The nu-metal bands of years past had been replaced by a group of up and coming metal/hardcore bands, some of which I actually like. So I was a bit sad to find out the second stage they were playing on opened so damn early (9:30 am) and that I was going to miss some great performances. We arrived at about 11:30am, so while I didnt get to see Darkest Hour or God Forbid, atleast I got to watch Unearth finish their set with "One Step Away." Devil Driver and Throwdown played next, two bands I would have rather missed. Devil Driver's frontman suffers from poser mania and Throwdown represent tough guy hardcore at its worst. Not even bringing out Howard from Killswitch Engage or covering Sepultura's "Roots Bloody Roots," (one of their worst songs by the way) could save Throwdown.
Did I mention the dust? There was a giant fucking dust cloud created by all the hardcore "kids" and mosh pit junkies kicking dirt up in the air that eventually totally engulfed the area. Lacuna Coil came out and saved my life. The pit disappeared and the dust settled which meant I was actually able to see! Christina looked and sounded great and the rest of the band was dead on. Otep, Bleeding Through and Atreyu followed after but nearly all sucked. Otep and Atreyu's gimmicky posturing and rather awful live sound left a bad taste in my mouth. Only Bleeding Through, with their energetic stage presence and thrash heavy songs made a positive impression. Lamb of God came out and dominated all. The opening notes of "Ruin" were like a breath of fresh air after being subjugated to such tripe. Randy sounded awesome and even more menacing than on their last record. They ripped through "11th hour" "The Subtle Arts of Murder And Persuasion" "As the Palaces Burn" "Pariah" a new song "Laid to Rest" and ended with "Black Label." Too bad that giant dust cloud got in the way...at least they sounded great.
After Lamb of God annihilated the second stage we decided to get water, clean up and find our seats. I had already seen Hatebreed before and could care less if I ever see Slipknot and frankly, clean air and painted breasts sounded alot better than fighting an army of mall "maggots" and even more dust. So we wondered around with our $5 waters and enjoyed the atmosphere. Where do all these hot metal chicks come from? I have no idea but I'm happy to have seen them and know they arent just a myth. I could have done without all the shirtless dudes with beer guts but hey, it happens.
Black Label Society kicked off the main stage as the younger "dust people" and the old school metal heads all filled in and took their seats. It seems that every generation in attenance liked BLS and their solid set of drunk rock. Next up was Superjoint Ritual with their wacky frontman, Mr. Phil Anselmo. For the 3 of you out there who dont know, Phil was the singer from Pantera and has a habbit of proclaiming just how METAL he truly is. I'd say he talked and lectured for about half of their set, calling everyone who didnt mosh a pussy, challenging anyone who questioned his metalness to a fight backstage and even dedicated a song to himself for being so badass. The band played their style of metal/crossover songs as clear and precise as songs of that nature could be. As good as the band sounds they will always be overshadowed by the actions of their leader. After Phil brought former Pantera bassist Rex Brown on stage to say hi to everyone, he politely advised the crowd to "eat pussy until your fucking jaw falls off" before leaving.
In contrast, Dimmu Borgir hardly said a word and decided to let their music do the talking. Too bad that even their polished brand of black metal was a little too extreme for the average Ozzfest fan who didnt really know what the hell they were watching unfold onstage. I for one loved their performance seeing as how the band sounded great, only the keyboard was a little low in the mix but who cares about that? Tony Laureano from Nile filled the vacant drummer spot until Dimmu finds a permanent member and did an amazing job, especially when you consider how he learned the songs on such short notice. Chants of "SLAAAAAYEERR" could be heard right after Dimmu finished up. Everyone loved Slayer, who the hell wouldn't? This was my third time seeing them and I still cant get enough. They played a lot of songs from Seasons In The Abyss and surprisingly didnt play "Angel of Death." As much as I loved watching the band play "War Ensemble" and "Raining Blood," the highlight of their set was singing along with 40,000+ people to "Dead Skin Mask." AWESOME.
The mighty Judas Priest took the stage right after the sun went down. They opened with "The Hellion/Electric Eye" and didnt let up until they closed with "You've Got Another Comin." The energy these old bastards had was amazing. The metal god, Rob Halford sounded great and worked the crowd into a frenzy. 30 years of performing havent slowed him down one bit. Glen Tipton and K.K. Downing played well also, trading off solos like it was 1982 and did their trademark synchronized headbanging. Fans young and old sang along to classics like "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking the Law" but I swear some guy in back of me almost started cying when they played "Beyond the Realms of Death." I couldnt get over Halford's voice ("Victim of CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANGEEEESSSSSS!") and just how damn good Judas Priest was. They stole the show...end of story.
It almost didnt seem fair that Black Sabbath had to follow that epic performance but they held their own and didn't dissapoint. They may not have aged as well as Priest and Ozzy couldnt touch Halford's voice in a million years but they are fucking Black Sabbath and of course they came through. Ozzy filled his role as the clown prince of metal and had everyone entertained while Tony Iommi stalked the stage and crushed everything in his path. The guitar god with no fingers is what makes Black Sabbath, BLACK SABBTH. I thought it was wrong that people kept chanting "Ozzy" when it was Sabbath playing...the band that made him who he is but the rest of members didnt seem to mind. Still, maybe next year they should call it IommiFEST. I couldnt really hear Bill Ward's drums all that well but just seeing the original members together was good enough for me. They opened with "War Pigs" and closed with "Paranoid" and played a slew of classics like "Children of the Grave" "N.I.B." "Snowblind" "Black Sabbath" "Fairies Wear Boots" and the ever popular "Iron Man" inbetween.
All in all I had an awesome time. The annoying hardcore kids didnt really bother me like I thought (except that whole dust cloud thing) and I walked away with a new found interest in Black Label Society and in total awe of Priest and Sabbath. This years fest showed that you dont need to worship major label penis and showcase whatever crap band of the moment they have signed in order to sell tickets. It proved that metal fans are the most loyal around and will come out in droves to support their favorite bands wether its the kids who showed up bright and early for the second stage or the middle aged parents putting on their old jackets for the headliners. If there is an Ozzfest next year, I wonder how the hell they plan toping this years lineup. Arch Enemy, Cannibal Corpse, Motorhead, Megadeth and Iron Maiden on the mainstage wouldn be a bad start. Maybe Metallica might want to save their souls and join the tour...who knows?