March 19, London Astoria. A triumphant first night of the UK tour for Soulfly. Feel free to send us in any reviews from the tour – you might just read them up here! Pre-show, we took to some to chat to the guys on the past, the present, and the future… and we’ll be reporting them on this site over the next few days. And it seems fitting to give you a sneak preview now, after the Astoria show, of one of the questions we asked Marcelo, Soulfly’s bassist. RR: Out of all your years with Soulfly, are there any particular memories or shows that stand out, for one reason or another? What, and why? Marcelo: “Astoria. London. Great vibes, great crowds… just GREAT.” With that in mind, here’s what you’d have heard at the Astoria last night: DOWNSTROY SEEK ‘N’ STRIKE JUMP / BRING IT BRASIL WASTING AWAY HEADUP L.O.T.M. ARISE / DEAD EMBRYONIC CELLS QUILOMBO / UMBA / DRUMS REFUSE TERRITORY CALL TO ARMS ROOTS BERIMBAU / BACK TO THE PRIMATIVE TERRITORIAL PISSINGS (NIRVANA COVER) EYE FOR AN EYE Three more dates to come – Wolverhampton Wulfrun tonight (March 20), Glasgow Garage on Saturday (22), and finishing up in Manchester on Sunday (23).

Following on from last night’s London show, Soulfly move onto Wolverhampton tonight! Check out the Tour News for last night’s set list. While you wait for tonight’s show to kick off, learn a little more about Mikey Doling – formerly of Snot, and now Soulfly’s guitarist. Date of birth? Mikey: “1000 BC, July 3” Favourite tour story? Mikey: “Lots, lots, lots! But I will tell ya I like Holland!” [Mikey starts doodling plants…] Five words that describe you? Mikey: “Sleepy, fat, smelly, stoned. Dead sexy!!” One album you think everyone should own? Mikey: “Rated (R) – Queens Of The Stone Age.” Which famous person (dead or alive) would you invite over for dinner and why? Mikey: “Angus Young! Cause he’s the KING!” Best piece of advice you’ve been given? Mikey: “Shut up & listen.” If I wasn’t in this band, I would be… Mikey:“In another band!”

Soulfly kick off 4 UK dates tonight at the London Astoria. Time to learn a little more about the men behind the music. First up, Roy Mayorga – the dude on the drums! Date of birth? Roy: “April 6, 1970.” Favourite tour story? Roy: “My stories would get people in trouble!” [Roy grins, evilly] Five words that describe you? Roy: “Don’t know you tell me!” One album you think everyone should own? Roy: “Massive Attack. Mezzanine.” Which famous person (dead or alive) would you invite over for dinner and why? Roy: “Robert De Niro.” [Roy instructs, you must say the next part with a strong Brooklyn accent] “Cause he knows some things.” Best piece of advice you’ve been given? Roy: “Do it with love and have no worries – Cazzie Porter.” If I wasn’t in this band, I would be… Roy:“A producer or a mix engineer.

Type O Negative have officially changed the name of their forthcoming album to ‘Life Is Killing Me’. Previously, word was it would be called ‘The Dream Is Dead’. ‘Life Is Killing Me’ is due out mid-2003.

Theory Of A Deadman is currently playing some headline dates with labelmates goneblind before their week long stint in Europe come the end of the month. So, any questions for the band? MsHoneyBunny had some… Check out the actual postings of her questions and each member’s answers (handwritten, no less) HERE (FYI, ‘Fab’ aka ‘Fabio’ is the band’s tour manager). Theory Of A Deadman play with 3 Doors Down on March 31st at the Shepherds Bush Empire, London.

We told previously of a Coal Chamber b-sides album in the works, an album which should be coming this summer…and now we have a few more words to tell. Actually, Dez has a few more words to tell, and they go exactly like this: “Hello, this is Dez…I hope this letter finds all the Coal Chamber people well. Out of great turmoil comes great things. Together Coal Chamber and Roadrunner have decided to release a b-sides album. The album will be entitled Coal Chamber Giving The Devil His Due, b-sides. It will consist of all the extra songs on the digipaks Coal Chamber has done in the past as well as 4-5 demo songs from before the band got signed, plus a song that was pre-recorded in the studio during Chamber Music with no vocals and no bass. We will be laying down bass tracks as well I will step in to do vocals on this song. Do not expect this song to be in the vein of older Coal Chamber. The song is called “Headstones.” It will be nice to release some older material that is hard to find as well as never before heard demos that use a lot of double bass, from back when the band was very raw. It will definitely show that what we dreamed in ’93 was way ahead of its time. I will personally be watching over all the artwork as well as writing bios for each song – when they were recorded, where they were recorded, what the songs are about… We do not have a release date. I just thought it would be cool to let everyone know that it is in the works. So as Miguel does his thing, and as my band in Deathride is about to explode, you can expect much more music for your collection from the Coal Chamber family in the near and distant future…”

We most graciously ask you to now adjourn to our MUSIC page for your first stream of the new doubleDrive. The song, “Imprint,” as taken from their upcoming Roadrunner Records debut titled Blue In The Face. Enjoy. Blue In The Face in stores April 28th

Starting with the April issue (out March 24) you’ll be able to read a regular monthly guest column in Metal Hammer magazine, penned by the lovely Wednesday 13 of the Murderdolls. And not only that, the same issue features the Murderdolls on the cover.

Something for the weekend from Chimaira. First, head on over to the MUSIC section. Grab yourself the brand new Chimaira MP3 ‘Cleansation’. Listen to the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal. Read this quick note from Mark, Chimaira’s singer… “What’s up everyone. We are proud to offer you the first song off our new record, ‘Cleansation’. We figured this would be the best song to let you guys hear first because the song is “kind” of right where we left off with Pass Out, but with a twist. The new record is SO DIFFERENT and we can’t wait for you all to hear what this band has grown into. But for now, open a can of brew, sit back and enjoy the new tune….smoke acid.” Second, our exploration into the making of Chimaira’s upcoming ‘The Impossibility Of Reason’ album continues. Amongst our travels this time in Ohio, we come across the guitar sound… head on into the VIDEO section and check it out.

The latest from Spineshank camp, as told by drummer Tommy Decker: “I know, I know its been forever since I’ve posted. The reason is because we’ve been really busy getting ready to hit the road again. All the details are still being worked out, but it looks like we will be doing some warm up shows in May, then hit Europe for the month of June. We will likely do a few shows in the UK, then do a few festivals, then back to the UK, and finally on to a good chunk of Europe. As of now, it looks like we will be playing a lot of countries that we haven’t played yet, so we are excited about that. After that we will spend the summer and fall touring the US. I’ve also got good news on the release of Self Destructive Pattern – for the first time ever the release date has been pushed forward!!! Everyone involved has been busting ass to get this record out, and all the hard work has paid off. The new release date is June 23 (I believe). So new SpineShank isn’t that far off. Well, once again I’ll let you know what’s up when I get the info. Later.” TOMMY