Ok, a bunch of HWP related features in the new year ish of Kerrang!, so hold on to your doobries, though not too tightly as passers by may look at you strangely.
Bit, the first.
plus: Aimee teams up with her old mate Tarrie?
Korn singer Jonathon Davis has teamed up with fast rising LA stars Human Waste Project (HWP) on a bizarre cover of an '80s pop tune ... which may never see the light of day.
Davis first met the band four years ago, when HWP singer Aimee Echo became friends with Korn while working at a body piercing studio near where the band hung out. On one of the Project's earliest ever demos, recorded in LA, Davis agreed to sing along with the band on a cover of 'This Town' - originally by '80s all-girl band, The Go-Gos.
HWP bass player, Jeff Schartoff picks up the story: "When we recorded it, we were really concentrating on our own songs, and the cover version wasn;t taken that seriously. Jonathon did a great job, but we didn't put that much into it. Then when Korn became huge, that song suddenly appeared on a Korn bootleg. Anyone's who's really into Korn probably has it, and that's how a lot of people first heard HWP. But because we'd done such a half-assed job, it really wasn't a very good avertisment for our band!"
The band jumped at the chance to redeem themselves.
"Last year, when we were in the studio at Indigo Ranch in California - where we recorded our album (the forthcoming 'E-Lux') - we re-recorded the song, with Jonathon doing vocals again. We did it way different, put a whole lot more into it, and went for a different vibe - kinda more ambient sounding. This time it turned out great, and the band loves it. Jonathon was really happy with it to."
Unfortunately, because of Davis' being signed to a totally different record company to HWP, legal problems over the release of the song have inevitably reared their head.
"We can't seem to get a release," says Jeff. "Korn's label (Immortal/Epic) are taking forever, legal red-tape and stuff. It'll get released eventually, I jope!"
HWPs label, Polydor, is now thrashing the matter out with Korn, and there are tentative plans for the song - if cleared - to appear on a future HWP EP.
"I'd love to work with Korn again", says Jeff. "They're a great band. I met (guitarist) Munky at a club a while back, and we talked about doing some stuff, but that's all up in the air."
Finally on the HWP front, the band have recently completed a hugely successful K!-sponsored UK tour with fellow LA stars Coal Chamber - which prompted a nice-end-of-tour message from the two bands to Kerrang! and all our readers!
HWP singer Aimee Echo has also teamed up with Tura Satana's Tarrie B for a cover of a song by an obscure San Francisco new wave band.
Tarrie and Aimee, along with LA band Man Will Surrender, went into the studio in America six months ago, to perform their duet.
They recorded a version of a little known Romeo Void song - it's unclear which track at present. Few people have heard the finished result, but Kerrang! has heard from insiders that it is "cool"!
It is unknown at this stage if this recording will surface anywhere in the future - Tura Satana were said to be considering it for a B-side, but are apparently now thinking of re-recording the track with new guitarist Brian Harrah. More news as we get it!
Well, HWP may not be overly happy with the original This Town, but I still love it. but I was lucky enough to hear the new version on the recent tour. Only the once, but it is SOOOO different. Closest I can think of is reminiscent of say Electra from the album. More of a duet, it should still be unleashed on the world.
This is where Kerrang! exclusively(!?!) reveals what your favourite bands pland for 1998.. So obviously, I cut to the HWP entry.
Human Waste Project
After making a huge impact on K!-sponsored tours with Tura Satana and Coal Chamber in '07, Aimee Echo and co. will release their debut album, E-Lux through Hollywood/Polydor on February 9. The band will spend much of the year touring, with a UK visit a certainty at some point in 1998.
And now, the HWP part of the gig review of the Nottingham Coal Chamber gig.
4/5
The streets of Nottingham might be colder than death, but inside Rock City the temperature is close to boiling. The combined forces of Coal Chamber and HWP, two of metal's hottest new bands, have managed to drag the curious hordes away from the delights of Friday night TV and into the chilly winter night.
Both bands are part of a scene that looks to be more exciting than anything we've had in years. And just like a decade ago, LA seems to be at the center of it all. The ozone destroying frightwigs might have been replaced by braids and facial piercings, the tattoos might have become more ornate and the music might be a hundred times more extreme, but the spirit is the same.
HWP are the cream of the scene. If you hadn't already gathered, they steal the best bits from art rock (Tool, Jane's Addiction), new metal (Deftones, Korn) and the '80s alternative scene (Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure) and make them wholly their own.
The funny thing is, this isn't one of HWP's better shows. A murky sound means that Mike Tempesta's guitar is reduced to an unthreatening rumble, while two months of touring have left Aimee Echo's rasp frayed and ragged. But Rock City laps it up nonetheless. As the Project pound through Powerstrip, Shine and half a dozen other numbers from their E-Lux debut, the warmth slowly flows back into the crowds cold limbs. When Echo does her 'shall we get naked?' routine, the floor is suddenly covered with a lake of beer as 1500 boys - and girls - simultaneously spill their pints. They bow out to respectable applause, and it becomes clear that whatever tonights failings, there's no doubt that 1998 will be HWP's year. Wait and see.
Dave Everly
Still, with me, ok, onto the next bit.
Now Kerrang! picks out some bands to watch in '98. Some damn fine stuff, including the mighty System of a Down, Far, King Prawn, Pulkas, Cold, Snot, Spineshank, Sevendust etc, etc. But top of the bunch are this mob...
Human Waste Project.
The deal: Psycho-sexual LA based new metal crew, peddling out a revved-up, kooky tunes with titles like 'Exit Wound' and 'Disease'. Think Korn meets Janes Addiction meets Bauhaus, and you're half way there. Or gentlemen readers could just think about Aimee Echo for a while, if they preferred ...
The line-up: Megastar in the making, Aimee Echo on vocals, dreadlocked bassist Jeff Schartoff, bleached-blonde drummer Scott Ellis, and ever-smiling guitarist, Mike Tempesta. They formed four years ago in Huntingdon Beach area of LA.
The Vibe: Numerous reports of being "better than the headliners" after their first tour of the UK supporting Tura Satana, and a legion of new fans won over on the band's Christmas tour of the UK with Coal Chamber. Apparently all set ofr a "big push" from their UK record label (Polydor) and already a firm fixture in the pages of Kerrang!, the future is currently looking brighter than a firefly after a night soaked in Kerosene.
Out Now: Debut single Powerstrip which was released in early December. A good start, but if you heard it and weren't too keen, console yourself with the news that it's certainly not the best track on the album ...
Out next: The bands darkly psychedlic debut album gets a UK release on February 9.
Destined to be: This years sexiest, coolest and noisiest new metal messiahs
And the ultimate Kerrang! accolade. Aimee was the "star" of the weeks cartoon strip. I can't draw or type that, you'll have to waith till I get a scanner.