Iron Maiden announces more tour dates

IRON MAIDEN has announced more tour dates--all in the northeast, so far--through August 18. See www.ironmaiden.com for the itinerary. PAUL STANLEY and GENE SIMMONS of KISS participated in a live chat with fans on AOL last night. There must have been hundreds, if not thousands of participants involved. What was disappointing is that, even though they were probably asked some fairly meaty questions, the entire chat was a big plug-fest for the up and coming online auction where they'll be getting rid of their stockpile of merchandise. We did have some screen caprtures from the event, but our computer froze up before we could save them. After warming up on the crowd at last weekend's KROQ Weenie Roast in Los Angeles, LIMP BIZKIT is ready for its Napster-sponsored free tour, which kicks off on July 4 in Chicago. As previously reported, Limp will bring CYPRESS HILL along for series of free concerts that will also hit Minneapolis, Minnesota; Detroit, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana; Boston, Massachusetts; New York, New York; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; and Los Angeles, California. The band will set up shop in each city for multiple nights, admitting fans on a first-come, first-served basis. Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst says that the group's third album, tentatively titled Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water, is only halfway done, but the band has already started to roll out new material in concert. ZAKK WYLDE and his BLACK LABEL SOCIETY bandmates will chat with fans on America Online tonight at 7 PM PT at Keyword Rock Chat (non-AOL members can participate via software available at www.aol.com). Zakk and the band have scheduled in-store appearances during the Penchant For Violence tour, which begins Friday in Anaheim, California. So far, the in-stores include Hastings in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 27, Campus CDs in Lubbock, Texas on June 29, Abeat Off Music in Lowell, Indiana on July 6 and Phoenix Records in Waterbury, Connecticut on July 15. Each appearance is 5-7 PM. PAPA ROACH and POWERMAN 5000 will support KORN on a tour running from July 18 in Fargo, North Dakota to August 20 in Detroit, Michigan. P5K is readying a home video for release on DVD and VHS later in the year, and fan footage submissions are encouraged. Go to www.powerman5000.com for details. Meanwhile, Korn's JONATHAN DAVIS will be involved in writing music for and possibly appearing in a movie called The Wellon. GODSMACK are making some major headway on their new album, tentatively titled Awake. "We are in the mixing stage," frontman Sully Erna said when the band hit the KROQ Weenie Roast in Los Angeles last weekend. "We have about three songs left, and we are hoping to drop it in October." Awake would be the band's first album since its 1997 self-titled debut hit stores. "I think it's pretty happening," Erna said of the material the band has pulled together for the new album. "I like the vibe. It's a little bit more aggressive. It's a little bit more raw, but it still has a lot of cool Godsmack groove to it, so I think that anybody who's into the first record should like this one. I think it's everything that Godsmack fans are anticipating, hopefully." The band knows that it has a lot to live up to after watching "Godsmack" go double platinum on the strength of singles like "Whatever," "Keep Away," and "Voodoo." For the album's eagerly awaited follow-up, Erna (the band's chief songwriter) promised to once again write from the heart and expected the results to be appropriately aggressive. SLASH is keeping busy while waiting for the projected fall release of his SNAKEPIT album Ain't Life Grand. The guitarist is recording with ROD STEWART and may tour with him later in the year.