Filmed in November 2001 at Shepherds Bush Empire in London, the guitarist/vocalist leads his band (which includes his children Jessie and Leah Wood) through solo material, his own group history (the Rolling Stones' "Hey Negrita" and the Faces' "Ooh La La," "Flying" and "Stay With Me") and an interesting selection of covers (John Lennon's "Jealous Guy," Parliament's "Testify," the Foundations' "Am I Groovin' You" and Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City").

Special guests on the 112-minute 'Far East Man' include former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and the Corrs' Andrea Corr. The DVD is presented in full-screen format. Among the extras are interviews, backstage footage and a gallery of Wood's paintings. Music is not enough of an outlet to fully satisfy Wood's creativity. He's earned an ever-increasing amount of attention and acclaim for his artwork.

The complete track listing for 'Far East Man' is as follows: "Hey Negrita," "Rock and Roll Star," "This Little Heart," "What D'You Think?" "Ooh La La," "Testify," "I Am Groovin' You," "Flying," "Far East Man," "Jealous Guy," "Paradise City," "Kilburn Crotch" and "Stay With Me."

Track Listing

1. Pain
2. Freaktown
3. T.L.U.C.
4. L.A.
5. Springhead Motorshark
6. Is It Real?
7. Far Enough
8. Lonely Ones
9. Memorial
10. Sri Lanka

Filming for the video for the album's first single, "We Carry On," was shot on location in San Francisco January 24-25 by directors Keith McCabe and Jeff Ertl. "It has been a true honor to work with such an influential band as VOIVOD," said Ertl. "We will rip your head clean off with this video!"

Befitting the release of the band's 13th album, "We Carry On" is the 13th track on the new album. The video captures raw metal performance footage of the newly transfused line-up of founding members Denis Belanger, Michel Langevin, and Denis D'Amour, and new bassist Jason Newsted. "I dig the way the set was based on my drawings," said drummer Langevin. "It made me feel like I was in one of those spooky nightmares I have almost every night."

The recording starts on February 2nd in Ferdy Doernberg's studio (Rough Silk, Axel Rudi Pell, Roland Grapow...). When the drums are done, the band will lock themselves up in their studio( in the south of France) to record the rest of the album. The mix and mastering are expected to take place in the end of May, with a as-yet-to-be-announced producer.

Halford's debut on Saturday, February 1, 2003 at Mandalay Bay's House of Blues in Las Vegas, N.V., Sunday, February 2, 2003 at House of Blues in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, February 7, 2003 House of Blues in Anaheim, Calif., and Friday, February 28, 2003 at L’amour’s in Brooklyn, NY will be the band's first U.S. dates in more than two years. Heavy Metal fans are gearing up for the loud evenings, which also feature Thrash Metal veterans Testament, Vio-lence and Exhumed (Death Angel has been added to the Los Angeles show, Symphony X is scheduled to support the Brooklyn show).

Rob Halford returned to his musical Metal roots with the release of his critically and commercially acclaimed 2000 release "Resurrection." Considered to be the best recording Judas Priest never made, "Resurrection" catapulted Halford onto 100 stages world wide - culminating in their co-headline appearance with Iron Maiden at last year's Rock In Rio Festival in Brazil. The band performed for more than 200,000 fist-pumping fans, and then they disappeared into the studio, completing one of Metal's best live recordings, 2001's "Halford - Live Insurrection," only to turn around and begin 14 months of work on the follow up studio release to "Resurrection."

Late this summer, Halford debuted their stunning new studio release, "Crucible," to an anxious and very loyal Metal community and then went on hiatus to recover from the past couple years’ schedule. Worldwide, The Metal God's devout fans have anointed "Crucible" as one of Rob's most creative works – absolutely the finest of his post-Priest career

Rob Halford's career spans more than 30 years in the recording industry. Most can't shake his dangerous image as the legendary, leather-clad screamer for Metal giants Judas Priest. Hundreds of thousands of fans are looking forward to filling up venues around the world once more to sing along with The Metal God and his anthemic mainstays "Breaking The Law," "You've Got Another Thing Coming" and vicious classics like "Painkiller" and "Made In Hell."

Halford have also confirmed their much anticipated return to Japan, with dates scheduled for February 2003. North America and Canada are finally within the band's sights as well, with another impressive lineup expected to begin work with Halford in March 2003.

Saga -- the classic lineup of lead vocalist/keyboardist Michael Sadler, guitarist/background vocalist Ian Crichton, bass guitarist/keyboardist Jim Crichton, lead keyboardist/vocalist Jim Gilmour and drummer/percussionist Steve Negus -- is a superstar act in Canada and Europe (especially Germany). The band is best known in the United States for the smash hits "On the Loose" and "Wind Him Up" from the 1982 album 'Worlds Apart.' The "On the Loose" video was an MTV cornerstone during the channel's formative years.

The quintet, which formed in Toronto in 1977, is the subject of an exhaustively ambitious CD reissue campaign by SPV Records. The systematic, ongoing rerelease of all the CDs in the band's catalog is a major undertaking. Each CD features remastered sound, bonus tracks, original artwork, new artwork, liner notes and unseen photos. The titles include: 'Behaviour,' 'Detours,' 'Heads or Tales,' 'House of Cards,' 'Images at Twilight,' 'In Transit,' 'Pleasure & The Pain,' 'Saga,' 'Security of Illusion,' 'Silent Knight,' 'Soft Works,' 'Steel Umbrellas' and 'Worlds Apart.' Both 'In Transit' and 'Detours' are live albums. The next reissues, set for release on May 20, 2003, are 'Full Circle,' 'Generation 13,' 'The Beginners Guide to Throwing Shapes' and 'Phase I.' They follow the release of the new studio album 'Marathon' on April 8, 2003.

The DVD 'Silhouette' is set for release on February 4, 2003, and includes two hours of exciting, comprehensive material. It is presented in full-screen format with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio. Ten music videos with remastered sound are featured: "Don't Be Late," "Careful Where You Step," "On the Loose," "Amnesia," "Wind Him Up (Mix)," "Catwalk," "Flyer," "What Do I Know," "Always There" (previously unreleased and created specifically for Saga's 25th anniversary) and "Money Talks." Saga built a reputation as one of the finest live bands around, and 'Silhouette' captures 10 live songs; "The Perfectionist," "Compromise," "Ice Nice," "Times Up," "Scratching the Surface," "Don't Be Late" and "You're Not Alone" were filmed on the 'Heads or Tales' tour and "It's Time," "Humble Stance" and "Intermission" are bootleg videos shot in the United Kingdom. Extensive interviews with all five members were conducted over period of five months in four different countries in 2002, and the entire history of Saga is covered..

Saga is like no other group in rock music. It's definitely progressive, yet it contains the memorable melodies and hooks of pop. Arguably the musical key to Saga is the interplay of the richly layered keyboards of Gilmour, Jim Crichton and Sadler. Keyboards are integral to virtually every quality progressive band of note, but only Saga can claim three members playing the instrument. Factor in Ian Crichton's expressive guitar, Jim Crichton and Negus' rhythmic foundation and Sadler's resonant, distinctive vocals, and you have the original sound of Saga.

Bold experimentation is an important part of Saga's legacy. Starting with the band's self-financed, self-titled 1978 debut, a 16-song science fiction story began; it's not yet completed and it's being divided, out of sequence, among many albums. 1995's 'Generation 13' is a 25-song rock opera examining a modern dysfunctional family and Earth's survival. That same year, the band issued the CD-ROM 'The Saga Softworks.' This was not a surprising move since Saga had always been on the cutting edge of technology -- 1982's live 'In Transit' was the first fully digital album recorded by a rock band.

Little Games found success in America, where it was released in 1967. It is considered by many to be a prime late '60s artifact because it was the final album from The Yardbirds before Jimmy Page went on to form Led Zeppelin. This is the period after Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton; the period where The Yardbirds, influenced by the talents of Jimmy Page, moved on from a blues-rock background to a more hard rock and experimental psychedelic sound. Little Games is the musical precursor to Led Zeppelin.

'White Summer' and 'Drinking Muddy Water', now also included in their original album form as well as versions from BBC Sessions, are excellent showcases for the experimental and blues sides of the band. The album also includes 'Only the Black Rose' - a strangely beautiful, moody acoustic psychedelic piece; 'Stealing Stealing', an unusual (for The Yardbirds) pre-World War II style acoustic blues; and 'Smile On Me', a hard blues number that could have come from any part of the group's history. 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor' introduced Jimmy Page's violin bow discourses on the guitar.

This Little Games remaster now also features two session tracks, which have never before been available - fantastic studio versions of 'White Summer' and 'Dazed and Confused', recorded at the Manchester Playhouse Theatre in 1968. Never aired on the BBC, these two rare tracks were taken from the only tapes that exist of that concert, antiques in the history of a truly talented group of musicians . This is, without doubt, something that every Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin fan will want to add to their collections.

Tracklisting:
1. Little Games
2. Smile On Me
3. White Summer
4. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor
5. Glimpses
6. Drinking Muddy Water
7. No Excess Baggage
8. Stealing Stealing
9. Only The Black Rose

Little Soldier Boy
Additional Studio Recordings 1967-1968

Puzzles (1991 US Stereo mix)
12. I Remember The Night (1991 US Stereo mix)
13. Ha Ha Said The Clown
14. Ten Little Indians (1991 US Stereo mix)
15. Goodnight Sweet Josephine (version 1 unphased version)
16. Think About It
17. Goodnight Sweet Josephine (US single [phased] Version)

“We wanted to get closer to the Big Apple,” said promoter Jack Koshick. “As soon as we heard Convention Hall wasn’t available, we found this unique gem that was a haven for metal in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.”

The decision to turn the normally two-day-long event into a full weekend was made in part because of the smaller size of this year’s venue “We wanted to be able to accommodate the 100-plus bands and give the bigger bands the opportunity to perform their full sets,” said Koshick.

Koshick promises the best lineup of the festival’s half-decade history, with a diverse combination of bands from the most underground death metal to classic New Wave of British Heavy Metal. STATUS QUO, the British group that has sold over 110 million singles and albums worldwide over the course of its 35-year existence, and FOZZ, featuring WWE wrestler Chris Jericho and former members of Stuck Mojo, will headline Friday night.

“In a country that is ruled by trends, it’s great to know that there are still concerts where fans of heavy metal can go and tear some shit up,” said Jericho. “No band is going to tear up the New Jersey Metal Fest like Fozzy will. Just think about it...America’s greatest rock band surrounded by America’s biggest rock fans...that’s a recipe for disaster!”

New Jersey’s own OVERKILL, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year with a packed show at Asbury Park’s Paramount Theatre, and South Carolina’s Nile, with its Egyptian influenced death metal, will headline Saturday. The show will be finished off Sunday night with Florida death metal veterans Deicide and the first-ever American performance by Polish death/black metal band Behemoth.

Other featured bands on this year’s bill include:

Friday - Dutch anthemic rock band SLEEZ BEEZ; Darkane, the Swedish thrash/death/metal band that played its only previous U.S. show at 2001’s Milwaukee Metalfest; the only American appearance by Holland’s God Dethroned; New Wave of British Heavy Metal band DEMON; Today is the Day; the Midwestern psychedelic sludge-core of BONGZILLA; and Sweden’s classic death metal gods Grave, making its first stateside appearance in six years

Saturday - BUDGIE, the NWOBHM band made famous by Metallica’s covers of “Crash Course in Brain Surgery” and “Breadfan”; legendary New York City thrashers NUCLEAR ASSAULT, which reunited for last year’s Metal Meltdown; the first U.S. show by BLAZE, the band fronted by former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bailey; classic German metal from SINNER; Louisiana black metal band Goatwhore, featuring Ben Falgoust of Soilent Green and Sammy Duet of Acid Bath; and the first U.S. appearance by Swedish thrashers Carnal Forge.

Sunday – Swedish death metallers Amon Amarth; progressive metal masters SYMPHONY X; SEVEN WITCHES, the all-star band led by guitarist Jack Frost; the return of Greece’s most famous black metal band, Rotting Christ; and DBX, fronted by Gwar’s Dave Brockie

Show time is 4 p.m. on Friday and 12 noon on Saturday and Sunday.

Metal Meltdown 5 is an all ages event, with alcohol available to those 21 and over. The Cricket Club Complex is located at 415 16th Ave. in Irvington, N.J., just minutes away from Newark International Airport.

PERZONAL WAR was started in 1996 by drummer Martin Buchwalter and vocalist / guitarist Matthias Zimmer. That same year, they released their very first demo "The Fear Of Death" and added guitarist Sascha Kerschgens and bassist Frank Buchwalter to the lineup. In 1997, a second demo tape "Personal War" is released and the song "Putrefaction Of Mind" is featured in the second Rock Hard magazine "Unerhört Aktion". Later in the year, the band signs their first deal with Gernhart-Records. In May 1998, their first cd "The Inside" is released. Reaction from the international metal press and fans to the cd is overwhelming. In 2000, their second cd "New Time Chaos" is put out by B-Mind Records and helps Personal War spread their name and music far beyond the German borders. During this period, Personal War change their name into "Perzonal War" due to business / legal issues and sign a deal with AFM-Records" to release their 3rd cd "Different But The Same" in July 2002.

PERZONAL WAR's "Different But The Same" cd, serves 11 songs of molten heavy metal fury in the early vein of the great white shark of the metal world METALLICA around the Master Of Puppets / In Justice For All time period. The tracks could have been out-takes and un-released songs that were left out from those previously mentioned cds, not due to the quality but to cd time constraints and limitations. Vocalist Matthias Zimmer's James Hetfield influenced singing is down right spooky, as he has definitely mastered Hetfield's vocal approach to perfection. The guitar tones, song tempos, drumming and production, makes you wonder if this cd is not really METALLICA under a different name. Basically "Different But The Same" is for fans of old school METALLICA. Expect to be blown away, as thousand of metal fans around the world have already been.

The new cd features a special guest appearance by Victor Smolski of RAGE, who contributed 2 guitar solos and a classical introduction to the song "Open My World".

"Dear Folks around the World

Here is an interesting puzzle.

As you may know we are now very keen on the idea of remixing the entire QUEEN catalogue of albums in surround sound. This entails going back to the ORIGINAL multitrack masters (in most cases analogue) and carefully transferring everything to the new high resolution digital format for remixing in 5.1 format.

The sad thing is that, as we move through this process, we will be coming up against problems, in that we DO NOT POSSESS all the original tapes. It's hard to believe, but many of these precious tapes have disappeared, some probably from their storage in EMI, or Studio vaults, some from remix studios perhaps, some returned to a wrong location in a library, to become effectively irretrievable, some almost certainly stolen, and in someone's collection!!

We are anxious to find all of these missing, lost recordings, so we are appealing for your help, all you friends out there. Please look around, and let us know if you find any information which might lead us to the recovery of our missing tapes. (REWARD!!!!) This is what is missing.

The following is the latest updated list of missing multi-tracks for songs on Queen Albums:

1. The Prophet's Song (acapella section only)
2. God Save The Queen
3. Sheer Heart Attack
4. All Dead All Dead
5. Spread Your Wings
6. Sleeping On The Sidewalk
7. Who Needs You
8. My Melancholy Blues
9. Coming Soon
10. Staying Power

Many thanks -

love b xxx" (Brian May)

Earlier today, on the official Metallica fan club site, the band stated, “We've taken a long time to find the right bass player for us. Obviously being a good player is important (!!), but it was also very important that whomever we found would fit in as a family member, a brother with a huge vibe. We wanted a fourth band member, not just a new bass player.

“We’ve all known, and have been huge fans of Rob since the early '90s when he was a part of the legendary hardcore/metal band Suicidal Tendencies. We got to know him when we played together with 'Suicidal' in Europe in ‘93, and again during the during the '94' "summer shit" tour, when they joined forces with us.”

Added Lars Ulrich, “we were impressed by Rob’s roaring bass style and his very cool and unique vibe onstage.”

Trujillo was also one of the masterminds behind the 90' cult band Infectious Grooves. He started Infectious together with Mike Muir, the lead singer of Suicidal. Infectious' delivered classic album titles like "The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move." He then joined the godfather of metal, Ozzy Osborne in 1996.

"I am so fucking excited to be a full unit again", Ulrich said. "The last two years of just being the three of us have taught me so much about myself, about James and Kirk and about Metallica. And to welcome rob into Metallica in 2003 after all the growth and soul searching we've been through for the last two years, feels so fucking awesome. Being at full strength again is at this moment indescribable"

“We're fuckin' bristling with new energy, new respect, new vibes and a huge fucking appetite for everything Metallica is. Having Rob here, and him choosing to become a part of our family, will enable us to get to yet another level.”

According to Kirk Hammett, “With all the shit that’s gone down the last two years, we took a little more time than we originally thought to get to this decision. Once we finally got it going in the studio, we didn’t want to stop what we were doing. So we decided to wait until we were finishing the new album before we began to search aggressively.”

That search ended shortly after they played with Robert.

James Hetfield added, “When Rob came to San Francisco the first time and jammed with us, we all felt this incredible magic between the four of us. It was just something that we could not describe. We all just knew it. Bob Rock told us right after the jam, that it sounded like a 747 jet taking off.”

“I am very stoked, excited and look forward to my new journey with my Metallica brothers. STEP UP!”, revealed a very pumped-up Rob Trujillo. “I must say that Ozzy, Sharon, Zakk, Mike Bordin, all the team and family members mean the world to me. Love and respect. My family…100 percent.”

Metallica’s next album, “St. Anger”, drops on June 10th, and the band will embark on a European festival tour that same month. Upon returning, their Summer Sanitarium Tour will begin on July 4th in Detroit, so Robert is expected to have his shit together f-a-s-t. He is currently getting up to speed learning over 100 songs and updating his collection of black clothing.

Lars concluded, “We just came back from the airport. We went there as three, and we came back as a band”

Displaying marked growth with each release, EVERGREY has concocted a musically colorful, yet lyrically bleak, reflection of the world with 'Recreation Day'. Part fantasy & part honest emotion, the album (once again produced by King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque and mixed by Fredrik Nordström) redefines Swedish Metal with a progressive flair beyond even Meshuggah's capabilities. Thought provoking and sonically uncompromising, 'Recreation Day' is yet another exceptional release for EVERGREY, a band whose multi-textured style incorporates Northern moroseness, dextrous progressive musicianship, and soulful, heartfelt balladry. Vocalist/guitarist Tom S. Englund describes the bold content contained within 'Recreation Day', "The music is representative of what EVERGREY is about, the diversity we have in most of our songs. My idea was to make it really beautiful and hard-hitting."

True words indeed, as the power harnessed on the album has compelled the band to film videos for the sobering "I'm Sorry" and the vigorous "Blinded" to promote the release. EVERGREY is also planning to promote the album in America with a number of live appearances, including the BWBK 6-Pack Weekend Festival in Cleveland this June (alongside such legendary acts as Candlemass , Trouble, and Nevermore), as well as a return to the increasingly acclaimed Prog Power Festival in Atlanta this Fall. Plans are also in the works for an extensive Spring tour, the band's first-ever for North America.

Considered a journeyman in metal circles Seven Witches' main man, Jack Frost's conviction to the craft need only be justified by his dedicated track record. Known for his tenures with Savatage, Metalium, Bronx Casket Co., Speeed, and the legendary Frost Bite, Jack has made his love of music known by appearing on numerous tribute albums, including those praising the likes of Accept, The Scorpions, W.A.S.P., Twisted Sister, Dio, and even ABBA! Jack will also be making appearances later this year on releases by Rob Rock and David Defeis (from labelmates Virgin Steele).

The new lineup, virtually a who's who of respected talent, including Frost, bassist Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning, Engine), vocalist James Rivera (Helstar, Destiny's End, Flotsam & Jetsam) and longtime drummer Brian Craig, has collectively brought SEVEN WITCHES to a new-found maturity with a 10-track offering of driving, modern-edged power. Produced by Frost and Vera, and featuring a cover version of the vintage Def Leppard track "Wasted", 'Passage To The Other Side' is a decidedly darker outing in the evolution of SEVEN WITCHES, filled with deeply personal emotional content and crushing in-your-face fury. Fans can preview 3 tracks from the album at the following location: http://www.noiserecords.com/sevenwitches/passage/cd.html

Recorded and produced by metal guru Andy Sneap (Machine Head, Nevermore, Skinlab, as well as the 2 previous BLAZE releases) at performances in the UK & Switzerland in late 2002, 'As Live As It Gets' captures the essence of BLAZE; a multi-textured explosion of classic, anthemic metal with thought-provoking passion and vigor. Bayley expresses the need for this release in the US, "Some people know of my work singing with Iron Maiden, but most are not aware of my work in my current band, so the live album is a way of introducing people to what we've been up to. We're very adept in the live setting, and the material gives a good selection of what we're about."

'As Live As It Gets' delivers a substantial selection, spanning Blaze Bayley's entire career while displaying his evolution as a musician. The tracklisting includes:

DISC 1: DISC 2:
Speed Of Light Virus (Iron Maiden)
Two Worlds Collide (Iron Maiden) The Brave
Steel (Wolfsbane) Stranger To The Light
Kill & Destroy Identity
End Dream Sign Of The Cross (Iron Maiden)
Stare At The Sun Futureal (Iron Maiden)
Land Of The Blind Ghost In The Machine
Silicon Messiah Born As A Stranger
Dazed & Confused (Led Zeppelin cover) Tenth Dimension

The 2 BLAZE studio albums, recently released in America, exemplify Bayley's desire to give fans the most quality-driven metal music possible. "BLAZE exists because I wanted to put a band together who loved to play metal music as much as I did," Bayley admits. "It's not about the business; it's about the fans and making music that you love. It's great to have our stuff out in the States, and it's going to be a great opportunity to support it on the road."

BLAZE will be performing its first-ever North American performance at the aforementioned March Metal Meltdown festival. Bayley had previously performed in North America with cult heroes Wolfsbane (once with Overkill, and once opening for Guns N' Roses on GNR's warm-up gig in LA for the Rolling Stones tour!) and of course in support of the 2 albums he recorded with the legendary Iron Maiden. As for what fans can expect from the set, Bayley states that he will touch upon every facet of his bold career. "We've done quite a bit of work internationally, but we haven't really made our presence known in the States, so this is going to be a great opportunity. The last 2 times I was here was for the 'X-Factor' & 'Virtual XI' tours with Iron Maiden. I feel that [Maiden] is a part of me as a musician, and I still love that music, so I'm very proud to play those songs. The set will include a selection of material from the 2 albums from my band, as well as material from the 2 Maiden albums. I certainly don't want to say goodbye to my past; I want to embrace it."

The 3rd Annual CrueFest Hollywood
July 12th, 2003
Whisky A Go-Go Hollywood, Ca.
The Home Of Motley Crue

Cruefest is an annual event established by the fans of the rock band Mötley Crüe. Proceeds from this event go to the Skylar Neil Memorial fund for Cancer research. Skylar Neil is the daughter of Vince Neil (Lead Singer of Motley Crue) who died of cancer at the age of four.

Performing at this years Fest will be Motley Crue Tribute Band Livewire83, Drug Under, The Mimsies, Lovetoyz, The Lovehammers, Esovae, Spiders & Snakes, Rexway, 13th Step and Black Lamb!

Mötley Crüe slammed on to the music scene in 1981 and have since sold over 40 million records world wide. The Crüe is best known for their hits songs" Girls , Girls, Girls" , Dr Feel Good & Home Sweet Home!

Crüefest sponsors include Bad Bones, Jagermeister, Spector Bass, Zen Spa, Dragon Fly Clothing, AMS Graphics and Demonic Kreations!

Giveaways/Raffle-Auction Items include A Spector Bass, Shirts, Stickers, A Motley Crue "Vince Neil" signed Hotwheel car, A custom made Motley Crue Teddy Bear and A surprise from Jagermeister!