 |
|  |
MONTHLY COLUMN by Diane Demeter RANTIN’ ‘N’ RAGIN’ ...
Another disturbing trend: Wal-Mart claims they have a “large range of Heavy Metal music”, on their website, downloads and CD’s. That’s pretty accurate but a lot of the CD’s are edited (in my book, compromised). I was surprised to see Sodom listed. It’s kind of funny they would put John Fogerty and Frankie Goes To Hollywood in the Heavy Metal/Hard Rock category. It’s great that Metal is getting more exposure, but we sure don’t need to lose any more independent record stores. THERE GOES ANOTHER ONE…It’s official, Frank Bello (bass), has exited Anthrax. Statement from the band, “Due to internal reasons, Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning) will be temporarily handling bass playing duties for Anthrax on their upcoming tour of Japan and Australia.” Anthrax will be headliners, supported by Soilwork and Killswitch Engage. Speaking of Killswitch Engage, they have a new disc out, The End of Heartache. You can view the “Rose of Sharyn” video on www.roadrunnerrecords.com K.E. will be co-headlining on the In Flames U.S. tour, starting May 3rd in the Midwest and end June 4, on the East Coast. Fates Warning began recording for the latest disc in April and will continue through June. Sometime in that time frame Joey Vera will record his parts. Vera has put the Seven Witches record on hold until May/June, in order to tour with Anthrax. I bet his head will be spinning for the next couple of months. Meshuggah (Sweden) will fill the void again with the Catch 33 CD, this fall. Bass player, Gustav Hielm has left the band and Dick Lougren (with In Flames in the early days) has stepped up to the challenge. German Power Metal at it’s finest, Gravedigger, has a new video “Valhalla,” available on the band’s official homepage, www.grave-digger.de in QuickTime format. The filming took place in Switzerland, Spain and Germany during Grave Digger’s “Rheingold World Tour” in January. Fear Factory’s newest CD Archetype, on Liquid 8 Records, is in stores now. MTV2’s Headbangers Ball is airing their video “Cyberwaste.” I want to see that one! FF has never disappointed me, yet! Deicide’s, “Scar” video, shot in Nottingham UK, is also on MTV2’s HBB. Scars of the Crucifix album is their Earache debut. The first week out the CD hit #18 on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart in the U.S. Find out more in the May issue of Guitar World magazine with the full-page interview. Swedish Death Metal act, Incapacity, will have their second album, 9th Order Extinct, in stores July 13. The 10-song old-school-death/new-school thrash (sounds like a great name for a CD) should be worthy of a listen. This recording is to have better production and a bit more brutality than the critically acclaimed Chaos Complete on Cold Records. www.incapacity.tk July must be the magic month for releases. Six Feet Under enters the mix with Live With Full Force, live DVD. Footage was filmed at the 2003 With Full Force Festival in Germany. This SFU show was the largest crowd they have played to, with 40,000 metal heads in attendance. Included is a bonus audio CD with five live songs as well as one new studio track. BOX-SET NOT TO BE MISSED This 4-CD, 65 track set totals more than five hours of music which includes hits and rarities. All this and more encased in leather and studs deluxe packaging, a 7"x7" box (I would expect no less). A limited edition Live DVD is an added bonus in the initial pressing, a complete concert filmed on 12-12-82 at Mid-South in Memphis, TN on the Screaming For Vengeance tour, mastered in 5.1 Surround Sound. Right there is ample justification for some hearing loss. Also comes with a full color book, which features the entire discography, bio essay, timeline and unpublished photos. A few of the tracks included on Metalogy are “Solar Angels,” “Hell Bent For Leather” (Testosterone Alert), “Beyond the Realms of Death,” “Jugulator,” “Pain Killer” and “Diamonds and Rust.” Region rockers can win a limited edition of “sampler CDs” that contain 11-songs from the Metalogy boxed set, just by tuning in the NIGHT ROCK radio show that is hosted every Sunday at 6 p.m. by Midwest BEAT editor Tom Lounges. You’ll find it aired on X-ROCK 103.9fm Voivod will have a 3-CD box set, War and Pain available to the masses June 15. Cattle Decapitation is putting out Humanure July 13. Spock’s Beard released three Special Edition CD’s April 20: Kindness of Strangers, Beware of Darkness and The Light. Beastie Boys are at it again with a new album due out later this summer on Capital Records, To The 5 Boroughs, 15 tracks dealing mostly with the current political climate and living in NYC, supposedly keeping their signature style of sound. A tour will ensue shortly after the release and have already confirmed an appearance at the Summer Sonic Festival, in Japan. Okay, BB are not really what you would categorize as Metal, but they do kick ass, make some excellent videos and always make me smile. Till Next Time…KEEPING METAL OUT OF THE MORGUE! | ||
Web Design By: All Rights Reserved © Hungry Mind Design2003 | ||
