Ozzfest

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OZZFEST 2005

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Barking at the Moon Words: JJ Haggar • Pictures: Wayne Herrschaft

OZZFEST 2005 got louder for it’s tenth anniversary across America with an amazing line up of legendary bands alongside the established and throwing in the hottest rising metal artists. Those main acts included: BLACK SABBATH, IRON MAIDEN, ROB ZOMBIE, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, SHADOWS FALL, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. The all day extravaganza got underway in Boston and ended in Somerset with VELVET REVOLVER replacing Iron Maiden on the last handful of dates.

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t will also be the last time Ozzy/Black Sabbath will take part, but it will continue as OZZFEST and the ‘Prince Of Darkness’ may show up from time to time, but for now at least he says: “After 10 years I’ve decided that this year will be my last as the headlining act on Ozzfest. The Ozzfest is well-established now and I feel it’s time for me to hand the reigns off to someone else. However, I will be performing at a few select Ozzfest shows next year. Despite the rumours, I don’t have permanent throat problems. The truth is that after 11 straight summers on the road, I would just love to finally take a summer holiday with my wife. You haven’t heard the last from me. God Bless. Ozzy.”

So it’s big, it’s bad and it’s back for more. Wanna know why the Velvets replaced Maiden? Read the review of it here!

The Velvets lay waste once more . . .

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OZZFEST– the king of festivals returned this summer to celebrate its hard-earned tenth anniversary with the staggering line-up of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Rob Zombie, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and Black Label Society. The summer’s premier concert festival which has propelled many of today’s rock bands to superstardom while paying close attention to its discerning fans, rolled out July 15 in Boston and visited 26 cities by the time it reached the end on September 10th. The Hot Topic Second Stage was headlined by Zombie and featured a preview of rock’s rising stars, including As I Lay Dying, Mastodon, The Haunted, In Flames, Arch Enemy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Bury Your Dead, Soilwork, Trivium, It Dies Today, A Dozen Furies and more “I’m most proud of the success of Ozzfest,” says founder Sharon Osbourne. “Everyone said it would never happen and 10 years later we are still in business.” In fact, 125 bands, 238 shows and over 4 million fans later, the all-day extravaganza of music and deranged merriment is roaring louder than ever.

History in the making, 2005 marks the first time metal legends Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden have toured together and also represents Iron Maiden’s first Ozzfest appearance.

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson said, “This summer’s Maiden touring is based on the recent Early Days DVD and all the songs we did at Ozzfest were from our first four albums – Iron Maiden, Killers, Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind. We brought over our full European show, naturally including as special guest Eddie in various appropriate guises!! The stage sets, production and backdrops recreate aspects of the shows on the tours around those albums, only bigger…much bigger!!! We don’t know if anyone has done anything like this before but we think it’s something the fans really appreciate both in the choice of songs and in the production values.”

Also debuting on the tour will be Texas-based band A Dozen Furies who landed their coveted Hot Topic Second Stage slot after winning MTV’s “Battle for Ozzfest” reality series competition. Ozzfest, originally launched in 1996 as a limited two-city trek, has become a virtual breeding ground for up-andcoming bands. The renowned second stage has been instrumental in catapulting the careers of System of a Down, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Incubus, Slipknot, Disturbed, Godsmack and Chevelle.

The heavy metal juggernaut has earned a hallowed position in the busiest tour season with a relentless commitment to its core fans and the consistency of quality they demand as their birthright. Just as the

OZZFEST: THE REASON WHY IT WAS THE LAST SHOW FOR MAIDEN festival is committed to presenting the best music, it also provides an interactive, multisensory experience for concert-goers with a wide-range of attractions. The traveling show’s notorious “Village of the Damned” with tattoo artists, piercing booths, stateof-the-art video games, and a wide range of vendors and much more always promising to be wickedly tempting. Judas Priest, one of the biggest attractions on last year’s tour declared: “We were thrilled to be part of such a unique moment in heavy metal history that will be remembered forever!” Jonathan Davis, lead singer for Korn, who pounded the main stage in 2003 added, “Ozzy and Ozzfest are some of the cornerstones of metal. I loved playing in front of the Ozzfest crowd, the fans at those shows were fucking amazing.”

In addition to drawing vital hard rock acts, Ozzfest has always attracted a variety of select sponsors devoted to the tour’s core fan base.

Hot Topic – returning to host the second stage – was the festival’s official soft line teen retailer. Throughout the day, Tama drums and Ibanez guitars proudly showcased their arsenal in the Village. F.Y.E. (For Your Entertainment) is on board for the fifth consecutive year as the official music retailer and hosted the FYE autograph tent giving fans the opportunity to meet some of their favourite OZZFEST artists. Trojan brand condoms also had presence in the Village as the official latex condom of OZZFEST. Jagermeister once again brought the backyard BBQ party back to Ozzfest and proved their commitment to metal music with artist autograph signings and tons of free swag for attendees 21 and over.

Iron Maiden were chosen for the Ozzfest tour because the Ozzfest committee felt they were a good band, plus the fact that they had not done shows in the U.S. for some time. From day one, Bruce Dickinson started berating Ozzy and belittling the Ozzfest audience. He stated he “didn’t need a reality show to give him credibility”; “we’re not just some f*cking reunion band”; and continuously complained about the sound system, saying that when he comes back to America he’ll have a better one. I understand he hasn’t toured in the U.S.in these size venues in a while and no longer understands the political structure of things. Out of 200plus bands

“Steve Harris personally came to Ozzy in San Bernardino and apologized for Bruce’s behaviour this summer, stating that he and the rest of the band were ‘embarrassed’by their own singer.” over the last 10 years, he has been the only person who hasn’t had the Ozzfest spirit. He thought he was at a battle of the bands, always making other comments about the other artists.

Might I say, the rest of the band are gentlemen and have a great professional attitude. The crew are absolutely great. But how sad it was, after 10 years, that this little man tried to ruin it for everyone.

The bands of Ozzfest don’t even look at Ozzfest as touring, but as its heavy metal summer camp.

Bruce is in fact a ‘jealous prick’ and very envious.

None of his tirades were directed at Sabbath, only Ozzy. Steve Harris [Iron Maiden’s bassist] personally came to Ozzy in San Bernardino and apologized for Bruce’s behaviour this summer, stating that he and the rest of the band were “embarrassed” by their own singer. It also offended me every night how he took out the English flag in America. There are American boys going to war alongside the English boys every day. How dare he forget the American troops on their home turf. He has had no respect for the American audience he has been playing for, stating in an interview, “When you do the ‘hits’ tour here (in the U.S.), the audience is smug, and there’s a sense of self-satisfaction, like, ‘We got what we wanted…I’m looking at an audience that is selfsatisfied and happy and fat, and getting what it wants and isn’t prepared to get off its ass..”

Before there was Samson there was SABBATH!

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OZZFEST 2005

OZZFEST 20

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That Show In California Ozzfest DEVORE, SAN BERNADINO, CA As experienced by The Rocker!

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nce again, metal heads made their pilgrimage to Hundai Pavilion to get their rocks off big time! Come rain or shine, nothing was going to hinder the mayhem that we were about to partake in once again. Or so we thought.

That’s right; your friendly neighbourhood dedicated rockers were in the thick of it all.

The heat, the dust and all the “eye candy” that was all around us. Like, the girls with painted on shirts for one. Band after band gave it their best shot during mostly four-song sprints at this open-air festival. Anytime there is a big event like Ozzfest the die hard fans will camp out days before the event. To pass the time, some people get drunk to all hell. While others get “baked” to all hell. Either way, by the time the gates are open, the fans are all jacked up and ready to get crazy. Hey, it’s Ozzfest right!?

Here is how it all went down…

SECOND STAGE: They came from all around,

many of them since the ungodly rock ‘n’ roll hour of just after 9 a.m. when this epic, 20-band Ozzfest began with the relentless attack of, Bury Your Dead, a very energetic band that kicked off the fest in chaotic fashion. Give these guys a few more years; they are going to be a force to be reckoned with. The next band up was one we wanted to check out.

Wicked Wisdom, a group led by Jada Pinkett Smith, who surprised the both of us with a very impressive set. Other highlights included the high powered assault by metal machine, Gizmachi, who were very impressive. Then there was Sweden’s Soilwork, who we spoke to before they laid down their metallic assault.

“The fans are great”, guitarist Peter Wichers shared with us. So, how has the whole Ozzfest experience been like for the band we asked?

“It’s been great”, Peter adds,”When we heard Iron Maiden were playing and we’d get to see them every night for free…we were stoked!”

Soilwork’s set included songs from their latest release, ‘Stabbing The Drama’, in the form of “Nerve“, “Stabbing The Drama” and the high speed on ice terrorizer, “Figure Number Five”.

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Next up, the doomsday machine known as Arch Enemy (with some of the fanciest guitar fretwork of the day, courtesy of guitarists, Michael and Chris Amott. Arch Enemy’s set was seriously wicked as they ripped and roared with reckless abandon, unleashing metal chaos with songs from their new brain smasher, ‘Doomsday Machine’. We have to say Arch Enemy lead singer, Angela Nathalie Gossow is as fierce as it gets, as she looked out into the crowd with her sinister gaze. Talk about if looks could kill.

Trivium followed suit with a killer set that was brutal. The following bands are considered the “New Wave of American Metal Bands” and did make one hell of a statement! Like the brutally aggressive Black Dahlia Murders, take it from us, BDM gives a whole new meaning to the word brutal. Their set featured songs from their new Metal Blade release, ‘Miasma’. We got to talk to vocalist Trevor Strnad and guitarist Brian Eschbach after their set. They also told us how California has been good to these bad boys from Detroit Rock City. Brian told us that it was his first time seeing Iron Maiden and it was a religious experience. Trevor said,”Bruce Dickinson is the ultimate badass”. These guys were very cool and Brian’s a certified madman.

One of the heaviest and most brutal bands in the world today, the monstrously talented Mastodon unleashing unholy hell! Looking out into the crowd it was more like setting a lit match to a sea of jet fuel. This is the most well respected band on the second stage. Not to be outdone, the pile-driving Bay State band Killswitch Engage, served up a wicked set that was down right heavy.

Headling the second stage this year, the metal horror merchant Rob Zombie, whose sledgehammer set included some White Zombie songs.

Rob Zombie made the second-most cogent Ozzfest observation of the long 14-hour day. ‘’It ain’t changed a bit in 10 years,” he said. ‘’It’s a fuckin’ dinosaur.

That’s why we like it.” Ozzfest has become a symbol of heavy metal unity.

Many people arrive early to catch the new blood of the festival, and then stay late to see the “New breed of Metal” and they loved them all. Loved them to Death.

THE MAIN STAGE: Things started to heat up at twilight with the ferocity of In Flames, whose set featured material from their latest release, ’Soundtrack To Your Escape’. Followed by the frenzied insanity of Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society, who fired it up big time! With an alcohol fuelled brutal set that featured, “Bored To Tears”, “Destruction Overdrive” and songs from BLS’s latest, ‘MAFIA’, in the form of, “Fire It Up” and “Suicide Messiah”. Now we have experienced BLS many times and

each time, it’s just as intense and brutal as the last! Thanks Zakk, long live BLS! Then there was the flawlessly tight set by Massachusetts band Shadows Fall, with singer Brian Fair flapping his massive, knee-length dreadlocks.

Mudvayne then followed with a riveting musically challenging set in which one song sounded like a heavy-metal Gregorian chant.

The fans loved it and seemed to be the same fans that waited for the next band, Slipknot, who were a late addition to the bill. Last year they tore up the Second Stage, this year they did the same to the main stage.

But then, here’s when things went sour: Iron Maiden kicked things into high gear with an energetic set that featured songs from their first four albums. As they fired up “Murders In The Rue Morgue”, idiots started disrespecting these icons, by throwing, full cups, empty cups and EGGS! Not a few either. (From the side of the stage!) Where was security? Poor Bruce Dickinson held his ground though and still hit the notes. He told the crowd that it’s bad enough people are throwing stuff, but instead of their normal 70 minute set, somebody had cut their set to 55 minutes. He then said that we lucky fans of California were gonna get the whole 70 minutes tonight here at MaidenFest!

Well the throwing continued and Bruce’s mic started going out. But that wasn’t the best of it. During “The Trooper”, Bruce was wearing a ‘red coat’ and was waving a Union Jack, (the colours are red white & blue, like the American flag, & they ‘Don’t Run’!) when a fan jumped on stage. Where was security? Then coincidentally, the power cut out TWICE, during two different songs! Still Maiden kept their composure and thrilled the fans with “Run To The Hills” and “Number Of The Beast”. Bruce Dickinson’s stage persona is pure raw energy. Running back and forth from one end of the stage to the other. Steve Harris and the rest of the boys were dead on perfect, all the while dodging projectiles. After somebody turned the power off twice during their set, Maiden surprised us and did cut it short.

But to our surprise, they returned for an encore and the fans loved it. This is when the unbelievable happened. The festivals main organiser finally came out to face the fans and all she did was bad mouth one of the greatest metal bands of all-time. To top it off, she said,” Bruce Dickinson’s a f*cking prick”. That’s when we pulled the plug on OzzFest 2005, leaving the final band, Black Sabbath, in the dark.

We love Ozzy & Black Sabbath, but as we look back at Ozzfest 2005 there were highlights; seeing Black Label Society, Rob Zombie and the new class or “nu-metalheads” like, The Black Dahlia Murder, Soilwork and As I Lay Dying. There were also lowlights; One of metal true icons getting disrespected by both fans and tour crew, alongside she who must be obeyed (we won’t mention her name). What would the world of rock and roll be without drama? YOU GUYS ROCK!

“Nowwe have experienced BLS manytimes and eachtime, it’s just as intense and brutal asthe last!Thanks Zakk, long live BLS!”

IRON MA IDEN MAIDEN: OFFICIAL RESPONSE ON OZZFEST

IRON MAIDEN wishes to thank all the 45,000 Metal fans at Ozzfest in San Bernardino on Saturday night for sticking with us and giving us such a great response at the end of a difficult set. It was obvious to all there that we had a ‘series of unfortunate events’ throughout! These made it difficult for us to keep our momentum but your incredible support certainly helped us get through it. We guess it all adds up to a pretty memorable gig though!!! This is, however, a Metal Festival. It is supposed to be fun for all. You fans pay very good money to be there and deserve to get a full and unhindered performance from all the bands. This was not the case last night. So with this rather bizarre end to a good tour we once again say thanks to all of you who came out to see us these last few weeks.

Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood has issued the following statement concerning the band’s treatment at their final Ozzfest appearance in San Bernardino: “Maiden have returned from America and don’t wish to waste time giving Sharon Osbourne’s statement the dignity of a reply, Considering the disgraceful nature of the events that occurred they feel it’s a pretty dismal effort at self justification and they don’t think Metal fans are at all gullible and that they will easily see through it. They want no more to do with this sorry incident.

I would however like to add my own comment. In 30 years in this business and after attending hundreds of gigs I have never seen anything anywhere near as disgusting and unprofessional as what went on that night. I was standing on our sound desk out front as usual but ran to the stage as soon as the hail of missiles began and then watched from the front of the stage right next to Bruce’s walkway.

The scale, viciousness and concentration of the throwing made it obvious that this was a premeditated and co-ordinated attack. Assaulting musicians while performing by throwing bottle tops, lighters and eggs at them from just a few yards away is vile, dangerous, criminal and cowardly. It is incredible that Ozzfest security apparently did nothing about it, aren’t they there to protect the bands too?

Especially when the band is concentrating on a performance in front of 45,000 people and the missiles are coming out of the glare of the spotlights. And to spit at a band on stage is unforgivable.

Iron Maiden, like all the bands on Ozzfest, had to sign quite onerous legal documents part of which was promising not to throw anything into the audience, even wristbands!!! Ironic isn’t it. It is well documented on the web who was responsible for planning and participating in this attack and for musicians to join in this assault on other musicians is a shocking disgrace akin to treachery. You should all be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves.

We know who authorised the making of the “Ozzy - Ozzy” chant tape the day before and how it was played secretly through the PA at the very beginning and end of our set. We also know who continually turned off the power interrupting our set at crucial moments. It is a good thing that the power was turned back on before there was a riot as you could sense on stage a lot of the huge audience were getting totally pissed off at this continual onslaught on the band. The great majority of the Ozzfest crew throughout the tour were terrific and we thank them. Those who participated or stood idly by and watched as this all went down should also be ashamed of themselves and I would certainly hope they never come near a tour with which we are involved. There is little point in my commenting on the chap with the flag or their trying to hold up Eddie or Sharon’s speech as the audience made their feelings very clear on each occasion. And in the end what was all this about??

If l had any sort of problem or misunderstanding with a band working on a tour we were involved in I would go and talk to them or their manager - not wait until the end of a tour and assault and ambush them. Or was that really it? I find it staggering that this ambush would take place in front of any audience, let alone in San Bernardino, the biggest audience of the tour. Didn’t that audience merit any consideration? They pay an awful lot to be there in terms of prices for tickets, parking, food, beer etc. Surely if they spend this sort of money they deserve to watch the bands they paid to see be able to put in a full unhindered performance. Free of danger and intimidation. If I had paid I would ask for my money back! And this audience really were outstanding, giving the band incredible support and many voting with their feet in disgust after the set and the speech, which to many was the final insult.

I have to say I was immensely proud of Maiden who stood up to it all and showed great courage and just got better and better through the adversity. Their heads never dropped; instead they went on the offensive. It was a truly memorable moment when Bruce went to the very front of the stage during ‘The Trooper’ - something which he never normally does as he is usually on the ramps - waving the flag whilst avoiding the hail of missiles and yelling “This is a fucking British flag, and these colours don’t fucking run!”. The imperturbable attitude and ability of the band shone through and in the end made this a truly remarkable rock and roll event, even if for all the wrong reasons. We will have no more to say on this matter except that I do think the band deserves an apology from a number of people, and you know who you are.”

ROD SMALLWOOD MANAGER, IRON MAIDEN CHAIRMAN, SANCTUARY ARTIST MANAGEMENT

RNE U O B S O SHARON SHARON OSBOURNE’S OFFICIAL RESPONSE TO ROD SMALLWOOD An open letter to Rod Smallwood (Manager: Iron Maiden; Chairman: Sanctuary Group) Rod, I found your statement to be completely void of the facts that led up to Saturday’s show. Your press release was written like an old time 80’s manager, trying to use every opportunity to try and sell the record and the upcoming shows instead of just dealing with the truth.

These are the facts: You claim to have been in the business for 30 years and have been to hundreds of gigs, but can you tell me how many times you have heard of an opening band talking sh*t about the headliner during their set and getting away with it? Not only is Ozzy the headliner, but he is also the man who is paying your band $185,000 a night. We gave Iron Maiden a chance to play to the biggest audiences they have ever played to in the U.S.A. We accommodated them with their stage set and at the band’s request we even scoured the audience for people wearing Iron Maiden t-shirts and brought them down front during their set to make them feel more comfortable. Tell me, what other headliner would do that? Unfortunately those gestures were completely lost on Bruce Dickinson who for over 20 shows continually berated Ozzy and Ozzfest during his set.

Over the last 10 years of Ozzfest we have worked with over 200 bands. None of them were ever disrespectful to Ozzy or any of the other bands on the tour. But for 20 shows we were forced to hear Dickinson’s nightly outbursts from the stage: “When we come back to America, we’ll be back with a proper sound system” or “We won’t be playing the same old songs every night (like Sabbath),”“We don’t need a teleprompter (like Ozzy)” and “We don’t need a reality show to be legit (again, like Ozzy).”

Night after night we heard his complaints from the stage about how “corporate” the venues were and how “outrageous” the ticket prices were. Strangely enough, if you want to get a general admission ticket to stand in a field to see Iron Maiden at Reading this weekend it’s going to cost you over $120. I would say that’s very pricey, wouldn’t you?

When an artist comes on stage and says he’s not playing the 55 minutes that he was allotted and that he is going to play for as long as he wants (cutting into Sabbath’s set), I’m not going to let that happen. Dickinson was under the delusion that the 46,000 people in San Bernardino had come only to see Iron Maiden. He even proclaimed “This is not the Ozzfest, This is Maidenfest.” I guess no one told him that we have an audience of 45,000 to 53,000 people every year in San Bernardino.

Here’s another fact for you. Bruce Dickinson’s own band was embarrassed by him. Iron Maiden leader, Steve Harris, even came to Ozzy’s dressing room to apologize to Ozzy for Bruce’s behaviour before Maiden took the stage in San Bernardino.

It’s shameful that Dickinson felt he had the right to air his issues publicly onstage every night as a way to boost his own ego. Dickinson never once came up to Ozzy and me to voice any concerns. He certainly had the opportunity to do so every night. If he wasn’t able to show us that courtesy then why should I give him the respect to air my grievances with him in private? Ozzy’s only interaction with Dickinson was on the first night of the tour. Ozzy, being the true gentleman that he is, passed Bruce in the hall and said “Good luck and have a great show.” Unfortunately Dickinson felt the need to turn his back to Ozzy and walked away. Frankly, Dickinson got what he deserved. We had to listen to his bullsh*t for five straight weeks. He only had to suffer a couple of eggs on the head.

On closing, yes, I did cut Iron Maiden’s sound. This is the way I look at it: Ozzfest is our tour. We built it into something that’s lasted 10 years now. We’ve been responsible for breaking many new bands and resurrecting the careers of former superstars. Part of our success stems from the fact that when a band is on Ozzfest we treat them with nothing but kindness and respect just as if we had invited them into our home. You can ask all of the bands who have been on the tour. They all describe it as the “ultimate summer camp.” It’s like one big family. Unfortunately Dickinson doesn’t have the manners to realize that when you are invited into someone’s home, are seated at their dinner table, are eating their food and drinking their wine, you shouldn’t talk disrespectfully about them (Ozzy, Black Sabbath and Ozzfest), otherwise you just might get your ass handed to you. Every action has a reaction. Was Dickinson so naïve to think that I was going to let him get away with talking sh*t about my family night after night?

I don’t think he realizes who he’s dealing with. I will not endure behaviour like this from anyone.

I know you would love to keep talking about this because this is the most press that Iron Maiden has had in the U.S. in twenty years, but let’s move on, shall we?

Sincerely, The “Real” Iron Maiden Sharon Osbourne There still has been no official statement from Ozzy himself regarding the matter. www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 91