It was my first show after graduating high school—my live music experience at that point consisted of worship bands at my small-town church or dad rock cover bands at the county fair.
Sure, they say it every year: This summer’s Ozzfest will be like none that came before. But this time, it’s true: Admission will be free. Yes, free. At a press conference held in Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon (February 6), festival co-founder Sharon Osbourne announced that, in response to the ever-escalating costs of concert tickets, admission to this year’s Ozzfest – which will be headlined by Ozzy Osbourne – won’t cost fans a dime. “For the last few years, ticket prices have steadily climbed as artists demand more and more money for summer tours,” she said in a statement. “We certainly… Read more »
In one of the most unusual summer-tour pairings in recent memory, the Ozzfest Web site announced Monday night that there will be one final act added to this year’s second-stage lineup: actress Jada Pinkett Smith’s rock group, Wicked Wisdom. The addition of the Christian-leaning rock-and-soul hybrid to a summer touring package that boasts ferocious metal merchants like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Shadows Fall, Mudvayne, In Flames and the Black Dahlia Murder is unexpected, to say the least. Wicked Wisdom is an Evanescense-esque act that Pinkett Smith, the band’s frontperson and the wife of actor/rapper Will Smith, has said is influenced… Read more »
After weeks of speculation about who would be sharing the Ozzfest stage this summer with Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Shadows Fall and Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society, the big secret’s finally out: Heavy metal quartet Mudvayne have been named the final mainstage act. A photo of the band was posted Monday morning (April 4) on the Ozzfest 2005 Web site, replacing the ominous band silhouette and large white question mark that appeared in that mystery spot ever since the roster was announced just a few weeks ago. There had been much speculation since the initial Ozzfest 2005 announcement concerning who… Read more »
The annual three-ring circus that is Ozzfest has become a perennial summer celebration of all things loud and abrasive over the last decade – and this summer’s lineup will not disappoint. Black Sabbath and British metal stalwarts Iron Maiden – who will be playing material exclusively from their first four albums – will share headlining duties, and they’ll be joined for the 26-city ride by Rob Zombie and a host of young metal bands, starting on July 15. Along with Sabbath, Maiden and Zombie, the main stage will also include Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and Ozzfest regulars Zakk Wylde’s Black… Read more »
Los Angeles – Early purchasers of Ozzy Osbourne’s March 22 boxed set, “Prince of Darkness,” will get a little bonus. The initial pressing of the set will include a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for this summer’s Ozzfest, valued at $40. To redeem, customers go to the ozzfest.com Web site and punch in the code on the coupon. The Epic four-disc set covers Osbourne’s solo years. It includes a disc of new recordings by Osbourne of his favorite tunes by other artists, including the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” and Eric Burdon ‘s “Good Times.” The set’s suggested list price is $49.98,… Read more »
Seven months ago, A Dozen Furies were just another band you would catch playing in a dive bar and, looking up only briefly from your drink, note to yourself, “Interesting name.” Now, after besting North Carolina’s Cynder in the finals of MTV’s “Battle for Ozzfest” – scoring $60,000, a contract with Sanctuary Records and a slot on next year’s Ozzfest second stage in the process – they’ve become the metal community’s biggest overnight success story. “We’re a very new band. We only have one album. We’ve only been around for a year,” ADF guitarist Marc Serrano laughed. “When we won… Read more »
There’s something a little different about Black Sabbath’s performance at Ozzfest nowadays, and if you blink you might miss it. Two images of George W. Bush, shown during Sabbath’s performance of the metal classic “War Pigs,” have been removed from the video montage that accompanies the song, which usually kicks off the band’s headlining set. One image that juxtaposed Bush and Adolf Hitler was captioned “Same sh-, different a-hole,” while the second superimposed a round, red clown nose on the president, along with the words “White House Clown.” The edit comes days after Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, who claimed he… Read more »
British heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath will reunite for the first time since 2001 for Ozzfest, which begins July 10 in Hartford, Conn., a spokeswoman for the annual road show said on Tuesday. Ozzfest co-founder and headliner Ozzy Osbourne will revisit such hard rocking classics as “War Pigs” and “Paranoid” along with guitarist Tony Iommi and bass player Geezer Butler. But original drummer Bill Ward will be replaced by Mike Bordin, who backs Osbourne on his solo gigs. Along with three-quarters of the original Black Sabbath, Ozzfest will also feature four-fifths of the original Judas Priest, and such acts as… Read more »
Ozzy Osbourne may be famous for biting a head off a bat, but he’ll never bite the hand that feeds him-that is, his fans. Chomping at the bit to get back onstage again since his near-fatal ATV crash late last year, the Prince of F-king Darkness has confirmed plans to headline this summer’s Ozzfest, the monstrously successful heavy metal touring festival he founded in 1996, Billboard.com reports. Details are still sketchy but the bill is also said to include such other headbangers as Slayer, shock-rockers Slipknot and enduring British metal mavens Judas Priest, who recently reunited with vocalist Rob Halford… Read more »
