10.22.04 (RockAndMetal.com) EVANESCENCE will release a new 2-disc live CD/DVD set on November 23rd via Wind-Up Records entitled "Anywhere But Home." Capturing their intense concert experience at The Zenith in Paris, France, this amazing first-ever live release from EVANESCENCE includes the entire show on DVD (directed by Hamish Hamilton of U2 and Peter Gabriel fame) as well as on a two-track mix CD, which includes the previously unreleased studio recording of the song 'Missing.' In addition, the DVD also features the band's four promotional music videos, an hour-long behind-the-scenes program, and some special surprises, discovered by the viewer as they navigate the menus designed exclusively for this special release. All of EVANESCENCE's hits from their multi-million selling debut "Fallen" are also included on the "Anywhere But Home" release, as well as the band's cover of the KORN song 'Thoughtless,' which has turned into a cult fan favorite. In other EVANESCENCE news, the band have recently wrapped a successful tour of the U.S. with label-mates SEETHER, and have been nominated for the upcoming 2004 American Music Awards in the category of favorite Pop and Rock band, duo or group. The American Music Awards take place in Los Angeles, CA this year on November 14th.
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10.22.04 (RockAndMetal.com) After twelve years as lead singer of CRYSTAL EYES, vocalist Mikael Dahl has now handed over the job on the band's upcoming album, "Confessions Of The Maker," to former LOST HORIZON vocalist Daniel Heiman. Both singers have known each other since the early 90s, when they played together in a local cover band. Heiman sang the lead vocals on the song 'The Wizard's Apprentice' on Crystal Eyes' most recent album, "Vengeance Descending," and he agreed several months ago to sing on one or two songs on the new album. A few weeks ago Dahl approached Heiman about singing on the entire album, which he thought was a great idea, and he accepted. Dahl had said on several previous occasions that if he would let someone else handle the lead vocals in CRYSTAL EYES, it would be Heiman. Meanwhile, the drum tracks for "Confessions Of The Maker" will begin to be laid down this Friday at Andy La Roqcue's Los Angered Recordings, who will also be producing the album as well as the final mastering. On November 1st, the rest of the band will begin working full time in their own Crystal Sounds studio, after which they're planning on having a first mix ready by the end of November. Mattias Noren has also newly delivered the artwork for "Confessions Of The Maker" (Evergrey, Jag Panzer, Lost Horizon), which is slated to be released sometime in late January or early February via the band's own recording label, Heavy Fidelity Records.
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10.21.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Grammy winning, multi-platinum Pop/Rockers THE DOOBIE BROTHERS will issue a new CD and DVD on November 9th via Sanctuary Records, entitled "Live At Wolf Trap." The two new releases feature music from throughout the group's stylistically wide-ranging repertoire encompassing sales of more than 40 million records, and marks their first live recordings in eight years. Recorded during their 2004 Summer tour at the outdoor Wolf Trap National Park For The Performing Arts in Virginia, "Live At Wolf Trap" captures the venerable line-up of long-time members Tom Johnston (guitars/vocals), Patrick Simmons (guitar/vocals), Keith Knudsen (drums/vocals), John McFee (guitars/strings/vocals) and Mike Hossack (drums) at the peak of their live game. The song list features some of the THE DOOBIE BROTHERS' best-known work, along with choice cuts from their recent studio releases: 'Rockin' Down The Highway,' 'Jesus Is Just Alright,' 'Listen To The Music,' 'China Grove,' 'Black Water' and 'Long Train Running,' along with 'Little Bitty Pretty One' (from the "Long Train Runnin'" box set) and 'People Gotta Love Again' and 'Five Corners' from 2000's "Sibling Rivalry," among others. The DVD features a top-quality, multi-camera shoot along with 5.1 Dolby Surround, 5.1 DTS Surround, and Dolby Stereo audio mixes as well as an extensive photo gallery and new interviews with the group.

10.21.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Metal Blade recording artists STARWOOD have announced they will commence a world tour in support of their debut album, "If It Aint Broke, Break It!," in their hometown of Hollywood, California on November 15th, where they will share the bill at House Of Blues with long-time rockers UFO. The next day, STARWOOD are off to the UK for a series of dates with ex-MOTLEY CRUE frontman Vince Neil. The tour announcement comes just as the band are shooting their first video for the song 'Subculture.' According to vocalist/guitarist Lizzy, who produced the recording with bandmate Joey Scott (drums & percussion/backing vocals), 'Subculture' is an invitation to those who will never be in the subculture of society to join STARWOOD and others like them in Hollywood. The video mixes performance footage with scenes celebrating the Hollywood scene the band celebrates in their music. 'Subculture' is just one of several tracks on "If It Aint Broke, Break It!" currently garnering nationwide airplay. Others include 'All My Girlfriends Have Boyfriends,' 'Whats Your Damage' and 'Backlash.' Lizzy says he chose to name the band after the famed 70s Hollywood club because The Starwood was where fans started seeing Metal bands on a regular basis, with the venue continuing to host shows by Rock, Pop and Punk bands - all elements that can be heard in STARWOOD's music. The band are also planning an extensive tour for sometime in 2005.
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10.20.04 (RockAndMetal.com) MIDNIGHT MOVIES begin a new stateside tour tonight at UC Santa Cruz in support of their recently released debut album on Rykodisc/Emperor Norton Records. Dates running through mid-November will be played with support from CLINIC, after which the band will be in Europe. Upon MIDNIGHT MOVIES' return to the U.S. in early December, they will then play a string of west coast dates with EARLIMART. Look for another tour in January/February of 2005 with LUNA. 10/20/04 Santa Cruz, CA [UC Santa Cruz] • 10/21/04 San Francisco, CA [Bottom Of The Hill] • 10/22/04 Oakland, CA [Mile High Club ] • 10/24/04 Eugene, OR [WOW Hall] • 10/25/04 Seattle, WA [Neumo's] • 10/26/04 Portland, OR [Doug Fir Lounge] • 10/29/04 Minneapolis, MN [The Fine Line] • 10/30/04 Chicago, IL [The Abbey Pub] • 10/31/04 Chicago, IL [The Abbey Pub] • 11/02/04 Pittsburgh, PA [Mr. Smalls Theatre] • 11/03/04 Detroit, MI [Magic Stick] • 11/05/04 Toronto, ONT [Lee's Palace] • 11/06/04 Northampton, MA [Pearl Street] • 11/08/04 Portland, ME [Big Easy] • 11/09/04 Boston, MA [Paradise] • 11/10/04 New York, NY [Irving Plaza] • 11/11/04 Philadelphia, PA [Five Spot] • 11/12/04 Brooklyn, NY [Southpaw] • 11/14/04 New York, NY [Club Shout!] • 12/08/04 San Francisco, CA [The Independent] • 12/09/04 Eugene, OR [WOW Hall] • 12/10/04 Seattle, WA [Neumo's] • 12/11/04 Portland, OR [Doug Fir] • 12/14/04 Orange County, CA [Detroit Bar] • 12/15/04 San Diego, CA [The Casbah]
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10.20.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Wicked World Recordings has announced the signing of Danish wrecking crew EXMORTEM to a multi-album, worldwide recording deal. Brandishing a particularly savage brand of twisted Death Metal as their weapon of choice, the band has released two previous albums via Hammerheart Records and Osmose Productions, and more recently toured Europe last year with NECROPHAGIA. With a new album, "Nihilistic Contentment" already recorded, the band are looking to open 2005 with the release followed by extensive touring. The upcoming album was recorded at Antfarm Studios in Denmark by Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Hatesphere. Mnemic) and features 10 barbaric tracks blending musical precision with lyrical depravity in equal measures. EXMORTEM's Sigtyr had this to say about the band's new union with Wicked World: "We are very proud to announce that we have signed with one of the world's leading labels in extreme music!! With a crew that have worked to be on the forefront of the scene for 15 years or more, we feel confident that we have found the best home for Exmortem. We will do our best to make this a success and the new album should be the first step in that direction!" MP3s and an exact confirmed release date for "Nihilistic Contenment" should be available shortly.
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10.19.04 (RockAndMetal.com) STEREOPHONICS vocalist/guitarist Kelly Jones has written the title track for "Long Way Round," a seven-part documentary series following Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on their epic motorbike journey, 20,000 miles around the world. The track 'Long Way Round' was recorded by STEREOPHONICS. Said Jones of his involvement with the project: "I got involved with Ewan and 'Long Way Round' after I met him at our show at the Royal Albert Hall. I gave him a film script I'd written to read, just for some advice & then I went along to the going away party of theirs, and we kept in touch during his round the world trip and our round the world tour. He asked me to write the title sequence song and I wrote a few lines down there and then and put the music to it when I got back from touring. It is a very, very simple song, just trying to catch the sentiment of being away from the people you love even though you love being away doing what it is you do at the same ti! me. Ewan played it to his wife and she phoned me and told me she loved it, and that's all that's important to me. I feel I captured what they both felt being apart from one another and the feelings they went through during the ride." "Long Way Round," which started in the UK earlier this year, took McGregor & Boorman across Europe, then through the Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Alaska, Canada and across the USA to their final destination, New York City.
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10.19.04 (RockAndMetal.com) SEVEN WITCHES will release their new album, "Year of The Witch," next Tuesday, October 26th via Noise Records, heralding a bold new chapter for the band. In addition to their first stable line-up, the twelve new songs are more expansive, dabbling in heretofore-unheard sounds, the most talked about song being 'Metal Asylum.' Kicking things off, the lyrics run through Metal's history, referencing bands, classic albums, and even quotes from well-known live recordings. "I wanted to write a song from my roots," says SEVEN WITCHES guitarist Jack Frost. "If it wasn't for Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, I woudn't be where I am today. Metal never died. Every one of us is taking our hats off to heavy metal on this song." Frost also took some risks on the new album, loosened the songwriting reins and getting input from respected outside musicians like Joey Vera and ex-MEGADETH bassist Dave Ellefson. Vera, who is still part of the SEVEN WITCHES family and will continue to write with the band and maybe do some more producing, was involved with writing "Year Of The Witch" from start to finish besides the track 'If You Were God,' which is actually an old Ellefson tune. After the release of the band's 2002 album, "Passage To The Other Side," the longstanding Frost and James Rivera tandem was bolstered further by newcomers Dennis Hayes (Winters Bane) on bass and drummer Jeff Curenton.
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10.18.04 (AP) Singer MARC ALMOND, whose band SOFT CELL scored a massive international hit in the early 1980s with their version of the song 'Tainted Love,' has been hospitalized after suffering severe head injuries in a road crash, police said. Almond, 47, was riding as a passenger on a motorcycle when it collided with a car in central London on Sunday afternoon, a spokesman for the City Of London Police said. He was thrown from the bike and suffered severe head injuries, the spokesman said, adding that his condition remained critical Monday morning. It was unclear if he had been wearing a helmet. The singer was in stable condition at the Royal London Hospital in the east of the capital, the hospital's governing body said in a statement Monday. The motorcycle's driver, who hasn't been identified, was also seriously injured, police said. SOFT CELL earned a No. 1 hit in Britain along with major U.S. airplay in 1981 with 'Tainted Love,' their electronic synthesizer-laden cover of a classic Gloria Jones soul song. Almond and fellow SOFT CELL band member David Ball broke up the duo in 1984, after which Almond began a successful solo career. MARC ALMOND scored another major hit with a cover of singer/songwriter Gene Pitney's 'Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart' in 1989, which he sang with Pitney.
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10.18.04 (RockAndMetal.com) Home in Finland after his first-ever trip to the U.S. as Special Guest at Atlanta's ProgPower USA V and performances in South America is vocalist TIMO KOTIPELTO (Kotipelto, Stratovarius), who sends his regards to his fans worldwide: "The gigs in Argentina and Brazil were superb! The response from the fans was so awesome. A lot of people knew my songs and we had lots of fun on stage. The funny thing was that our bass player's last name Porra (Lauri Porra) is a swear word in Brazil and means something like sperm! :) So the people were shouting his name very loud when I introduced him. The whole trip to Atlanta ProgPower V and to South America was such an enjoyable journey for me. I hope to get back to play some shows in the U.S. with my band, and also to headline a tour in South America in the near future. Thanks to all cool people I met over there!" Keyboardist Jens Johansson (Stratovarius, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) who stepped-in in the eleventh hour to perform with the band, said the following regarding the band's South American shows: "It was really nice performing with my new friends from the band Kotipelto this past week. The audiences in South America are always a lot of fun so it was my pleasure to help Timo out when his regular keyboard player Janne pooped out due to tour with CoB - ha ha." Kotipelto, whose newest album "Coldness" was released earlier this year, will be performing 6 dates in the next two weeks in Finland.
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[Music News: 10.04.04 - 10.10.04]
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