TENACIOUS D BATTLE DIO IN NEW VIDEO FOR 'PUSH':

New York, NY- Tenacious D's Jack Black and Kyle Gass will appear in DIO's
latest video "Push," the first single off of the new album Killing The Dragon
(Spitfire). This may sound like a strange pairing to some, but anyone that knows
THE D is aware of their respect for THE ROCK and appropriate Icons; not to
mention the JB and KG penned "Dio", the track on their current album and
staple of their live performances. The Bill Schacht directed video begins with Tenacious D jamming out their own version of the classic Sabbath/Dio sung "Heaven and Hell"and features a multitude of special effects produced by Aestheticom. It is one of the first videos utilizing hi-definition and infinite background format, the same technology used in Lucas'new Episode II, Attack Of the Clones. The effects were created specifically to work with the theme of the performance based video for "Push," where Ronnie James Dio will be 'pushing' himself and the band from frame to frame. Tenacious D attempts the same, but even the self-proclaimed "Greatest Band On Earth" can't match the "Push" strength of the Rock N'Roll Wizard.

DIO's Killing The Dragon was released last week on Spitfire Records and
debuted in the Billboard Top 200, DIO's first Top 200 debut since '94s
Strange Highways. The band hit the road for a national tour May 31st with
Deep Purple and The Scorpions in the sin city of Las Vegas and continue
across the country all summer.

 
Danish hybrid metallers Raunchy have been signed to Nuclear Blast who will release the band's debut album "Velvet Noise" worldwide August 18. 2002.
Drug[s]/Mighty Music has kept the rights for the Scandinavian territory.
 
Raunchy's special brand of Machine Head aggressiveness meeting Fear Factory technicality and Strapping Young Lad diversity has been extremely well received. Producer Jacob Hansen thinks it's the best he's ever produced, Devin Townsend likes the vibe and legendary metal journalist and A&R scout Borivoj Krgin had this to say about "Velvet Noise":
 "Denmark's RAUNCHY are easily the country's best-kept secret and possibly one of the finest Europe-an "modern metal" bands I have heard in quite some time. The group's debut album, spectacularly produced by INVOCATOR mainman Jacob Hansen, is chock-full of excellent riffing, impressive vocal melodies and enough raw, unadulterated power to put most of their American counterparts to shame."
 

GEOFF TATE TO RELEASE DEBUT SOLO ALBUM ON JUNE 25, 2002; QUEENSRICHE VOCALIST TO EMBARK ON SUMMER U.S. TOUR

When one of the finest singers in rock music takes on a new project, it will always draw interest. GEOFF TATE's debut solo album will do even more than that: It will intrigue both longtime fans and those rare people who aren't familiar with his past.

The QUEENSRICHE vocalist will release 'Geoff Tate' on June 25, 2002, on Sanctuary Records, a division of the Sanctuary Records group. The first single is "Off the T.V."

Listeners who expect 'Geoff Tate' to sound like Queensriche are in for a pleasant surprise. The album does not set out to duplicate Queensriche's progressive hard rock style, and that's entirely the point. He's always on a quest for new musical experiences, and 'Geoff Tate' expertly blends elements from the past and present.

"The process of putting this album together was a completely refreshing experience for me. Queensriche has always been a great outlet for me creatively, but I felt the need to explore areas that I haven't been able to in recent years," Tate explains. "I've wanted to work with outside writers and put together an album that was indicative of my influences. They range from R&B, to dance music, and classical. I feel this album really shows that.
It's a risky album, but I think we really accomplished something here. When I met the other guys in this band, we were all on the same page immediately. It was totally a case of preparation meeting opportunity."

Tate will undertake a U.S. tour to promote the album. His band will consist of the same musicians who perform on 'Geoff Tate': guitarist Jeff Carrell, guitarist Scott Moughton, keyboardist Howard Chilcott, bass guitarist Chris Fox, and drummer Evan Schiller.

The music on 'Geoff Tate' is ambient and moody yet still radiates intensity.
During the course of the album, Tate also modulates the sound of his voice
and pushes himself to explore different phrasing. In Queensriche, his rich voice booms and pierces and often takes on what has been described as an "operatic" quality. He unleashes himself at times on 'Geoff Tate,' yet arguably the most interesting passages are those in which his voice creates a
hushed, hypnotic aura. Loops performed by Schiller contribute to the cutting-edge sound of the album.

Tate is touring the United States in Summer 2002, and fans can expect to hear the finest songs from 'Geoff Tate' as well as Queensriche classics. (A new Queensriche studio album is slated for release later this year.)

"I'm very excited about playing out again. Working with these guys has been such a great experience, and I can't wait to take it onstage. I'm doing a two-hour show that will feature almost all of the new album and some more obscure Queensriche material that I haven't performed in years," says Tate.
"We're really going to shake things up on this tour and try some different arrangements on some of the tracks. I can't wait!"

For tour updates, visit www.geofftate.com. The U.S. tour dates include:

DATE CITY VENUE
Saturday, June 22nd Seattle, WA Sky Church EMP

Tuesday, June 25th Colorado Springs, CO Colorado Music Hall

Wednesday, June 26th Denver, CO Gothic

Thursday, June 27th Omaha, NE Ranch Bowl
Saturday, June 29th Bottineau, ND Festival
Sunday, June 30th Minneapolis, MN The Quest

Tuesday, July 2nd Grand Rapids, MI Orbit Room

Wednesday, July 3rd Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
Friday, July 5th St. Louis, MO Laclede's Landing
Saturday, July 6th Chicago, IL House of Blues
Sunday, July 7th Cleveland, OH Odeon
Tuesday, July 9th New York, NY The World
Wednesday, July 10th Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Thursday, July 11th New Haven, CT Toads
Friday, July 12th Old Bridge, NJ Birch Hill
Saturday, July 13th Pittsburgh, PA Metropol

Sunday, July 14th TBD

Monday, July 15th Atlanta, GA Cotton Club
Tuesday, July 16th New Orleans, LA House of Blues
Thursday, July 18th Austin, TX Steamboat
Friday, July 19th Houston, TX Engine Room
Saturday, July 20th Dallas, TX Canyon Club
Sunday, July 21st Lubbock, TX The Pavilion
Tuesday, July 23rd Tucson, AZ Backstage
Wednesday, July 24th Scottsdale, AZ Cajun House
Thursday, July 25th Las Vegas, NV House of Blues

Friday, July 26th Santa Ana, CA Galaxy
Saturday, July 27th Los Angeles, CA House of Blues

The sequence of events leading to the shows was the sad news last year that ex-member and friend, Clive Burr, revealed he was suffering Multiple Sclerosis while being interviewed for a documentary about their legendary 'Number Of The Beast' album. The band immediately rallied together and performed the three special shows in London to an audience of fans that had traveled from the four corners of the world to show their support. All profits from the three shows were placed in the The Clive Burr Multiple Sclerosis Trust which is a fund that will not only help Clive and MS sufferers, but will also contribute to vital research into the debilitating disease which affects so many people.

To help raise more funds the band have decided to release from their own archives some very exclusive Memorabilia from their career spanning over 20 years to help raise further funds for the trust. Maiden's drummer Nicko McBrain is kindly donating his monster full performance Drum Kit.(Picture Nicko on stage with Kit available upon request.) The drum kit is his full Full 31 Piece Signia Marquee Premier Kit including Paiste Cymbals and is a chance of a lifetime opportunity to bid for a large piece of rock history. The kit has been used by Nicko on tour, at Festivals, TV performances (including their recent performance of 'Run To The Hills' on Top Of the Pops) and drum clinics around the world spanning the last 8 years. The kit comes with stands and the drums are in Hardcase cases.

For the guitarists there is a Fender Stratocaster 'Iron Maiden' Signature Series Guitar signed by all members of the band including ex-drummer Clive Burr. The Iron Maiden guitars are part of a Limited Edition Stratocaster made by Fender to the specifications given by Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith. The Stratocaster features Seymour Duncan Pickups and Locking Floyd Rose Tremelo (picture : Clive Burr signing guitar available upon request).

For the first time the band have decided to make available to the public an 'Eddie' stage prop from their 'No Prayer from the Road' Tour which is truly monstrous. The construction features an eight-foot high Eddie head and shoulders and two arms which were part of the Stage set where Eddie emerged from a huge on stage coffin similar to the No Prayer Album cover.

The band have raided their storage facility and have unearthed rare Monsters Of Rock posters from their 1988 Headlining Monsters of Rock shows in France,
Italy and Spain as well as a very rare 1985 Powerslave Tour poster for their sell-out shows at Radio City Hall in New York.

Also up for grabs are some exclusive Clive Burr Event T shirts from the recent London Brixton Academy, which have been signed by the entire band
and Clive Burr, and 20 signed copies of the Limited Edition Event
Postergrammes. These items were signed specifically for this auction and are only available at the action - you will not find these signed items anywhere else in the world! This is the only official Iron Maiden auction and all the items are a must for eager collector. All proceeds will go to the Clive Burr Trust.

The auction will commence at Midday 12pm (GMT) on June 28th on EBay and will run for 10 days to give everyone plenty of opportunity to bid. The auction items will be listed on the Charities page on www.ebay.co.uk and will also be also listed on www.Ebay.com Full information on each of the items, including photographs, will be posted on the bands website, www.ironmaiden.com with direct links to the auction on Friday 28th June.

Fredericia Festival 2002!

If you're into hardcore, metal or punk you should check out the Fredericia Festival held in the first weekend of August. Headliners are Darkest Hour from USA and other bands that will attend this 2-day minifestival are: HELDBACK, CRISIS NEVER ENDS,DARWIN and MAJORITY RULE. More bands listed at the festival website!

THE KOVENANT

Some news directly from Lex Icon:

"We are going into the studio on the 20th of June. And people can also check it out at www.woodhouse.de   since they are going to put up webcameras in the studio.

For the first time, fans can watch what happens... 
Also, we are filming everything from the studio (with a professional crew) and such etc...

We are putting together a DVD/VHS, with tour stuff, shows, videos, studio stuff etc  Which will then hopefully be released by the begining of the next year.

Along with a remix album, featuring remixes from alot of well known bands, and people.

The video will be put together, much like the Metallica "A year & a half in the life of..." video."

The sequence of events leading to the shows was the sad news last year that ex-member and friend, Clive Burr, revealed he was suffering Multiple Sclerosis while being interviewed for a documentary about their legendary 'Number Of The Beast' album. The band immediately rallied together and performed the three special shows in London to an audience of fans that had traveled from the four corners of the world to show their support. All profits from the three shows were placed in the The Clive Burr Multiple Sclerosis Trust which is a fund that will not only help Clive and MS sufferers, but will also contribute to vital research into the debilitating disease which affects so many people.

To help raise more funds the band have decided to release from their own archives some very exclusive Memorabilia from their career spanning over 20 years to help raise further funds for the trust. Maiden's drummer Nicko McBrain is kindly donating his monster full performance Drum Kit.(Picture Nicko on stage with Kit available upon request.) The drum kit is his full Full 31 Piece Signia Marquee Premier Kit including Paiste Cymbals and is a chance of a lifetime opportunity to bid for a large piece of rock history. The kit has been used by Nicko on tour, at Festivals, TV performances (including their recent performance of 'Run To The Hills' on Top Of the Pops) and drum clinics around the world spanning the last 8 years. The kit comes with stands and the drums are in Hardcase cases.

For the guitarists there is a Fender Stratocaster 'Iron Maiden' Signature Series Guitar signed by all members of the band including ex-drummer Clive Burr. The Iron Maiden guitars are part of a Limited Edition Stratocaster made by Fender to the specifications given by Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith. The Stratocaster features Seymour Duncan Pickups and Locking Floyd Rose Tremelo (picture : Clive Burr signing guitar available upon request).

For the first time the band have decided to make available to the public an 'Eddie' stage prop from their 'No Prayer from the Road' Tour which is truly monstrous. The construction features an eight-foot high Eddie head and shoulders and two arms which were part of the Stage set where Eddie emerged from a huge on stage coffin similar to the No Prayer Album cover.

The band have raided their storage facility and have unearthed rare Monsters Of Rock posters from their 1988 Headlining Monsters of Rock shows in France,
Italy and Spain as well as a very rare 1985 Powerslave Tour poster for their sell-out shows at Radio City Hall in New York.

Also up for grabs are some exclusive Clive Burr Event T shirts from the recent London Brixton Academy, which have been signed by the entire band
and Clive Burr, and 20 signed copies of the Limited Edition Event
Postergrammes. These items were signed specifically for this auction and are only available at the action - you will not find these signed items anywhere else in the world! This is the only official Iron Maiden auction and all the items are a must for eager collector. All proceeds will go to the Clive Burr Trust.

The auction will commence at Midday 12pm (GMT) on June 28th on EBay and will run for 10 days to give everyone plenty of opportunity to bid. The auction items will be listed on the Charities page on www.ebay.co.uk and will also be also listed on www.Ebay.com Full information on each of the items, including photographs, will be posted on the bands website, www.ironmaiden.com with direct links to the auction on Friday 28th June.

U.D.O. RELEASES MAN AND MACHINE ON BREAKER/SPV: COLOGNE, Germany - U.D.O., led by the former voice of Accept Udo Dirkschneider, has
unleashed its eighth studio recording, "Man and Machine," through
Breaker/SPV.

“This album is made after along time by the whole band,“ said Dirkschneider. “The sound is fresh and straight forward.”

"Man and Machine" includes a much talked about duet that pairs
Dirkschneider's unmistakable voice with the equally unmistakable voice of German metal queen Doro Pesch.

"The idea was not new,” Dirkschneider said. “We had this idea already when we did the album ‘Objection Overruled’ with Accept in 1993, and when we had the ballad for ‘Man and Machine,’ Stefan Kaufmann came up with the idea again.”

As frontman for Accept, Dirkschneider defined a sound and an era of German metal, beginning with Accept's self-titled debut in 1978. Nine years later, the singer would go on to form U.D.O. and release the classic albums "Animal House," "Faceless World," "Mean Machine," "No Limits," "Solid," and
"Timebomb." U.D.O. was put on temporary hiatus between 1992 and 1996 while Accept reformed for three albums, but soon returned with "Holy."

With seven albums under their belts, Dirkschnieder and his crew then put together the ultimate U.D.O. live recording, "Live From Russia." The double CD features the best of the U.D.O. catalog, including "Animal House," "They Want War," "Heart of Gold," "Independence Day," and "Holy," as well as exclusive and previously unavailable live versions of Accept classics like "I'm a Rebel," "Winter Dreams," "Turn Me On," "TV War," and "Heaven is Hell."

Having already completed a European headlining tour in support of "Man and Machine," U.D.O. is now preparing for the summer European festivals. This itinerary includes headlining slots at Lillehammer, Norway's Olymia Park/Ice Hockey Arena, Crete's National Stadium Open Air Festival, and Rieneck,
Germany's Rock am Tummel.

The entire U.D.O. catalog and releases from Accept have been reissued through SPV USA. Accept's "Restless & Wild," released June 11, is the most recent reissue.

U.D.O. RELEASES MAN AND MACHINE ON BREAKER/SPV: COLOGNE, Germany - U.D.O., led by the former voice of Accept Udo Dirkschneider, has
unleashed its eighth studio recording, "Man and Machine," through
Breaker/SPV.

“This album is made after along time by the whole band,“ said Dirkschneider.
“The sound is fresh and straight forward.”

"Man and Machine" includes a much talked about duet that pairs
Dirkschneider's unmistakable voice with the equally unmistakable voice of
German metal queen Doro Pesch.

"The idea was not new,” Dirkschneider said. “We had this idea already when we
did the album ‘Objection Overruled’ with Accept in 1993, and when we had the
ballad for ‘Man and Machine,’ Stefan Kaufmann came up with the idea again.”

As frontman for Accept, Dirkschneider defined a sound and an era of German
metal, beginning with Accept's self-titled debut in 1978. Nine years later, the
singer would go on to form U.D.O. and release the classic albums "Animal
House," "Faceless World," "Mean Machine," "No Limits," "Solid," and
"Timebomb." U.D.O. was put on temporary hiatus between 1992 and 1996 while
Accept reformed for three albums, but soon returned with "Holy."

With seven albums under their belts, Dirkschnieder and his crew then put together the ultimate U.D.O. live recording, "Live From Russia." The double CD
features the best of the U.D.O. catalog, including "Animal House," "They Want
War," "Heart of Gold," "Independence Day," and "Holy," as well as exclusive
and previously unavailable live versions of Accept classics like "I'm a Rebel,"
"Winter Dreams," "Turn Me On," "TV War," and "Heaven is Hell."

Having already completed a European headlining tour in support of "Man and
Machine," U.D.O. is now preparing for the summer European festivals. This
itinerary includes headlining slots at Lillehammer, Norway's Olymia Park/Ice
Hockey Arena, Crete's National Stadium Open Air Festival, and Rieneck,
Germany's Rock am Tummel.

The entire U.D.O. catalog and releases from Accept have been reissued through
SPV USA. Accept's "Restless & Wild," released June 11, is the most recent reissue.