NEW YORK (Ozzy Fans Website) - "Isn't it funny that the whole rest of the world just figured out how cool Ozzy's been for 30 fuckin' years?" asked an indignant Rob Zombie.
Fourth out of seven main stage acts at this summer's Ozzfest, it was a rhetorical question. "Talk about being late to class," he sneered, "God bless the old people in the crowd."
Having toured with Osbourne before (both on previous Ozzfests and 2001's Merry Mayhem tour), Zombie has a right to feel like strangers have invaded his world. It seems like just this year, millions of American TV viewers realized that the Prince of Darkness was alive, well (sort of), and living in Los Angeles. And judging from the crowd at Camden, N.J.'s Tweeter Center on Friday (July 12) (two days into the eight-week trek), it appears the popular majority is under 18 and likely to be a very rowdy bunch.
Chest-flashing aside, the Osbournes have once again managed to blend a stellar array of both classic metal acts and newfound hopefuls as the soundtrack to the ultimate all-day party. Making repeat appearances this year were P.O.D, System of a Down, and Zombie on the main stage (joining Drowning Pool, Adema, and Black Label Society), while second stage highlights included Welsh newcomers Lostprophets, head-banging enthusiast Andrew W.K., Ozzfest's sole female performer, Otep, and the festival's own metal all-star group, Down.
Rob Zombie |
Of course, not everyone gets a great time slot -- with 21 bands on the bill, the show can start as early as 9:30 a.m. At Camden, that very non-rock and roll time slot was taken by Florida's Neurotica, but since it's the group's first Ozzfest stint, it wasn't complaining. "We didn't think there would even be a hundred people out that early, but we got about a thousand today," said frontman
Kelly Shaefer, "the metal kids come out -- they represent."
Groggy or not, new bands are expected to pay their dues. But, with a revolving schedule that accommodates them all, the festival also has seen its own share of Cinderella stories. Take Drowning Pool, for example. On last year's outing, the group had the unenviable early-morning slot, but by tour's end, it was appearing before second stage headliners, Mudvayne.
"Fast forward to a year later and we're on the main stage," recounts DP singer Dave Williams. "We still can't believe it. To be a part of this tour, or anything the Osbournes do, is an honor in itself, but to have [Sharon Osbourne] trust and like us enough to put us on the main stage, is really cool."
Drowning Pool |
This summer's main stage thrash set a slightly different tone than in years past. For one reason, there seemed to be less rap in the metal and, therefore, more mid-tempo, sludgy riffs as opposed to random frantic rhyming. There were also guitar solos and
Metallica covers to be had (Drowning Pool did a chilling version of "Creeping Death").
And there was theatre - Zombie's stage was his very own Monster's Ball, SOAD's featured a politically charged projection of classic newsreels, and during Osbourne's set, the crowd was treated to a rare glimpse of teeth-playing (courtesy of Zakk Wylde, himself a south Jersey native) and the sensation of rain indoors (a moving sprinkler suspended from the ceiling sprayed down in the enclosed amphitheater).
And, since Sharon always gets her way, there were even bubbles. But, the evening ended on a more somber note as Osbourne asked the crowd to hold up their lighters for his wife who is still recovering from colon cancer surgery. Married July 4 exactly 20 years ago, everyone's favorite family man closed his set with a tune he's been singing for her ever since -- "Mama, I'm Coming Home."
Meanwhile, Ozzfest 2002: The Live Album is set for an Aug. 27 release.
