Comics of a Down Opens

HER reports: With multi-Platinum rock band System of a Down currently on hiatus and his Scars on Broadway project with SOAD's Daron Malakian in the early stages, drummer John Dolmayan will fulfill his other passion of comic books and collectibles by launching Torpedo Comics, an exclusively Internet-based retail store.

Torpedo Comics goes live TOMORROW, Thursday, November 1, and will boast some 15-million items - comic books, toys, graphic novels, trade paperbacks, superhero action figures and other comic book-related memorabilia, ranging in price from 99-cents to six-figures.

Dolmayan, who has been collecting comic books since he was 12, houses Torpedo Comics' inventory in a just-completed 30,000-square fo! ot warehouse in Las Vegas, NV where he now lives. He employs a staff of 25 who catalogue and care for rare items like Sensation Comics issue #1 (the first solo series featuring Wonder Woman), just about every key issue of Marvel and DC comics including Marvel Comics' issue #1, multiple copies of Giant Size X-Men #1, plus superhero action figures from Marvel, X-Men, Superman, and Batman titles. Torpedo Comics will also offer original comic art, created between the 1940s and the present, by some 150 different artists, including Jim Lee, Art Adams, Bernie Wrightson, and Alejandro Gaza. - http://www.torpedocomics.com

Common Song Collection

Filter reports: He may still be in the process of finding forever, but Chicago's finest emcee, has found the best of himself. Common is set to release his first "best of" collection, thisisme then: the best of common, on November 27th.

The lower cased album is solely comprised of material from Common's three album stint (1992's Can I Borrow a Dollar?, 1994's Resurrection and 1997's One Day It'll All Make Sense) on Relativity.

Featuring guest spots from Lauryn Hill, Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu and Q-Tip, thisismethen is also computer friendly. A quick jaunt in your PC or Mac brings up classic Common videos for "Retrospect for Life", "Take it EZ" and the essential hip hop anthem, "I Used to Love H.E.R.". - 411 on what's on the disc

Liverpool To Host MTV Awards

BBC reports: Snoop Dogg is hosting this year's ceremony in Munich Liverpool's new Echo Arena will host next year's MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony, organisers have announced.

It will be the third time the annual event has been held in the UK, following shows in London in 1996 and Edinburgh in 2003.

"Not only is it the European Capital of Culture next year but the influence of its rich musical heritage is still felt today," producer Richard Godfrey said. - more on this story

Anthology Recordings 2.0

PR reports: We are proud to announce the relaunch of Anthology Recordings, the world's first ever all digital reissue label. Anthology provides an online outlet for rare and out-of-print music of all eras, genres, and cultures. This site has become a steady companion hub for folks looking to discover rare, out-of-print gems & reissues mostly recorded in the 60's 70's & 80's, that they most likely haven't heard before.

Version 2.0, which launches on October 16th, brings many new exciting titles to the Anthology site besides, the already existing set of gorgeous and obscure releases. This includes an unreleased single from Skip Spence, Tractor (legendary self-titled second album originally released on John Peel's Dandelion label), Shoes' excellent Power-Pop gem, "Black Vinyl Shoes" and The Scientists first self titled album (aka "The Pink Album").

The new site brings the stylistic world of Anthology to life with slick new designs and interactive features, focusing heavily on album artwork, and more record digging editorial to accompany each album/track. Check out the world of anthology - here

As Tall As Lions EP

PR reports: As Tall As Lions are set to release a new digital EP entitled Into The Flood November 29th on Triple Crown/East West. The band recorded the EP with Mike Watts over a six day period in October at Vudu Studios in Long Island and are excited for their fans to get a taste of something new before they hibernate in early 2008 to record the follow up to 2006's self titled LP.

"These new recordings are filled with life" says lead singer Daniel Nigro, "For the first time during the recording of Into The Flood we were able to let go of our perfectionist approach to recording and just play. We tried not to over-analyze the tones or the performances which led these songs to flow closer to what you see at our live show." - track info

Vagrant By Death

PR reports: Vagrant is proud to announce that Bloomington, Indiana's Murder By Death has signed to the label. The quartet's fourth full-length, Red of Tooth and Claw was produced by Trina Shoemaker (QOTSA, Emmylou Harris, Iggy Pop) at Dark Horse Studios in Tennessee and will be released in the early spring of 2008.

"We are thrilled to be working with Vagrant and we're really excited about the new album," says Adam Turla, vocalist and guitarist. "Red of Tooth and Claw is about a journey filled with revenge, trials of the gods, and sirens..gorgeous, terrifying sirens. It's our most consistent album we've written, and Trina really captured the bizarre world of Murder By Death."

The band is currently on the road performing a handful of headlining gigs and has just announced new dates with Flogging Molly that begin December 4th in Seattle. The band wraps up 2007 with two shows opening for Clutch at Starland Ballroom and two shows on New Years Eve. - dates

Ozzy Used To Nab Deadbeat Dads

BW&BK reports: Some fans who turned out for a party before Monday's (October 29th) Ozzy Osbourne-Rob Zombie concert found out they'd been handed tricks instead of treats by the law when sheriff's deputies crashed the party.

The approximately 40 people who answered letters of invitation turned up at The Venue at Playmakers for what they thought would be a festive party before the big concert at the Fargodome.

The Venue event was sponsored by PDL Productions – a bogus firm created by Paul D. Laney, the Cass County sheriff, to help catch scofflaws who ignored court summons and child support payments or failed to pay fines.

Instead of partying down, attendees were arrested on outstanding warrants. "It was more of a warrant party," Laney said. - more on this story

Prog Super Session

PR reports: Super Session! – Dream Theater, Megadeath, Iced Earth, Zappa, Porcupine Tree Members To Appear On Guitarist Todd Grubbs New CD. What only can be described as a 'super session' is taking place on virtuosic Florida guitarist Todd Grubbs upcoming fourth solo album titled Time, Space and the Electric. For these sessions, Grubbs, who has been prominently featured in national and international publications such as Guitar World, Guitar FPM and Guitar (Japan), has enlisted an array of well-known musical artists to record on his new CD.

"I am very excited about how the CD is coming out!", says Grubbs . "It's even better than I hoped. I feel like I have achieved a nice balance between chops and composition. The CD is to me the culmination of all my years in music to this point – I have worked really hard to make the best album I can with no concessions towards trends, genres or anything else." - more on this story

Dylan Rollin Out New Fan Video

Contact Music reports: BOB DYLAN is calling on his fans for help in making a music video for his classic single LIKE A ROLLING STONE.

The veteran singer, 66, has asked devotees to tape themselves singing or reading the lyrics of the song in a creative new style, before posting the footage on video-sharing website YouTube.com.

The best video clips will then be merged together by Dylan's editing team to create a video for the 1965 track.
- more on this story

Reznor Pleased with Latest NIN Remix CD

PR reports: "I'm very pleased with the way it turned out," says Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails' Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D (Interscope Records), to be released November 20, 2007. "Remix records can be disposable garbage (of which I myself have been guilty to some extent) but this collection feels good to me."

Spun off from Year Zero, the #2-charting album issued in the spring, Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D features a stunning diversity of remixers, from Joy Division and New Order's Stephen Morris to classical crossover pioneer Kronos Quartet and hip-hop poet Saul Williams; from avant-garde leader Bill Laswell, electronica's Olof Dreijer from The Knife, Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino and post-punk revivalists The Faint to an unknown fan who submitted a remix via the Internet. "I reached out to heroes, friends and strangers," says Reznor. "I encouraged those I approached to do anything and insert themselves as much as possible into the track. Some of the stuff that was done earlier led me to choosing other people to balance things out. - more on this story

.... Review: Operation Ivy - Energy (artist of the month)

For those who don't know Op Ivy, they were simply the best band to ever combine ska elements into punk rock since the Clash. Its 27 tracks of pure energy. It's angry, it's fun, it's poetic. Every tune on here is a keeper. (5 stars) - Read the full Operation Ivy - Energy review

.... Review: The Great Deceiver - Life is Wasted on the Living (artist of the month)

Is there any reason to not expect a killer record with crushing breakdowns, fast riffs, and bizarre samples when The Great Deceiver is present? Heaviness is the sole recipe here- everything is based around hammering guitars with deep, technical percussion underneath it all. (4.5 stars) - Read the full The Great Deceiver - Life is Wasted on the Living review

.... Review: Alice Cooper: Between High School & Old School

It would be one thing to give Alice acclaim for continuing to create innovative and vital music, but it's a whole other thing seeing him live. Each time I saw him he was promoting a "bare bones" stage show, however, the show still packed more of a punch than 90% of the shows on the road today. - Read the full Alice Cooper: Between High School & Old School review

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