07/08/2008

MeDIA News

Nickelback have signed a new three album deal with the possibility of a fourth with Live Nation. The deal also covers the bands next three tours, merchandising and other sponsorship agreements. According to Reuters the deal is worth between $50 and $70 million. The band owes Roadrunner Records two more albums under their current contract and will begin releasing music via Live Nation once those are delivered.

MUSIC News

OPETH will embark on a North American headlining tour in the fall. Support on the trek will come from HIGH ON FIRE and BARONESS .

ZONARIA have inked a worldwide deal with Century Media Records . The group has just entered the studio to record its second full-length album, tentatively due later in the year.

Korn 's 2006 live DVD effort " Live On The Other Side " will be released on the high definition Blu-Ray format on October 07th via Image Entertainment .

Lower Definition 's entire new album " The Greatest Of All Lost Arts " has been posted online in streaming audio form here . The effort will see a July 08th release date through Ferret Music .

Candlebox have released a new track titled “Consider Us” to iTunes . The bands new album ‘ Into the Sun ‘ will be in stores on July 22nd.

WARRANT apparently played a less-than-stellar show last Saturday night (July 5) at the Sunset Station Hotel & Casino in Henderson, Nevada, with one person who attended the concert describing vocalist Jani Lane 's performance as "embarrassing" and "painful to watch."

Movie News

Quarantine
The film follows a television reporter named Angela Vidal and her cameraman, who are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find a couple police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. Unbeknownst to them, a woman has contracted a rare strain of rabies. When they try to leave the building with those injured from a wild attack by the infected woman, they find that they've been locked in. Indeed, there are police, SWAT and CDC crews securing the building. But phones, internet, televisions and cell phone access have been cut-off, and officials are not relaying information to those quarantined inside. The film has been pushed forward a week from October 17th to the 10th of 2008.

Comic Book News

MIRACLEMAN
An adaptation of the beleaguered property ... for the stage? Yep, according to Australian Stage , soon the complicated character will come to Melbourne.

HEROES
Herosite has details from the TV Guide preview of the new season, including Claire ... from the future!

ViDEO Game News

Wall-E helps out the Nintendo Gambecube
Long before the Pixar movie hits the big screen this summer, a group of German modders have been inspired by Wall-E's cuteness to take an old and unloved Nintendo GameCube and some scraps of metal and acrylic, and put together a sweet mod that looks just like the little robot himself. It even has tank treads and a flip-down shutter, like Wall-E's, over the Gamecube's ports. Frankly, its so loveably "realistic" that we're pre-emptively sniffly, imagining what the movie will be like. Look at the Wall-E GameCube here.

Tour UpDates

36 Crazyfists and Walls Of Jericho have lined up the following off-dates from the " Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival " together:
July 14th Modesto, CA - Fat Cats
July 17th Las Vegas, NV - Jillians
July 21st Salina, KS - The Blue Goat
July 24th Tulsa, OK - The Other Side
August 04th Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
August 07th Cleveland, OH - Peabodys
August 11th Louisville, KY - Headliners
August 14th Columbus, OH - Al Rosa
August 18th Huntington, WV - Monkey Bar

MUSIC News

The long-awaited music industry documentary 'Working Class Rock Star'is being released in North America by distributor Cinema Epoch. It follows the lives of 3 bands (Tub Ring, Bloodshoteye, 3 Mile Scream) struggling with life on a record label in today's music industry and also features interviews with Lamb of God,  GWAR, Unearth, The Haunted, Arch Enemy, Finntroll, Kataklysm, Strapping Young Lad, Bleeding Through, Himsa, Byzantine, Dog Fashion Disco, Frank Marino and many more. The film features an original score written by Tub Ring's Rob Kleiner. It will be in stores everywhere November 11, 2008.A trailer can be viewed on it's official homepage,
www. workingclassrockstar. com

Drummer Roy Mayorga of Stone Sour / Soulfly , etc. fame has posted a solo track dubbed " Desert Song " online here . The track features guest solos from Slipknot 's Jim Root and Levon Sultanian of Onesidezero , etc. fame. In other news, Mayorga is working on a new solo album and also playing with the band Black President , whom you can check out here .

Oceano have inked a deal with Earache.

The Dillinger Escape Plan's recent concert at Club Infinity in New Jersey is available as a free download at this location .

Panic Cell have been forced to cancel their dates supporting Dope and Kitte due to visa issues. Across Five Aprils will now provide support on the tour. Check them out on MySpace .

Adelitas Way have streamed a new track titled “Closer to You” on their MySpace page.

Thrity Six Red have signed with Corporate Punishment Records for the release of their new album ‘ That Which Passes ‘, which is due out early next year. Check out their MySpace for audio.

Nickelback have enlisted Mutt Lange (Def Leppard, AC/DC) to produce their new studio album. No word on a possible release date.

Dragonforce have posted a new track titled “Heroes of Our Time” on their MySpace . The track is featured on their upcoming album ‘ Ultra Beatdown ‘ which is due out on August 25th.

Divide The Day will be giving thier NEW CD for Free check out here for details.

Movie News

Cirque du Freak
The film follows a young boy named "Darren Shan," who while attending a freakshow with his best friend, meets a mysterious man named "Larten Crepsley", who turns out to be a Vampire. After a series of unfortunate events, Darren is forced to leave his family and normal life behind and become the vampire's assistant, where he finds himself in the middle of a rivalry between two vampire clans. Filming begins sometime this February in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Comic Book News

HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY
CBR News has an interview with director Guillermo del Toro. Actors Luke Goss and Anna Walton are quoted at Sci Fi Wire discussing how hard it was to get into character. "The first three or four hours was using any technique of being peaceful to get to that point where, ... one hour before you're ready, and then you start doing what you do when you, but it definitely is a challenge," Goss said.

HEROES
How will Brea Grant's speedster character appear? She spoils it for the Hollywood Insider . Herosite has a look at the season three logo .

ViDEO Game News

Atari Founder Is 'Thrilled' That Leonardo DiCaprio Is Portraying Him In New Flick, Read about inI MTV 's Multiplayer Blog

Tour UpDates

The Haunted have announced the following Scandinavian dates:
October 01st Malmo, SWE - KB
October 02nd Goteborg, SWE - Brewhouse
October 03rd Oslo, NOR - Garage
October 04th Orebro, SWE - Klubb Aska/kulturhuset
October 06th Stockholm, SWE - Nalen

Media NeWS

Just Two Days After, A Huge Release Day. Where Several Thousand Ran into FYE outside of Kansas City to Purchase Tech N9NE's Killer. Some Buying as many as 20 Copies of the New Album. Tech N9NE is Now the Number 3 Hip Hop Artist on iTunes, and Number 11 overall Most played on HIPHOPDX. COM

MUSIC News

Buckcherry have titled their upcoming album ‘ Black Butterfly ‘. The disc is due out on September 23rd.

A live version of Clutch's “Texan Book of the Dead” is online at this location . The track appears on the bands upcoming live CD and DVD ‘ Full Fathom Five ‘ which is due out on August 12th.

Former THE DARKNESS frontman Justin Hawkins has formed a new band called HOT LEG . The four-piece is currently putting the finishing touches on its debut album for a late 2008 release.

DRAGONFORCE will release its new album, "Ultra Beatdown" , on August 25 via Roadrunner Records .

Serj Tankian ( System Of A Down ) has released a new digital EP via Rhapsody . Dubbed " Lie Lie Live ", the 5 song effort features the following track listing:
01 - " Lie Lie Lie " (Live From MySpace's The List)
02 - " The Unthinking Majority " (Live From MySpace's The List)
03 - " Empty Walls " (Victorious Club Mix)
04 - " Sky Is Over " (Fawk Yeah Remix) (EP Version)
05 - " Empty Walls " (Dub Remix)

Slipknot will debut their new video " Psychosocial " on MTV 's " F'n MTV " on July 18th at 8pm. The song is the first single from their upcoming new album " All Hope Is Gone ", which will see an August 26th release date through Roadrunner .

In addition to reuniting with members from their older line-up's for an upcoming show at The Ottobar in Baltimore, MD on September 12th; Dog Fashion Disco plan to reissue their " Day Of The Dead " EP in the coming months. The new version of the effort will feature two brand new songs, plus re-recorded bass tracks by former band bassist Stephen Mears and new drum tracks done by drummer John Ensminger .

Movie News

A new documentary about black metal called "Black Metal Satanica" will be screened at Laemmle's Sunset 5 theatre (8000 Sunset Blvd.) in West Hollywood, California on Friday, July 18 at 10:00 p.m. The film's synopsis reads as follows:"Church burning, grave desecration, Satanism and murder. This documentary film is about how the modern Vikings of Scandinavia took the music genre 'black metal' to its darkest abyss in the mid-'90s, and turned words into action and declared war against Christianity, and it all started a thousand years ago, when the Vikings ruled the North." Directed by Mats Lundberg , "Black Metal Satanica" features interviews with such bands as WATAIN , DARK FUNERAL , SHINING , VREID , RIMFROST and MORDICHRIST .

The Day the Earth Stood Still remake is definitely underway for summer 2008!
In the original movie, a flying saucer orbits Earth, and lands in Washington, DC, on the Mall. Klaatu ( Michael Rennie ) steps out and is shot by a jumpy soldier. Gort ( Lock Martin ), an indestructible robot steps out of the spacecraft and proceeds to melt all the weapons, including tanks, without harming a single human being. Later, the Earth comes to realize that Gort has used very little of his power to make this happen. While lying on the ground, Klaatu orders Gort to stop, and is then taken by the military to a hospital from which he later escapes in order to learn more about this planet called Earth and its human inhabitants. He meets Helen Benson ( Patricia Neal ) and her son. Billy Benson ( Billy Gray ) takes Klaatu on a tour of Washington DC finally stopping in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Klaatu reads the words uttered by Lincoln many years ago and realizes that there might be hope for Earth. When they begin to suspect him, he reveals himself, along with the news that Gort is a member of a race of super-robot enforcers invented to keep the peace of the galaxy and will destroy the Earth if provoked. Klaatu is pursued and shot and killed by the military. Before Klaatu dies, he tells Helen to go to Gort, and say these words Klaatu Barata Nikto. If she does not, Klaatu tells her Gort will destroy the Earth. Helen makes her way to the ship and finds Gort. As Gort moves towards her, she repeats the phrase over and over. Gort picks her up and takes her into the ship. Gort then retrieves Klaatus body and through their alien science, resurrects Klaatu. The 2008 remake about an alien and his indestructible robot will star ( Keanu Reeves ) as Klaatu, Jennifer Connelly as Helen Benson, ( Jaden Smith ) as Jacob, and ( Kathy Bates ). Gort has not been cast at this time and will most likely be created using FX. The remake of ( The Day the Earth Stood Still ) will supposedly remain true to the original movie, however there is a chance the remake will more likely remain true to the short story upon which the 1951 movie is based. In the 1951 movie, Gort is described as one of a race of robots created by the planets to maintain peace throughout the galaxy. If the 2008 remake follows the short story by ( Harry Bates ), "Farewell to the Master" upon which the 1951 movie is based, it will be revealed at the end of the movie by Gort himself that he is the master, and not Klaatu.

Wrong Turn 3
No official plot yet. Not much is known about the project other than it is in the early stages of development.Viewers may or may not remember director Declan O'Brien's work on various Sci-Fi movie originals. Wrong Turn 2 director Joe Lynch will apparently not be involved. The obvious third film in the Wrong Turn series.

Comic Book News

THE GOON
According to the Hollywood Reporter , Dark Horse Entertainment, David Fincher and animation house Blur Studios are teaming up to bring the cult comic to the big screen as a CG-animated film. No studio is yet attached, and deals are being negotiated. Dark Horse, which has a first-look deal with Universal, is aiming to develop the project in-house before setting it up.

FLASH
Producer Chuck Roven told IF Magazine that labor struggles have slowed down the production. " David Dobkin is still directing, though I can't even begin to talk about it, because we're not even writing it yet," Roven said. "The writer's strike and possible actor's strike has definitely slowed down the development process. We're hopeful of course it's still going to happen."

ViDEO Game News

More unconfirmed rumors have begun to surface around the upcoming multiplatform videogame " Rock Band 2 ". The latest batch of tracks expected to surface in the game include System Of A Down 's " Chop Suey ", Motorhead 's " Ace Of Spades ", " Give It Away " by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and more.

Tour UpDates

Kingdom Of Sorrow ( Hatebreed / Down / Crowbar ) have firmed up their summer touring plans with additional dates, here's how their schedule now looks:
August 05th Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center (" Rockstar Mayhem Tour ")
August 06th Uniondale, NY - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (" Rockstar Mayhem Tour ")
August 07th Louisville, KY - Headliners (feat. Scum Of The Earth )
August 08th Sauget, IL - Pops (feat. Scum Of The Earth )
August 09th Frisco, TX - Pizza Hut Park (" Ozzfest ")
August 10th Houston, TX - Warehouse Live (feat. Soilent Green , Scum Of The Earth )
August 12th Austin, TX - Red 7 (feat. Soilent Green , Scum Of The Earth )
August 13th Beaumont, TX - Vortex (feat. Soilent Green , Scum Of The Earth )
August 14th New Orleans, LA - Parish @ House of Blues (feat. Soilent Green , Scum Of The Earth )
August 15th Atlanta, GA - Masquerade (feat. Soilent Green , Scum Of The Earth )
August 16th Tampa, FL - Orpheum (feat. Soilent Green , Scum Of The Earth )
August 17th Orlando, FL - Back Booth (feat. Soilent Green , Scum Of The Earth )

Pearl Jam front-man Eddie Vedder has scheduled the following solo dates for August:
August 1st, 2nd in Boston, MA @ Opera House
August 4th, 5th in New York, NY @ United Palace Theatre
August 7th in Newark, NY @ NJ Performing Arts Center
August 9th, 10th in Montreal, QC @ Salle Wilfrid Place
August 12th, 13th in Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
August 16th, 17th in Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
August 19th in Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theatre
August 21st, 22nd in Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre

Media NeWS

Ted Nugent 's previously announced July 7 concert at the Cable Factory in Helsinki, Finland has been cancelled "because of disappointing ticket sales."

MUSIC News

Johnny Schou 1986-2008 Tickle Me Pink bassist Johnny Schou was found dead yeterday morning at home in Colorado. The quartet from Fort Collins was to celebrate the release of their debut album with an in-store appearance in Denver yesterday. Further information regarding the band's plans, and dates that have been previously announced, will be forthcoming in due time. Johnny Schou was 22 years-old.

Mindless Self Indulgence have posted the "8-Bit Suicide remix" of their track " On It " online here . The track will be featured on the groups forthcoming remix EP " On It ", which is due out on July 08th.

Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack De La Rocha has teamed up with former The Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore in a group dubbed One Day As A Lion . The bands debut self-titled EP will see a release through Anti- on July 22nd and will feature the following track listing:
01 - " Wild International "
02 - " Ocean View "
03 - " Last Letter "
04 - " If You Fear Dying "
05 - " One Day As A Lion "

Some behind the scenes footage from Slipknot 's video shoot for their new single " Psychosocial " has been posted online here . The song serves as the first single from the groups new album " All Hope Is Gone ", which will land in stores on August 26th via Roadrunner .

In addition to guest writing collaborations with Page Hamilton of Helmet and Chino Moreno of the Deftones , Norma Jean 's forthcoming new album " The Anti Mother " will also feature guest vocals/writing from Saosin 's Cove Reber . Hamilton 's contributions appear on the song " Opposite Of Left And Wrong ", while Moreno 's appear on " Surrender Your Sons ". " The Anti Mother " is due out through Solid State on August 05th.

Video footage of My Chemical Romance performing their track " Mama " taken from their newly-released live CD/DVD effort " The Black Parade Is Dead " can be found online here .

Hatebreed's new live DVD ‘ Live Dominance ‘ will be available on September 2nd. In addition to the DVD, the band also has a covers album, ‘ For the Lions ‘ in the works which is due out later this year. A live CD/mini movie ‘ Live in Dallas ‘ is expected to be released in early 2009.

Trivium have streamed the second webisode about the making of their upcoming new album ‘ Shogun ‘, check it out here . ‘ Shogun ‘ is due out September 30th via Roadrunner.

Black Tide have just unleashed the second single from their debut album Light From Above. “Let Me” evokes the sounds of late 80's flavored Motley Crue and Skid Row and has been a staple of Black Tide's live set since their now infamous Ozzfest stint.

Head over to Myspace now for the exlusive album premiere of Hit The Lights' Skip School, Start Fights. www.myspace.com/hitthelights

NorCal hardcore/punk band, The Force, is reuniting for the first time in 10 years. Singer Matt Wedgley (Viva Hate), bassist Hunter Burgan (AFI), guitarist Mark Roustabout (The Roustabouts) and the inimitable drummer Chad Cox went their separate ways after the band's final show in 1998, each following his own path to personal and professional success. This reunion will give fans as well as those who missed The Force the first time around a chance to witness California hardcore/punk at its truest and finest. The Force will only be playing three shows, the first of which will be in their hometown of Grass Valley, CA (a small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills, between Sacramento and Reno) followed by a Bay Area concert and finally a Southern California stop. The dates are as follows:
August 29, 2008 - Miner's Foundry in Nevada City (Grass Valley), CA
August 30, 2008 - 924 Gilman St. in Berkeley, CA
August 31, 2008 - Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA

Movie News

The Host 2
No official plot yet, but it's said that the story will concern a calamity caused when people ignore a monster due to their desire for money. The project has apparently gone through a number of changes, most of which are detailed below. Now a sequel and not a reported prequel, this is a South Korean and Chinese-joint production, which will be primarily Chinese, as opposed to the Korean first film . Chinese filmmaker Ning Hao writes and directs, with filming to begining sometime in early '09.

Beverly Hills Cop IV
There are many great reasons to revisit an old character the obvious one, of course, being a genuine desire to tell another story (and having a good story to tell). But all the reasons in the world pale in comparison to Eddie Murphy's stated reason for doing "Beverly Hills Cop IV." "Because the third 'Beverly Hills Cop' was horrible!" the once and future Detective Axel Foley laughed. "I didn't want to leave it like that. The first two were cool and the third one was shitty. [Let's] get the franchise fixed again, clean up this old mess and do a good movie. "[Don't] just leave Axel with his thumb up his a-- from the last movie," the comic continued, chuckling. "Whatever happened to Axel Foley? He's sitting in Detroit with his thumb up his ass since 'Beverly Hills Cop.

Comic Book News

G.I. JOE
Brace yourself according to Toy News International , the new animated web cartoon leading up to the movie will employ the writing talents of one Mister Warren Ellis.

CLOCKWORK GIRL
Comics2Film has a press release noting that Telefilm Canada will adapt the Arcana property as an animated film.

WATCHMEN
Comingsoon has some crew announcements for the Alan Moore adaptation.

Media NeWS

Live Nation is reportedly close to signing a new 360 deal with Nickelback . The 360 agreement is expected to be similar to others Live Nation has agreed to in the past which cover future albums, touring, merchandising and other sponsorship agreements.

Rhapsody has launched a new DRM-free MP3 store which will contain tracks compatible with iPod's and other music devices. Single tracks will sell for 99 cents with full albums going for $9.99. Full previews will also be available instead of the thirty second clips available on other MP3 stores. Rhapsody is offering a $10 credit to the first 100,000 people who create a new account.

MUSIC News

Hatebreed are set to release their new live DVD effort " Live Dominance " through Koch on September 02nd. The primary concert footage for the outing was captured at a live performance which took place at Harpo's in Detroit, MI earlier this year. Furthermore, the band have a multitude of releases in the works with their covers album " For The Lions " expected out in late October; while their " Live In Dallas " live CD/mini movie (produced by Vinnie Paul of Pantera / Hell Yeah fame) is expected to surface in February/March 2009. The latter focuses on a set which took place at The Palladium Ballroom in Dallas, TX this past May.

Slipknot 's new masks have been unveiled, they can be found here . According to Kerrang! magazine, SLIPKNOT was nearly forced to cancel its video shoot yesterday (June 30) due to DJ Sid Wilson being hospitalized with a head injury.

Metal Blade will be releasing Anima 's new album " The Daily Grind " on September 02nd. Tracks from the effort can be found online here .

Incubus front-man Brandon Boyd told Billboard.com that the band will be taking a break while its members concentrate on other activities. Boyd plans to enroll in a university art program, guitarist Mike Einziger will go to music school next year to study composition and drummer Jose Padilla will be welcoming a new baby to his family soon. The band's final show before their break will be The VH1 Rock Honors tribute to The Who which will be airing on July 17th.

Alkaline Trio have streamed their new album ‘ Agony and Irony ‘ in its on their MySpace . The album is set to hit stores on July 1st.

Third Eye Blind announced today that they are finally in the studio this week recording their upcoming new album ‘ Ursa Major ‘, a Fall release is expected.

Stone Temple Pilots front-man Scott Weiland has set October 7th as the release date for his as-yet-untitled new solo effort.

Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello has completed work on his next solo effort " The Fabled City ". The album will be released via Epic under his new solo moniker, Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman , on September 30th. Produced by Brendan O'Brien ( Rage Against The Machine , Stone Temple Pilots ), the eleven song effort will feature a guest appearance from System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian on the track " Lazarus On Down ".

Movie News

Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe will be appearing in the upcoming horror/thriller movie " The Graves ". Blythe plays "Deacon Luke" in the film, "one of the evil denizens of Skull City." The film also stars Tony Todd (" Candyman ") and Bill Moseley (" The Devil's Rejects "). It is currently seeking distribution.

My Name is Still Bruce
No official plot yet. This project is merely in the "talking stages," as it currently only exists as an idea and a script has yet to be written. Produced once again by Dark Horse Entertainment and Image Entertainment.
The sequel to the horror-comedy My Name is Bruce .

Comic Book News

IRON MAN 2
Don't count Jon Favreau out of the sequel talk.

PUNISHER: WAR ZONE
There's an interview (in Italian and English) with special effects supervisor Ray McIntire at Comicus.it talking about the film.  "The movie is currently going through the editing process and very few of the vfx shots have been turned over to begin the vfx work," McIntire said.  "Studios today want to make sure the vfx shots will be in the movie and the cut is locked prior to turning over all the work for vfx to begin.  This is the most cost effective approach, so that as few shots as possible will be omitted from the cut after we have begun the vfx process."

NEXT AVENGERS
If you can take some spoilers, the track listing for the soundtrack is at Marvel Animation Age and it has a few.

Video Game News