Tour Title: Ozzfest
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Tour Title: Ozzfest |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review (8/7/99):
I couldn’t put my finger on why I was so excited to see Ozzfest 99. I was actually giddy. This was interesting because I had spent much of my time complaining about the line-up, and it’s sparseness when it came to came to true Metal. With the exception of Slayer and Sabbath, most of these bands were of a very 90s style. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I was having trouble getting excited about seeing many of these bands. But here it was, the morning of, and despite my hangover I couldn’t keep a smile on my face. I would soon be meeting with a close group of friends, so that was probably part of my elation, but I was just as excited to have an entire day of Metal ahead of me. Let’s face it, it would be a struggle for me to have less than a great time.We couldn’t have asked for a better day. It was sunny and warm in Hartford that day, but far from muggy. Perhaps a metal show should take place under overcast skies for effect, but seeing as there were no black metal acts on the bill, no one complained. (By the way, I hope next years Ozzfest does have a black metal band on the bill, not just because I enjoy the music, but because it would probably be amusing watching their minions trying to be spooky in the outdoors, under a bright sun, corpse paint running into their eyes, and wearing an all black ensemble) We arrived slightly later than we had intended (as is always the case), so the first priority was to find a beer and find out what band was on. There was a slight pause as we entered the venue and stumbled upon two attractive, scantily clad women kissing passionately, but we soon realized that they were professional models vying for the dollars of the predominately male crowd.
After that slight distraction, I took a swig of beer, inconspicuously adjusted my pants and entered the amphitheater to the sounds of System of a Down. They were well received by the fans that were there, and seemed to win over a few new ones. Their upbeat, almost silly sound, was the perfect soundtrack to a festival on a sunny day, magically turning my Budweiser into a beer that tasted much better. Luckily, the band avoided the political lecture that I had heard when I saw them open for Fear Factory (Interesting that they were on the mainstage, while Fear Factory was relegated to the headliner of the side stage)
"Perhaps a metal show should take place under overcast skies for effect, but seeing as there were no black metal acts on the bill, no one complained." Godsmack was next, a band that although I had never actually heard them, I had dismissed as some trend-jumping band that would just be filler until Slayer. Luckily, this band took simplistic, but competent affinity for groove, combined it with catchy riffs, impressive drumming, put them all together to expose my ignorance. Now I would never confess to this being my favorite style of metal, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying their set, and becoming interested in getting to know the band better. It was also at this time that I thought it might be a good idea to curb my drinking so that I would better be able to remember the details of the show for this review. And it was only seconds after that thought that I realized that it was too late for that, so I got another beer, and awaited Slayer.
I had started a conversation with a few teenagers next to me, wondering what the younger generation was most excited to see. They seemed to take the easy answer and said Sabbath, but that really should be taken as a given. Rather than lecture them on the prowess that Slayer exhibits, I just suggested that they pay attention to the next band.
Slayer, of course, smoked. One of the few bands that I have seen a number of times, and have never failed to deliver. Of course the fact that they had such a short set was tragic, but at that point nothing could bring me down. Setlist was how one would expect it; of course it is next to impossible to come up with a setlist that would disappoint me. A highlight, as always, was Angel of Death, complete with genuine Holocaust footage on the screens overhead. There was also a possible political message when, toward the end of the song, the Holocaust pictures were replaced by modern cruise missile footage. The kind made famous during the war with Iraq, and most recently during the conflict in Yugoslavia. Slayer was my favorite band of the evening. After their set, I turned to the youngsters to get their opinion. Three of the four seemed genuinely impressed, with one young lady complaining that they were "too heavy". Perhaps the others concurred and just wanted to avoid a rambling, drunken lecture, to which I have only one response…….Good Call!
The Deftones were mostly a non-event in my eyes. A band I’ve known for awhile now, and have always liked, but they never really moved me. Neither on there albums, nor live. The rest of the crowd, especially the youngsters, disagreed with me and seemed to enjoy them thoroughly. The fact that it was about this time that the place filled up probably helped. As they went through their set, however, I did find my head bobbing every once in awhile when they hit the groove just right, but although it is not without merit, I believe it is a sound defined and perfected with Korn’s debut.
"Slayer, of course, smoked." Rob Zombie hit the stage next, in grand style. He had the largest stage show of the evening, with his trademark horror/makeup/sexydancers/comicbook thing going. Now, to a generation of metalheads that abhor MTV as traitors since the cancellation of Headbanger’s Ball (Yeah it was cheesy too, but that final hour usually had some cool shit on it.), Rob Zombie should be the Anti-Christ (this is meant in a bad way, not as a heavy metal blessing) But the truth of the matter is that he did entertain, if not excite. And to be quite honest it would have been tedious to watch if there wasn’t such visual stimulus.
Black Sabbath, of course, is too big to actually review. Another no-brainer when it comes to setlist, very similar to the last tour, with no complaints from me. Of course, most of us Sabbath enthusiasts would put together much more obscure setlists, but we have to realize that the classics have achieved such a status that a concert without them would be criminal. (However, it wasn’t necessary to tease me with the intro to “Supernaught” just to go into “Paranoid”, especially since this is supposed to be their last tour). Sabbath sounded great, Ozzy’s voice was probably the best I’ve ever heard it. This was a welcome surprise after earlier reviews had pointed to a poor Ozzy performance due to an injury from an avid fan’s bear hug.
And then, as soon as it started, it was over. I felt overcome with grief, knowing full well that it would be a year until I would see any metal on such a grand scale. But I’ve always considered myself a trooper, so I lifted my chin, raised my glass, and continued to drink into the night. Not for myself, mind you. But because I know that’s how Ozzy would want it to be.
Death's Review (Hartford, Connecticut):
There once was a day, just a couple of years ago to tell the truth, when just the very idea of Ozzfest would be cause for celebration. Imagine a tour – no, a festival – of metal bands touring the big summer amphitheaters. Until the advent of this now annual tour, it was not since 1991’s Clash of the Titans tour that us American metalheads had a chance to see our favorite acts in an outdoor setting. Face it. While I love the intimacy of the cramped, smoky club show as much as the next guy, there’s something so right about the big summer extravaganza. Like baseball, roller coasters, and a day at the beach, outdoor amphitheater shows can sometimes provide the defining moments of a music lover’s summer.But through the years, metalheads have been left out. As much as I love drinking beers and raging under the stars with friends at the big summer venues, each year when the lineups are announced I can’t help but feel a little left out. Sure, the outdoor parties are fun, but unless I want to travel to Europe for Dynamo or Wacken, there isn’t any outdoor music there for me! So when I first heard about the Ozzfest concept, I thanked my lucky stars. A traveling outdoor summer metal festival? Just what the doctor ordered.
I don’t know if its just my own perspective or more a product of the state of the U.S. metal scene in 1999, but this year’s Ozzfest was suddenly a lot less attractive than it had once seemed. Sure, I’m all for the outdoor metal tour, but is that what this year’s Ozzfest is? Although all are indoor shows, after attending the inaugural March Metal Meltdown in New Jersey and the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in Massachusetts, while making plans to attend the Milwaukee Metalfest, Ozzfest was looking less and less like a celebration of metal and more and more like a rehashed Lollapalooza. With rumors of a lineup featuring the Foo Fighters, Rage Against the Machine and AC/DC, this old thrasher was wondering about the degree to which attendance at Ozzfest was even gonna be worth his time. Sure, Black Sabbath are metal gods, but having seen them on Ozzfest two years ago and again on their arena tour this past winter, I must admit I was getting a bit burnt out on their classic rock act. And believe me, anyone who buys into any Ozzy Osbourne-associated "last tour ever" scheme deserves the disappointment they get when the same tour is back on the road the following winter. Did I no longer care about Ozzfest?
"Anyone who buys into any Ozzy Osbourne-associated "last tour ever" scheme deserves the disappointment they get when the same tour is back on the road the following winter." Before I squarely faced the answer to that most fundamental of questions, something happened that sealed the deal for me. Sharon Osbourne and co. sold me a ticket the second they added Slayer to the bill. Now, instead of "do I care about another Sabbath show with a bunch of alternative opening acts?" the question became "how do I not go to see the last ever Sabbath show with Slayer as the opening act?" The question quickly went from "should I go?" to "how many dates am I gonna see?"
The answer was one. I chose to travel to Hartford, CT, partly because it was halfway between New York and Boston (allowing us to meet up with our Masshole friends), and mostly because the show was on a Saturday, increasing the opportunities for complete reckless abandon and allowing us to catch all of the afternoon acts. So off I went, grabbing a hotel room for good measure, to check out Ozzfest ’99, and allowing it one more chance to prove its mettle.
The day started for me with the mainstage performance of System of a Down. A weird band to say the least, the singer looked liked a paranoid cross between Cousin It and Frank Zappa. Is System of a Down a metal band? I think so, although they certainly have major crossover appeal for anyone who likes their music complicated and more than a little bit odd. System of a Down are progressive metal hardcore, with an often lightning-fast vocal delivery and more starts and stops than the Green Line on Boston’s "T." Am I a big fan? For sure. Did their act translate to the arena setting? Yes it did, and surprisingly well. The only difference in intensity between their set opening for Fear Factory last spring and this Ozzfest stint was that the fans at the club show were responding, while here all six of us who cared in this 20,000 person venue had a hard time carrying the load. Hopefully, they made a few new fans.
The sideshow bands were generally just plain uninspiring. Do Static X and Slipknot think they are metal bands? Or are they just a bunch of new-school "aggro" (what the hell does that mean?) fucks? All I’ll say is that I can’t comment because I never even bothered to waste my time finding out. Perhaps Puya has something to offer, but I didn’t get there early enough to catch them. I didn’t lose a ton of sleep.
"A drunken chant of "Slay-er! Slay-er!" erupted spontaneously in the bathroom line at several points during the ten-minute line." But speaking of the sidestage, I was interested in two acts: Drain STH, who was much fun on the sidestage at Ozzfest ’97 (Barbie-doll chicks playing metal!!!), and Fear Factory. Unfortunately, Drain cancelled. And Fear Factory had suddenly become the most popular "hard music" act on the planet. FF has been not so subtly moving toward the mainstream lately, and the crowd they attracted at their sidestage performance revealed that many of the young kids are buying into it. While I was nowhere near passionate enough about the band to jockey for position amongst the green-haired fifteen-year-olds, I did catch enough of their set to know that there was still something metal in the air when Fear Factory takes the stage. If you can disregard the Gary Numan cover, and aren’t concerned with the fact that, especially live, the songs really do all sound the same, there remains enough intensity in the playing and tightness between the machine-like drumming and the rhythmic riffing to count Fear Factory among the metallicly worthwhile. Lets hope they still care to remain on that side of the fence in the coming months, as they are dangerously close to slipping away from us.
Yeah, I checked out Godsmack. What can I say? I’m not a big fan, and didn’t particularly get that into their set, but in hindsight the Alice In Chains fan in me can’t completely write them off. They are good at what they do. Their brand of hard rock is immensely preferable to most of the other bands currently getting the same level of radio airplay. But honestly, I didn’t really care. The chicks sure seem to dig it, though.
Primus is not metal. But they are damn good. Awesome musicians no doubt, and heck – they even have ties to the metal underground via Larry LaLonde’s role as Possessed guitarist oh so many years ago. No signs of that anymore, of course, and Primus will not covering "The Heretic" or "My Belief" anytime soon. But they have always been at least "metal-friendly," and I was curious about what they could show me this fine sunny day. While their recent material had become a bit redundant, and to my ears, their shtick had worn a bit thin, I did like The Brown Album and the last collection of covers they did. Perhaps Primus could be the sleeper hit of the afternoon.
No such luck. Maybe I was drunk. Maybe they just aren’t an arena act. But they never drew us in. All I could think about during their set was whether I had time to take a piss and grab another beer before the almighty Slayer would take the stage.
While taking that piss, I noticed that things were getting a bit restless inside the venue. War cries of "Slaaaaaaaaaaayer!" could be heard everywhere, and a drunken chant of "Slay-er! Slay-er!" erupted spontaneously in the bathroom line at several points during the ten-minute line. It was precisely then that I realized that metal would have its day at Ozzfest ’99.
Slayer, of course, did not disappoint. Playing a truncated version (only 40 minutes!) of the set from their most recent tour, heads were banging throughout the venue. "Raining Blood." "War Ensemble." "South of Heaven." "Angel of Death." These metal heroes will never die, and in fact, only seem to be getting commercially stronger as their peers fall all around. There’s something strange about Slayer’s ability to remain commercially viable without selling out during metal’s darkest days (perhaps the intervention of some form of higher power? Hmmm . . . ), but I’m not complaining. Let’s just say that the highlight of my Ozzfest experience boiled down to every nose-pierced, blue haired Deftone fan being force-fed a healthy dose of the Slatanic attack.
Next up were back-to-back performances from the Deftones and Rob Zombie. Just the inspiration I needed for an extended trip through the vending area known as Never Neverland. Lots of bare breasts, but, at least at this gig, it was mostly the women who really shouldn’t have who decided to bare it all. And while the chicks making out on the motorcycles (don’t ask) were attention grabbers at two o’clock in the afternoon, the same two still kissing for ten dollars at 9:30 p.m. were anything but attractive. They couldn’t have been having fun. But there was a wide array of tables set up for browsing, and this made for a fun hour or two of checking out the wares. I always appreciate the extras like this at festival gigs, which offer a nice respite from the music when you need it.
Finally, it was time for the almighty Sabbath. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Yes, the set was the same as the previous tours (I like the inclusion of "Dirty Women" as a forgotten obscurity, but the addition of "Gypsy," "Supertzar," "Megalomania," "Spiral Architect," or "The Writ" certainly would have spiced things up a bit), and of course there will be another Sabbath tour. But how was one to deny the power of seeing live performances of "Into the Void," and "After Forever" live? You can’t. These old fucks smoked, as usual, and believe it or not it was Iommi who carried the day. Never has there been a more distinctive guitar tone, and his keyboard backed guitar solo was the highlight of the set. Don’t ever think that Ozzy equals Sabbath – it’s the complete package, my friends. Bill Ward is just one cool cat back there, and I think he’s got his sea legs back as he was hitting those drums harder than he had back on the last tour. And Geezer is Geezer, probably the most metal of the bunch. Yes, as jaded as I have become with the Sabbath reunion, the band did not disappoint. I hope we have not seen the last of these metal legends.
And thus, Ozzfest ’99 came to an end. Was it a substitute for Milwaukee Metalfest? The two shows aren’t even in the same league. Was it the Clash of the Titans? Not even close. Does the community need a more underground-friendly outdoor summer festival? Of course. But was the Ozzfest worth my time? Without a doubt. I had a really fun day. And when you add it all up, that’s got to be what counts.
Hel's Review (Hartford, Connecticut):
If you’ve been to more than one Ozzfest, you can’t help but compare the versions. I was able to attend the first national Ozzfest tour (not the mini-tour which was the first ever and boasted Slayer as one of the acts) with Ozzy headlining, but tossing in an appearance with Black Sabbath. The second major tour I was unable to attend because I was banished to Siberia (not literally, but anywhere the Ozzfest does not go, might as well be). So now, in the major tour’s third incarnation, it was impossible for me not to compare.The first time I saw Ozzfest, there were two stages. This year’s Ozzfest, two stages. So far so good. Next, in my first Ozzfest experience, the second stage acts played for roughly 30 – 40 minutes apiece and each played twice during the day. The same order, same sets, repeated twice. Awesome. If you missed a band because you had to see the main stage act, no problem, just catch them later in the afternoon. If you planned it right, you could see everything you wanted to and you didn’t have to see anything you didn’t.
Not so with this incarnation. Staggered stages. Only one act on at a time. This means if you want to be seeing music, you only have one option and if you don’t like it, you can go watch chicks make out on a motorcycle. Personally, I went to the Ozzfest to see bands.
"Black Sabbath made a killer showing, of course. Showing the world that they are still the masters of metal." I can’t say that I didn’t get sucked in by the extensive marketplace. I did succumb and purchased a momento or two. Again, in comparison to the other Ozzfest, this was much bigger. However, there was a great deal of repetition in the wares being hawked.
The crowd was a heartening mix of young kids and mature concert goers. It’s great to see that there is a younger audience coming to these shows. Metal will live on in our youth.
By far, the biggest disappointment of the day was the absence of Drain S.T.H. Not yet knowing what to think of their new album, I was relying heavily on their showing here to help me decide. Alas, it was not to be and I was left with dead air (a.k.a. no band I was interested in) to fill.
Oh, and what the hell where they thinking when they decided the put the second stage where it was? Very limited viewing capacity is to be expected, but to have a narrow passage as the only direct route from one stage to the other with it also being a shared route to the vendor area is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen. I spent far more time in pedestrian gridlock than should have been necessary.
Fear Factory packed the second stage to capacity and beyond, forcing people, including me, up on the steep hill to the side of the stage. Footing was iffy and dust aplenty. However, FF gave its usual strong performance to an appreciative crowd.
Slayer gave an amazing performance, as we’ve come to expect. The set was far too short but what it lacked in length, it made up for in sheer power. Unquestionably, the best performance of the entire day.
Black Sabbath made a killer showing, of course. Showing the world that they are still the masters of metal. And Ozzy continues his quest to find all new ways to get the audience wet, adding jets spraying water over the audience from the midst of the Ozzfest banner overhead to his usual repertoire of buckets and spray guns. Ozzy’s voice was in fine form and the band as a whole was strong.
So many other bands participated, some great, some I never liked anyway, and there just isn’t time to talk about it all. So I leave you with this thought: do we believe them when they say this is the last Black Sabbath tour ever? I don’t think so, Ozzy fooled me once, and I won’t be so quickly fooled again.
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