Review by Junkman
Photos by Junkman, Kimberly Annette & Ross Halfin
For the first time in many years, Ozzfest, the huge music festival organized by Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne and his wife and manager Sharon, returned to Southern California. This time it was part of a two-day collaboration with Knotfest, a separate music festival organized by Slipknot singer Cory Taylor. Both camps decided to combine the festivals, coining it Ozzfest Meets Knotfest and giving fans a chance to see their favorite new and classic metal bands during one loud, hot weekend in San Bernardino county, east of Los Angeles. No one was disappointed.
I attended the first day —Ozzfest. Being a huge Black Sabbath fan, it would be the last time I would get to see the band, as long as they actually hold to their promised retirement from the stage. There were also many other bands spread out among the four stages that, as a “metalhead,” I was excited to see. So, armed with my camera, bandana, and plenty of sunscreen, I headed to see Sabbath one last time, 40 years after I first saw them in 1976.
Ozzfest Meets Knotfest press announcement – May 12, 2016
Upon arrival, I was disappointed to find out that press photographers were not allowed to shoot Black Sabbath because Ross Halfin, a well-known lensman, had the exclusive. Whatever. I was not going to let that ruin my day, and thanked my lucky stars for being asked to attend in the first place. I arrived at 11:00 in the morning, and it was already a sweltering 90 degrees and dry as a bone. As a veteran of many outdoor rock festivals, I went into survival mode and soldiered on. There were three side stages, two large “festival stages” that were side to side, as well as a “Nuclear Blast Records Stage” that was set up amongst the vendor area. On the far end of the festival grounds was the main stage, dubbed the “Lemmy Stage” in honor of late Motorhead leader Lemmy Kilmister, who passed away in 2015. I thought it was a nice tribute to a man who had brought so much to the heavy metal community. I’m sure someday it will be called the “Ozzy Stage.”
There was plenty to see and do; there was even a carnival with games and a huge Ferris wheel. A Monster truck exhibition was at one end, as well as a “House Of Hell” horror maze, and, of course, lots of food, beer, and merchandise tents. Very well organized I must say, and business was booming as the crowds arrived by the truck-load. It was going to be one hot, dusty day, and I retreated to the photo pit with my fellow photographers and prepared for action. There was lots of action, in fact, on the side stages.
Hot day in Devore
Plenty of metal for the metalheads who had traveled from near and far to be a part of the 20th anniversary of the original Ozzfest, which started at this very location in 1996. Kicking things off was a young progressive metal band called Allegeon, and the party was on. I caught some great performances throughout the early afternoon on the “Festival Stages” including Huntress, whose singer Jill Janus screamed like a banshee and stalked the stage like a woman possessed.
Goatwhore put on a great set. Hugely popular with this crowd, they gave their fans exactly what they came for — a sludgy, heavy metal assault is about the only way I can describe them. Even though it was nearing 100 degrees, guitarist Sammy Duet was adorned with spiked leather. He and the rest of the band were like warriors ready for battle. And battle on they did. Devildriver had their fans chanting their name in unison as they approached the stage, and they did not disappoint. Dual screaming guitars and the prowling singer Dez Fafara kept their fans entertained although Farfara’s vocals sounded rather muddy. He used a “bullet-style” microphone, which I just don’t think was the right one to use. Other than that, there seemed to be no issues. They have a new album, Trust No One, and I am sure they sold quite a few copies after their set ended.
Metalheads
Hatebreed are hugely popular, and they have played Ozzfest before. Singer Jamey Jasta is always up for a festival, and he was all over the stage generating the mosh pits to new levels of aggression. This made for clouds of dirt and dust to rise and drift, making it a bit unpleasant and hard to breathe. But hey, this was not my first rodeo, so I turned my bandana into a gas mask and trooped onward. Crowd surfers started to rain over the barrier to the stage in full force, but nobody seemed to be having a bad time as Hatebreed rocked a set of old and new music for their adoring fans.
Filling in for Japanese legends Loudness, who cancelled their performance, was none other that Southern California’s own Suicidal Tendencies, who put on the most intense and energetic performance of the day. From the get-go, it was absolute bedlam. Singer Mike Muir was in constant motion, and clearly having a ball onstage. The band, which featured the great Dave Lombardo on drums, was at their frenetic best, holding on to a fast-paced tempo throughout and keeping security busy as they scooped up crowd surfers like fisherman and dust clouds rose to “stormwatch” proportions. Opening with “You Can’t Bring Me Down” the band kept the rapid fire tempo going throughout the set — it was like getting in a clothes dryer at full power. Just an intense set and a great way to close down the side stage performances. Afterwards, as the crowd retreated and headed for the main stage, it looked like a battlefield after a war.
Rival Sons
The San Manuel Amphitheater is the largest of its kind in the United States with seating for over 65,000, and room for a lot more. By the time Black Sabbath, hit the stage, hours later, it looked like a sold-out house to me. First up on the “Lemmy Stage” though, was my personal faves Rival Sons. Opening with “Electric Man” from their 2014 album Great Western Valkyrie, they did what they do best — combining bluesy mid-tempo rock with singer Jay Buchanan’s soulful vocals, bringing to mind a young Led Zeppelin. Buchanan is clearly the focus, as his frantic stage moves and facial expressions are a sight to behold.
Guitarist Scott Holiday and his trusty Gibson Firebird guitar was the base of so many tasty grooves like “Pressure and Time” and “Open My Eyes,” which closed the set. I love this band and apparently so does Black Sabbath —especially Ozzy Osbourne, who hired the Long Beach quartet as the opening act on their final world tour.
Black Label Society
Black Label Society featuring former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde absolutely slays any crowd, any time. Today was no exception. Wylde, all long hair and huge beard, blasted out the sonic assault in his patented style. No frills, just blasting out the rock. By the time he reached “Suicide Messiah,” a few songs into the eight-song set, the band was peaking. Wylde can riff like nobody’s business; his talent on the guitar is undeniable. Visually, the band pretty much lets the music do the talking. Bassist JD Deservio is quite animated, but the reset of the band is content with just laying down a groove and punctuating it with guitar runs from Wylde and second guitarist Dario Lorina. They finished with “Stillborn” my personal BLS favorite. The late afternoon crowd roared their approval. The BLS “Southern California Chapter,” as Wylde called them, was satisfied and headed to the beer stands.
Swedish progressive rockers Opeth were up next, and even though they had some technical difficulties that cut their set short due to time restraints, they still gave the growing Ozzfest faithful plenty of musical ability. Opeth songs like “The Devil’s Orchard” and the set-closing “Deliverance” are long in nature, and with their dreamy keyboard sections, courtesy of Joakim Svalberg, they remind me of a heavy metal version of Yes. Guitarist and vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt is not all that entertaining but he is clearly the band’s leader, and his growling vocals put an interesting spin on the band’s material. It was a nice mix of classic to contemporary prog rock.
Opeth
Megadeth are true survivors. With lots of lineup changes over the years, this one may be my favorite. Guitarist Kiko Loueiro has helped revitalize Megadeth stalwarts — guitarist, singer and leader Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson — and their 2015 release Dystopia reflects this. They dove right into it as “The Threat Is Real,” from the aforementioned release, was the second song of the set, following the classic “Hangar 18.”
The band was tight, and their 13-song set was a welcome treat for me and many more of their longtime fans. So many Megadeth classics were performed, including “In My Darkest Hour” and the crushing, set-ending trifecta of “Symphony Of Destruction,” “Peace Sells,” and “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due,” which had my eardrums screaming, even with my ever-present earplugs. Just a pounding, satisfying set from true metal superstars. Long live the mighty Megadeth.
Megadeth
Surprising to me was the fact that Disturbed followed Megadeth, but I guess they are more popular with today’s crowd. Using an awful lot of pyrotechnics that accented many of their songs, they put on a slightly more exciting show than some that I have witnessed in the past. Singer David Draiman was constantly pacing the stage, clad in a black frock, he continually asked the crowd to “let me see those fists in the air,” especially in the opening number, “10,000 Fists.” Guitarist Dan Donegan sneers here and there, and is content to crank out power chords on songs like “The Game” and “Stupify.”
A magic part of the set was watching the crowd react to Disturbed’s wonderful version of the Simon and Garfunkel song, “The Sound Of Silence.” It took all the angst right out of a thrashing, moshing crowd that had been drinking beer in the sun all day and made it into a peaceful, reflective stillness, if only for a brief moment. It was quite the power of a great delivery of a great song in every aspect. Kudos to Disturbed for being able to do this, show after show. They then revved things right back up, and later closed out the set with their breakout hit from 1999, “Down With The Sickness,” bringing the circle mosh pits to a frenzy. I looked out on the massive crowd gathered, and in the darkness, I could see a few bonfires had broken out up on the massive lawn section. Revelers danced around and occasionally jump over them. They were clearly having a pagan-like blast.
Disturbed
“You’re as crazy as me,” Ozzy Osbourne exclaimed early into Black Sabbath’ set. After a spooky intro video was shown on the massive wings of the stage, the familiar rainstorm sound effects of “Black Sabbath,” the title song from their debut LP, and a tune that still scares the crap out of me and thrills me at the same time, echoed throughout the amphitheater. The band — Osbourne on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitar and Geezer Butler on bass — joined by the extraordinary talents of guest drummer Tommy Clufetos, sounded pretty much the same as they did when I first saw them in 1976. Iommi and Butler don’t really move around the stage too much as they are content cranking out the heaviest riffs in rock. Clufetos, bearded and wearing a headband reminiscent of original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, is very flashy and a total pounder of a drummer. He bashed his kit throughout the set, and really brought a new edge to classic Sabbath numbers like “Fairies Wear Boots,” “Into The Void” and War Pigs.”
Ozzy Osbourne is a wunderkind. The stage is his “comfort zone” and it showed. In between yelps of “Let me see your hands,” “I can’t hear you,” and “Are you having fun?,” he stalked the stage, clapping his hands and occasionally doing his patented frog hop. During “N.I.B.,” the grin on his face was as wide as the stage.
Black Sabbath
A killer Clufeto’s drum solo, which showed off his massive skin-pounding skills, proceeded the classic “Iron Man.” The song had Osbourne, at 68, acting like a high school pep squad cheerleader for his adoring audience. He clearly having fun, and not just going through the motions. It was a joy to see and experience. By the time they finished the set-closing “Children Of The Grave,” it seemed that everyone attending Ozzfest was exhausted.
Sabbath encored with a spirited version of “Paranoid.” Afterwards, they gathered at the front of the stage and bowed to the audience, as a huge sign exclaiming “The End” illuminated above the drum riser. The sold-out crowd screamed and clapped their approval to this retiring band of heavy metal heroes, and a huge fireworks display lit up the sky behind the stage — a fitting tribute to a band that has set the bar on the heavy metal sound for so many years. If this truly IS “The End,” as the band proclaims, I was glad I witnessed them going out on top of their game. It was quite a day in San Bernardino. As I drove home, happy, dirty, very tired, but pleased, I couldn’t help but wonder: Will there be more from Black Sabbath or is this indeed “The End” of an era? Stay tuned.
Ozzy Osbourne
