Smashing Pumpkins To Rock Chamsil Stadium

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Smashing Pumpkins To Rock Chamsil Stadium

Smashing Pumpkins, a leading alternative rock band, will performe live at the Chamsil Gymnastic Stadium on July 4.

Although many international rock bands have performed in Korea, seldom does a band with the prestige and star-quality of the Smashing Pumpkins come to thrill the peninsula.

Having announced their plans to break up at the end of the year, this concert will likely prove to be the Chicago quartet's first and last in Korea.

Led by vocalist/guitarist Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins made their debut during the grunge era in 1991 with James Iha on guitar, D'Arcy on bass, and the powerful Jimmy Chamberlain behind the drums.

Often described as “the most representative band of the nineties” for its ability to compellingly express “nineties neuroses” such as anxiety, frustration, despair, angst, confusion, and hallucination, the Pumpkins continue to prevail in alternative rock circles today. With their fantastic guitar riffs and psychedelic sounds, as well as the at once mellow and angry voice of Billy Corgan, the band enjoys colossal worldwide fame.

Fame, however, came gradually for the band. Their debut effort 'Gish' introduced the group to both indie and metal audiences in 1991, but the band was eclipsed by the enormous popularity of Seattle bands like Nirvana. 'Siamese Dream' in 1993 launched the band into the limelight with its skewed rhythms and twisted metaphors. The pop hooks and rock atmospherics that define the band's sound were firmly established in their 1995 release, 'Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness.' A bold double-CD project, the band managed to pull it off with a combination of swirling strings, angst-ridden vocals and some poignant guitar, and became a pioneering force artistically and commercially. 'Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness' was highly acclaimed by such publications as Time, Rolling Stone, and Spin.

Last March, the band released their new album titled 'Machina: Machine Of God'. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlain rejoined the band after having been sacked in 1996 for chronic drug abuse problems.

D'Arcy left the group after 'Machina.' Melissa Auf Der Maur, formerly of Courtney Love's band Hole, will handle the bass for the Seoul gig.

For aficionados of alternative rock, the breakup of Smashing Pumpkins is indeed sad news. The Seoul concert will be the last chance for Korean fans to enjoy the brilliance of the Smashing Pumpkins.
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