week... If you haven't heard by now, Evergrey is going to be on MTV2's
"Headbanger's Ball" this Saturday, April 17th so watch it!!!! I should
have an interview with Tom Englund and the boys at their Chicago
(April 20) stop so be on the lookout for that in two weeks. I am
really looking forward to seeing them with Iced Earth in Chicago and
Milwaukee. Also curious to hear Ripper Owens pull off some of those
incredible vocal tracks he laid down for THE GLORIUS BURDEN.... Really
disappointed with the new Wicked Sensation CD entitled EXCEPTIONAL.
When I reviewed their debut CD, REFLECTIONS, in Detritus #216 - Week
of March 31, 2003, I was very impressed and said this was a band to
keep an eye on. Well gone are the exceptional vocals (pun intended) of
Robert Soeterboek who is replaced by Fernando Garcia (ex-Victory). Now
don't get me wrong, I love Fernando Garcia and I own every single
Victory CD, but Robert's vocals were very soulful and unique (had a
close resemblance to a very young and powerful David Coverdale).
Fernando does nothing out of the ordinary to impress here. The
production is not as in-your-face as REFLECTION's (recorded at House
of Audio, Karlsdorf, Germany) was and the songs sound more generic and
lack the impact that the debut had... On a positive note, D.C. Cooper
has started the recording of the vocals for the next Silent Force CD,
LINE OF ATTACK, this week. We should see this release by Fall...
Threshold are also in the studio ( http://www.thinicestudios.com/ )
working on their new CD, SUBSURFACE, that they hope to have it out by
this summer... Anybody else heard the SPIN THE BOTTLE Kiss tribute CD?
Dee Snider does a pretty kick-ass version of "Detroit Rock City" and
believe it or not, Tommy Shaw (Styx) does a good job of singing "Love
Gun"... That's it for now so send me your top five conceptual CDs of
all time or your voice will not be heard and if you are not heard then
that means you are silent and while silence is golden it doesn't pay
the bills. I have no idea what that is suppose to mean so just DO
IT!!!!

-Quote of the Week: "A man who won't die for something is not fit to
live" -- M.L.K. Jr.

-Song of the Week: "I'm A Rocker" by Judas Priest

-Playing in the Lake of Fire this week: AGAINST THE WORLD by
Frontline, EXCEPTIONAL by Wicked Sensation, BLEED by Angel Dust, and
RAM IT DOWN by Judas Priest.

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*** REALM OF SHRED ***
*
by Neal Woodall (MysticX10@...)

-I love bands with two guitarists, especially when they take trade-off
solos. Most everyone reading Detritus is no doubt familiar with some
of the great guitar teams in metal, such as Glenn Tipton/K.K. Downing,
Dave Murray/Adrian Smith, Rudolph Schenker/Matthias Jabs and Michael
Wilton/Chris DeGarmo. This week, however, I thought I would list some
of my other favorite tandem units along with a representative example
of their recorded work. So here goes, in no particular order of
importance:

Vicious Rumors - Mark McGee/Geoff Thorpe: DIGITAL DICTATOR
Leatherwolf - Carey Howe/Geoff Gayer: STREET READY
Thin Lizzy - John Sykes/Scott Gorham: THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
Racer X - Paul Gilbert/Bruce Bouillet: SECOND HEAT
Cacophony - Jason Becker/Marty Friedman: SPEED METAL SYMPHONY
Riot - Mark Reale/Rick Ventura: FIRE DOWN UNDER
Accept - Wolf Hoffmann/Jorg Fischer: RESTLESS AND WILD
Saxon - Paul Quinn/Graham Oliver: WHEELS OF STEEL
Helloween - Michael Weikath/Kai Hansen: KEEPER OF THE 7 KEYS PART 2
Obsession - Bruce Vitale/Art Maco: METHODS OF MADNESS
Exodus - Gary Holt/Rick Hunolt: PLEASURES OF THE FLESH
Labyrinth - Olaf Thorsen/Andrea Cantarelli: RETURN TO HEAVEN DENIED

Recently a new breed of dual guitar virtuosos have emeged. Here are my
current favorites:

Evergrey - Tom Englund/Henrik Danhage: IN SEARCH OF TRUTH
Sinergy - Alexi Laiho/Roope Latvala: SUICIDE BY MY SIDE
Mors Principium Est - Jori Haukio/Jarkko Kokko: INHUMANITY
Arch Enemy - Michael Arnott/Chris Arnott: ANTHEMS OF REBELLION

I know I've left a bunch of great teams off the list, and I pretty
much avoided the bands featuring a predominant rhythm guitarist with a
lead player (like Jag Panzer); I'll save those for another time. Now
go check out some of the above-mentioned albums!

*
*** REVIEWS ***
*
LEGEND - STILL SCREAMING (A-/B+) Monster, 2003
11 tracks, RT: 64:00
[ http://www.cicd.com/legend/ ]
[ http://www.monsterrecords.com/ ]
We've seen an abundance of band reformations in the last few years,
some obviously more justified than others. Legend was one of the most
interesting and authentic bands to emerge from the New Wave of British
Heavy Metal scene of the early '80s so it was with great anticipation
that I approached their comeback disc, after only a mere 20 (!) year
absence. Let me first make one thing clear, to me this is a great CD,
certainly as good a traditional metal release as you are likely to
hear. That being said, there are two fundamental problems I fear that
may prevent STILL SCREAMING from reaching a wider audience. First, of
course, is the style of the music. Legend play unequivocal early '80s
metal with little to attract the new generation of metal fans brought
up on "nu" and "alternative" flavors (this I applaud). Second,
however, is the morose nature of the lyrical and musical tone found on
the album, and this is what may put off some real fans of the genre.
This is not happy music. Themes of broken relationships, war,
addiction, man's inhumanity to man and disaster run through the songs,
with Mike Lezala's Ozzy-esque vocals often plaintive and dour as he
laments the human condition. Indeed, on songs such as "Born In Chaos"
and "Pompeii" one imagines this is how Alice In Chains would probably
have sounded if they had come out 10 years earlier. On the positive
side, the music is engaging and very well executed -- Pete Hayworth's
Iommi-inspired riffs and solos also incorporating elements of Trower,
Marino and even Vai as the drummer and bassist (curiously un-named in
the liner notes) lay down powerful rhythms that are almost tribal at
times. The songwriting is top-notch, with a strong production that
retains the edgy feel of the early days while improving instrument
separation and dynamics. I would recommend this highly to any fan of
the NWOBHM, as well as to those who are looking for something unique,
thought-provoking and uncompromising in its honesty. Just don't listen
to it while depressed! - Neal Woodall (MysticX10@...)

*
*** OUT ***
*

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Detritus Rock/Metal e-zine
"Rock Hard With A Purpose"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/detritus/




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