Wow, I haven't posted here in quite a bit of time and that is because absolutely nothing has gone on and that is exactly how I wanted my summer to do. *WARNING - CONCERT SPOILERS* However, I did attend Ozzfest 2007 last night in Albuquerque and I must say, it was a damned good show for being free. I was a bit disappointed with the second stage as the bands were playing out of the back of a semi-truck trailer so the stage was extremely small and it was placed on a very crowded dirt parking lot. I was completely squished during Hatebreed's performance but I was standing about 300 feet from the stage. The bands that took note of off the second stage were ChthoniC, Nile, and Behemoth. I had never heard of these bands before but I will definitely be listening to their material. I was looking forward to seeing Hatebreed, In This Moment, 3 Inches Of Blood, and DAATH on the second stage. None of the bands that I wanted to see disappointed. There were some bands that I could not get into like Ankla. They were heavy but it sounded as if they needed a second guitarist on stage with them. Their studio work sounds polished and has two guitars in it but their live work just wasn't as hard and the drums overpowered their entire set. There were also two bands that just absolutely sucked: Circus Diablo and The Showdown. Circus Diablo had more of a commercial rock sound which didn't mean they were bad but they definitely didn't belong on Ozzfest and I don't care for commercial rock. The Showdown are trying to form a new genre called Southern Metal, it is very similar to Southern Rock in its guitar sound and singing style (think of a heavier version of Lynyrd Skynyrd or Ted Nugent). To me, this sub-genre of metal didn't really sound like it flowed. The band had moments were they had the sound of a metal band and could start up a circle pit, then they would completely change it and the singer would start in. I just couldn't get into it though. Still, I can't really complain since the tickets were free. Technically, they weren't free as I had to pay $10 for Ozzy's "Black Rain" album and another $20 for parking but I still think I got a good show for $30 (the cost of two tickets) with the second stage alone as the average Ozzfest ticket will cost around $45-$60 depending on where you want to sit.
Now, the main stage. This is where the value of the ticket prices was really reflect. The three big acts on the main stage were Static-X, Lamb Of God, and Ozzy Osbourne. The main stage openers were a band known as Lordi. I had never heard of them before Ozzfest and now I know why. This band is pretty much the Finish (ie they are from Finland) version of GWAR. They come out in costumes, have all sorts of pyro, and they look demonic yet their music is about "rock and roll" or about how the "devil is a loser." Since I don't care for GWAR, I didn't really care for Lordi. They put on a hell of a show as they only put on a 45 minute set but had pyro and stage props for every song but their music was not the best. The guitarist and drummer have talent but Lordi (the singer) can't sing and tries to act evil while singing about a positive message. I am sorry but a guy who looks like a demon would not be calling the devil a loser. I am not saying that they should praise the devil or anything like that but the Ozzfest mascot has always been cartoon demon.
Static-X took the stage next and they did not fail to impress. They too put on a 45 minute set which included past hits like This Is Not (the song where I get my name from), Cold, Destroy All, Bled For Days, and others. They also played two new tracks off of their Cannibal album and the crowd loved them both. This was the first time I had seen Static-X live and I have been wanting to see them for about 8 years now. Anytime they came to my area, it would always be during a time that I couldn't go and they would always play a club. The problem with club gigs is that they aren't always advertised for. You only know about the shows if you listen to the radio or know someone who listens to the radio (I don't really know anyone who likes mainstream rock so I don't really know anyone who listens to the radio much). Ticketmaster normally doesn't handle the club gigs either unless it is a really popular band (like Deftones or Papa Roach). So it was nice seeing Static-X for the first time. Their music has always had a clean and polished sound off their album so I was surprised to hear that they carried that sound over to their live show. At moments, if you closed your eyes, you could have sworn that you were listening to their CD. They put on a good show though, I just wish that their set was longer than 45 minutes.
Lamb Of God stepped out after Static-X and they put on a fucking good show. I don't care what people say about Lamb Of God (or Hatebreed), I like them and I will always like them. There were some assholes in the crowd who would chant "You suck" in between songs but those fuckers were a bunch of pansies. Lamb Of God played all of their hits from Ashes Of The Wake and As The Palaces Burn. They also played a few newer tracks off of their Sacrament album and closed the show with Black Label, a song off of their very first album ("New American Gospel"). As always, Lamb Of God were fucking brutal, heavily interacted with the crowd, and played their music to perfection.
Last but not least, Ozzy Osbourned closed the show. After all, it is not fucking Ozzfest without Ozzy Osbourne. He (and his band) played for about 90 minutes total. Ozzy was on stage for about 75 minutes as Zakk always has his signature solo moment which lasts for 15 minutes or so (it is a great solo by the way). Ozzy played many songs spanning his long career including Mr. Crowley, Bark At The Moon, I Don't Want To Change The World, I Don't Know, Suicide Solution, Road To Nowhere, Mama, I'm Coming Home, and Crazy Train. He also played two new songs called Not Going Away and I'm Here For You. Ozzy continued to stun the audience by playing two Black Sabbath era songs: Paranoid and War Pigs. I have seen Ozzy perform Paranoid before but never War Pigs. It was interesting to hear Zakk's guitar style being played on such an old song, it was almost as if it was an entirely new song. Zakk Wylde had a signature guitar sound whenever he plays. His signature sound is normally toned down a bit during an Ozzy performance but it full blast whenever Black Label Society (his band) takes the stage (they didn't play this year). However, Zakk's sound was audible throughout Ozzy's entire performance and was amplified in Ozzy's newer work.
Overall, the entire concert was pretty fun and successful. I had read reviews on the internet saying that arenas were 1/2 empty and that people were bing disappointed. Well, I don't know who these people are and where these 1/2 empty arenas are as the Journal Pavilion in Albuquerque was backed to the brim and people seemed to be enjoying themselves. The lawn was completely full along with the lower pavilion seating. I would say that everyone got their value that night and enjoyed the show. I saw a few Hatebreed and Lamb Of God haters but those people were just retarded to begin with (no offense to the actual mentally retarded as they can't help it, these people were choosing to act retarded). Overall, I give the concert a 9/10 as it is hard to knock a basically free show not to mention the cost of shirts were drastically decreased as well (from $35-$40 to $25).
Oh, here is a picture of me with the lovely Maria Brink, the singer from In This Moment. She was featured in Revolver's Hottest Women Of Metal 2 magazine issue and I know why. Sorry for the quality, it was taken with my cameraphone. I didn't know that they were allowing in digital cameras or I would have taken my 10MP camera for much higher quality shots.
Now, the main stage. This is where the value of the ticket prices was really reflect. The three big acts on the main stage were Static-X, Lamb Of God, and Ozzy Osbourne. The main stage openers were a band known as Lordi. I had never heard of them before Ozzfest and now I know why. This band is pretty much the Finish (ie they are from Finland) version of GWAR. They come out in costumes, have all sorts of pyro, and they look demonic yet their music is about "rock and roll" or about how the "devil is a loser." Since I don't care for GWAR, I didn't really care for Lordi. They put on a hell of a show as they only put on a 45 minute set but had pyro and stage props for every song but their music was not the best. The guitarist and drummer have talent but Lordi (the singer) can't sing and tries to act evil while singing about a positive message. I am sorry but a guy who looks like a demon would not be calling the devil a loser. I am not saying that they should praise the devil or anything like that but the Ozzfest mascot has always been cartoon demon.
Static-X took the stage next and they did not fail to impress. They too put on a 45 minute set which included past hits like This Is Not (the song where I get my name from), Cold, Destroy All, Bled For Days, and others. They also played two new tracks off of their Cannibal album and the crowd loved them both. This was the first time I had seen Static-X live and I have been wanting to see them for about 8 years now. Anytime they came to my area, it would always be during a time that I couldn't go and they would always play a club. The problem with club gigs is that they aren't always advertised for. You only know about the shows if you listen to the radio or know someone who listens to the radio (I don't really know anyone who likes mainstream rock so I don't really know anyone who listens to the radio much). Ticketmaster normally doesn't handle the club gigs either unless it is a really popular band (like Deftones or Papa Roach). So it was nice seeing Static-X for the first time. Their music has always had a clean and polished sound off their album so I was surprised to hear that they carried that sound over to their live show. At moments, if you closed your eyes, you could have sworn that you were listening to their CD. They put on a good show though, I just wish that their set was longer than 45 minutes.
Lamb Of God stepped out after Static-X and they put on a fucking good show. I don't care what people say about Lamb Of God (or Hatebreed), I like them and I will always like them. There were some assholes in the crowd who would chant "You suck" in between songs but those fuckers were a bunch of pansies. Lamb Of God played all of their hits from Ashes Of The Wake and As The Palaces Burn. They also played a few newer tracks off of their Sacrament album and closed the show with Black Label, a song off of their very first album ("New American Gospel"). As always, Lamb Of God were fucking brutal, heavily interacted with the crowd, and played their music to perfection.
Last but not least, Ozzy Osbourned closed the show. After all, it is not fucking Ozzfest without Ozzy Osbourne. He (and his band) played for about 90 minutes total. Ozzy was on stage for about 75 minutes as Zakk always has his signature solo moment which lasts for 15 minutes or so (it is a great solo by the way). Ozzy played many songs spanning his long career including Mr. Crowley, Bark At The Moon, I Don't Want To Change The World, I Don't Know, Suicide Solution, Road To Nowhere, Mama, I'm Coming Home, and Crazy Train. He also played two new songs called Not Going Away and I'm Here For You. Ozzy continued to stun the audience by playing two Black Sabbath era songs: Paranoid and War Pigs. I have seen Ozzy perform Paranoid before but never War Pigs. It was interesting to hear Zakk's guitar style being played on such an old song, it was almost as if it was an entirely new song. Zakk Wylde had a signature guitar sound whenever he plays. His signature sound is normally toned down a bit during an Ozzy performance but it full blast whenever Black Label Society (his band) takes the stage (they didn't play this year). However, Zakk's sound was audible throughout Ozzy's entire performance and was amplified in Ozzy's newer work.
Overall, the entire concert was pretty fun and successful. I had read reviews on the internet saying that arenas were 1/2 empty and that people were bing disappointed. Well, I don't know who these people are and where these 1/2 empty arenas are as the Journal Pavilion in Albuquerque was backed to the brim and people seemed to be enjoying themselves. The lawn was completely full along with the lower pavilion seating. I would say that everyone got their value that night and enjoyed the show. I saw a few Hatebreed and Lamb Of God haters but those people were just retarded to begin with (no offense to the actual mentally retarded as they can't help it, these people were choosing to act retarded). Overall, I give the concert a 9/10 as it is hard to knock a basically free show not to mention the cost of shirts were drastically decreased as well (from $35-$40 to $25).
Oh, here is a picture of me with the lovely Maria Brink, the singer from In This Moment. She was featured in Revolver's Hottest Women Of Metal 2 magazine issue and I know why. Sorry for the quality, it was taken with my cameraphone. I didn't know that they were allowing in digital cameras or I would have taken my 10MP camera for much higher quality shots.