Ex-PANTERA/current SUPERJOINT RITUAL singer Philip Anselmo has slammed his former bandmates over their suggestion that his ongoing substance abuse and alcohol problem have affected his performance to such a degree that he is now "much less than subpar at what he does" than he used to be during PANTERA's heyday.

Speaking to Revolver magazine for its February 2004 issue, ex-PANTERA/current DAMAGEPLAN drummer Vinnie Paul said of Anselmo, " he was very private about . I don't know if he was using the whole time or what, but it got to the point where I didn't know which Phil was gonna show up to the gig. One night he would walk in and be a fucking animal. The next night, I'd walk backstage and he'd be lying in the corner and he'd say he was tired. I will never take anything away from that dude from when he was at the top of his game, but where he's at right now, I think he's much less than subpar at what he does. I have a hard time watching him when I see him on MTV talking about SUPERDOPE RITUAL, or whatever they're called, and he can't keep his fucking eyes open."

Asked by SMNnews.com to comment on Vinnie Paul's statement, Philip said, "I just hear a big and sad yellowbelly crybaby fuckin' knowing that his meal ticket is in a different fuckin' band, and? You would have to know those fellows to really understand where I was coming from ? they're scared of their own fuckin' shadow. And, all that said, I wish them the best of fuckin' luck. I still love 'em.

"For Vinnie Paul's information and anybody else who would like to know, I've been fuckin' stone-cold sober for fuckin' two years ? I feel like a fuckin' boy scout, for God's sake," he continued. "And fuckin', you know? I can have a couple of beers, let's get it straight.

"There was another thing brought up in that interview where Vinnie Paul said that he knows how to stop drinking, you know, and they can control themselves. And magically Diamond Darrell didn't answer a fuckin' thing. You know why that is? Because his fuckin' friends have to carry him fuckin' home every goddamn night ? every night on tour, he gets carried to the fuckin' bus. Now, you tell me ? me fucking up one time in my life compared to his fuckin' three thousand and seven. Give me a fuckin' break, man!"

From Blabbermouth.net

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Pantera

MY DYING BRIDE have set "Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light" as the title for their eighth studio album, due on February 16, 2004 through Peaceville Records.

The follow-up to 2001's "The Dreadful Hours" was recorded and mixed at Academy Studio in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire with producer Mags and is said to " their crowning early '90s album, 'Like Gods Of The Sun', bringing with it a light and shade writing process which has thrown up possibly their most commercial tune to date, the graceful 'My Wine In Silence'."

MY DYING BRIDE are currently working on a promotional video for the track "The Price Of Beauty" with director Andy Green, who was responsible for the artwork on the new CD. In addition, the group filmed their Nov. 2 sell-out show at the Hof ter Lo in Antwerp, Belgium for their second full-length DVD, tentatively slated for a spring 2004 release.

Two low-quality samples from "Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light" are currently available for download from the Peaceville web site.

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My Dying Bride

Vans, a leader in athletic footwear for the skateboarding community, has announced plans to release a limited-edition SLAYER "Old Skool" shoe in the spring.
Watch the shoes here http://www.vans.com/slayer/
From Blabbermouth.net

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Slayer

World Entertainment News Network is reporting that Ozzy Osbourne may never sing again after the horrific ATV accident this week which almost left him paralyzed.

Osbourne broke six ribs, a collarbone and a vertebra in his neck after losing control of the vehicle in the grounds of his Buckinghamshire, England, estate on Monday.

Doctors at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, south England, where Ozzy is being treated in intensive care, say the singer is making slow progress ? but they fear he may never regain his voice.

Medical director Dr. Dick Jack says, "He is not physically able to come off the ventilator yet. While he has got a tube in his throat he can't talk but, while awake, he has been making progress with people. His progress will be slow."

When asked if the 55-year-old former BLACK SABBATH frontman will be able to speak once the tube has been removed, Jack responded, "We don't know."

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Ozzy Osbourne

STRATOVARIUS guitarist Timo Tolkki has spoken to the Finnish daily newspaper Ilta-Sanomat about the circumstances behind the group's recently announced split with vocalist Timo Kotipelto and drummer Jörg Michael.

According to Tolkki, he and Kotipelto got into a physical altercation three weeks ago. Originally, Tolkki had stepped in to break up a fight between drummer Michael and Kotipelto, but after the latest episode, both he and Kotipelto realized that they would not be able to carry on working together. Tolkki says that the fight was due to Kotipelto wanting to have more involvement in the songwriting process as well as more say in the band's business affairs.

The members of the most recent STRATOVARIUS lineup will be forced to work together one more time as they prepare to play all of the previously announced summer festivals in order to avoid paying out huge cancellation fees. Tolkki has admitted that he doesn't know if they will be able to get along with each other long enough to do the upcoming shows and had made it clear that he would prefer to call off the dates altogether.

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Stratovarius

Keyboardist Kevin Moore (ex-DREAM THEATER, CHROMA KEY) has recorded the soundtrack to a Turkish horror-comedy movie, "Okul" ("The School"). The film was produced by the famous Turkish producer Sinan Cetin and was directed by popular Turkish directors the Taylan Brothers. "Okul" was written by a DREAM THEATER and Kevin Moore fan, Dogu Yucel.

When the directors and the writer were searching for a musician to score their movie, they learned that Kevin Moore was in Istanbul, Turkey. Moore liked the story so much that he decided to postpone the recording of the third CHROMA KEY CD and begin work on the soundtrack for this low-budget Turkish movie. By coincidence, the film was based on a book called "Hayalet Kitap" ("Ghost Book"), which contained a reference to Kevin Moore's song "Space Dye-Vest".

According to Yucel, a brief outline of the movie's plot is as follows: "A young boy is in love with the most beautiful girl in the school but he doesn't win her heart. So he starts to write stories for her. One day he commits suicide. One year later strange things started to happen around the girl and her friends. Soon it is discovered that there is a ghost in the school."

"Okul" will receive a Turkish release on January 9, 2004. It is planned that the movie will be shown in some foreign countries at later date. Kevin Moore's soundtrack is tentatively set to be released through Inside Out Records. You may download the teaser from the official site, www.okul-film.com. Further details can be obtained through the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)

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Dream Theater

Posted on the Official Homepage for awhile ago:

We will once again hit Studio Underground for the recording of our 5th album (no title yet).
The recording will start at February 3 and we will record about 12-13 songs??? Release is planned late spring.

To give everyone a small hint of what to expect I can say that we picked up from where "The more you suffer" ended. The new songs is a little bit more aggressive but all of you that liked "the more you suffer" and all our other albums wont get dissapointed.

Yesterday we all went up to Jonas Black Lounge studio in Avesta to record a "hit and run demo". 10 songs in one day.... just to check 'em out and to get them down on fysical materia.

We have also had some problems with the web site but that will soon be fixed. The competition is not working but we will let you know when it's running again cause we have som nice signed stuff for you just waiting around....

A studio diary will be posted as soon we hit the studio again.

Hope to see you all on tour in a near future.

Cheers
Carnal Forge

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Carnal Forge

News from the official website:

The mixing is nearly completed! Most of the songs are ready,and Achim Kohler is giving the last touches to "WYRD". The sound created will blow you away!!!
it seems that "WYRD" will be released in March 2004. As soon as there will be a confirmed date of release we will publish it in these pages. In these days things around who will take care of the mastering are being defined. Let you know soon. The band is also working on the layout of the booklet.

ATTENTION: the Pordenone gig of December 7th has been CANCELLED once again due to problems with the venue (again!). We're sorry fot that!!!

Band profile:

Elvenking

This was posted on the official homepage:

The European release of "The Burning" has been advanced by a week! The new release date is January 12th 2004. Stay tuned for updates in release dates for other countries.

Thunderstone is confirmed to play Wacken 2004! More info on showtime etc. coming up later!

German speakers (and those handy with a dictionary...) check out the next issue of Rock Hard: A major interview with Nino coming up!

Stay tuned for more news on gigs, interviews etc. as the release date of "The Burning" draws nearer...

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Thunderstone

Canadian technical death metallers CRYPTOPSY have been officially rejoined by original vocalist Lord Worm.

Lord Worm, who sang on the band's first two albums ? 1994's "Blasphemy Made Flesh" (Displeased) and 1995's "None So Vile" (Wrong Again) ? has announced his return to CRYPTOPSY via the following posting on the group's web site:

" 'Un mal pour un bien', I've heard it said, and those seven long years ago, unhappy though I was at leaving (for a private question of honour, not beer), it was nonetheless for the best. Now, we've come full circle, and again a private question of honour finds me back in the fold. 'It is so. It cannot be otherwise.' See you soon..."

CRYPTOPSY's most recent vocalist, Martin Lacroix (ex-SPASME) ? who appeared on the band's 2003 live release, "None So Live" ? left the group in October for undisclosed reasons. CRYPTOPSY are currently writing material for their fifth studio album, tentatively due in early 2004 through Century Media Records.

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Cryptopsy

Former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted has officially left OZZY OSBOURNE and has been replaced by ex-ROB ZOMBIE bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson. Newsted, who was with the band for less than a year, left due to undisclosed reasons.

"It's still settling in," Nicholson told MTV.com about his new gig. "It's something I never would have imagined. After playing with Rob Zombie, I was ready to go, 'OK, this is as far as I'm taking this bass-playing thing. This is the end of the road.' I was ready to kind of hang it up.

"But when this came around, it was very odd," he added. "I was almost like, 'There is no possible way that this could happen.' "

At least one other bassist ? FEAR FACTORY's Christian Olde Wolbers ? jammed with Ozzy, guitarist Zakk Wylde and drummer Mike Bordin in recent weeks, but Nicholson was hired after successfully completing two auditions.

"The first audition was a little intimidating, to say the least," Nicholson said. "Granted, I know Zakk and I've been on Ozzfest before. The situation wasn't uncomfortable, it was just intimidating, playing these songs that I had never played. But the second audition, I was a lot more prepared.

" 'Into the Void' is my favorite BLACK SABBATH song and Ozzy called it out," he continued. "At that moment, I realized, even if I don't get the gig, the fact that I got to play 'Into the Void' with Ozzy was the coolest moment of my life!"

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Ozzy Osbourne

YOUR GODS, MY ENEMIES is the title for the upcoming Eternal Gray CD.
It reflects the best of what the album concept is all about.
The album will be recorded at Abyss studio Sweden, release date is yet unknown as we are working on getting a record deal.
The album songs are much heavier and fast, yet keeps all of the strong elements from Kindless.
We hope that you are all expecting it, as we are working really hard to provide you a strong, powerful and rich Death Metal, which we all hope will place Eternal Gray among the Elite of the Death Metal bands in the world.

Till then, take care and stay GRAY!

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Eternal Gray

The material for the new record is coming along nicely, and if all goes as planned, the band should be ready to start recording sometime in January 2004. Also, Ronnie wishes everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

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Dio

Norwegian black metallers MAYHEM have set a March 29, 2004 release date through Season Of Mist Records for their new full-length CD, "Chimera".

The album, which is currently being recorded at a mobile studio in the mountains of Norway, will feature a musical direction that is being described by the band as "much more back to basics and much more brutal" than 2000's "Grand Declaration of War".

Among the tracks set to appear on "Chimera" are the following:

01. Rape Humanity With Pride
02. Chimera
03. Dark Night Of The Soul
04. Deathwhore

As previously reported, MAYHEM and DECAPITATED (as well as KRISIUN and ANAAL NATHRAKH) will be teaming up for a European tour beginning on April 8 and running through May 16. More details will be made available soon.

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Mayhem

German melodic gothic metal band CREMATORY, who split up in 2001 after a successful, decade-long career, have been forced to postpone the release date of their much-anticipated comeback album, "Revolution", after keyboardist Katrin Goger gave birth to her daughter two weeks prior to the expected due date. As a result, the band have halted the recording sessions for the new album and the CD's previously announced release date (March 1, 2004) will not be kept, according to an official press release.

However, since more than half of the album is already finished, CREMATORY have decided to release a single in advance on the originally scheduled album ? a little consolation for the fans. The CD will contain the single- and album-version of "Greed", a cover version of METALLICA's "One" and a ballad named "Farewell Letter" as well as the video clip for "Greed", which was wrapped only a few days before Katrin's daughter Janina was born.

"Greed" will be released on March 1 worldwide through Nuclear Blast Records. The full-length album, "Revolution", will follow later in 2004.

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Crematory