11.25.05 (RockAndMetal.com) MALKOVICH have sent out their latest newsletter to fans, which reads like this: "Malkobitches Worldwide! Let's just get straight to the point so you and your friends can start gossiping about your favorite Dutch rockers in just a matter of minutes. It is with pain in our hearts that we herewith announce that Miriam has decided to part ways with the rest of the band. Read her personal statement to find out why: 'After five years of rocking foundations and building criminal records I have decided to lay down my bunny-ears and leave Malkovich. Personal circumstances no longer enable me to join my buddies in their crusade for world domination. The past years have been a sequence of cool shows, great tours and hoards of fun, and I will definitely miss being part of a wonderful band. My gratitude goes out to all the people who have been there for me and for us, especially Johan & Suzanne of Reflections Records, Jeroen & Marcel of Coalition Records, Aart, Johan, Ernesto, Magali, Bram and Daan; everyone who has done a show for us; all the bands we played and toured with and of course my sweethearts Hugo, Thomas, Mark and Josha for five fantastic years. On January 20th I will be playing my very last show with Malkovich. I wish the band and Job all the best for the future.' It's needless to say that we deeply regret to see one of our family members go into a different direction than ourselves. It's just as obvious that we wish Miriam all the best with her new found freedom and we thank her for 5 years of fun and dedication. We encourage all of you to come and say goodbye to Miriam as she'll play her final show with us on January 20th at the ACU in Utrecht. We have found the great people in Seein Red, Officer Jones And His Patrol Car Problem and Malle Pietje & De Bimbo's willing to share the stage with us on this memorable occasion. As we like to say, there's always sunshine after the rain. So it is with great pleasure that we have found a great person to fill the void, at least for now. Job of I-Reject fame will take over Miriam's duties after January 20th. He is a long-time friend of the band who has joined us as roadie on tours and several other occasions. He is an experienced and excellent bass player, and the perfect musician for the band we are. Thanks to Job, Miriam's departure won't cause a hiatus in playing shows and writing songs for the new record. The first tour for 2006 is being booked, with the UK having the honor to welcome us back again in January. Keep an eye on our website for the final tour schedule. 6 months ago, Filmjugend shot a video for our rock 'n' roll monster hit, '031.' Since then, they've been working like crazy to add tons of graphics and animations. Now we can finally say that we'll present this clip on December 2nd. After it's release, the video will be available on the internet and it should find it's way to your favorite TV channels, too. Don't expect some crappy amateur shit. Just as always, Malkovich only delivers the best! That's all folks. See you soon!"
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11.25.05 (RockAndMetal.com) A brand-new documentary focusing on Nuclear Blast Records, one of the world's most successful independent Hard Rock and Metal record companies, and its founder, Markus Staiger, is scheduled to air on February 2nd on the European channel Arte. Dubbed "Heavy Metal On The Countryside," the film's synopsis reads as follows: "Donzdorf on the edge of the Swabian mountains in Southern Germany. A village just like any other, with a pointed church spire, a supermarket and a new housing estate. But Donzdorf is the seat of Nuclear Blast Records, one of the world's most successful independent heavy metal record companies. The company's boss, Markus Staiger, grew up with heavy metal, like many young people in rural areas, and has turned his enthusiasm into an empire with branches in Los Angeles and other major cities. Housewives from the village work for the mail order department, sending out bloody skulls to every conceivable place in the world. Listening sessions are held in the village pub, where the offerings are commented on by the regulars as critically as by international journalists. The film takes a look at the occasionally comical interaction of the tranquil village inhabitants with the rather crude hard rock scene. But traditional positions have shifted: whereas heavy metal once stood for rebellion against provincial traditions and conventions, it has today, far removed from urban subcultures, long become a firm and established part of life in the country." Commented the film's director, Andreas Geiger: "I met Markus Steiger eighteen years ago. We used to live in the same neighborhood in Donzdorf. Back then I helped him with the shipping and handling of 2,000 vinyl records of his first two releases. One of them -- a sampler with hardcore bands from America -- was called 'Senseless Death.' Almost unbearable noisy roars was just what we wanted to listen to. Last year at a Donzdorf visit, I discovered a new, large building in the industrial area. The logo looked familiar: Nuclear Blast was still using the symbol of radioactivity, neon green and reminding me of our adolescence and the nuclear weapons that were stationed close to our village. The mail order-company-from-home had grown into an imperium. I found that quite interesting: Was this a crude heavy metal UFO in a village idyll, a foreign body on the outskirts of a rural society? Or -- on the contrary -- was this village, with all the peace and quiet of life in the countryside, the ideal location for a after all quite conservative musical genre?" With a running time of 52 minutes, "Heavy Metal On The Countryside" will receive its world premiere on January 12th in Donzdorf, with a second showing scheduled for January 13th in Stuttgart. The Arte broadcast is slated for February 12th at 10:21 p.m. For more information, visit www.filmtank.de.

11.23.05 (RockAndMetal.com) Internationally renowned Dutch band THE GATHERING have entered the studio to commence work on their 9th studio album. For the new recording, the band has built a professional homemade studio inside an old church in the small town of Maurik, located in the south of Holland. With the help of producer Atti Bauw (producer of the band's 1998's "How To Measure A Planet?") the band plans to work there for a month before heading to Bauw's studio to mix and master the music. Comments THE GATHERING's singer Anneke Van Giersbergen about the constructed studio and working with Bauw again: "We built our own studio there because we wanted to do something different and create a new atmosphere. As for working with Attie Bauw, he is a very inspirational man with great ideas and we were very anxious to work with him again. I like being in the studio especially because we are then together for a vast period of time as a group and we create something entirely new. It's always amazing to participate in this process and to finish with a brand new album. That sense of accomplishment is truly wonderful." She adds, "We would hope to see the album get released sometime in March (under license by Sanctuary Records in Europe and via The End Records in North America). We plan to start touring in March and to tour in South America, the U.S.A. and Northern Europe during spring." In February, Van Giersbergen gave birth to her first child, a boy named Finn. The singer welcomes the changes being a mother brings to her and her songwriting. "Being a mother has changed a lot for me and obviously everything I do or go through will somehow end up in a lyric or a song, but I haven't written any mother-baby songs --- yet!" she laughs. "My views on life are the same as before I had my baby boy, they are now just so much stronger. So if anything, my contribution to the band's music and the music we create together will be more powerful because of these new experiences." In other recent news, THE GATHERING just world wide released their double-DVD, "A Sound Relief." The two-disc set features a live concert the band recorded on May 23rd, 2005 at the famous Paradiso in Amsterdam, plus bonus extras like the band's own tour impressions caught on video, video interviews and a bonus disc showcasing a collection of attractive 3-D animation clips. THE GATHERING's 1995 "Mandylion" album is also currently being celebrated by the band's former label Century Media with a special "Deluxe Edition." The double-CD set features new artwork, a 16-page booklet with song-by-song liner notes from the band and never-seen-before photos from the recording session, with a second CD containing the first demo recordings THE GATHERING did with Anneke Van Giersbergen in June of 1994 at Holland's Beaufort Studios, and early 1995 at Tilburg's Double Noise Studios in the Netherlands.
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11.23.05 (RockAndMetal.com) MNEMIC guitarist Mircea Gabriel Eftemie has checked in with this update on the band's official website following the end of their recent tour with MESHUGGAH: "So we're back! I dont know how to put this, but the Meshuggah tour is unfortunately over. The last week or so has been nothing but fragments of memories merging into one big pile of imagery. If we rewind a bit, I remember St. Louis; we played a venue called Pops. A humongous place which could hold at least 2,000 peeps, and the place was packed. It was Meshuggah, Mnemic, and a dozen of local support acts. Both bands had the best time on the whole tour on that stage, at Pops. The crowd was into every band, and the moshpit looked like something I haven't seen in a long long time. Once again fists and elbows smashing into everybody and people stagediving and getting in trouble with the security, it was beautiful. Just like every other night, these non-humans were pouring their energetic soundwaves through the speakers, crushing the audience with extreme musical precision -- simply jaw-dropping and mindblowing, I shit you not! Anyways, moving on, the day after that we hit Virginia, but this time at one of the best venues in the country. The backstage had a jacuzzi, four individual showers, a big ass gaming room, with vending machines and pool tables, and a chef that kicked serious ass when it came to food and drinks, and we really needed that. The night was good, and I even managed to finally take some photos of Meshuggah. The day after that, we drove to Poughkeepsie, New York. A shitty day indeed: cold, rainy and depressive, just like back home in Denmark. Perfect day to end the tour. Meshuggah has nothing but inspired me since day one, and it has been a dream come true to tour with this fine act, great guys, great personalities, and great music. Mnemic would like to thank Jens, Marten (Hagstrom, guitar), Tomas (Haake, drums), Fredrik (Thordendal, guitar) and Dick, plus their crew, Mikey B (yeaaah booii), Larry, Fredrik and Brian Griffin for an awesome memory, which we will never forget! At the end of the night, after we said a way-too-short farewell to everybody, we got picked up by our management, and had to drive for one hour, in which eventually became 5 hours, due to a few wrong turns. We even managed to drive by Sleepy Hollow -- yes, it's a city, not just a darn movie. Since it was a five-hour drive, we got to the hotel at 4:45 in the morning, and at 5 I had to take a cab to LaGuardia Airport to leave for L.A... After the two days of chillin out, I flew to Arizona where I hooked up with the rest of the guys, and from there we hooked up with Sharlee and Arch Enemy for the 'Doomsday Tour,' had a great show, and went back to L.A. at the House Of Blues. The place was packed and sold out! It was crazy, we did a good set, and everybody seemed to be enjoying them selves. Our dressing room was next to a private bar at the HoB, where we got to meet Brigitte Nielsen -- she got surprised once our drunk asses started to speak Danish to her -- she was cool, down to earth, tall and with big jugs... and part of Hollywood."
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11.22.05 (RockAndMetal.com) Long-time band UFO have released two new 2-disc DVD and CD sets entitled "Showtime," available through SPV Records. The first disc of the DVD features a live concert recorded May 13th, 2005 at Wilhelmshaven Pumpwerk, Germany, while a second bonus disc contains a "making of" mini documentary, a slideshow, discography, interviews and more. The CD set contains the same music as on the concert DVD, and includes such UFO classics as 'Only You Can Rock Me,' Too Hot To Handle' and the early 'Doctor Doctor.' UFO have been operating with their strongest line-up in years since the release of their 2004 studio album, "You Are Here." The three original band members, Phil Mogg (vocals), Pete Way (bass) and Paul Raymond (keyboards), were joined by Jason Bonham just over a year ago. Bonham, son of legendary LED ZEPPELIN drummer John Bonham, already earned gold as a songwriter and drummer with his own band in 1990. Having played with Paul Rodgers (ex-FREE, BAD COMPANY), Slash (GUNS N' ROSES, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT), Richie Sambora (BON JOVI) and Jeff Beck (THE YARDBIRDS, THE JEFF BECK GROUP, BECK, BOGART & APPICE), he was enlisted by the three Zeppelin survivors, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones for a tribute show to celebrate their record company's anniversary. UFO are Bonham's latest musical challenge and live up to his powerful drum style. The current UFO line-up is rounded off by exceptional guitarist Vinnie Moore. The American Moore is a guitar hero in the classic sense: his intricate style, a successful mix of Rock, Progressive elements, Blues and Fusion wowed on his 1987 solo debut, "Mind's Eye." Moore, who was discovered by Mike Varney's talent works at Shrapnel Records, has since put out six more solo albums, and his guest appearance on Alice Cooper's "Hey Stoopid" in the early Nineties caused a stir. Playing with UFO, Moore has come face to face with his own idols. UFO's success story began in 1969, when Phil Mogg and Pete Way formed the band in England. They borrowed their name from a legendary London music club, impressed audiences with their unmistakable style even in the early Seventies and proved with their albums "UFO 1," "Flying" and "UFO Live" that they had their finger on the pulse of their rapidly growing fan community. "Phenomenon" (1974), Force It" (1975) and "No Heavy Pettin'" (1976), which arrived in succession, marked the band's international breakthrough. 1979 saw the arrival of their live recording, "Strangers In The Night," one of the better-selling live Rock albums. Following years of changing lineups, UFO returned in the Fall of 1993 with their comeback recording, "Walk On Water," and have been among the strongest live acts worldwide ever since, releasing two more awesome studio offerings in "Covenant" (2000) and "Sharks" (2002). 2004's "You Are Here" was voted among the ten best albums ever by British music magazine Classic Rock.
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11.22.05 (RockAndMetal.com) SOILWORK vocalist Bjorn "Speed" Strid has posted the following message from the United States on the band's official website: "Sitting in a very dark and cold dressing room in Houston at the Meridian. I got very surprised when I got up this morning and felt how cold it was outside... Is it usually as cold as this in Texas?! I know it's going towards the end of November but still... Anyways, still having a lot of fucking fun on this tour, had a day off in New Orleans yesterday. We saw all the devastation when we drove into the city, boats lying in the middle of the road, fragments of what used to be a peaceful community.. it was scary to see the terrible outcome after Katrina passed by, just two months earlier (as you might remember, we were in Memphis that day). What I could also see was that the city is after all getting back on its feet again (which of course made us very happy) so we decided to go downtown to support the nightlife and spend some money on bar-hopping (at least something, right!?). Had a good time down there drinking the all time classic Handgrenade and went to see some awesome live bands. I hope they will start up the House of Blues soon again so that we can come down again and play some of that Swedish metal once again. Also a big hail to Damien Storm for hanging out with us, had a blast!! "Other than that not much to say. A really great tour so far, shitloads of people and great circlepits every night. Thanks for rocking out people and keep em coming." SOILWORK continue to tour in support of their latest album, "Stabbing The Drama." The follow-up to 2003's "Figure Number Five" was recorded at Fascination Street studios in Orebro and Dug-Out Productions in Uppsala, Sweden with producer Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames, Stuck Mojo). SOILWORK was founded in 1995 under the name INFERIOR BREED. In 1997 the band changed their name to SOILWORK, which would become well known within the Melodic Death Metal scene four years later in 2001, as the Swedish sextet released their third album, "A Predator's Portrait," which proved to be the band's big breakthrough. "Natural Born Chaos," recorded under the supervision of Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad) followed the latter with songs such as 'Follow The Hollow' and 'As We Speak,' helping SOILWORK to keep on climbing the peaks of success. Tours through Europe, the U.S. and Japan helped spread the band's popularity, making it that much harder for tourmates CHILDREN OF BODOM, HYPOCRISY or KILLSWITCH ENGAGE to stand their ground besides the potent power of this Swedish combo. The much-acclaimed "Figure Number Five" followed "Natural Born Chaos", with 'Rejection Role,' 'Light The Torch' and especially 'Departure Plan' becoming the new hymns of the SOILWORK set list.
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11.21.05 (AP) Guitar master LINK WRAY, the father of the power chord in Rock 'N' Roll who inspired such legends as Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Pete Townshend, has died. He was 76. Wray reportedly passed away the week before last at his home in Copenhagen, Denmark, his wife and son said on his official website. No cause of death was given, but his family said his heart was "getting tired." He was buried Friday after a service at Copenhagen's Christian Church. "While playing his guitar he often told the audience, 'God is playing my guitar, I am with God when I play,'" his wife, Olive, and son, Oliver Christian, wrote. "We saw you go with God, you were smiling." Wray, who played in his trademark leather jacket, developed a style considered a blueprint for modern Rock, Punk and Metal music. He is best known for his 1958 instrumental 'Rumble,' 1959's 'Rawhide' and 1963 'Jack The Ripper.' His music has been featured in movies including "Pulp Fiction," "Independence Day" and "Desperado." LINK WRAY, who was born in North Carolina and was three-quarters Shawnee Indian, is said to have inspired many other Rock musicians, including Townshend of THE WHO, Springsteen, Bowie, Bob Dylan and "Little Steven" Van Zandt. All have been quoted as saying that Wray and 'Rumble' inspired them to become musicians. "He is the king; if it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,' I would have never picked up a guitar,'" Townshend wrote on one of Wray's albums. Neil Young once said: "If I could go back in time and see any band, it would be Link Wray And The Raymen." The power chord - a thundering sound used by Wray created by playing fifths (two notes five notes apart, often with the lower note doubled an octave above) - became a favorite among early Rock players, and have since become standard fare in most modern Rock and Metal songs. Wray claimed because he was too slow to be a whiz on the guitar, he had to invent sounds. When recording 'Rumble,' he also created the fuzz tone by punching holes in his amplifiers to produce a dark, grumbling sound. It took off instantly, but it was banned by some deejays in big cities for seeming to suggest teen violence. "I was looking for something that Chet Atkins wasn't doing, that all the jazz kings weren't doing, that all the country pickers wasn't doing. I was looking for my own sound," Wray told The Associated Press in 2002. LINK WRAY was born Frederick Lincoln Wray, Jr. in 1929 in Dunn, North Carolina. His two brothers, Vernon and Doug, were also musicians. The three became a Country hit as LUCKY WRAY AND THE PALOMINO RANCH HANDS. Later, after 'Rumble,' they became LINK WRAY AND THE RAYMEN, or LINK WRAY AND THE WRAYMEN, as it was sometimes spelled. Later, the brothers' relationship soured after a dispute about the rights to 'Rumble.' In 1978, LINK WRAY moved to Denmark and married Olive Julie Povlsen. They raised their son in a three-story house on an island where Hans Christian Andersen once lived. Though he went out of style in the '60s, he was rediscovered by later generations. He toured the United States and Canada since the mid-1990s, playing 40 shows this year. In 2002, Guitar World magazine elected LINK WRAY one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

11.21.05 (RockAndMetal.com) CANDLEMASS mainman/bassist Leif Edling has posted the following message on the band's official website: "We still live and breathe after a week on the road [with German thrashers Destruction]. It's been good and a bit bad too. The bad things first: Had to cancel two shows: Oslo (Norway) and Oulu (Finland). Oslo because of shitty ticket sales. The presale was 250 tickets 5 days before [the gig] at a place that holds 1,800. So maybe the advance could have been 300 in the end and 500 people would [have] attend[ed] in all. Not too bad, but at the Centrum it would be [bad], because of the size of the place. And Rockefeller, the main (and great club) 500 people would be totally cool, but it was booked for something else that day. We always get good crowds in Oslo, and we love to play there so this was very disappointing. We also had to cancel Oulu. But because of a totally different reason. No bus and no gear!! Storm on the Baltic sea! We drove through Polen from Berlin towards the Tallinn ferry to get to Helsinki. All car ferries were in shore because of the bad weather. We took a passenger ferry instead to make the show in Helsinki, only with some clothes and a guitar in each hand. The backline was provided in Helsinki by the promoter 'cause ours was still on the bus we had to leave in Tallinn. The Helsinki gig was awesome. Lots of people that went completely nuts for us and Destruction. The support acts Deathchain and After All had great gigs too. Heard that a good crowd was waiting in Oulu, apparently a metal city in Finland. But we had no backline!! Ours was still on the bus and the gear in Helsinki had to be driven to Oulu. The promoter tried to get somebody to drive it up to Oulu -- 10-hour drive -- and it was too late. The backline would not arrive in time for the gig. The distance to Oulu is too long. Bummer!! [We] really apologize about this to all you fans out there in Oslo and the Oulu area. We had no power over this and hopefully we can make it up later. Otherwise the tour has been great. All the bands get along superbly and the gigs have been great. Ludwigsburg and Berlin... not so many people as expected but I think Candlemass have done great gigs anyway. We play different sets every night. Each person in the band choses a personal setlist every night. Jan started because he's first in the alphabet, then Lars, then me, Mappe, and Messiah last. Very democratic. We play all the songs from the new album (not every night of course) and we got all the classics in the song pot as well plus things like 'Demons Gate' and 'Crystal Ball' some nights." Despite rumors stating the contrary, CANDLEMASS have NOT made definite plans to tour the Latin American continent. "Some fake tour dates are being advertised in South America at the moment," the band says on their website. "Please notice that the only official and confirmed Candlemass shows are taking place in Europe in November/December. A tour of South America is under consideration, but nothing is booked yet." Meanwhile, CANDLEMASS are the latest confirmed act for 2006's installment of the Headbangers Open Air festival on July 14-15 in Brande-Hornerkirchen, Germany.
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[Music News: 11.14.05 - 11.20.05]
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