Hip-hop act NECRO has announced his departure from the SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND tour after facing hostile and unresponsive crowds for 3 weeks at the metal tour. In a written statement, Necro said the events were becoming increasingly confrontational and he was leaving the tour over growing “concern someone might get hurt (NOT ME).”

In unrelated but coincidental news, ex-Queens of the Stone Age act MONDO GENERATOR has left Ozzfest, with a more ambiguous explanation. Frontman Nick Oliveri blames “matters beyond the band’s control.” The band will, however, be touring with TURBONEGRO this fall. Check those dates after the jump. (more…)

This week we took the hike down to gorgeous Sayreville, NJ (home of Bon Jovi), for the summer’s most solid metal festival. SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND took place in the parking lot of the usually indoor Starland Ballroom and lived up to every bit of hype. Some highlights included the special-guest appearances of TESTAMENT and ALL THAT REMAINS, both of which dominated the crowd and were clearly a large part of the reason this was the biggest-drawing date of the tour.
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All this Gwar/Lordi/Sounds of the Underground hullabaloo put us into a generous spirit. We put together one monster-sized (ha ha) prize pack from both bands for you! As Gwar’s Dave Brockie (aka Oderus Urungus) pointed out in a recent interview, both these bands ultimately take inspiration from KISS and Alice Cooper, but a little friendly rivalry never hurt anyone, right? Well, they are murderous monsters… So who would win in the ultimate rock monster fight, Oderus or Mr. Lordi?

Let us know what you think in the comments section and you could win one Sounds of the Underground 2-CD/DVD pack, one autographed Lordi poster, one copy of Lordi’s The Arockalypse: Special Edition, one copy of Gwar’s Beyond Hell imited edition, one copy of Gwar’s Blood Bath and Beyond DVD and a whole buncha stickers and stuff. We’ll randomly pick one lucky commenter at 5 PM EST on Monday, July 23. Good luck! Sorry international folks, this contest is open to US residents only.

We were at SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND in Sayreville, NJ yesterday, the largest show of the 2007 metal and hardcore tour. EVERY TIME I DIE was one of the premier acts, and they delivered despite singer Keith Buckley being a bit under the weather. We got close enough to catch this sweet video of them performing a new song for you. “No Son of Mine” is the first track from their upcoming fourth full-length, The Big Dirty. It’s one of two new songs they are performing at SOTU, the other being “Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Battery”, which was posted recently on their MySpace Page. The Big Dirty hits shelves September 4 via Ferret Music.

GWAR has been using their live show to take a shot at LORDI, the other monster rockers on the other summer metal festival. Since rising from obscurity after winning the 2006 Eurovision contest, Lordi has been berated with accusations of shtick-stealing.

Frontman Mr. Lordi has denied even knowing of Gwar until recently, claiming that Gwar is little-known in his native Finland and that the claims didn’t start until Lordi was discovered in America. It seems Gwar’s Oderus Urungus doesn’t care one way or another, as the band has been including Mr. Lordi in their massacres on SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND this summer. After their opening song, Oderus asks the crowd “Oh, were you expecting Lordi?” and proceeds to take a replica of Mr. Lordi’s head out on a stick. Obviously, the crowd gets covered in blood. We caught footage of it last night during their SOTU set at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ.

Our friends at absolutepunk.net are running a contest where you can win autographed CDs from acts on this year’s SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND TOUR, T-Shirts, Posters and more. Check it out here.

SHADOWS FALL has been added to the 2007 run of the Sounds of the Underground tour, sharing a co-headline slot with Chimaira, Every Time I Die and GWAR. This addition comes on the heel of an announcement of numerous special guests on select dates, including Testament, Suicidal Tendencies, Lamb of God, Hatebreed and Behemoth. The summer tour kicks off July 6 in Dallas. Check the full press release after the break.
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Music legend JOHNNY CASH’s home in Hendersonville, TN, was destroyed by a fire earlier this week. The home (which was built in the 1960’s) was undergoing some construction by it’s new owner Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees who had owned the place since 2006. Gibb was planning the remodel of the place so he would eventually write new music in the place with his wife. (more…)

The 2007 Sounds of the Underground tour has been announced. Looks like it will be a killer, diverse lineup. And don’t forget…the super awesome headliner announcement has yet to thread its way on to the interwebs. Dates are posted after the jump, here’s the press release:

World Premier - Hot Topic Presents Sounds of The Underground and Unveils A Killer Lineup for the Third Annual Tour Engagement Featuring GWAR, Chimaira, Every Time I Die, Job For A Cowboy and More!

With two stellar years behind them, Sounds of the Underground is thrilled to announce the lineup for their third neck-snapping, skull-splintering tour. With what might be their most high-powered offering to date, SOTU remains THE cutting-edge summer tour.

Following two straight appearances in the middle of the day, the event will be closed most nights by splatter metal champions, GWAR; ensuring that fans will remain blood and gore-free until the closing hours of the show. Three other bands will rotate in the headlining position prior to GWAR bringing the house down: a block-buster artist yet to be announced, face-shredding metal pugilists Chimaira, and experimental noisemakers Every Time I Die.

The day will be completed with a devastating bill including Necro, Darkest Hour, Amon Amarth, The Acacia Strain, The Devil Wears Prada, Heavy Heavy Low Low, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Goatwhore, This Is Hell, and 2 Cents. Expect additional special guest headliners to join the bill on select dates.

The monumental event launches in July and runs into August.

Mark Hunter, Chimaira vocalist boasts, “We are happy to announce that we will be taking part in this years Sounds Of The Underground. We played the first year and we had a fucking blast. This year we are going to up the production level and bring something special to our fans. Then we will get wasted every night with ETID and Gwar. See you this summer!”

After being involved with the tour for it’s first two years, Hot Topic is proud to be stepping up to present the tour this summer. Continuing another tradition, Hot Topic will carry the 2007 version of the 2CD + 1 DVD Sounds Of The Underground Exclusive Compilation - look for it in-stores and online in late June.

The organizers for this year’s Sounds of the Underground Tour; Paul Conroy and Carl Severson of Ferret Music, Tim Borror of The Agency Group, Larry Mazer of Entertainment Services, with Tour Producer Live Nation along with partners Metal Blade Records, Prosthetic Records, Trustkill Records and The Syndicate, and tour sponsors Music Choice, Ibanez, Tama, Purevolume, AOL Radio, Revolver Magazine, and Lambgoat are excited to embark on this third year of mayhem!

Tickets will be available for PRESALE starting April 25th and EVERYWHERE May 11! You can find constant updates, news, ticket and artist info at http://www.soundsoftheundergroundtour.com

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