Detritus
Issue #430
Week of October 29, 2007
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*** CAST OF CHARACTERS ***
*
Patrick Brower, Editor
patrickbrower@...
Sean P. Gahgan, Editor
lof@...
http://www.lakeoffire.net/
Tim Wadzinski, Owner
tsw512@...
Steve Shumake, Co-owner
vongoober@...
http://www.myspace.com/kdsteve
*
*** LET IT BE KNOWN ***
*
-Hello and welcome back to Earth now that your Halloween candy-induced
sugar buzz has subsided. - Tim
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*** PRESS RELEASE #1 ***
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-The Metal God Bringing Fight To Hollywood
Fight - WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM 5.1 Theatrical Premiers Scheduled In
New York, Detroit, Hollywood, San Francisco, London And Other Select
Cities
Fight - WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM Original Rob Halford Autograph and
Bonus CD WAR OF WORDS - REMIXED & REMASTERED Releasing in
Numbered-Edition Digipak 11/20 - 12/19 On DVD
Fight - K5 - THE WAR OF WORDS DEMOS Companion To WAR OF WORDS - THE
FILM Features 5 New Fight Tracks Releasing 11/20
NORTH PALM BEACH, FL -- Compelling, stark and aggressive WAR OF WORDS
- THE FILM Starring Rob Halford and his first solo band Fight
unleashes upon legions of Metal maniacs November 20th in North
America, November 30th in the United Kingdom & Europe, December 3rd in
Australia & New Zealand and December 19th in Japan.
After nineteen years, more than a dozen global concert tours and
dozens of gold and platinum awards as the defining vocalist of Judas
Priest, Rob Halford departed the band in 1992 to pursue a solo career
immediately releasing "Light Comes Out Of Black" supported by members
of Pantera. The track rocketed to the top of radio playlists, and
later that summer Rob would assemble his own band Fight, and place
most of its new tracks from WAR OF WORDS in heavy-radio rotation while
aggressively ushering in a new sound for the Metal communities.
Metal God Entertainment is proud to debut the Theatrical and DVD
releases of Fight - WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM, a Documentary and 5.1
Concert featuring the songs and performances of Rob Halford's first
solo band Fight. http://www.RobHalford.com/trailers
Fight - WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM brilliantly documents a key moment in
Heavy Metal history combining behind-the-scenes, hand-held and pro-
shot footage of Fight's original 1992 K5 rehearsal and demonstration-
recording sessions; 1993 Amsterdam recording sessions of the original
WAR OF WORDS Epic / Sony audio release, and pre-tour interviews
climaxing with a full-length 5.1 concert filmed at 22 venues in 20
select cities during Fight's first five months of its "1993 - 1994
Nailed To The Road / War Of Words World Tour."
Rare audio and film footage of Fight's earliest concert performances
in Europe, United Kingdom, U.S.A., Mexico and Japan have been
restored. Stereo and 5.1 Dolby surround mixes have been produced by
Roy Z. 5.1 Dolby surround encoding and mastering for DVD and The Metal
God's Theatrical Premiers handled by industry giant Technicolor.
The screams are more mesmerizing than you thought possible. Fight is
unmistakably Rob Halford at his finest. Power chords engulfed by
ferocious vocals; exacting prose driven by an astonishing young group
of musicians.
5.1 Theatrical Premiers
Fight - WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM will Theatrically Premier at 5.1 Dolby
Surround Digital Cinemas in:
New York - 11/14
Hollywood - 11/20
San Francisco - 11/28
Detroit - 11/28
London - 12/18
And Other Select Cities.
Tickets may be purchased at http://www.DandEEntertainment.com/ on
11/2/07.
Rob Halford will attend select premiers for a 30 minute conversation
on the assembling of Fight and songs written for WAR OF WORDS.
Tickets are limited for this rare opportunity to experience Fight -
WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM in 5.1 Dolby Surround Digital Cinema and
participate in a rare conversation with The Metal God, Rob Halford; as
he relates his experiences of his first solo band.
Movie-sized posters of WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM will be distributed to
all in attendance after the performance.
Tracks performed live:
Fight
WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM 5.1 Concert
1) Nailed To The Gun
2) Into The Pit
3) Little Crazy
4) Immortal Sin
5) War Of Words
6) Light Comes Out Of Black
7) Laid To Rest
8) For All Eternity
9) Contortion
10) Kill It
11) Vicious
12) Life In Black
13) Reality - A New Beginning
WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM - Limited Edition Digi-pak
WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM debuts in a numbered edition, six-panel
custom-designed digi-pak with 20-page booklet, original Rob Halford
autograph and bonus audio CD WAR OF WORDS - REMIXED & REMASTERED.
Bonus Footage and original Fight Promotional videos included on DVD.
NTSC Edition Limited to 5,000 pieces distributed by Super D USA,
releasing 11/20. Pre-Orders available through the below online
retailers.
PAL Edition Limited to 5,000 pieces distributed by Metal God
Entertainment's new partners: ADA / Warner distributing Fight and
Halford throughout The United Kingdom and Ireland, and Soulfood
Distribution of Hamburg, Germany distributing Fight and Halford
throughout the European Union on 11/30. Pre-Orders available through
the below online retailers.
K5 - THE WAR OF WORDS DEMOS
A companion release to Fight's new film is a rare audio recording from
Rob Halford's library. Fight - K5 - THE WAR OF WORDS DEMOS featuring
original demonstration recordings of WAR OF WORDS plus five (5) new
Fight tracks. Releasing 11/13 at select Rob Halford scheduled in-
stores in New York & New Jersey. Releasing 11/19 U.K., Ireland, 11/20
North America, 11/23 European Union, 11/26 Australia & New Zealand and
12/19 in Japan.
Fight
K5 - THE WAR OF WORDS DEMOS
1) Into The Pit
2) Nailed To The Gun
3) Now You Die (New)
4) Life In Black
5) Kill It
6) Contortion
7) Forbidden (New)
8) War Of Words
9) Psycho Suicide
10) Down (New)
11) Vicious
12) Beast Denies (New)
13) Laid To Rest
14) Jesus Saves
15) Dead Men Talk (New)
16) For All Eternity
Retail Appearances
Rob and Halford Guitarist Metal Mike Chlasciak will appear and sign
'new product only' at FYE in Manhattan on Thursday, November 15, 2007
12 p.m.
Rob and Halford Guitarist Metal Mike Chlasciak will appear and sign
'new product only' at J&R Music World in Manhattan on Friday, November
16, 2007 5:30 p.m.
Rob and Halford Guitarist Metal Mike Chlasciak will appear and sign
'new product only' at Vintage Vinyl in New Jersey on Saturday,
November 17, 2007 5:30 p.m.
Fight Reunion
Rob Halford is uniting the original members of Fight: Brian Tilse,
Russ Parrish, Jay Jay and Scott Travis in Hollywood, California at
5:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 20, 2007 for an exclusive autograph
session of 'new product only' at:
Best Buy - West Hollywood, CA
1015 N La Brea Avenue
West Hollywood, CA
Visit http://www.RobHalford.com/Fight on 11/5 for more details.
Fight will also be in attendance for the Theatrical Premier of WAR OF
WORDS - THE FILM at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA 8:00 p.m.
on 11/20.
Tickets may be purchased at http://www.DandEEntertainment.com/ on
11/2/07.
Chat
Rob Halford and members of Fight will participate in a world-wide chat
December 2007. Details available 11/5 at
http://www.RobHalford.com/chat .
Radio & Print Interviews
Rob Halford will appear as guest on dozens of radio programs
throughout the world. Visit http://www.RobHalford.com/news for Rob's
scheduled radio appearances and links to MP3 recordings of his
interviews.
Our Metal God is one of the most interviewed singer / songwriters in
the industry. Enjoy Rob's global print interviews at
http://www.RobHalford.com/news .
Digital Song, Album And Video Downloads Available At:
http://www.iTunes.com/
http://www.HalfordMusic.com/
Online Retailers:
http://www.BestBuy.com/
http://www.FYE.com/
http://www.HMV.co.ca/
http://www.Amazon.com/
http://www.Play.com/
http://www.Amazon.co.uk/
http://www.HMV.co.uk/
http://www.Amazon.de/
http://www.Amazon.co.jp/
http://www.HMV.co.jp/
Fight - WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM is the first of three new documentary
/ 5.1 concert films releasing through Metal God Entertainment.
Trailers available at http://www.RobHalford.com/trailers .
Metal God Entertainment's Global Partners Include:
U.S.A. - Super D Distribution
Canada - Fusion 3 Distribution
United Kingdom & Ireland - ADA / Warner
Europe - Soulfood Distribution
Japan - Sony Music Japan
Australia and New Zealand - Riot Distribution
http://www.iTunes.com/
http://www.HalfordMusic.com/
*
*** PRESS RELEASE #2 ***
*
-Iron Maiden Announces One-Off North American Shows
[Note: This is a compilation of two separate press releases. - Tim]
Iron Maiden announce a one-off show at the Los Angeles Forum on
Tuesday February 19th as part of the first leg of the "Somewhere Back
In Time" World Tour 2008. The band will fly in especially for this one
show from Tokyo two days before and depart for Mexico the day after.
Iron Maiden announce a one-off show at the Izod Center (formerly
Continental Airlines Arena), East Rutherford, NJ on Friday March 14th,
2008 as part of the first leg of their "Somewhere Back In Time" World
Tour 2008. The band will fly into the U.S.A. especially for this one
show from Puerto Rico the day before and depart for Toronto the day
after.
The flights will be on a specially commissioned and customised Boeing
757, flown by Airline Captain and Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson. The
Astraeus 757, decked out in Maiden and Eddie designs, will carry the
band, road crew and other personnel of around 70 people plus over 12
tons of equipment.
This first leg of the "Somewhere Back In Time" World Tour opens in
Mumbai India on February 1st, and continues through Australia and
Japan before arriving in L.A.
The entourage then fly to Mexico and into Latin America for the band's
first ever concerts in Costa Rica and Colombia, and on to Brazil,
Argentina, Chile, Puerto Rica and New York, before finishing in
Toronto, Canada, on March 16th.
Over the 45 day period it is anticipated that Maiden will play to well
over 400,000 fans in 21 cities in 10 countries, flying close to 50,000
miles in the specially refitted plane (full schedule below).
Comments Bruce Dickinson, "I have been flying commercial passenger
jets for Astraeus Airlines for a few years now and we are
commissioning an Astraeus Boeing 757. It will go in for overhaul,
painting and conversion in November which will then give us time to
ensure we have all the necessary safety documentation, especially with
regard to fire safety. It also means it could possibly be flying
commercial air routes decked out in Maiden colours for a couple of
months before we start!
"Looking at the list of places we would like to play we have always
had problems joining up the dots. With sea containers in various
places it slows down the whole touring process, which is fine if you
want a holiday but not if you want to play.
"It's great to see places but we don't want to sit around for a week
waiting for gear to get from, say, Australia to South America, so this
way we can get to more fans in more places en route in the same time
period."
To tie in with forthcoming 2008 releases on DVD of the classic LIVE
AFTER DEATH concert video (full details coming soon) this tour, aptly
entitled "Somewhere Back In Time," will revisit the band's history by
focusing almost entirely on the '80s in both choice of songs played
and the stage set, which will be based around the legendary Egyptian
Production of the 1984-85 POWERSLAVE tour. This will arguably be the
most elaborate and spectacular show the band have ever presented, and
will include some key elements of their SOMEWHERE IN TIME tour of
1986/7, such as the Cyborg Eddie.
On the Los Angeles show Steve Harris comments: "The last time we
played California was the Verizon last October and it was a fantastic
gig, sold out well in advance so the fans were well up for it. It was
as good a crowd reaction as we have ever had in L.A. It was also our
last show on that U.S. Tour and really ended up a night to remember.
It will certainly be the first time we have played L.A. by flying in,
doing the show and flying straight out again -- we usually like to
hang around there for a few days!! We will have to make up for it next
time!! I always loved the POWERSLAVE show which I think was arguably
our most spectacular ever, so bringing it back to L.A. -- where we
originally filmed the show at Long Beach Arena for our LIVE AFTER
DEATH video -- has got to be special and we are very much looking
forward to it."
On the New Jersey show Harris comments: "We made sure the tour stopped
off in New York, or to be more accurate, New Jersey, but to us Brits
it's all a great arena to play with some of the loudest fans anywhere!
We've had so many memorable nights there over the years -- both on
stage and off! -- and played many different venues, including the
Gardens and the seven nights at Radio City with the original
POWERSLAVE show in 1984. But one of our favourites was always what we
still call Meadowlands, it's always a great crowd there. It will be a
pleasure to take the POWERSLAVE show there. We're all going to have a
great time with this tour!!"
The Iron Maiden fan club have arranged an exclusive first access pre-
sale for members to buy Tickets to the show on Tuesday November 6th,
before tickets go on sale to the public on November 10th.
To allow fans to be right up close to the band at each show, the fan
club will also be running a special draw whereby 60 winners and friend
at each show will be given first access to the venue enabling them to
be first to the stage barrier. Full details can be found on
http://www.ironmaiden.com/ .
To further the anticipation for the pending Los Angeles performance,
please log on to KNAC.com, and tune into 95.5 KLOS and KCAL 96.7 for
the rare opportunity to enter exclusive competitions for your once in
a lifetime opportunity to sing along with Iron Maiden live on stage at
the L.A Forum to the classic song "Heaven Can Wait." The promotion is
also open to all Iron Maiden fan club members !!!!
Live Nation, KNAC.com, 95.5 KLOS and KCAL 96.7 will all host their
pre-sales from Thursday, November 8, 10 a.m. to Friday, November 9, 10
p.m. General public on-sale is Saturday, November 10 at 10 a.m.
The fan club are also arranging for two fan club winners to get up on
stage in New Jersey and join Maiden with the chorus of "Heaven Can
Wait." Members of the public should tune into "Friday Night Rocks"
with Eddie Trunk on Q104.3 (WAXQ FM) NYC from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday
evenings for details on their chance to join them in this once in a
lifetime opportunity to sing along with Iron Maiden live on stage at
the Izod Center.
Tickets for the Los Angeles show will be available through Tickemaster
outlets, Ticketmaster.com and also LiveNation.com.
Tickets for the Izod Center concert go on sale to the general public
beginning Saturday, November 10th at 10:00 a.m. Tickets: Reserved
($59.50, $49.50, $39.50) and General Admission Floor ($59.50)
available at Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com or
charge-by-phone at 201-507-8900 or 212-307-7171. If tickets remain,
they will be available at the Box Office beginning Monday, November
12th.
Full schedule for the first leg of "Somewher Back In Time" World Tour
2008
February
Fri 1st - Mumbai, India - Bandra Kurla Complex
Mon 4th - Perth, Australia - Burswood Dome
Wed 6th - Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
Thu 7th - Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
Sat 9th - Sydney, Australia - Acer Arena
Sun 10th - Sydney, Australia - Acer Arena
Tue 12th - Brisbane, Australia - Entertainment Centre
Fri 15th - Yokohama, Japan - Pacifico Yokohama
Sat 16th - Tokyo, Japan - Messe
Tue 19th - Los Angeles, USA - The Forum
Thu 21st - Guadalajara, Mexico - Auditoria Telmex
Fri 22nd - Monterrey, Mexico - Monterrey Arena
Sun 24th - Mexico City, Mexico - Sports Palace
Tue 26th - San Jose, Costa Rica - Saprisa Stadium
Thu 28th - Bogota, Colombia - Simon Bolivar Park
March
Sun 2nd - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Skol Arena Anhembi
Wed 5th - Porto Allegre, Brazil - Gigantinho
Fri 7th - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Ferrofcarril Oeste Stadium
Sun 9th - Santiago, Chile - Pista Atletica
Wed 12th - Puerto Rico - San Juan Coliseo
Fri 14th - New Jersey, USA - Izod Center (formerly Continental
Airlines Arena)
Sun 16th - Toronto, Canada - Air Canada Centre
The second leg of the Tour will take place mid May to mid June with
further concerts in North America, followed by the third leg European
Tour, extensively covering most of Europe in Stadiums and major
Festivals. In total the band are expected to play to well in excess of
one and a half million fans during the entire tour.
History Behind The POWERSLAVE Tour And LIVE AFTER DEATH Video
The band recorded and released their first five studio albums (IRON
MAIDEN, KILLERS, THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST, PIECE OF MIND and
POWERSLAVE) one year after the next (1980 – 1984) and toured the world
extensively with each one.
The POWERSLAVE tour of 1984-5 also included choice songs from the
first four albums, and was actually titled the "World Slavery Tour."
It opened in Warsaw on August 9, 1984, marking the first time a major
band from the West had played large arenas in Poland at a time when
the country was still very much "Behind the Iron Curtain." On top of
this Maiden took with them their full spectacular arena show, again a
first as no one had ever done that before in Poland.
The tour continued through 193 concerts in 21 countries, including an
incredible 112 arena shows in the U.S.A. and Canada, in both of which
the album went Platinum, playing to over one and a quarter million
fans in North America alone.
The tour finally came to a (weary!!) end on July 5, 1985 at Irvine
Meadows (now Verizon) Amphitheatre just South of Los Angeles, marking
the longest and most gruelling tour the band have ever attempted. The
band and the lavish Egyptian stage production generated stunning
reviews and arenas around the planet were sold out.
March 14, 15, 16, 17 saw the band play four sold out consecutive
nights at L.A.'s 13,200 capacity Long Beach Arena. Tickets went on
sale at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning with fans waiting overnight for
the box office to open. When the first show sold out almost
immediately and the second was being added some fans got rather
restive as they felt they may not get tickets and this led to the LAPD
being called in and L.A. press reporting riots! Tickets continued to
sell and shows added until after about 10 days the band called a halt
at a record breaking four sold out shows -- a record which still
stands to this day.
It was during the second and third nights here that the band recorded
and filmed, in 35mm, what was to become the legendary LIVE AFTER DEATH
album and concert video, featuring tracks from their first five
albums. This was one of the first ever full concert videos with a
worldwide release and topped the new video charts everywhere.
It was these concerts that also inspired the idea for the birth of one
of the first specialist Metal Radio Station in America, KNAC, and
certainly the most successful. The originators could not believe that
a band could sell over 50,000 tickets in L.A. with no radio support
EVER in the marketplace and wisely reckoned that there must be a
massive underground market for this band and this music and went on to
start a unique station which has had great success ever since and
became synonymous with Metal in the U.S.A.
Says KNAC founder Long Paul: "The Iron Maiden shows were presented by
KLOS FM, now a classic rock format, and they were not playing the
band, nor was any commercial radio in the market at the time. KNAC at
that point was an alternative format radio station, the programmers
looked at string of sold out dates at Long Beach and thus was the
catalyst to make the decision to flip to rock/metal as Pure Rock 105.5
FM."
A review of the concert is reproduced below to give some idea of the
show -
Heavy Rock Happenings
By Mark Hanser
Being both a headbanger and a history major, I must confess that any
metal act that concern themselves with my two pet historical periods
-- Ancient Egypt and Medieval Europe -- are bound to receive my rapt
attention, particularly if they're any good. In Iron Maiden's case,
the band's fantastic, even without their chronological fantasies.
Mystical and magical, cerebral and sonic, Maiden's rivalled only by
Judas Priest as metal's greatest live act -- something they proved a
thousandfold at Long Beach's Arena for four ear-splitting nights,
starting Thursday the fourteenth.
Iron Maiden, it must be mentioned, don't just put on a show -- they
stage a spectacular. And, good God, what a spectacular it was!
Imagine, if you will, a stage lifted from the valleys of Luxor; with
pylons like pyramids and funeral pyres, or lighting scaffolds covered
with scarabs and runes, further arranged like a dragonfly's wings.
Imagine, too, music so riff-laden and magnetic that each song erupts
into an eargasm -- and with lyrics both clever and literary, no less.
Maiden, you see, dabble in mythology, not misogyny; so instead of
hearing singer Bruce Dickinson scream Kiss retreads, the Arena's ears
heard such stuff as "The Flight Of Icarus" (you recall, I trust, the
tale of Icarus and Daedalus from your high-school primers) and "Rime
Of The Ancient Mariner" -- bassist Steve Harris' masterful reworking
of the Coleridge classic, and the piece de resistance of POWERSLAVE
(Capitol), their fifth and finest studio recording. Entertaining,
melodic and enervating, Maiden's music is like manna from Heaven in an
age of Sammy Hagars.
Opening with "Aces High" -- which segued into their anti-nuclear
anthem, "2 Minutes To Midnight" -- the Maidens set the stage afire
with instrumental fury. The twinlead guitars of Dave Murray and Adrian
Smith became, and remained so throughout the show, textbook examples
of metallic transcendence; only Priest's Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing
can match them in imagination, and not always as artfully.
Rhythmically, bassist Harris and drums-basher Nicko McBrain are no
less remarkable building aural tensions instead of aimless boogies.
And singer Dickinson, what with his air-raid siren screams and
cerebrally witty asides to the audience, is something else again.
Surely Ronnie Dio never had a more attentive pupil.
Nor was Dickinson any slouch as a showman, either. During the song
"Powerslave," he donned a fearsome, Horus-like falcon mask, and
pranced before a suddenly-blazing pyre. It wasn't "Cleopatra," perhaps
(nor was Elizabeth Taylor in the front row this time for that matter),
but it made for some wonderful rock theatre all the same. If the
singer was upstaged by anybody, it was by Eddie the Ghoul, then band's
nine foot (and mummified, this time) mascot, who dutifully appeared
and danced before the knowing masses. As a whole, the band played loud
and (not unpleasantly) long, with a (pleasant) minimum of soloing.
They encored firstly with their medieval battle-merch, "Run To The
Hills," and secondly with "Running Free," a relic from the now-ancient
KILLERS. Then Dickinson, as is his wont, bade the audience a safe
journey home. Such was the show, but such a show!
The Long Beach Union – March 25-31, 1985
Some recent background information:
In the last year or so Iron Maiden have -
In September 2006 released A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, their most
recent and critically acclaimed 14th studio album.
* No. 1 International Album in Billboard Magazine
* No. 1 album in 10 countries. Top 10 album in 30 countries
* Top 10 in the U.S.A., No. 2 in Canada
* The highest placed rock album ever in India where it reached No. 2,
twice!
and played extensive shows around the world including being –
* The first metal band to put on a major concert in India playing to a
sold out 25,000 fans in Bangalore, apparently the biggest rock show
ever in India.
* The first band to headline Download Festival in Donington U.K. for a
record breaking fourth time to 70,000 fans.
* The first band to sell out Desert Rock Festival in Dubai to 20,000
fans.
* Record breaking sell out of Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden --
57,000 tickets sold in two and a half hours over 9 months in advance
of the date!
* 360,000 tickets sold across their 100% SOLD OUT European Tour in the
Autumn of 2006 with 28 arena shows including 40,000 tickets sold in
Stockholm over three nights, 30,000 in London, 25,000 in Milan and
Helsinki and 19,000 in Barcelona.
* Three Canadian shows SOLD OUT to 40,000 fans and 16,000 tickets sell
out weeks in advance of their Los Angeles Show in Oct. '06.
* Played to 250,000 fans at their show in Rio, Brazil in 2001, plus
35,000 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and 25,000 in Santiago, Chile.
* 0ver 40,000 tickets sold in the first hour when the Australian arena
dates in Feb. '08 went on sale recently, with Melbourne and Sydney
shows sold out in just 15 and 25 minutes respectively, leading to
second shows being added immediately in each city.
For more information go to http://www.ironmaiden.com/ .
*
*** PRESS RELEASE #3 ***
*
-Frontiers Records Update
Ralf Scheepers
Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the signing of Ralf Scheepers
for the production of his first solo album!
Best known for being the singer of German Power Metal legends Primal
Fear, Ralf cut his teeth with Tyran Pace first and Gamma Ray later,
the band that he put up together with former Helloween guitar player
Kai Hansen.
World renowned for his amazing range and high-pitched singing voice,
sometimes reminiscent of Judas Priest's Rob Halford, Scheepers finally
decided to work on a solo album. "It is definitely going to be a Metal
album, but I will surely explore some different sounds and ways to
exploit my voice," says the German singer who is right now touring
with Primal Fear throughout the world in support of their chartbreaker
album NEW RELIGION. "I will call a few friends and guests, which will
make this record a very special one, but all details will be revealed
at a later stage."
The solo album will be recorded during the winter 2008 under the
direction of Scheeper's band mate in Primal Fear Mat Sinner with
additional input by Scheepers himself, Achim Koehler and Charlie
Bauerfeind. The label looks for a release during the summer of next
year.
On a related note Primal Fear's latest opus NEW RELIGION entered the
charts in Japan on Pos. 37 and on the overall Top 200 charts on Pos.
116. Congratulations to the band for this amazing new achievement!
House Of Lords
Recording sessions of the brand new House Of Lords album COME TO MY
KINGDOM have been completed in Florida and mixing stages have started
in the hands of Dennis Ward.
The new album is a natural progression from WORLD UPSIDE DOWN and was
entirely written by the band along with the "5th Lord" Jeff Kent.
In the words of James Christian, "We really had an amazing time with
this new CD. I can't remember when things flowed so easily in terms of
writing and recording. I think when people hear the new record they
will be able to tell immediately that this is a band with direction
and vision."
The songs were written from life experiences that cover a range of
emotions. But one common thread flows throughout the record and that
is finely crafted songs.
"Jimi Bell, BJ Zampa and Chris McCarvil and Jeff Kent have been an
absolute joy to work with," continues Christian. "They are my brothers
and they share the same passion to write and perform Classic Rocks
songs that will stand the test of time."
COME TO MY KINGDOM is classic House Of Lords with all the trademarks
that captured the band so many fans in the early days. House Of Lords
will be on tour supporting the new CD in early 2008. Keep checking
http://www.jameschristianmusic.com/ for upcoming tour dates.
Frontiers MySpace
Frontiers Records' MySpace site
http://www.myspace.com/frontiersrecords was updated with new samples
taken from the November releases, namely Winger - LIVE, THE CODEX and
Gary Hughes - VERITAS. Surf on the site and enjoy!
*
*** PRESS RELEASE #4 ***
*
-SPV-TV Meets Helloween!
Sir Jay Clashes With Helloween During Oktoberfest In Munich. Is He The
New Hasselhoff?
Helloween is filming a new video clip in Munich. Sir Jay loves the
land of Weisswurst and beer and feels like a Hasselhoff doppelgänger.
He talks with Weik and Andi about the new album GAMBLING WITH THE
DEVIL.
How this is all connected....find out.....go to http://www.spv/tv.de !
http://www.spv.de/tv
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*** PRESS RELEASE #5 ***
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-Z Records News
Waysted Sign In For Z Rock 08
Waysted featuring Pete Way of UFO are the latest band to join the
lineup for Z Rock 08. The line is now Bonfire, Von Groove, Waysted and
Burn. Further acts will be announced shortly. For further info and to
purchase tickets visit http://www.zrecords.net/ or
http://www.myspace.com/zrockfest .
Z Return With A Stormy Release
Z are pleased to announce that our new distribution network is now
fully set up and our releases are now set to scream into a store near
you! First release is Snow's totally amazing self-titled debut which
will be released on November 26th. This release will ignite and excite
the rock world as Snow follow in the footsteps of many great Z acts
with great production and killer hard rock songs. Hailing from Brazil
Snow have captured the vibe that many acts simply fail to. Check out
two songs in full at our MySpace site
http://www.myspace.com/zrockrecordsuk and preorder your copy today at
http://www.zrecords.net/ or your favourite store.
Lost Weekend Do It For Ellis Plus Live Shows Announced
Lost Weekend's recent show that took place on Sunday 14th October was
a huge success. The event was put together to raise money for the
Special Baby Care Unit in Halifax, to thank them for their help in
caring for baby Ellis. Ellis was born prematually and only weighed in
at 1 pound. Ellis' father arrange the fund raiser day and ask Lost
Weekend to perform a special acoustic show during the evening. The
guys decided they could do more and penned a new tune called "Ellis"
and produced a limited edition CD to help raise further funds. The CD
also contains three Lost Weekend classics, as well as the new song.
The band played an excellent set and one which earned them a standing
ovation from the crowd, which included cast members of "Coronation
Street" and "Emerdale."
The limited edition CD, ELLIS, is currently available to buy from Web
site -- see the store for purchase details. This is limited to 500
copies and all monies raised from sales will be donated to the Special
Baby Care Unit in Halifax.
The band will continue to promote their latest album, FOREVER MOVING
ON on Z Records, with the following live dates:
02.11.2007 : Bar 15, Bull Green, Halifax
09.11.2007 : The Sportmans Hotel, Halifax
18.11.2007 : Rock City, Nottingham [support to Gottard]
08.12.2007 : The Boulevard, 17-19 Wallgate, Wigan
For further live shows check out the band's official sites at
http://www.lostweekend.org.uk/ and http://www.myspace.com/lostweekend
.
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*** PRESS RELEASE #6 ***
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-Akashic's Guitarist Posts Live Video Of Vittorio Monti's "Czardas"
It's available on YouTube a video of Marcos de Ros, guitarist of the
progressive metal band Akashic, playing "Czardas," of Vittorio Monti.
It was recorded live in 2006, and with him played the musicians
Gustavo and João Viegas.
"Czardas" is a traditional Hungarian folk dance, which was popularized
by Roma music bands in Hungary and neighboring lands. Its origins can
be traced back to the 18th century Hungarian verbunkos, used as a
recruiting dance by the Hungarian army. "Czardas" is characterized by
a variation in tempo: it starts out slowly (lassú) and ends in a very
fast tempo. The best known "Czardas" is by Vittorio Monti written for
violin and piano.
Watch the video through the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxAnyzL3FuA .
More information and samples of Akashic's and Marcos de Ros' works are
available on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/akashicrock and
http://www.myspace.com/marcosderos .
http://www.akashic.com.br/
http://www.myspace.com/akashicrock
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*** PRESS RELEASE #7 ***
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-Electric Earth Nominated For Award
Sweden's Electric Earth has just been nominated, by the Music Resource
Group, as one of five bands in the Hard Rock/Metal album category,
with their VOL II - WORDS UNSPOKEN CD, in the seventh annual
Independent Music Awards.
They are in good company as God Forbid and Lacuna Coil is a couple of
the more well-known bands that have won Independent Music Awards, in
one of the Hard Rock/Metal categories, before.
You can support Electric Earth by voting for them (as well as check
out the other nominated artists) at:
http://www.musiciansatlas.com/pages/imafinalist/
October 8 saw the release of VOL II - WORDS UNSPOKEN, their first CD
for the classic Belgian Mausoleum label, in the U.S.A. and Canada. The
album, which was released in Europe during spring, is distributed by
Allegro and Fusion III Distribution. VOL II - WORDS UNSPOKEN will also
be available from iTunes soon.
The band recently signed a new distribution deal with Swedish
MusicSpot for their debut album ORGANIC SONGS - VOLUME ONE, which
features their cover of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," and
their new CD EP SELLING SOULS, which means that both records are
available worldwide. They can also be bought through CD Baby (
http://www.cdbaby.com/ ).
For more information and sound samples visit:
http://www.electricearth1.com/
http://www.myspace.com/electricearthband
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*** PRESS RELEASE #8 ***
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-Prototype Track "The Way It Ends" Featured On "Guitar Hero III" Video
Game
LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles based progressive thrash metal band
Prototype announced today that it will be one of the artists featured
in the new "Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock" video game. "The Way It
Ends" from the latest Prototype album, CONTINUUM, has been included in
"Guitar Hero III" as a playable track. Players will be able to put
their skills to the test, playing lead, rhythm or bass guitar on this
challenging Prototype song. Also included in "Guitar Hero III" are
tracks from Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, Rage Against The
Machine, The Sex Pistols, Slayer and other top rock artists.
"We are beyond stoked to be included in the new 'Guitar Hero III'
game," said Prototype guitarist Kragen Lum. "Vince, Kirk and I are all
looking forward to seeing some videos of gamers playing 'The Way It
Ends' on Expert mode!"
"Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock" will include explosive new content
and features including a multiplayer action-inspired battle mode,
grueling boss battles, a host of exclusive unlockable content and
visually stunning rock venues. Expanded online multiplayer game modes
will also allow fans worldwide to compete head-to-head for true
legendary rock status. Fresh downloadable content will also be offered
on multiple platforms, and players can now shred to a killer set list
from many of the most popular rock songs ever recorded.
"Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock," published by RedOctane(R) and
developed by Neversoft, is rated 'T' for Teen by the ESRB and will be
available October 28, 2007. For more information about the "Guitar
Hero" franchise, please visit the dedicated community site:
http://www.guitarhero.com/
For more information and music from the band Prototype, please visit
their official Web sites:
http://www.prototypeonline.com/
http://www.myspace.com/prototypeonline
AVAILABLE ON NIGHTMARE RECORDS WHERE EVER FINE METAL MUSIC IS SOLD!!
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*** NEWS/RUMORS ***
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-The Black-Sabbath.com newsletter, Pilgrims Of Sabbocracy, reported
Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell bassist Geezer Butler said "Heaven & Hell
are currently in discussions with various record labels about
recording a brand new studio album in 2008." Stay tuned!
-Check out a new Lizzy Borden interview at http://www.metalblade.de/ ,
in the "Interviews" section.
-The new 300-page paperback "The Encyclopaedia Metallica," by Jerry
Ewing and Malcolm Dome, is out this week. It's compiled from band
interviews and hype says "this reference chronicles all the facts
surrounding one of the biggest metal bands to ever take the stage:
Metallica."
-About Heavy Metal has a new interview with Nightwish keyboardist
Tuomas Holopainen at http://glclk.about.com/?zi=1/4Ntq .
Thanks to Joe Siegler, Chad Bowar, and Mikey@... for
help gathering some of this information.
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*** ROCK HARD RIDE FREE ***
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by Tim Wadzinski (tsw512@...)
-That new Rob Halford compilation, METAL GOD ESSENTIALS VOL. 1 (see my
review below) has really got me on a Halford kick. I have been
listening to it constantly. For some reason, it occurred to me he's
got enough "extra" tracks floating around out there to comprise
another whole new Halford band studio album. Think about it -- you've
got the two Japanese bonus tracks from RESURRECTION ("Sad Wings,"
"Hell's Last Survivor"), the two bonus tracks from the RESURRECTION
reissue ("Fetish," "God Bringer Of Death"), the three "new" studio
tracks tacked onto LIVE INSURRECTION ("Screaming In The Dark," "Heart
Of A Lion," "Prisoner Of Your Eyes"), the four bonus/alternate tracks
from the various versions of CRUCIBLE ("Fugitive," "She," "In The
Morning," "Rock The World Forever"), and the three new songs from
METAL GOD ESSENTIALS VOL. 1 ("Drop Out," "Forgotten Generation," the
re-mix of "Forgotten Generation"). (And before you jump on me yes I
know "Heart Of A Lion" and "Prisoner Of Your Eyes" are actually old
Priest songs, but the versions on LIVE INSURRECTION were recorded by
the Halford band.) Why does any of this matter? It doesn't, but it's
fun for me. :) I keep reading stuff about the upcoming next album,
HALFORD IV. I just wonder if some or all of these tracks will show up
there. Final thought: Man, "Betrayal" off of CRUCIBLE is an awesome
song. Man! Love that solo.
-I tried one of those new(?) Reese's Whipps candy bars today. It's
good (I will never say anything stamped "Reese's" is less than good)
but it sure seems like a blatant rip-off of the Milky Way bar...
-Now in my current playlist: Halford - METAL GOD ESSENTIALS VOL. 1
(Metal God Entertainment), Scorpions - HUMANITY - HOUR I (NewDoor
Records), Almah - s/t (Candlelight USA), Axel Rudi Pell - DIAMONDS
UNLOCKED (SPV/Steamhammer), Queensryche - SIGN OF THE TIMES (Capitol
Records).
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*** REVIEWS ***
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HALFORD - METAL GOD ESSENTIALS VOL. 1 (A) Metal God Entertainment,
2007
CD: 16 tracks, RT: 72:58
DVD: RT: 40:23
[ http://www.RobHalford.com/ ]
[ http://www.HalfordMerchandise.com/ ]
[ http://www.HalfordMusic.com/ ]
[ http://www.myspace.com/robhalford ]
[ HalfordRob@... ]
Lately Rob Halford's been busy repackaging, re-mastering, and
reissuing tons of his solo and Fight-era audio stuff, and working
towards finally releasing concert and documentary videos of the same.
I say, bring it on! METAL GOD ESSENTIALS VOL. 1 compiles three Fight
demos from the WAR OF WORDS era (all of which are also available on
last year's K5 - THE WAR OF WORDS DEMOS release), a demo of "Silent
Screams" (a.k.a. the track that got Rob back into a metal mind after
his Two experiment), four tracks from the re-mastered version of his
2000 solo comeback RESURRECTION, one of the studio tracks included on
2001's LIVE INSURRECTION (the rippin' "Screaming In The Dark"), four
tracks from the (very nicely, I might add!) re-mastered version of
2002's somewhat underappreciated CRUCIBLE, and three new tracks. The
Fight demos ("Into The Pit," "Nailed To The Gun," "War Of Words") have
a palpable energy, and the RESURRECTION tracks ("Resurrection," "Made
In Hell," "Slow Down," "Locked And Loaded") offer a nice overview of
that killer return-to-form album. (Although, to be honest, I'd have
traded "Saviour," "Cyberworld," or even "Night Fall" for "Slow Down.")
The two truly new songs -- "Forgotten Generation" and "Drop Out" --
rock and are worthy, but "U.S. Hypocrisy Mix" is a little odd, as it's
just an extended re-mix of "Forgotten Generation." (Perhaps the
correct title is actually "Forgotten Generation (U.S. Hypocrisy
Mix)"?) As for the CRUCIBLE stuff, when I first saw the tracks
included here -- "Golgotha," "Crystal," "Sun," "Trail Of Tears" -- I
scratched my head, as none of those seemed an obvious choice, with
"One Will," "Betrayal," "Handing Out Bullets," and "Wrath Of God" all
being my picks over everything but "Golgotha." But then I sat down and
really listened to those three tunes I'd sort of dismissed and ya know
what? I gained a stronger appreciation for them, and CRUCIBLE as a
whole -- that album has depth! And Mr. Halford must *really* like
those songs, too, since he chose spooky snippets of each as background
music for the menus on the accompanying DVD! Said DVD opens with a
trailer for the upcoming Fight documentary, WAR OF WORDS - THE FILM,
and compiles RESURRECTION and LIVE INSURRECTION "behind the scenes"
segments with the Halford solo promo clips "Made In Hell," "Betrayal,"
"In The Morning" (an acoustic bonus track on the Japanese version of
CRUCIBLE), "Silent Screams," "Never Satisfied," and "Forgotten
Generation." The "behind the scene" things are fun, but too short and
basically seem like mere excerpts of longer DVD special features. The
videos are half live and half studio, with two highlights being the
gritty, pummeling "Betrayal" and the live version of the Judas Priest
chestnut "Never Satisfied." Throw in some nifty artwork and the
requisite grandiose liner notes, and METAL GOD ESSENTIALS VOL. 1 is a
winning package. And yes, while the whole "Metal God" shtick can be
tiring, Halford earned the nickname for a reason: the man can sing.
This sampler of his days away from the mighty Priest Beast is nothing
but a testament to that fact.
- Tim Wadzinski (tsw512@...)
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*** OUT ***
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