Scholarly Queensryche singer Geoff Tate
ponders the meaning of it all
Here’s the latest batch of news nuggets from MTVnews.com’s hallowed Metal File:
Queensrÿche frontman Geoff Tate and Blackmore’s Night singer Candice Night will star in the upcoming horror movie “House of Eternity,” which is slated for a fall theatrical release. The film, by New York independent production company Fires at Midnight, is about a newly married New York City couple who move to a country home in North Carolina, unaware of its sullied history and the evil that lurks there. Tate will make his acting debut as Alder Grayson, the story’s villain, and Night will play his wife, an innocent woman whose fate is determined by the superstitious minds of the 1700s. ” ‘House Of Eternity’ contains something for everyone,” Night said in a statement. “[There are] memorable characters struggling against powers far greater than they; desperate, heart-pounding action [scenes]; innovative approaches to classic horror; even humor and a forlorn love. Plus there’s a villain who will become timeless.” Jonathan Williams and Jarrod Feliciano are directing “House of Eternity,” and J. Andrew Colletti is the writer and executive producer.
Droid, Ill Niño, Soil and Bobaflex will launch the Guerilla Carnival Tour on January 31 in Cleveland, with dates running through February 24 in Sayreville, New Jersey. “We are really excited to get back out on the road, and the Ill Nino guys are good friends of ours, so it will be great to see them rip it up every night,” Droid singer James “Buddy” Eason said in a statement. “I really like the fact that all the bands on this tour are a little different than each other musically. Get ready. Here comes the pain.”
Papa Roach are in their rehearsal studio writing songs for the follow-up to 2006’s The Paramour Sessions and will begin recording shortly. “I can’t really comment on what it will be like because we still have so much time,” guitarist Jerry Horton wrote on the band’s MySpace page late last year. “Rest assured that it will have groove.”
Arsonists Get All the Girls — whose bassist Patrick Mason died November 30 at age 21 — have replaced him with their old friend Adam Swan. “All of us have known Adam for years, and we couldn’t think of anyone else better fit for the job,” guitarist Arthur Alvarez said in a statement. “Patrick will never be replaced as our bass player, but we are forced to move forward as he would have wanted. He will always be in our hearts.” The band has also hired guitarist Derek Yarra following Nick Cardinelli’s decision to pursue a different career. “We have no hard feelings and wish him the best of luck,” Alvarez said. “He will always remain a close friend, whether it is in the band or not.” Arsonists Get All the Girls’ first show with Swan and Yarra will be February 9 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They have additional gigs scheduled through February 28 in Denver.
Kingdom of Sorrow, the side project featuring Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta and Crowbar/Down guitarist Kirk Windstein, will launch their first tour February 27 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Thy Will Be Done will open shows on the trek, which will run until March 7 in Detroit. “This tour will be killer,” Jasta said in a press release. “If you like it loud, we hope to see you there. We are all pumped to be playing small clubs and bars.” Kingdom of Sorrow’s self-titled debut, co-produced by Jasta and Zeuss (Hatebreed, Shadows Fall), comes out February 19.
Static-X frontman Wayne Static married adult-film actress Tera Wray on January 10. The couple met at Ozzfest last summer.
Washington, D.C., metalcore band Darkest Hour will shoot a concert DVD at a show in Richmond, Virginia, on their tour with Cephalic Carnage, Emmure and Whitechapel. “The reason we choose Richmond is because, simply, motherf—ers in Virginia are crazy, and we wanted to document how Virginia parties for the world,” the band wrote in a post on its MySpace page.
What could be better than a March 25 re-release of legendary Swedish melodic death-metal band At the Gates‘ classic 1995 album, Slaughter of the Soul, featuring six extra songs? The same disc with a bonus live DVD. The previously unreleased set was shot in Krakow, Poland, on December 30, 1995, when the band was touring with Unleashed. The DVD will also include the documentary “The Making of Slaughter of the Soul.”
Brazilian thrash band Chaosfear have started pre-production for their second, yet-untitled album, which is tentatively scheduled for release later this year. The follow-up to 2007’s One Step Behind Anger will feature the return of original guitarist Edu Boccomino. “We are very excited,” drummer Danilo de Freitas said in a post on the band’s Web site. “The songs have the same energy as usual, and I believe that they are more aggressive. With the second guitar, everything is sounding heavier and there is more focus on solos.”
Keith Baxter, the original drummer for British folk-metal band Skyclad, died from liver failure in an English hospital on January 4. He was 36. Baxter played on five albums with Skyclad before joining the successful rock band 3 Colours Red and performing on two of their records. He also played with Elevation and Therapy?
