
“Dimebag” Darrell Abbott Honored With Ozzfest SuperjamBesides for the headliners, no one was better represented at Ozzfest’s one-show stint at Pizza Hut Park than the late “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, who was killed onstage at a Damageplan show on December 8, 2004 in Ohio. For most of the day, that was in the form of T-shirts, tattoos and the virtual army of men in baggy cargo shorts and pink-dyed goatees. But following the set by Hellyeah, featuring his brother Vinnie Paul on drums, Dimebag’s music was there, too. “Mouth for War” — with Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta on vocals and Slayer’s Kerry King on guitar — kicked off the tribute set, and brought with it the first big moment of the festival that didn’t involve a girl pulling aside her bikini top. “A New Level” followed, with Max Cavalera and King Diamond sharing vocals and King and Anthrax’s Scott Ian tag-teaming on guitar. An acoustic cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” headed by Jerry Cantrell, served as a palate cleanser, before Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Hellyeah/Mudvayne singer Chad Gray came out for “Fucking Hostile.” Because the two giant screens on either side of the stage were filled with video clips and still photos of Dime rather than footage from the stage, it was difficult to make out who was performing. It was a nice touch, but it helped blunt the power of the all-star jam. It was nearly impossible to make out that Metallica’s Lars Ulrich played drums on the cover of “Wish You Were Here,” or that the woman singing along with Cantrell on that cover was Pearl Aday, Meat Loaf’s daughter and Ian’s fiancée. Squinting only takes you so far. More Ozzfest: • Ozzy, Metallica, Serj Tankian Lead Ozzfest • The Sword Highlight Ozzfest Second Stage [Photo: AFP/Getty]
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Published: 2008-08-11 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Festivals, More News
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Korn Bring Cornfield, Free Show to Dedicated New York Fans Yesterday, Korn turned New York’s Times Square into a cornfield (ha ha) for a press conference tied to the release of their twelfth album, then played a free show at South Street Seaport. At the Q&A, frontman Jonathan Davis spoke about his concerns over global warming (”I’m worried about my kids’ kids having a place to live”), the band’s new, untitled album (”It’s very musical. Very out of spirit”) and the group’s early days (”I miss it so much – we’d finish playing then go hang out with the fans. We used to go to houses, have BBQs, parties and stuff”). As for their latest work, “Writing with a keyboard player I think was the biggest difference because it added a lot of depth to songs that we hadn’t really had much experience experimenting with in the past,” guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer told Rock Daily. A few hours later downtown, fans got a taste of the band’s new songs and a handful of classics at a raucous show. Every few minutes, kids emerged from the mosh pit with gashes on their necks or chests. We spoke to five megafans before they could get squashed about their love of Korn, the group’s upcoming covers album and reality show for the Web (which is being filmed during the Family Values Tour). Name: George Wiley III, friends call me Saddle Age: 23 Where from: Brooklyn, New York Why is Korn still relevant? I was born in ’83 and when I first heard their songs I heard they were speaking out for everyone else. You feel that aura that he gives and you know I’m not the only one. What song should Korn cover next? “Happy” by Mudvayne because of the voice. What do you want to see on the band’s new reality show? Everybody, we all miss Head. I’d like to know more about what happened with him, we still love him. Name: Emily Kemlich and Chad Squillate Age: 21, 20 Where from: Georgia and Pennsylvania Why is Korn still relevant? Kemlich: Korn saved my life, it’s the be
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Published: 2007-08-02 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News
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Album Preview: Mudvayne Reinvents Itself, Says Nu-Metal Will Be BackWhen Mudvayne releases its fourth studio album The New Game in November, the record will be new to fans but a year and a half old for the band. Having the tour for its previous record and with vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett joining forces with Pantera’s Vinnie Paul in Hellyeah, the band opted to sit on the album as opposed to rushing it out to the market — a good choice, considering the set’s shift towards bigger choruses and more accessible melodies. “There’s a bit of pop mentality to the way we like to write together, and maybe we’ve gravitated towards that over the years,” bassist Ryan Martinie tells Rock Daily. “There’s friendlier songs, where we’re not alienating the listener. Maybe we didn’t want to alienate ourselves either.” When the band decided the time wasn’t right to release The New Game, they reconvened and cranked out another batch of songs — a whole new album’s worth. While those songs won’t make it into the live show yet, the next record could see the light of day as early as spring 2009. As one of the last bands standing from the nu-metal pack at the turn of the millennium, the band survived by not overplaying its initially cartoonish visual component and discouraging members to grow dreadlocks. Martinie isn’t sure why some bands failed and others can still release platinum albums, but warns about one of the least-likely nostalgia movements in music. “You have a band like Disturbed that’s still around and writing great music,” he said. “The ‘nu-metal’ genre was the uncool thing to listen to for a while, and I think it will come back around. People will say, ‘I forget that I loved that song so much.’ People will come back to it, maybe like they do with Eighties songs or bad Nineties pop.” Related Stories: • “Dimebag” Darrell Honored at Ozzfest • Mudvayne Tour Dates • Mudvayne Unmask For Lost and Found
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Published: 2008-10-23 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News
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