Detritus
Issue #389
Week of November 13, 2006
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*
*** CAST OF CHARACTERS ***
*
Patrick Brower, Editor
patrickbrower@...

Sean P. Gahgan, Editor
lof@...

Tim Wadzinski, Owner
tsw512@...

Steve Shumake, Co-owner
vongoober@...
http://www.vongoober.com/

*
*** LET IT BE KNOWN ***
*
-Kind of a short issue this week, but hey, at least we're out on time,
right? - Tim

*
*** PRESS RELEASE #1 ***
*
-Lance King Is No Longer Singing With Pyramaze

Due to irreconcilable differences, Lance King will no longer be
singing with Pyramaze.

Quote from Lance....

"I would like to thank the Pyramaze guys for many wonderful memories,
I'm very proud of the music we created together! I wish each and every
member of the band success in their careers and personal lives, as
well as their search for a new vocalist. I look forward to hearing
their new music."

Lance has several projects that he is working on at present to be on
the lookout for:

- A new album from Avian that Lance will be singing on and producing.

- Lance will be guesting a vocal appearance, splitting vocals with a
female opera singer on a new debut release from a new rising prog star
named Salinoch. Being developed by SHK Records (Switzerland).

- Lance has agreed to lend his voice and writing talents to a new
Progressive-Shred project called Secret Society Of Starfish comprised
of two members of Dimension X (Bass and Drums) and shredder Troy
Stetina on guitar and a mystery fifth arm of the fish, a well-known
rock star axe player.

- Look out for other recent releases that Lance has sung on... Shining
Star - ENTER ETERNITY & Avian - FROM THE DEPTHS OF TIME.

- Lance will continue to work daily on building his record company
Nightmare Records, bringing the world great progressive / power metal
music from other great bands.

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*** PRESS RELEASE #2 ***
*
-White Lion Hits The Road In Europe

White Lion will be returning to Europe from November 11th until
December 13th.

The tour dates are:

NOVEMBER

11th - Pumpehuset - Copenhagen
12th - Amplifier - Oslo
13th - Sticky Fingers - Gothenburg
14th - Klubben - Stockholm
15th - Heineken - Madrid
17th - Apollo 2 - Barcelona
18th - Kindergarten club - Bologna
19th - Teatro - Trieste
21st - Spectrum - Augsburg
23rd - Underworld Club - Athens
25th - Jolly Joker Club - Antalya
27th - 222 Park - Eskisehir
28th - Fuar 1 Numarali Hol - Izmir

DECEMBER

1st - Yeni Melek - Istanbul
2nd - Saklikent - Ankara
4th - Hirsch - Nurnberg
5th - Colossal - Aschaffenburg
6th - Matrix - Bochum
7th - Bosuil - Weert
8th - Biebob - Vosselaar
9th - Festhalle - Karlsruhe
10th - JB's - DUDLEY
11th - Underworld - London
12th - Corporation- Sheffield
13th - Barfly - Liverpool

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*** PRESS RELEASE #3 ***
*
-Winger - IV Coming To The US; Releasing November 21st On Shrapnel
Records

HOLLYWOOD -- Platinum recording artist Winger is releasing their first
album in over a decade. The founding members of Winger, Kip Winger
(bass/vocals), Reb Beach (guitar), and Rod Morgenstein (drums), have
reunited for their forth record, which is touted as their finest album
ever. Winger is joined John Roth (guitars/vocals), a member since
1993's PULL album, and newcomer Cenk Eroglu (keyboards/vocals).

Being the first Winger album in 14 years it's not what you would
expect. "The new Winger album," explains Kip, "starts where PULL left
off and moves into new directions. It mixes some classic Hard Rock
like Van Halen and early Winger style, progressive and acoustic
elements that may resemble Genesis, Mott The Hoople or King Crimson."

The album artwork is handled by Ethan Van Sciver -- a renowned DC
Comic book artist and penciler who has contributed (among others) to
"Cyberfrog," "New X-Men," "The Flash: Iron Heights" and "Impulse." The
album art depicts our Military's finest protecting with guardian
angels that are representative of our prayers we send.

Currently, the band just returned form a highly successful European
tour in October 2006 in support of the European release and now Winger
is gearing up for a full blown USA tour in early 2007 in support of
the new album.

For more information go to http://www.kipwinger.com/ or
http://www.myspace.com/kipwingermusic .

*
*** PRESS RELEASE #4 ***
*
-Leatherwolf Parts With Vocalist Wade Black

Orange County metal stalwarts Leatherwolf are currently looking for a
new vocalist following the departure Wade Black who fronted the band
on their critically acclaimed comeback album, WORLD ASYLUM, released
last June on N.I.L.8 Records.

"We would like to thank Wade for his contributions to Leatherwolf and
wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors," commented the
group on the split. "There are no hard feelings between both parties.
Unfortunately, certain economic realities and the geographical
distance between Wade and the rest of the band turned out to be an
obstacle too hard to overcome and made working as a unit that much
more difficult."

"We are now looking for someone closer to home, perferably based right
here in Southern California. Potential candidates must be able to sing
both the Michael Olivieri and Wade Black era songs (guitar abilities a
huge plus!), have a valid passport, and be able to go on the road as
we have a European tour in the works for spring 2007."

Interested parties get in touch with the band via dean.rob_at_cox.net
.

Leatherwolf online:

http://www.leatherwolfmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/leatherwolfmusic

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*** PRESS RELEASE #5 ***
*
-Vixen Announced As A Finalist In The Independent Music Awards

Vixen have been selected as finalists in two categories at this year's
Independent Music Awards. These are:

Best Song: Hard Rock/Metal for "I Try"
Best Album: Hard Rock / Metal for LIVE & LEARN

Among the judges for this prestigious award are such music luminaries
as Ozzy Osbourne, Cyndi Lauper, Peter Gabriel and Fat Boy Slim.

Vixen will shortly be returning to Europe to perform a few shows as
special guest to Yngwie Malmsteen. The dates that they are playing
are:

12/14 - Helsinki, Finland - House Of Culture
12/15 - Oulu, Finland - Teatria
12/16 - Tampere, Finland - Club Pakkahuone

http://www.vixenrock.com/

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*** PRESS RELEASE #6 ***
*
-W:O:A Newsletter -- Premiere Special

Dear Metalheadz!

November is here and it's freezing cold outside. To distract you from
the cold weather outside, here the latest and hottest news about the
W:O:A!

- W:O:A 2007 - Confirmed Bands

After the last Newsletter many bands are newly confirmed. Here you'll
find the whole list of all bands playing at the W:O:A 2007 (new bands
are signed with an *):

AMORPHIS
BELPHEGOR
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
BLACK MAJESTY *
BLIND GUARDIAN
CANNIBAL CORPSE
COMMUNIC *
DISILLUSION *
ENSLAVED *
GRAVE DIGGER
HAGGARD *
HEAVEN SHALL BURN *
IMMORTAL - Reunion, one and only Open Air Show in Germany 2007
IN FLAMES *
J.B.O.
KAMPFAR
LETZTE INSTANZ *
MOONSORROW *
MOONSPELL *
NAPALM DEATH *
NEAERA *
RAGE & Lingua Mortis Orchestra
SAMAEL
SAXON - A Night To Remember
SCHANDMAUL
SONIC SYNDICATE *
STORMWARRIOR feat. Kai Hansen
STRATOVARIUS - Only Open Air Show in Germany
THERION
TYR
VOLBEAT *

and many more!

More info about the bands:
http://www.wacken.com/en/woa2007/main-bands/billing-2007/

- W:O:A 2007 - Tickets

The All-Incl. 3-Day Ticket can now be ordered at
http://www.metaltix.com/ :
http://www.metaltix.com/link/?item,22840,woanewsletter0611

72,- Euro plus 7,- ticket fee = 79,- Euro. plus service charge (FULL
METAL SERVICE) 20,- Euro with the following benefits:

1. Camping incl. garbage costs (no fee, garbage collection at your
campground)
2. parking
3. Entrance free at Wacken Swimmarea
4. Camping direct at the car
5. no limitation of drinks and food at park and camparea (incl. glass
bottles)
6. only green spaces
7. Campground reservation for groups over 50 persons (for free)
8. festival sticker
9. long movie night at Wednesday and Thursday presents: Wacken
Doku-Movie "Full Metal Village" and more.
10. no cashflow at Bus-Shuttle (only departure day).

2007 again will be the year of the FULL METAL BAG, because we got good
feedback in this case.

Obviously includes different content than 2006. More information will
follow. It's also a solution to stop the flood of flyers and catalogs.
That is the reason of the Full Metal Bag. For the moment there are
talks with industry and record labels to create a useful FMB with
useful items. The FMB 2007 will be for free again, but only available
till stock lasts.

To give us more ideas and feedback please send an e-mail to
headquarter@....

3-day-ticket costs incl. all shown services from above = 99,- (all in)

2-day-Ticket is only available in 2007.

1-day-Ticket is only available if the festival is not sold out before
beginning (only at the festival box office).

As follows some of our improvements for 2007:

1. Transfer of Partystage at green spaces right to the True-Metal
Stage. So there will be no longer overlaps of sound, better sight to
all stages and more space.

2. More space at W.E.T. Stage / Headbangersballroom (greater tent)

3. W:O:A Lounge to relax and there are also plans for a visitor
tribune at festival area.

More info & news will follow.

From now on it's possible to buy your FULL METAL 3-days-W:O:A ALL-IN-
TICKET for only 99,- at http://www.metaltix.com/ :
http://www.metaltix.com/link/?item,22840,woanewsletter0611

The first 5.000 ticket buyer will also get the limited CD Sampler for
free:

NEWS FROM DR. BLAST VOL. 10:

Track list:

01. Deathstars - Play God
02. I - The Storm I Ride
03. Hammerfall - The Fire Burns Forever
04. Sonic Syndicate - Blue Eyed Fiend
05. Echoes Of Eternity - Voices In A Dream
06. Belphegor - Bluhtsturm Erotika
07. Ektomorf - Outcast
08. Wintersun - Beyond The Dark Sun
09. Scar Symmetry - The Illusionist
10. Communic - Under A Luminous Sky
11. Mendeed - The Reaper Waits
12. In Flames - Take This Life
13. Kataklysm - Crippled And Broken

Enhanced Part:

Wacken Photo gallery
Deathstars - Blitzkrieg (Video clip)
Threat Signal - Rational Eyes (Video clip)

You will order your ticket per phone? Please dial the following number
or write an e-mail to:

HOTLINE and pre-sale per phone:
Phone : +49 (0) 4627 - 18 38 38
FAX : + 49 (0) 4627 - 18 38 80
e-Mail : info@...
Internet: http://www.metaltix.com/

Ticket Hotline open: Mo - Fr from 09.00am till 07.00pm

- Wacken Radio - Wacken Videocast - Wacken Podcast

Here an message about our online stuff about the W:O:A 2006:

Wacken Radio
Metal on the Internet Radio:
http://www.wackenradio.com/

Wacken Videocast
Some of the gigs of the W:O:A 2006 as a videocast:
http://streaming.wacken.com/

Wacken Podcast
Some of the pressconferences and our Metal Harry on Tour:
subscribe to podcast (iTunes needed):
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?
id=163608353
Download Wacken Podcast:
http://podcast.wacken.com/

- X-Mas Calendar - 2006 Again!

X-Mas is not far away, so here some info about our X-Mas Calendar:

In 2006 we will start our X-Mas Calendar powered by
http://www.metaltix.com/ again, opening a door every day starting from
01.12.06 with a question and big prizes: Don't miss it!

For more news please visit our W:O:A homepage:
http://www.wacken.com/

And now we still wish you some peaceful and restful days:
SEE YOU IN WACKEN - RAIN OR SHINE!

Yours,
W:O:A Team

*
*** PRESS RELEASE #7 ***
*
-Seventh Key's First Live Performance Documented On LIVE IN ATLANTA CD
And DVD

TRENTON, NJ -- Seventh Key's LIVE IN ATLANTA is a documentary of not
only the band's first performance in the band's five-year existence,
but it is also the first time that former Streets bandmates Billy
Greer and Mike Slamer performed onstage together in almost 22 years.

LIVE IN ATLANTA was recorded on May 23, 2005, at Crossover
Entertainment Group, Inc. in front of friends, family members, and
invited guests. Joining Seventh Key's founders -- current Kansas
bassist Billy Greer and guitarist/producer Mike Slamer -- is former
Strangeways singer Terry Brock on guitar and backing vocals, David
Manion on keyboards, and drummer Pat McDonald. Former Kansas violinist
Robby Steinhardt and Greer's brother Johnny join the band for a
breathtaking acoustic rendition of "Forsaken."

The CD version of LIVE IN ATLANTA features 12 live tracks as well as
three bonus studio tracks -- "The Storm Rages On," "Remember You
Well," and "Love Train." The DVD features the same 12-song live
performance plus bonus videos -- "Always From The Heart," "An Ocean
Away," and "Love Train," as well as interviews, behind the scenes
footage, and a photo gallery.

LIVE IN ATLANTA CD and DVD are now available in the US on Locomotive
Records, licensed from Frontiers Records.

http://www.billygreer.com/
http://www.locomotiverecords.com/

*
*** PRESS RELEASE #8 ***
*
-See Sweden Rock Kick Off Live On The Internet

Sweden Rock Festival
6-7-8-9 June, 2007 - Solvesborg

ORDERING OF A WEB-TICKET

In order to sign up for an electronic ticket for the Kick Off
broadcast from Nalen in Stockholm the 2nd of December 2006 you need to
follow the instructions below. The cost for the ticket will only be
one SMS.

The broadcast will start at 17.45 and end at midnight CET.

Fill in the form on our homepage.

It is important that you supply us with your real e-mail address and
phone number!!

First come first served. We only have 5,000 tickets.

During the broadcast there will be a SMS-forum. A SMS to the forum
will cost 5 SEK + your standard operators fee.

Once you have filled in the form, press register, then you will
receive an activation code and a phone number. Send the code as an SMS
to the phone number stated on the screen. This will generate a
response-SMS that will provide you with a ticket number that you need
to log in to the broadcast.

The ticket number is unique, so do not share it with anyone.

A link to the broadcast will be posted on our homepage on the 2nd of
December.

In order to be able to see our broadcast you need to have Windows
Media Player installed on your computer and at least an ADSL
connection with a minimum of 0.5 Mbit.

If you do not have Windows Media Player you can download it at
Microsoft.com.

Welcome to Sweden Rock Kick Off 2006!

http://www.swedenrock.com/

Sweden Rock Festival
Norjebokevägen 2
294 76 Sölvesborg
Sweden
Tel: 0456-317 95
Fax: 0456-317 94
E-mail: info@...
http://www.swedenrock.com/

*
*** PRESS RELEASE #9 ***
*
-All That Remains And The Esoteric Nominated For MTV2's Best Metal
Video Of 2006

Massachusetts' All That Remains and Kansas' The Esoteric have both
been nominated for Best Metal Video of 2006 by MTV2's "Headbanger's
Ball" and Revolver Magazine, who are teaming up to bring you the Best
Metal Videos of 2006. The results will be announced during a special
year-end edition of "Headbanger's Ball" in December.

All That Remains is nominated for the video "This Calling," directed
by Frankie Nasso (Mudvayne, Hatebreed) of Raging Nation Films, while
The Esoteric are nominated for video for "Your New Burden," directed
by Matt Bass of factory features. Fans can vote for both clips by
heading to http://www.mtv2.com/#series/10896 and then clicking on
VOTE. Both videos can be viewed on the Prosthetic Records YouTube page
(http://youtube.com/profile?user=ProstheticRecords) as well.

*
*** PRESS RELEASE #10 ***
*
-Seduced By Suicide News

Seduced By Suicide becomes soundtrack of American troops in Iraq

Recently a surprising fact showed how music doesn't have boundaries,
taking the work of a Brazilian band to the Middle East. Directly from
Iraq, Jonathan Starkey contacted Seduced By Suicide thanking the band
for their work. Jonathan is a member of Bravo Company, from Fort Hood,
Texas, and is actually in Iraq with his troop, after leaving USA in
October 22nd.

Jonathan got married in September, and as other troop members
identified himself with the Seduced By Suicide's music. He sent the
following message to Earth, vocalist and multi-instrumentist of
Seduced By Suicide, telling about how they miss their wives back home,
and the relationship with the band's music: "How are you doing? Well,
Bravo Company 1-8 cav from Fort Hood, Texas, would like to say thanks
for your music."

He talks about the cover made by Seduced By Suicide for "I Was Made
For Lovin' You," from the "disco" album of Kiss, which received a
gothic rock version: "You make alot of us married soldiors feel better
with that song. It hit the right spot when we think of our wives back
home, so our hats are off for you guy. Thanks a lot from Bravo
Company, we love your music from the heart."

About it Earth says: "That's a fact which shows how music doesn't have
boundaries: An American in the Middle East listening to Finnish rock
made by a Brazilian using Japanese technology."

Messages to Jonathan can be left on his MySpace page, which can be
visited through the page of Seduced By Suicide -
http://www.myspace.com/seducedbysuicide

Besides of the promotional work of Seduced by Suicide's GOTHIC DREAM,
Earth is recording the full-length of Blood Tears (doom metal), which
should be released in the beginning of 2007.

Seduced By Suicide
press@...
http://www.seducedbysuicide.com/
http://www.myspace.com/seducedbysuicide

*
*** PRESS RELEASE #11 ***
*
-Byzantine To Hit The Studio, Take A Break To Tour With God Forbid

West Virginia's forward-thinking metal band Byzantine will tentatively
enter the studio December 8 to record the follow-up to 2005's ...AND
THEY SHALL TAKE UP SERPENTS before taking a break from the recording
process to support God Forbid for two weeks on a tour package also
boasting Goatwhore, Mnemic and Arsis. Upon completion of the tour,
Byzantine will return to the studio to finish recording. Production
this time around will again be handled by Aaron Fisher and Byzantine
for the yet-untitled full-length, due for a 2007 release through
Prosthetic Records.

"We have so far 11 songs in the bag and most likely will have 15
penned by the time pre-production starts," vocalist/guitarist OJ Ojeda
previously stated. "Normally we write 10 and use 10, but riffs are
flowing like mad and all four of us are writing material this time,
which has been very interesting. All I can say is if this album
doesn't kick our first two albums' asses, something is wrong! Some
songs are pure thrash, some songs are off time as hell and some songs
are depressing and dark. This album WILL be our finest effort."

In other news, Byzantine will appear on the upcoming EyeHateGod
tribute record, FOR THE SICK: A TRIBUTE TO EYEHATEGOD, performing the
track "Shoplift." The record is currently slated for a Feb. 20 release
through Season Mist America.

Byzantine on tour
12/1 - Charleston, WV – The Sound Factory

(with God Forbid, Mnemic, Goatwhore, Arsis)
2/2 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
2/3 - Greenville, SC - The Handlebar
2/4 - Jacksonville, FL – Thee Imperial
2/5 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
2/6 - Orlando, FL - Backbooth
2/7 - St. Petersburg, FL - The Garage
2/9 - Covington, KY - The Mad Hatter
2/10 - Nashville, TN - The Muse
2/11 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx
2/12 - Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall
2/14 - Huntington, WV – Huntington Music Hall
2/16 - Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance
2/17 - Rochester, NY - Penny Arcade

"Au contraire, this band is very, very good at not only kicking out
rock-solid jams, but balancing their penchant for tibia-snappin'
guitar picking, neck snappin' thrash and complex left-field parries
with memorable Southern rock grooves and dexterous musicianship,
including a few Holdsworth (or Thordendahl, take your pick) influenced
solos...overall this album is a bristling and stellar mix of technical
thrash, cloven-hoof metal/hardcore chug and sensibly infectious songs
cohesively presented with their own branding." - Metal Maniacs
magazine

"Sometimes a gem of a band pops up in a place you may never expect.
Byzantine hail from West Virginia, but their sound embraces thrash.
These guys could move to northern California or Sweden and fit right
in just fine." - Metal Edge magazine

"...AND THEY SHALL TAKE UP SERPENTS goes full-on with both
technicality and brutality. This album's convincing power is enough to
make you want to do some historical sight seeing in West Virginia." -
Outburn magazine

"The musicianship displayed on track like 'Taking Up Serpents' and
'Temporary Temples' is breathtaking, but falls short of meaningless
ego-wank. To top it all, a mix from Fu Manchu/Kilgore producer Brad
Divens has made Byzantine sound like a million dollars." - Metal
Hammer magazine

"Though not as outright batshit as Dillinger or Botch, their old
school thrash leanings have the sort of visionary, progressive edge
that only come from not getting a formula quite right. Meaning that in
among the massive Pantera-esque riffs there's frequent odd timings,
before heading straight back into full blooded rock territory." KKKK -
Kerrang! magazine

*
*** NEWS/RUMORS ***
*
-HeadbangerNYC.com reported a quote from Heaven And Hell vocalist
Ronnie James Dio confirming the band's existence and 2007 tour plans:
"The rumors are absolutely true. Me, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and
Bill Ward will be touring as Heaven And Hell next year. You'll see us
at the Monsters Of Rock festival, then shows in America. Then we'll
come back to the UK for eight or nine more shows."

-Check out a new interview with Judas Priest's Rob Halford on-line now
at http://glclk.about.com/?zi=1/2t2Q .

-Check out a clip from Kamelot's upcoming DVD entitled ONE COLD
WINTER'S NIGHT at http://www.youtube.com/KamTV . The DVD is scheduled
to be released November 21 in the US.

-Popular '80s L.A. metal band Malice has reunited. Original members
Mick Zane, Jay Reynolds, and Mark Behn have recruited singer Brian
Allen (Last Empire) and drummer Pete Holmes (Black 'N Blue). The band
is working on material for a 2007 release and a supporting tour. The
new album will be the third, following IN THE BEGINNING and LICENSE TO
KILL.

-Metallica's new promo video compilation DVD, THE VIDEOS 1989-2004, is
due out December 2 in Australia, December 4 in Europe and South
America, December 5 in North America, and December 18 in Japan. Track
list: "One," "Enter Sandman," "The Unforgiven," "Nothing Else
Matters," "Wherever I May Roam," "Sad But True," "Until It Sleeps,"
"Hero Of The Day," "Mama Said," "King Nothing," "The Memory Remains,"
"The Unforgiven II," "Fuel," "Turn The Page," "Whiskey In The Jar,"
"No Leaf Clover," "I Disappear," "St. Anger," "Frantic," "The Unnamed
Feeling," "Some Kind Of Monster." Bonus material includes 2 OF ONE -
Introduction, "One" (Jammin' Version), "The Unforgiven" (Theatrical
Version), and the "Some Kind Of Monster" movie trailer.

-The newly singerless Pyramaze is already in contact with "a mystery
singer" to replace the departed Lance King; and the band's management
says the singer's identity "will shock many people" if things work
out. Music for the third album is already in the works. See
http://www.pyramaze.com / for an official press release and further
updates.

-Scorpions began recording their next album last month in Los Angeles
with songwriter/producer Desmond Child.

Thanks to Chad Bowar for help gathering some of this information.

*
*** ROCK HARD RIDE FREE ***
*
by Tim Wadzinski (tsw512@...)

-Here we go again with the whole "different versions of an album at
different stores" thing... The new Tenacious D album THE PICK OF
DESTINY is out this week and I sent my lovely wife out to grab me a
copy. Best Buy advertised an exclusive digital download with their
version, but I went with Circuit City instead, because they had the
same cheap price ($9.99) plus a bonus T-shirt and DVD (with a preview
of the band's new movie). But of course, I misread the Circuit City
ad... The T-shirt was included but the DVD was not -- you actually had
to buy some other DVD to get the Tenacious D DVD. Oh well. There was
also a "deluxe edition" listed for $19.98 at Target but so far I
haven't seen any details of what's in/on it.

The disc itself is pretty funny, as was expected, and Meat Loaf and
Ronnie James Dio guest on the track "Kickapoo." Lots of F-bombs are
dropped throughout the album -- which has more music than the
basically half-comedy, half-music debut from 2001 -- and the acoustic
material is balanced by more electric guitar/full band stuff than I
remember being on the first album. Coupla funny movie dialog snippets
thrown in, too. Worth a ten-spot.

-I also grabbed Alice Cooper's "new" live DVD entitled THE NIGHTMARE
RETURNS. It was recorded on the CONSTRICTOR tour on Halloween, 1986,
back when Kane Roberts (guitar), Kip Winger (bass), and Ken Mary
(drums) were in his band. The show apparently was out on VHS many,
many moons ago but now it's on DVD. I guess I didn't realize how big
Alice actually was in '86, because this is a *big* crowd and an
elaborate stage show. Personally, I quite enjoyed CONSTRICTOR when it
came out but I had no idea he was playing large venues with a full
production at the time.

-Now in my current playlist: Tenacious D - THE PICK OF DESTINY (Epic),
Kiss - KISSOLOGY: THE ULTIMATE KISS COLLECTION VOL. 1 1974-1977 (DVD)
(VH1 Classic Records), Alice Cooper - THE NIGHTMARE RETURNS (DVD)
(Geffen Records).

*
*** REVIEWS ***
*
A.C.T - SILENCE (A-/B+) Inside Out Music, 2006
19 tracks, RT: 68:15, multimedia section
[ http://www.actworld.nu/ ]
[ http://www.myspace.com/actworld ]
[ http://www.insideoutmusic.com/ ]
[ info@... ]
SILENCE is my first encounter with Swedish prog outfit A.C.T and I
must say this is one interesting band! Drawing heavily on '70s prog
and pomp, A.C.T bring together elements of Queen, Yes, Styx, Saga and
even Supertramp and E.L.O. If that sounds like a recipe for sappy pop,
let me assure you that the music found on SILENCE is expertly crafted
and performed, with a depth that rewards repeated listens. Opening up
with the exquisitely melodic "Truth Is Pain," one is immediately
struck with the cool dynamics these guys impart into the songs, with
lots of excellent vocal harmonies, well written guitar parts,
emotional keyboards and creative drumming a good indication of what's
to be found on the entire disc. The vocals are strictly from the
Freddie Mercury/Jon Anderson/Dennis DeYoung school of impassioned
falsetto, and may be a sticking point for some listeners wanting more
aggressive singing, but you just can't argue with the beauty of those
voices on pieces like "This Wonderful World," "Out Of Ideas," and "A
Wound That Won't Heal." The album is split into two different parts
and may seem long due to the number of tracks, but many of the songs
in the second section are actually less that three minutes in length.
A nice multimedia segment features a live performance of "Mr.
Landlord" (off their LAST EPIC release) and you can see just how tight
the band is in concert. SILENCE is probably not going to appeal to
those looking for prog metal, as many segments are relatively mellow
and definitely show off more of an optimistic pop flavor, but if you
yearn for the days of rich and majestic songwriting you will
definitely want to put A.C.T at the top of your list of acts to check
into...
- Neal Woodall (MysticX9@...)

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