Zeitgeist News for 18 January 2004

A spokesperson for Avril Lavigne has confirmed to MTV.com that former EVANESCENCE guitarist Ben Moody is among the songwriters working with the 19-year-old pop star on her second album, the follow-up to her 2002 debut, "Let Go".

Boston's Tom Scholz had to make an emergency landing on Sunday at a Lexington, Kentucky, airport when the single engine plane he was piloting lost half its power. Scholz was able to land without any problems as the plane regained full power upon landing.

Ozzy Osbourne has cancelled his 20-date U.K. tour which was set to begin on Feb. 15th as he continues to recover from his Dec. 8th ATV accident. The Sunday Mirror recently reported that Prince Charles sent the recovering alcoholic a bottle of scotch recently as a get well gesture.

RADIO TOKYO "SONGSCAPE" CD reissued. First re-issue in twelve years! This is the debut cd from RADIO TOKYO featuring Jay Johnson and Charles Hart in their pre-Southern Rock Allstars days. Up until now this scarce recording could only be found on Ebay, and rarely at that! SONGSCAPE features powerful tunes loaded with soaring guitars and great vocals from this long-lived progressive rock band. This band turned heads all over the east coast as well as the deep south when this CD was released in 1992! See what the buzz was all about! www.southernrock.com

NEW BLACK, the new Los Angeles-based band led by former MACHINE HEAD/SOULFLY guitarist Logan Mader, have a total of 13 tracks under their belt, according to a posting on Logan's official web site

Marshall Blonstein, owner of the Audio Fidelity label took time from his schedule to sit down and talk about the latest developments at the label. The highlight was the release of the new Super Audio CD by Deep Purple. Blonstein noted that the new SACD was mastered by Steve Hoffman who he refers to as "the maestro of mastering" with the DSD Engineering being handled by Lon Neumann from the Sony SACD Project's Suite in Hollywood.
Deep Purple: Live on the BBC - The new Deep Purple disc features 7 selections from their role in the BBC concert series "Sounds of the Seventies" at the Paris Cinema in London on March 9, 1972. The Super Audio CD also includes two bonus tracks ("Hush" and "River Deep, Mountain High") that were recorded in the studio and charted as singles in 1968. The disc also has a track from the BBC concert ("Lucille") that does not appear on the CD redbook layer of the disc "due to time constraints".

DEF IGNITION, the San Francisco Bay Area-based band led by SKINLAB's Steev Esquivel, have completed their lineup and are currently recording their first "official" demo. "Things are going fast," Esquivel said. "We're not wasting anytime with this.

Unfinished Thought's first video for the new song Umbrella is complete and ready for viewing! While the Umbrella video will not be officially released to the general public until the new website is operational (coming very soon), we thought it was time a select few people get the chance to see it! Follow this link to download the video now:
http://www.unfinishedthought.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=472
The DVD version is currently being finished and will be available when Based On Actual Events is released.

THE WILDHEARTS will be playing several full electric warm-up gigs in February.
The dates are as follows: Feb. 06 – Whitehaven, UK - Civic hall Feb. 07 - Wrexham, UK - Central station Feb. 08 - Brighton, UK - Concord 2

Former Rainbow keyboard maestro Tony Carey has released his new album Go Out Dancing - Part 1: 1931 for a free download online at his www.truebeliever.de Web site. The album is part of a trilogy of which the other albums are named Levittown and Out In The Rain. Carey has also been working on a remix of the song "Room With A View" with DJ Shah which will be released as a single this spring.

Arch Enemy are pleased to announce that they have rescheduled two of the shows they were forced to cancel in December. They will now play Leeds Cockpit on March 7th (0113 245 5570) and Birmingham Academy II on March 8th (0870 771 2000).

EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee has confirmed that the band are contemplating the possibility of working with former LIMP BIZKIT guitarist Wes Borland on the follow-up to the triple-platinum "Fallen", tentatively due in 2005 through Wind-Up Records.

Stampin' Ground are thrilled to confirm their main support slot on Chimaira's forthcoming UK tour. The highly-acclaimed metalcore mob, who have just completed a storming UK headlining trek of their own, will play all but the last three dates on the February 2004 wrecking spree. Please note: Stampin Ground do NOT appear at final five dates (Dublin, Belfast, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Northampton) as they join Arch Enemy for a three week European tour

Industrial rock pioneers MINISTRY are at Sonic Ranch studio in Tornillo, Texas the studio recording the follow-up to 2003's "Animositisomina". Entitled "Houses of the Molé", the album is tentatively scheduled for release in the spring through Sanctuary Records

On Sunday, wildlife and rock 'n' roll wildman, guitarist TED NUGENT, was injured while filming a segment for his upcoming reality series, "Surviving Nugent: The Ted Commandments." Nugent suffered a chainsaw wound to his leg that required 40 stitches. It is reported that Nugent was demonstrating how to cut down a tree it fell errrantly toward one of the contestants. Nugent then dropped the chainsaw to deflect the falling tree from hitting the contestant. After his hopsital visit, Nugent returned to the set the next morning. The series will air on VH-1.

SKID ROW have confirmed via their official web site that drummer Phil Varone has left the group for "personal reasons." The band, who released their latest CD, "Thickskin", in August, have already found a replacement and will be going ahead with plans to shoot a video.

SAVATAGE main man JON OLIVA is nearing the completion of the JON OLIVA PROJECT debut which is described as a return to the the "darker, heavier sound that has been the trademark of the Mountain King's musical library." The album features ex-members of Circle II Circle as and is planned for a Spring release on a yet unnamed label. The band wants the album out for European touring considerations. More info: http://www.jonoliva.net

ANATHEMA's A Natural Disaster will be released on KOCH Records/Music For Nations on February 24th. The current lineup consists of three brothers: vocalist/guitarist Vincent Cavanagh, guitarist Danny Cavanagh, bassist Jamie Cavanagh, as well as keyboardist Les Smith and drummer John Douglas. A Natural Disaster, the follow-up to 2001’s critically-lauded A Fine Day To Exit. The full album track listing includes: Harmonium Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second, Balance A Natural Disaster, Closer Flying, Are You There? Electricity, Childhood Dream Violence Song samples of “Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second” and “A Natural Disaster” are available at www.anathema.ws

According to a posting at the Roadrunner Records web site, SLIPKNOT are officially back in the Hollywood Hills, California as of Monday, January 12 finishing up the recording of their as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2001's "Iowa", tentatively due this summer.

Affinity Music Library is proud to announce the release of the new progressive rock album, Aethellis. Aethellis updates the classic progressive rock approach with punchy, contemporary rhythms and funky guitar. But the signature elements remain: virtuosity, silky synthesizers, passionate vocals, progressive song structures and electronic effects. The
combination is a refreshing addition to the collection of progressive bands that have stretched the boundaries of rock. The album is now on sale as a CD at CD Baby.com and Tower Records Online. The album will also be available shortly via digital distribution through CD Baby's partner online companies. The official Aethellis website is at www.aethellis.com and
includes sound samples in mp3 and RealAudio.

Warrant frontman Jani Lane has officially departed the band to pursue a solo career according to a group announcement on Friday. Remaining band members plan to continue touring, playing and composing with a new vocalist with the possibility of recording a new album.

Tesla is expected to release their next studio album, Into The Now, on Mar. 9th. The album was recorded with the original line-up over the course of 2 years of writing and recording.

The brand new SOULFLY album, "Prophecy", is set to be released in a limited-edition 2-CD special package, according to Roadrunner Records U.K. "Prophecy" is due in late March.

IMMEMORIAL's tour through EUROPE has been finally confirmed. IMMEMORIAL will hit the road as a guest of DIMENSION ZERO . DIMENSION ZERO is the band of Jesper str”mblad, the guitarist and main songwriter of IN FLAMES and of Jocke G”thburg the ex-MARDUK vocalist: The other bands on the tour are HANDFUL OF RAIN. The Tour will begin in the
middle of Febuary in; 14.02.04 D-Engelsdorf, Hellraiser 15.02.04 D-Essen, Zeche Carl 16.02.04 D-Hamburg, Markthalle 17.02.04 D-Frankfurt, Batschkapp 18.02.04 D- Mnster/Breitefeld, Live Arena 19.02.04 UK-London, The Underworld 20.02.04 F-Nancy, Azimut 854 21.02.04 NL-Arnheim, Goudvishal 22.02.04 D-Aaalen, Rock It 23.02.04 D-Mnchen, Garage
24.02.04 CH-Pratteln, Konzertfabrik Z7 25.02.04 I-Bergamo, Motion 26.02.04 A-Innsbruck, Hafen

VAUGHN plus Support date: Sunday, March 21st 2004 doors: 7pm venue: The Cavern Club, Matthew St, Liverpool. Tickets: £10 advance [£12 on door] PLEASE NOTE TICKET SALES WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AFTER 12 NOON ON MARCH 20TH! credit card hotline: 0151 709 4321 also available at the Royal Court Theatre Box office, Liverpool.

United Rock Radio is the newest addition to the World Wide Web's hard rock wars. Headquartered in the Greater Phoenix, Arizona area, United Rock spans the entire spectrum of rock, ranging from the classic rock of the '70s to power pop, hard rock, heavy metal and today's modern rock trends. With an array of disc jockeys and syndicated specialty shows, United Rock operates twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The station's website, which can be found at http://www.unitedrock.com/ features news updates, reviews, brief soundclips, various contests, a monthly Featured Artist and much more.

The votes are in and have been tallied up. Zakk Wylde sweeps two categories in Guitar World Magazine 2004 Readers Poll. For two years straight, Zakk Wylde has been recognized as the MVP of the year by the fans. This is the highest honor on the annual poll. "It's definitely an honor to be chosen as Guitar Worlds MVP for the second year in a row," states Wylde.
Zakk Wylde has played a significant role for Ozzy Osbourne as one of his legend lead guitarist. Zakk joined Ozzy at the early age of 19, handpicked for his wicked-ass riffs and bone-crunching six-stringed mastery, now he has come "into his own." "When I first started playing guitar the guys that won awards like this were the players that I idolized," explains Wylde. "Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Al Di Meola, Albert Lee, John McLaughlin and Frank Marino are all my heroes to name a few."
Zakk's band, Black Label Society broke nationally at #50 on Billboard's prestigious Top 200 charts with their latest album "The Blessed Hellride" on Spitfire Records, while the DVD – Boozed, Broozed and Broken Boned entered Billboard's Top Music Video charts at #3. The first single "Stillborn" was named "One Of The Top 10 Tracks of 2003 at Rock radio."
"For every 14 year old kid out there, who's practicing their ass-off, strive to be great. You want your name to be among the players I named. Stay strong and bleed guitar."

John Bergeron is scheduled to present his critically acclaimed Leonard Cohen tribute CD "In the House of Mystery" at the 'New York 2004 Leonard Cohen Event' held on June 11-13, 2004. Bergeron is slated to perform Friday evening (June 11, ’04) among many fellow Leonard Cohen fans and friends to honor the singer's life, poetry, music, art and writings. This CD is for true music fans who are in search of a genuine music artist who will give them spiritual hope in all aspects of their daily lives. And, John Bergeron takes Leonard Cohen's songs to a whole new level. But first, he takes Manhattan on June 11-13, 2004. Then he takes... "In the House of Mystery" is available on MusicalDreams Records at www.MusicalDreams.com

Not so Righteous Brother - Kalamazoo County, Michigan, chief medical examiner has determined that Bobby Hatfield's Nov. 5th death was triggered by an acute cocaine intoxication in his hotel room.