04.30.04 (Reuters) American music icon RAY CHARLES, whose voice gave birth to soul music, has been reduced to a whisper, and he cannot stand alone without support. The 73-year-old singer/songwriter turned up late in a motorized wheelchair to his own party today, when the City of Los Angeles conferred historic building status on his longtime recording complex in a rundown part of the city. Propped up at the podium by handlers, Charles could barely be heard as he spoke into the microphone. "I'm a little weak now, but I'm gonna get stronger," he said. Charles has been off the road for almost a year so that he could undergo a hip replacement. A recent tabloid report claimed Charles was dying of liver cancer, and that funeral arrangements were being made. But Joe Adams, Charles' business associate for 46 years said, "I can't give any credence to the story. They seem to know more than I do." He also did not seem optimistic that Charles would return to the road. "I hope so. It's his life, but he'll be 74 in September and it's kind of adding up," he said.

04.30.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Goodfellow Records has announced the signing of Italian band THE SECRET. Born from the ashes of FROM THE DYING SKY, THE SECRET began activity in the Summer of 2003, when its members decided to start a completely new chapter, leaving their previous experiences behind their backs. THE SECRET has been created with the will to explore new artistic scenarios through a whole new stylistic and lyrical approach. Their sound combines elements of hardcore, noise, metal, and post rock to create a dark, heavy yet dynamic sound topped by the noir and cryptic atmospheres of the lyrics. Influenced by a wide range of bands, THE SECRET's music is a complex and intense stream of consciousness which drives the listener through unexpected soundscapes, where polyrhythmic breakdowns, dark atmospheric passages, and heavy mosh parts are blended together with surgical precision. One of the Europe's hardest working bands, THE SECRET have continually toured and will be doing the same throughout the remainder of 2004. THE SECRET's debut album will be released in late Summer.
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04.30.04 (Reuters) A subdued COURTNEY LOVE was arraigned today on two drug possession charges, but her lawyer said she had prescriptions for the painkillers and he did not see the case going to trial. The charges involve the prescription painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone which police said they had found in Love's Beverly Hills bedroom after being called there last October. "We are in legal possession. I don't see this going to trial. These are not banned substances. They were prescription (drugs) that she was in legal possession of," Love's lawyer Michael Rosenstein told reporters after today's brief arraignment hearing. "I have confidence in the evidence and in my client. I would imagine today will be her last day in court," Rosenstein said. Love, 39, who was dressed all in black, was quiet and subdued in court. She did not speak to reporters after the hearing. The drugs were discovered after Love was arrested outside a boyfriend's L.A. home on suspicion of breaking windows and being under the influence. She faces a separate trial stemming from that incident.
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04.30.04 (RockAndMetal.com) SLIPKNOT's new single, 'Duality' debuted this week as the #1 most added track at Modern and Active Rock radio. Over 100 stations across the nation worked the record into their playlists, making it one of the most triumphant radio kick-offs in Roadrunner Records history. SLIPKNOT's headlining stint on the Jagermeister Music Tour, sets the stage for the release of the band's highly-anticipated third album, "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)," on May 24th. The band has unveiled their brand new look to fans across the globe through their newly revamped official website, www.slipknot1.com. A "Special Edition" version of the new album will also be available on street date that serves as a key to access exclusive content on the site, including a brand new studio track, recording footage and more. SLIPKNOT are currently finishing up the remaining dates of the Jagermeister Tour, and will immediately follow that up with a European run of dates with METALLICA. The band will then return to the U.S. as headliners on the second stage at Ozzfest 2004.
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04.30.04 (Reuters) Disgraced British Glam Rock star GARY GLITTER, ordered out of Cambodia due to a conviction for possessing child porn, is fighting to stay in the country, officials said today. Glitter, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, spent four months in a British jail in 1999 after being found guilty of downloading child pornography from the Internet. He has since been hounded out of Cambodia twice by child rights activists and put on an entry blacklist, government officials said, yet he has managed to return to the country which has a reputation as a haven for pedophiles and perverts. Glitter has now filed a lawsuit against a Cambodian government deportation order, according to Women's Affairs Minister Mu Sochua, who has fought to have him barred. Local police said Glitter has been living for nearly a year in Phnom Penh's southern outskirts where he had bought a house. "Sometime he comes out and goes jogging in the village. Sometimes he leaves for holidays, but mostly he stays in Cambodia," local policeman Chan Savoeun said.

04.30.04 (RockAndMetal.com) VADER have finally taken their first break from touring since the beginning of 2004 to begin the recording sessions for their new album, "The Beast." One week after the recordings are slated to end on June 16th, VADER will hit the road again, playing 10-12 gigs through Europe. On July 2nd, the band will play a gig in Istanbul, Turkey then two days later on July 4th at a festival in Geneva, Switzerland. Right after that, VADER will start another tour through the Balkans, playing 7 gigs in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Then on July 24th, they will play on a festival in Domegliara, Italy. On the 25th of August, VADER will start a new tour through Scandinavia, with 14 shows in Sweden, Norway and Finland. After that, Peter & Co. the band will then play 3-4 gigs in RPA, Japan and Indonesia. The Polish "Blitzkrieg 2" tour has been postponed until October, and runs through October 18th. Two weeks later, VADER will start another trip through the U.S., then will participate in the "X-Mass Festival 2004."
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04.29.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Orange County rockers LIT have put the finishing touches on their forthcoming self-titled release, slated for June 22nd through DRT Entertainment. The first single, 'Looks Like They Were Right', will ship to Modern Rock radio in early May. The first 100,000 units of "Lit" will include a free, limited-edition DVD that features never-before-seen live footage and other exclusive material from LIT. With well over 30 songs in the can, band members A.Jay, Jeremy, Kevin and Allen hit the road last October and asked their fans to help them pick which songs should make it on the new album. After narrowing the list to 13 tracks, some of the standout tracks that made it on "Lit" include the crunching 'Needle And Thread,' with guitar work by Jon Devoto of THE MATCHES, 'Bulletproof,' and the uncharacteristic-but-powerful ballad 'Lullaby,' written by guitarist Jeremy Popoff for his son Jake. Gabe McNair of NO DOUBT also lends his keyboard talents to the track. LIT will perform at Barracuda's in Portland, OR on 5/28, while a full LIT Summer tour itinerary will be announced soon.

04.29.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Relapse Records recording artists DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN have begun the recording of their new full-length album, entitled "Miss Machine." The guys are currently laying down tracks at both NYC's Mission and Water recording studios with Steve Evetts (Hatebreed, The Cure, Sepultura). The eagerly awaited follow-up to DEP's groundbreaking album "Calculating Infinity," "Miss Machine" will be mixed at NYC's Quad Recording Studios and is slated for a July 20th U.S. release date and an August 2nd European release date. Advance song titles include 'Panasonic Youth,' 'Baby's First Coffin,' 'Bipolar Bear,' 'Apollos Creed' and 'Universal Beauty.' Guitarist Ben Weinman comments: "Miss Machine encompasses everything that we are about, everything we have been through as a band, and everything that is important to us. We have enjoyed touring these past couple of years, but it's now time for some brand new DILLINGER music to surface."
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04.29.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Come Tuesday, May 4th, Matador Records will release the first new studio recordings in 22 years from Boston Avant Garde Rockers MISSION OF BURMA, whose early works for the Ace Of Hearts label helped stake their claim as one of the American Underground's most influential and important bands. Recorded this past Fall with Bob Weston and original producer Rick Harte, "ONoffOn" is a work of staggering complexity showcasing a group that, looking backward, were way ahead of their time in 2004 as they were in 1982. The trio of Roger Miller (guitar, vocals), Clint Conley (bass, vocals) and Peter Prescott (drums, vocals), augmented by Bob Weston on tape loops, have recorded an album brimming with all the raw power of their 1978 debut, yet this time with revealing tones, textures and lyrical themes unimaginable the first time around. "ONoffOn" contains 16 songs divided into 2 sets, much like the band's recent performances, with a brief silent intermission, with the vinyl version including 2 bonus tracks - one of them a cover of THE DILS' 'Class War.'
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04.29.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Veteran Polish Extreme Metal band LOST SOUL's new album is entitled "Chaostream," and is planned be unleashed come December. Only mixing and mastering are left to complete the album, but it's safe to say it's going to be a very different album than LOST SOUL's previous releases. High speed tempos, brutal riffs, amazing solos and a really low-end sound (the band decided to use 7-string guitars for the first time) all characterize "Chaostream," a brutal and uncompromising Death Metal experience. Some advance song titles include 'The Word Of Sin,' 'Godstate,' 'Angel's Cry,' 'In The Birth Of Babalon,' and 'The Hidden Law.' In 2002, LOST SOUL signed a three-album deal with Poland's Empire Records, with "Ubermensch (Death Of God)" being the first result of the contract. Recorded in Wroclaw's Tower Studios with Arek Malczewski (Behemoth, Devilyn), it was on the strength of "Ubermensch" that LOST SOUL also signed a contract with Osmose Productions a month later.
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04.29.04 (AP) A 93-year-old woman whose Bayville, Long Island home was damaged when BILLY JOEL slammed into it with his car last Sunday had never heard of the singer until the accident, but now she expects him to pay for repairs. Maria Dono of Bayville returned from a shopping trip Sunday afternoon to find Joel speaking with police outside her house. "He hit my bushes and the wall. He'd better come fix it," Dono told the New York Post. "I'm sure he has money." Claire Mercuri, a spokeswoman for Joel, said the 54-year-old singer's "main concern" was to repair the damage. "He's taken immediate steps to make sure it's repaired as quickly as possible," Mercuri told the Post. Joel had been driving on Bayville Avenue when his 1967 Citroen skidded on the wet road and hit Dono's house. There was no evidence of alcohol or drug involvement and Joel was not suspected of any crime, Nassau County police said. He suffered a small cut on his left ring finger but refused medical attention. The wreck was the third car accident in two years for Joel.

04.29.04 (RockAndMetal.com) UK Doom Metallers ORANGE GOBLIN are in the U.S. for a new tour. May Dates And Venues:
5/1 Baltimore, MD [Sidebar Tavern] • 5/2 Richmond, VA [Alley Katz] • 5/3 Hickory, NC [The Wizard] • 5/4 Savannah, GA [The Jinx] • 5/5 Atlanta, GA [Star Bar] • 5/6 New Orleans, LA [Spellcaster Lodge] • 5/7 Houston, TX [Axiom] • 5/8 Austin, TX [Room 710] • 5/9 San Antonio, TX [Sin 13] • 5/11 Albequerque, NM [Burt's Tiki Lounge] • 5/12 Phoenix, AZ [Mason Jar] • 5/13 Los Angeles, CA [Spaceland] • 5/15 San Francisco, CA [Bottom Of The Hill] • 5/16 Portland, OR [Berbati's Pan] • 5/17 Bellingham, WA [3B Tavern] • 5/18 Seattle, WA [Graceland] • 5/20 Denver, CO [Larimer Lounge] • 5/21 Lawrence, KS [Jackpot] • 5/22 Minneapolis, MN [Triple Rock] • 5/23 Milwaukee, WI [Vnuks] • 5/24 Chicago, IL [Double Door] • 5/25 Lansing, MI [Mac's] • 5/26 Ypsilanti, MI [Elbow Room] • 5/27 Cincinnati, OH [Top Cats] • 5/28 Pittsburgh, PA [31st St. Pub] • 5/30 Youngstown, OH [Emissions] • 5/31 Cleveland, OH
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04.28.04 (RockAndMetal.com) BUMBLEBEEZ 81, the spawn of mad musical scientist Chris Colonna, will release their new album, "The Printz," via Modular Recordings on May 25th. BUMBLEBEEZ 81 is a true wonder, a mutated freak child of bloozy punk noise, hip-hop attitude, and sleazy electronica loops and rhythms. "The Printz" combines BUMBLEBEEZ 81's two acclaimed Australian and English releases -- "White Printz" and "Red Printz" -- into one full-length collection of spontaneous sonic chaos. "White Printz" featured rough-as-guts tracks mixed with dirty rock sounds, hip-hop rhymes, and electro grooves, while new tracks like 'Pony Ride' and 'Pink Firy Floss' are an irresistibly frenetic splatter of riff-rockin' hooks, floor-shakin' beats, and the capricious rap stylings of Kid Sister Pia - all cut and pasted for your listening pleasure in Chris's bedroom at the Colonna family farm. Utterly intoxicating and unprecedented, "The Printz" marks the arrival of something not often seen these days: A "real deal" new artist. "Some people are good at cooking, where as I am just good at making beats," says Colonna.
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04.28.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Goth Metallers LEAVES' EYES are already making waves with the video for the song 'Into Your Light' off the band's upcoming full-length debut album, "Lovelorn," which will be released on May 24th. The sextet is comprised of former THEATRE OF TRAGEDY vocalist Liv Kristine, as well as the current ATROCITY line-up. LEAVES' EYES captivates with wonderful harmonies, an epic atmosphere, and varied arrangements that embark the listener on a journey through the soundscapes of Rock and Metal. 'Into Your Light' unites bombastic symphonic music with Metal, as a playful piano forges an expressive bond with Liv Kristine's vocals. The Norwegian vocalist has clearly become more emotive than in the past: 'Lovelorn,' 'For Amelie,' and 'Into Your Light' are all tracks that espouse intensive emotion. The "Lovelorn" album is good bet for ans of the Gothic Metal genre. LEAVES' EYES also plans to perform live at the upcoming Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig, Germany.
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04.28.04 (RockAndMetal.com) It's fair to say that WITCHCRAFT are not of this time & space. In fact, it's safe to say that they were born at least 30 years too late. At least that's the way it seems on the band's self-titled debut album, recently released on Rise Above Records. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. It's also safe to say that WITCHCRAFT plays dark rock music the way it's supposed to be played - effortlessly heavy yet relaxed. With these guys, it just comes naturally without ever sounding forced. The four evil gypsies who combine to form the Witchcraft magic are seemingly unaffected by today's technology and tired excuse for rock music, where "new for nu's sake" equals boring and fake. And, with the album "Witchcraft," they have come together to create something as close to pure as you can get in modern rock music. WITCHCRAFT mastermind Magnus Pelander has been an active member of the Swedish Doom scene for some time now despite his youthful age, and initially started the band as a tribute to former 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS legend Roky Erickson... [full story]
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04.28.04 (RockAndMetal.com) UK-based Black/Death Metal quintet BAL-SAGOTH has nearly finished the writing of their long overdue sixth studio album, and will enter the recording studio to lay down tracks soon. The still untitled record will be released during the fourth quarter of 2004 through Nuclear Blast Records. BAL-SAGOTH drummer Dave Mackintosh has also decided to leave the band to concentrate full time on his other musical projects. BAL-SAGOTH's show at the Wacken Open Air 2004 will be Mackintosh's final concert with the band. In other BAL-SAGOTH news, all who lamented the lack of a full lyrical supplement to the band's fourth album, "The Power Cosmic," should know that there's now a new edition of the album available which contains a full color, 12-page lyric booklet. The new edition of the album is available on CD, and is sublicensed from Nuclear Blast by the Russian company Irond Ltd. Work on a series of graphic novels set within the BAL-SAGOTH lyrical universe is also continuing.
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04.28.04 (RockAndMetal.com) German Hard Rockers THORN.ELEVEN will release their new album, "A Different View," this Tuesday, May 4th on Steamhammer Records. Life equals emotion, and THORN.ELEVEN are right in the middle of it. Which explains why emotions are the main characteristic of their music. Their sound is wild and unbridled, sensitive and melancholy, it reflects suffering and disappointment just as much as hope and strength. Propelled by their own artistic enthusiasm, the band from Heidelberg allow tough guitar riffs to meet groovy rhythms, pairing them with versatile vocals and amazingly haunting melodies. Their self-produced CD, "Inside," which made the nation listen up for the first time, saw the light of day in 1998. 2,000 units of the first edition sold out within a few weeks. 'Sick', the opening track to their "Inside" album, was featured on a sampler released by Visions music magazine in March 1999, constituting another milestone on the thorny path to the top. Following a number of small gigs in sticky clubs and various support shows (for... [full story]
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04.28.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Cult War Metallers ANHKREHG have signed a new recording deal with Canada's Galy Records. Their first album for the label, "Against You All," is scheduled for release August 2nd. Produced by Jean-Fancois Dagenais at Wild Studios in St-Zenon, Quebec, "Against You All" will contain an arsenal of 10 explosive tracks of musical terrorism. Originally from Canada, ANHKREHG has been active for 10 years. They released a self-financed debut cassette, "The Oath Of Sorcerer-King" in 1993, followed by their 1995 "Sacrificial Goat" cassette, followed up by the conceptual "Brutal Witching Metal" in 1996. Canadian label Hyper Active Records gave ANHKREHG a good listen and released "Le Mensonge De Massada" a year later. Montreal's Frowz Productions then released the band's "Lands Of War" CD. Throughout the years, ANHKREHG has shared the stage with DARK FUNERAL, CRYPTOPSY, MALEVOLENT CREATION, KATAKLYSM, DIMMU BORGIR, VINTERSORG, etc.

04.27.04 (RockAndMetal.com) THE VEILS' debut album, "The Runaway Found," has been released by Rough Trade America. At 19 years of age, the band's Finn Andrews has created one of the most beautiful, emotionally graphic, and clear-sighted debuts in recent memory. At first his voice hits you, sounding frayed and strange, unlike anyone you've heard before. While the words come into focus, a vast landscape begins to open. Evidently, this is not another piece of rock by numbers. This is risky, ambitious, and special. As the songs glide and pitch there is a consistency in the level of passion. The moods and waveforms vary, from stormy and dark through melancholy and graceful to hushed and foetal. There are string sections, shattered amps and lightly coaxed acoustic guitars. There's sunlight and cloudscapes. Nothing fits into a convenient scene. It sounds like a record made by an ageless, romantic, willful temperament. It's a shock to find that it comes from the heart and mind of a porcelain... [full story]
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04.27.04 (RockAndMetal.com) FINGER ELEVEN will be heading out on a long-awaited Canadian tour this Summer. The "Summer Of Judgement" tour kicks off in Saint John, NB on May 31st, and concludes in Sarnia, ON on July 17th. At select concerts, FINGER ELEVEN are inviting local talent to open the show. Confirmed Dates:
05/31 Saint John, NB [Harbour Center] • 06/01 Sydney, NS [Savoy Theatre] • 06/02 Halifax, NS [Marquee Club] • 06/05 LaSalle, ON [Strawberry Festival] • 06/07 Ottawa, ON [Capital Music Hall] • 06/08 Ottawa, ON [Capital Music Hall] • 06/10 Guelph, ON [Club Denim] • 06/11 London, ON [Centennial Hall] • 06/12 Peterborough, ON [Club Vibe] • 06/15 Montreal, QC [Spectrum] • 06/17 Kitchener, ON [Club Element] • 06/18 Burlington, ON [Sound & Music Festival] • 06/22 Victoria, BC [Curling Club] • 06/26 Seattle, WA Seattle [Center Lot] • 06/28 Vancouver, BC [Plaza Of Nations] • 07/02 Toronto, ON [Edgefest] • 07/08 Winnipeg, MB [Walker Theatre] • 07/17 Sarnia, Ontario [Centennial Park]
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04.27.04 (RockAndMetal.com) TREY ANASTASIO is slated to play on the main stage twice at this Summer's 2004 Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN. Anastasio will first perform on Friday night, June 11th, appearing with Dave Matthews And Friends, and again as the festival closer on Sunday, June 13th with his ten-piece band. Vida Blue featuring The Spam Allstars will also be performing at the festival, playing a late-night set at one of the music tents on Friday, June 11th. Rolling Stone dubbed Bonnaroo "the rock festival to end all rock festivals" in 2003 and the event was named "Festival Of The Year" by Pollstar magazine in 2002. Last year, 80,000 tickets were sold in less than three weeks. "I think the festival is a very special event, and I think word of that has spread throughout the music community," says Ashley Capps of promotion agency A. C. Entertainment in Knoxville. "The artists are well aware that the fans want them to be here." Capps says an extra 10,000 tickets to Bonnaroo were available this year because additional land was leased next to the event's 600-acre main site.
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04.27.04 (RockAndMetal.com) JUDAS PRIEST has signed a new recording deal with Sony Music, and are working on a new album to be released later in the year. Returning to the home of their classic albums, the definitive JUDAS PRIEST line-up of vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis are back. The long-awaited reunion sees JUDAS PRIEST embarking on a World tour in June starting in Europe, then on to the Ozzfest in the USA, with further shows planned in South America, Japan, and the UK. The reunion tour and album also celebrates the band's 30th anniversary. Meanwhile, JUDAS PRIEST's first retrospective box, "Metalogy" -- a limited-edition leather-and-studs box set -- hits stores Tuesday, May 11th. "Metalogy" was assembled with the full participation of the band, and covers music recorded for the Gull, Sony Music/Columbia, CMC International, SPV, Atlantic and JVC labels between 1974 and 2002. Remastered hits, live rarities, B-sides and a previously unreleased demo are also included.
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04.27.04 (Reuters) NO DOUBT and BLINK 182 are teaming up for a co-headlining U.S. tour beginning June 1st in Indianapolis and wrapping June 26th near Los Angeles. The Summer dates have been planned around NO DOUBT singer Gwen Stefani's work on an upcoming solo album, and her role in the upcoming Martin Scorsese film, "The Aviator." "I was like, 'Gwen, can you give me three weeks?"' NO DOUBT manager Jim Guerinot said. "I would have loved to have had a whole summer of this tour." Added NO DOUBT bassist Tony Kanal in a statement: "It's been a while since we've been on the road, so we're really excited to go out again and celebrate the release of our singles collection. I know we will have a great time with the Blink guys." BLINK 182 singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge said: "This is a great opportunity to see two bands from Southern California that have a history spanning over a decade. We're honored to be sharing the stage with NO DOUBT again like we did 10 years ago."
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04.27.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Anglo Saxon Epic Metallers FOREFATHER have finished the recordings for their upcoming fourth album, entitled "Ours Is The Kingdom." Recorded at The Croft Recording Studio in England, the artwork has been designed by C.A. Interactive (Morifad, Skyfire). "Ours Is The Kingdom" is scheduled to be released on May 31st through Karmagedon Media. FOREFATHER was born in September of 1997 in Surrey, England by founding members and brothers Athelstan and Wulfstan. The aim was to create powerful and epic Metal tributes to their Anglo-Saxon ancestors - straight from the heart and of the highest quality. Their debut album, "Deep Into Time," was recorded at their home studio and released in March 1999 on their own label, Angelisc Enterprises. A year later "The Fighting Man" was recorded, then released in October of 2000. "Legends Untold", a limited-edition album was then released by Germany's Millennium Metal Music, followed by the issuance of the "Engla Tocyme" album in 2002.
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04.26.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Lush string arrangements, thoughtful songwriting, and fantastic guitar playing, are some of the first things that spring to mind when listening to BUDDAHEAD's forthcoming debut album, "Crossing The Invisible Line," slated for release Tuesday, May 4th on Sanctuary Records. BUDDAHEAD (a.k.a. Raman Kia) delivers an intensely emotional album while paying homage to the pioneers who influenced him. Heartfelt tracks like 'Outside' are reminiscent of Harry Nilsson, while 'Strong,' and 'Take It All Away,' -- one of the albums peak moments -- soar to Jeff Buckley-esque grandeur. Recorded in Los Angeles and New York, Raman and the team of producer Don Gilmore (Good Charlotte, Linkin Park) and mixer Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Jeff Buckley, Sheryl Crow) have created a rich and complex album awash with energy, emotion and struggle that expresses the conflicts, fears, confusion and hopes of Raman's life. "Crossing The Invisible Line" unravels like personal journal entries. The cinematic string arrangements heard throughout the... [full story]
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04.26.04 (RockAndMetal.com) German Dark Metal band DISBELIEF has signed a new recording deal with Nuclear Blast Records. "Undoubtedly the best and most original stuff the German extreme metal scene can offer," says Frank Albrecht of Rock Hard magazine in his review about DISBELIEF's current album, "Spreading The Rage." Melancholic songs like 'Drown' or 'It's God Given' lead the listener down to the depths of their soul and back, along with other powerful and crushing tracks like 'Ethic Instinct' and 'To The Sky' on "Spreading The Rage," the band' fifth album. Staged by a brilliant and powerful wall of sound created by Andy Classen (Stage 1 Studios), Karsten "Jagger" Jager's incomparable voice, the band's distinctive guitar riffing and tight rhythm section, DISBELIEF reveal an orgasm of creativity on "Spreading The Rage." The band will record their new album -- slated to be be released in Spring of 2005 through Nuclear Blast -- in autumn together with producer Tue Madsen (Die Happy, Mnemic, The Haunted, etc.).
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04.26.04 (AP) DAVID BOWIE has invited fans to bootleg his music - and he's offering prizes for the most creative theft. Bowie's official website urges fans to mix classic Bowie songs with material from his latest album, "Reality," to create a "mash-up" - a track that uses vocals from one song superimposed over the backing tracks of another. Developments in music software has made the technique, long-employed by music producers, easily accessible to thousands of "bedroom DJs." But Bowie, 57, was quoted as saying in Monday's edition of The Times newspaper that mash-ups were "a great appropriation idea waiting to happen." "Being a hybrid maker off and on over the years, I'm very comfortable with the idea, and have been the subject of quite a few pretty good mash-ups myself." The software needed can be downloaded from Bowie's website, along with the required tracks. Following the end of the contest on May 17th, Bowie will choose the winning "mash-up," which will be released as an MP3 single. The winner will also get a new car.

04.26.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Austro-French Gothic band ELEND are currently finishing the production of their forthcoming album, "Sunwar The Dead," scheduled for release through Prophecy Productions in September 2004. The album will be the second part of a 5-album cycle. In contrast to the transitional work "Winds Devouring Men" (the prologue to the cycle released in 2003), the pieces of music featured on "Sunwar The Dead" are by far the fastest and most violent ones ever written by the band. For the first time, ELEND has recorded with a complete classical ensemble featuring strings, brass, woodwinds, orchestral percussion and a female choir. ELEND's sound can best be described as very dark and oppressing symphonic music. Although similar to classical composers, they have adopted a different approach to composition, as the music does not follow any dogmatic rules - integrating modern elements such as ambient and industrial sounds or percussion instruments. Moreover, the vocal quality can be heard in various choir parts, narratives, chants, and evocative screams.
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04.26.04 (AP) Singer-songwriter BILLY JOEL was slightly injured and mostly embarrassed when he lost control of his car on a rain-slicked road in Bayville, Long Island and banged into a house, the Grammy Award-winning artist's third car accident in two years. There was no evidence of alcohol or drug involvement and Joel was not suspected of any crime, said Joan Eames, a Nassau County police spokeswoman. Witnesses said the accident occurred at about 4 p.m. Sunday, when Joel, driving a burgundy and black 1967 Citroen, crashed through a row of bushes and banged into a small beige home one block from the beach. "He seemed embarrassed that he lost control of the car," said witness Thomas Phillips Jr. "He said, 'I can't believe I got in another accident.' He was just going out to get a pizza." The accident left a crack in the house's foundation and 6-foot-long skid marks in the sand in the street, witnesses said. Joel suffered a small cut on his left ring finger but refused medical attention, Eames said. No one was in the car with Joel, and no one in the house was injured.

04.26.04 (RockAndMetal.com) The mighty AMON AMARTH will play two record release shows in Germany a week prior to the issuance of their as-yet-untitled new album, which is on track for release September 13th on Metal Blade Records. Support for the two shows will come from labelmates FRAGMENTS OF UNBECOMING. The following month, AMON AMARTH will head out on a full-fledged European tour with IMPIOUS. Confirmed Dates: 10/08 Hamburg, Germany [Markthalle] • 10/09 Osnabruck, Germany [Lagerhalle] • 10/10 Vosselaar, Belgium [Biebob] • 10/11 Zaandam, NL [De Kade] • 10/12 Paris, France [La Locomotive] • 10/13 Pratteln, Switzerland [Z7] • 10/14 Worgl, Austria [Komma] • 10/15 Linz, Austria [Posthof] • 10/16 Wien, Austria [Planet Music] • 10/17 Munchen, Germany [Backstage] • 10/18 Praha, CZ [Abaton Club] • 10/19 Nurnberg, Germany [Hirsch] • 10/20 Munster, Germany [Munster/Dieburg Live Arena] • 10/21 Halle, Germany [Easy Schorre] • 10/22 Glauchau, Germany [Alte Spinnerei] • 10/23 Bischofswerda, Germany [East Club] • 10/24 Potsdam, Germany [Blauhaus]
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[ Music News: 04.19.04 - 04.25.04 ]
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