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Savatage mastermind to do solo gigs
07 Dec 2003
Jon Oliva, founding member and mastermind of SAVATAGE, has recruited the former members of CIRCLE II CIRCLE (Matt Laporte - guitar, Kevin Rothney - bass, Christopher Kinder - drums, and John Zahner - keyboards) to perform a series of concerts showcasing his new solo material as well as classic SAVATAGE songs, some of which have never been performed live on stage.
Oliva, who debuted some of his new material at the Criss Oliva Memorial Concert back in October, is toying with the idea of taking this show on the road in the U.S. and possibly overseas. In addition, tentative plans exist for the band to return to the studio with Jon to record more tracks for his solo project. More information will be made available soon. Upcoming JON OLIVA shows: Dec. 12 - Liquid Blue – Clearwater, FL For more details, visit www.jonoliva.net.
Topic: Band News
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Blaze to begin recording new album
07 Dec 2003
BLAZE, the British band led by former IRON MAIDEN/WOLFSBANE singer Blaze Bayley, will enter Backstage Studios in Ripley, England on Monday (Dec. 8) to begin recording their third album, tentatively due in early 2004 through SPV Records.
According to producer Andy Sneap, who worked with the band on their previous two offerings, the tracking for the as-yet-untitled effort will be completed on December 20, with the mixing process set to commence in early January. "It's more of a live approach because of time and because they really liked the way the live album ['As Live As It Gets'] came out," Sneap told BLABBERMOUTH.NET. "It's a very tight schedule/budget on this one." As previousl ... |
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Jason Newsted Leaves Ozzy Osbourne
05 Dec 2003
According to Ryan J. Downey of mtv.com, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted has left the Ozzy Osbourne band after less than a year for undisclosed reasons and has been replaced by former Rob Zombie bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson. Nicholson couldn't be happier about the opportunity. "It's still settling in," Nicholson enthused, talking on his cell phone while driving through Hollywood. "It's something I never would have imagined. After playing with Rob Zombie, I was ready to go, 'OK, this is as far as I'm taking this bass-playing thing. This is the end of the road.' I was ready to kind of hang it up. But when this came around, it was very odd," he added. "I was almost like, ... |
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STRATOVARIUS Guitarist Apologizes, Hires Bodyguards
03 Dec 2003
STRATOVARIUS guitarist Timo Tolkki has posted the following message on the band's official web site:
"After speaking with all the band members I am now travelling to Berlin to talk with the Sanctuary team about the future of STRATOVARIUS. "At this point I cannot say more about the situation. I am very sorry if my statements have offended someone. I have been under heavy pressure lately and my therapist has prescribed me some heavy antidepressants. They make it even more difficult for me to control my temper. "I have received death threats, which has forced me to hire 2 bodyguards. They are both former military people with martial arts training ... |
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THE GATHERING Announce Track Listing For 'Sleepy Buildings'
03 Dec 2003
Holland's THE GATHERING have finalized the track listing for their new "semi-acoustic" live album, "Sleepy Buildings", due on January 26 through Century Media Records. Recorded at two exclusive gigs held at the LUX movie theatre and venue in Nijmegen, Holland on August 21-22, the disc features selections from the group's entire career - from the classic debut "Always" to the commercial breakthough "Mandylion" to the trip-rock of "If_Then_Else".
The complete track listing for "Sleepy Buildings" is as follows: 01. Locked Away 02. Saturnine 03. Amity 04. The Mirror Waters 05. Red Is A Slow ... |
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Omnium Gatherum prepare to record
01 Dec 2003
Finnish "new wave" death metallers Omnium Gatherum are busy writing and demoing new material for their sophomore album, tentatively due next summer. The follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut, "Spirits and August Light", is scheduled to be recorded late spring 2004 with engineer Nino Laurenne at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki, Finland and will be released through Rage Of Achilles Records. New songtitles include "The Fall Went Right Through Here", "Bereavement" and "Misanthropic (Let the Crown Fall)." The band are describing the new material as "more of that old-school (melo)death — groovier and heavier not that trendypopdeathmetalcrap that's extruding everywhere..."
Topic: Band News
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Trivium Update
01 Dec 2003
The Trivium web site www.trivium.org has been updated with news, more interviews & reviews, along with a couple more places to buy Ember To Inferno online and a new graphic for the desktop – we have a lot of news and information posted so if you have a few minutes check it out. We spent some time in the studio with Jason (Audio Hammer Studios) last week and recorded 3 new tracks - we will post one of the new tracks titled: “Like Light To The Flies” on the web site 12/24/2003 – we head to Morris Sound Studios for mastering on 12/8/2003. A major priority for us in January is the making of a music video – we are in discussions now and hopefully will finalize the details over the next few weeks – we may have more information for the 12/24/2003 year end news update. As always - thanks for all of your help & support \m/ Travis, Brent, Corey & Matt
Topic: Band News
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DIO To Enter Studio In January
28 Nov 2003
The songwriting process for the new DIO record is coming along nicely, and if all goes as planned, the band should be ready to start recording sometime in January 2004, according to a post on the group's web site.
In other news, DIO have been officially confirmed confirmed for the 2004 edition of Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 5-8, 2004 in Wacken, Germany According to an official newsletter from the festival's organizers, next year's event will be a celebration of the festival's 15th anniversary with special performances by "new hits, old hits, reunions, newcomers and top acts." The list of bands currently scheduled to appear at ... |
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JON SCHAFFER: Iced Earth and Demons and Wizards update
28 Nov 2003
ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer has posted the following message on the band's official web site:
"Season's Greetings! "First of all, please accept my apology for the delay in this posting. These last 3 months have been extremely busy and I've been pretty overwhelmed with the workload. However, everything came to a screeching halt a few weeks back when I had lower back surgery. Everything's going well and I'm healing just fine, so in another few weeks I'll be as good as new. "Anyway, there is actually quite a lot to report, so let's get to it! "First, as you all know by now, the CD release has been delayed to early January. I know this has upset man ... |
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VINTERSORG Set Release Date For New Album
28 Nov 2003
VINTERSORG, the band led by BORKNAGAR frontman Andreas Hedlund (a.k.a. Vintersorg), have set a February 16, 2004 release date through Napalm Records for their forthcoming album, "The Focusing Blur". A four-minute 35-second MP3 file containing soundclips of five tracks that will appear on the album can be downloaded here.
As previously reported, the follow-up to last year's "Visions From The Spiral Generator" is being described by Hedlund as "both intricate and flowing… It holds a nice balance between the usual VINTERSORG elements, like harmony and ... |