THE WIZARDS OF OZZFEST.Byline: Paul Andersen Correspondent It began simply enough in 1996, when Lollapalooza lol·la·pa·loo·za also lal·la·pa·loo·za n. Slang Something outstanding of its kind. [Origin unknown.] - the traveling rock/culture circus that prided itself on musical diversity - turned down heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne for a slot on that summer's tour. His wife Sharon, who is also his manager, decided to create her own little festival. Headlined and named after her husband, the first OzzFest featured 11 bands playing a pair of dates in Arizona and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Rather than going for diversity, OzzFest was a celebration of heavy metal music Noun 1. heavy metal music - loud and harsh sounding rock music with a strong beat; lyrics usually involve violent or fantastic imagery heavy metal rock 'n' roll, rock and roll, rock music, rock'n'roll, rock-and-roll, rock - a genre of popular music , a genre which, though it had a loyal base following, was generally under the radar This article is about the magazine. For other uses, see Under the Radar (disambiguation). Under the Radar is an American magazine that bills itself as "The solution to music pollution." It features interviews with accompanying photo-shoots. on radio, the primary kingmaker king·mak·er n. One who has the political power to influence the selection of a candidate for high public office. king and taste indicator for pop music. It is a new world order in music today, and although its family tree may be splintering from the weight of a heady harvest of sub-genres, heavy metal has survived and flourished over the past decade, even beginning to venture into the pop mainstream. It is due in large part to the Osbournes, thanks to a certain reality TV series and an annual music festival that seems to grow bigger every year. While Lollapalooza has shrunk to a single show in Chicago, OzzFest, which lands at Hyundai Pavilion in Devore on Saturday, has become a juggernaut for 17-year-olds of all ages. And though Ozzy announced this week that beginning next year he will no longer headline the festival (though he will join it for select dates), it has become a strong enough entity that it should easily steamroll steam·roll·er n. 1. a. A steam-driven machine equipped with a heavy roller for smoothing road surfaces. b. A similar machine with an internal-combustion engine. 2. just as loudly without him. Here is a look at some of the bands along for this year's ride: AS I LAY DYING For this San Diego-based band, these are heady times. Just two months after its release, the group's new CD, ``Shadows Are Security,'' is expected to pass the 100,000 mark in sales this week. ``We're really excited,'' said vocalist Tim Lambesis. ``Our growth has been slow - it took a year and a half for the last album to get to this point - and we thought we'd have to wait for our fans to get familiar with this one, too. But this is a huge honor, and we're gratified grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. to our fans for all this. ``We've got some exciting times still ahead of us. And the great thing is we can go ahead and selfishly start playing some new songs now,'' he added with a laugh, ``which is good for us.'' KILLSWITCH ENGAGE ``We get to play in what is usually the hottest part of the day,'' said Justin Foley, drummer for Killswitch Engage, ``but it is still a great slot to be in, even out there in the sun. Of course, we do have a canopy over the stage. Some of the kids, they've been sitting out there for a while, and it's like over 100 degrees. It is tough on them.'' Playing in mid-afternoon leaves the group with a lot of downtime every day, with nowhere else to go but the festival. ``So many of the bands are done early,'' he said, ``especially with the music starting at 9:30 in the morning. It leaves you with a lot of time to kill, and here you are, confined to where you are at, which is usually a parking lot. ... A parking lot in Detroit feels the same as one in Seattle, other than for the weather. ``But,'' he added, ``all the buses are parked together, and you make a lot of friends with the other bands. And that helps.'' SHADOWS FALL ``Surprisingly, sometimes the off-days from OzzFest have been busier than the show days,'' said Matt Bachand, guitarist for Shadows Fall. ``We've been filling a lot of our days between the festival dates with shows along the way, ones that we share with Mudvayne (one of the other main stage acts) and ones that we headline ourselves. ``And tonight, we're in Bend, Ore., which seems like one of those random places you never get to, but there are 800, 900 kids inside this place, and they're really into it. It's insane.'' Of course, with the way things have been going for the Massachusetts-based band lately, getting that many kids to come out in a smaller town doesn't seem out of the ordinary. After all, the group's current CD, ``The War Within,'' has become the best seller in the history of its label, Century Media, and there doesn't appear to be any dropoff soon. ``We've been going at this for 10 years now, and nothing has ever been planned. We just keep busy, writing the best records we can,'' said Bachand, whose band has made the jump to the main stage this year. ``Of course, after the way this one has gone, the next album might be a bit tricky, but we'll find that balance where we can grow yet not alienate our fans.'' THE HAUNTED The way Peter Dolving, vocalist for Swedish metal band The Haunted, sees it, there are some similarities that can be drawn between heavy metal and country music. ``One of our main goals is that connection that we get with our fans, which is also true of country and western. And these fans really know the music and are really into it, yet they also realize that we are flesh-and-blood people. We're just doing our job, which is going out on the road and playing music. We worked real hard to get to this point, and we feel real fortunate to be able to support our families by doing something we love. Not everyone can do that.'' Though their music is loud and thrashing, Dolving, one of The Haunted's founders who returned last year for the group's current CD, the critically acclaimed ``rEVOLVEr'', after a time away from the band, says that when not playing, the group is relatively mellow. ``We keep our energy for when we are on stage,'' he said. ``Not everyone can relax out on the road, but in reality, we're pretty easygoing eas·y·go·ing also eas·y-go·ing adj. 1. a. Living without undue worry or concern; calm. b. Lax or negligent; careless. c. guys.'' JOHN5 Though he isn't listed in the lineup of artists, guitarist John5 has been at the center of numerous highlight moments in the history of OzzFest. First as guitarist with Marilyn Manson and this year as guitarist with second-stage headliner Rob Zombie A computer that has been covertly taken over in order to perform some nefarious task. It is estimated that millions of PCs around the world have been compromised and, under the control of a third party, routinely transmit messages unbeknownst to the user. , he has been an integral part of the musical memories that fans take home with them. ``We're having a great time out here, both on the tour and on the bus,'' he said, laughing. ``I'm playing with a great bunch of guys A Bunch of Guys (BOGs), or Group of Guys (GOGs) are terms used by counter-terrorism officials to refer to small, self-organizing terrorist cells.[1] BOGs typically have little to no contact with global terrorist groups like al Qaeda, so they independently plan and and working with a really good friend.'' Next month, the guitarist will release his second solo instrumental album, ``Songs for Sanity Songs For Sanity is a solo instrumental record by the guitarist John 5, released 13th September, 2005, featuring guest appearances from Albert Lee and Steve Vai. Track listing
OZZFEST 2005 The lineup: Mainstage: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Mudvayne, Slipknot (web) SlipKnot - A graphical World-Wide Web browser specifically designed for Microsoft Windows users who have Unix shell accounts with their service providers. Its primary feature is that it does not require SLIP or PPP or TCP/IP services. , Shadows Fall, Black Label Society, In Flames; Second Stage: Rob Zombie, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Mastodon mastodon (măs`tədŏn'), name for a number of prehistoric mammals of the extinct genus Mammut, from which modern elephants are believed to have developed. The earliest known forms lived in the Oligocene epoch in Africa. , The Haunted, Arch Enemy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Bury Your Dead “BYD” redirects here. For other uses, see BYD (disambiguation). Bury Your Dead (sometimes abbreviated to BYD) is a five-piece moshcore band that hails from Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. , Soilwork, Trivium triv·i·um n. pl. triv·i·a The lower division of the seven liberal arts in medieval schools, consisting of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. , It Dies Today, A Dozen Furies A Dozen Furies was an American metalcore band. History Formed in 2003, A Dozen Furies rose to prominence by competing on MTV's Battle for Ozzfest, in which they ultimately won. Marc Serrano (ex-Unloco), the band's guitarist, was chosen to represent them on the contest. , Gizmachi, Wicked Wisdom. Where: Hyundai Pavilion, 2575 Glen Helen Parkway, Devore. When: 9 a.m. Saturday. Tickets: $35.50 to $135.50. (909) 88-MUSIC; (909) 880-6500; www.ticketmaster.com; www.ozzfest.com. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Ozzy Osbourne says this is the last year he will headline his the OzzFest tour, instead opting to play selected dates in the years ahead. Getty Images |
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