Ozzfest 2006

Speculating and starting rumors about who's touring with Ozzfest is a springtime American metalhead tradition. The Osbourne camp has given us our first look at this summer's lineup:

SYSTEM OF A DOWN
DISTURBED
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
UNEARTH
ATREYU
BLEEDING THROUGH.

-This marks the end of the objective narrative, now it's time to spill the blood...

System of a Down is a very cool band, but they sound like children in a large arena setting. I've seen them at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC, and they rocked all 2,000 people that packed it into that sweatbox. Then, I saw them play at Ozzfest 2003, where they took the headlining spot before Ozzy, and after Rob Zombie. Let me tell you that System sounded irritating and abnoxious after Rock/Metal juggernaut Rob Zombie, and they failed miserably to connect with a crowd that large. To put System of a Down in a headlining situation is a terrible mistake at a "heavy" show.

Disturbed is a band that is trying their hardest to lose every fan they've ever had. Lead singer David Draiman has descended to the level of haters to take shots at them on the internet, and it makes me wonder why he's even in the business of making of music if he's so sensitive to critisizm. Rumor has it that he used to be in a "boy band", singing pop music. It's getting tougher to ignore the "poser" label. The fact that the band's singer can't take heat from internet trolls doesn't have anything at all to do with the fact that they are contributing to the "suck" factor at Ozzfest. The strongest track on "10,000 Fists" is a Genesis cover, "Land of Confusion", and the rest of the album sounds a bit tired and familiar. Disturbed is a band that has run their course, and cannot hold my interest any longer let alone lure me to buying a ticket. The band still has millions of fans that disagree with me, so financially Sharon probably made a good decision.

I really wish Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society would just quit the Ozzfest thing. Doing the same tour every year is almost as numbing as releasing the same album every year, which BLS has been doing since 2003 (some would say "1919 Eternal" is expendable also, which would extend the streak back to 2002). There's only two BLS records worth buying, and you'd have a hard time making a single third worthy purchase out of tracks from the last 5 releases. It's time for Zakk to put down the booze and stop being in love with himself. There's a reason all his long-time bandmates and friends have left the band.

Unearth, Atreyu, Bleeding Through: this is getting too boring to even write about. Minus Black Label Society, this could be the Vans' Warped Tour, and nobody would even notice.

There are persistent rumors of a Sepultura reunion at Ozzfest. If Sharon pulls this off, I will proudly buy a ticket. Max Cavalera has been hinting that he's not opposed to it, as has Andreas and Co. If I go to see a Sepultura reunion, I'll probably leave right afterwards. I'll go drink beer for $7 a pitcher at a bar instead of $7 for a cup and lines of people waiting to piss.

Ozzfest is facing increasing competition from the Sounds of the Underground (SOTU), Gigantour, and Slayer's new project, the Unholy Alliance Tour. I somehow doubt that even Megadeth, Slayer, and whoever is headlining SOTU will de-throne Ozzfest as the hot summer ticket, but at least now metal fans have an alternative. System of a Down and Disturbed are just so popular that I'm sure it will sell out all over the place. The cool thing about 2006 is that now there's at least 4 summer metal tours in America, so you can choose which you like the best, or choose them all like I'll probably do.

SEPULTURA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!