Ozzfest 2005-Ozzfest Ends, More Details On DVD Released

[Malcolm]

Ozzy Osbourne's quad-biking accident in December 2003 changed his attitude to life. "I haven't fully recovered from my bike injuries ? it's gonna take another six months before I get this metal rod taken out of my chest," said the 56-year-old.

"I don't know how long I'll be doing music, but what I tend to do now is live in the present, in the now, you know.

"It wasn't my idea to go on the quad bike and kill myself, but it happened and it threw me down a bit.

"I've had to change a lot of things in my life ? I don't smoke, I don't drink and I don't do drugs any more. I used to be actively crazy, I still am a bit crazy, but now I think before I jump."

But Osbourne, best-known for spontaneous crowd-pleasing tactics like biting off a bat's head on stage, hasn't reached for his pipe and slippers just yet.

He is still dedicated to performing and will be touring with BLACK SABBATH again in June, appearing at the Download Festival in Donington Park. "It's the job, you know? I don't sit on the armchair and think, 'Woe is me, I'm f***ed'. I'd rather do a job that I love than sit there licking my wounds."

He adds: "Donington is the spiritual home of rock and I'm really happy to be playing there again. Download is going to be a fantastic show. I'm really looking forward to seeing those fans again."

As previously reported, BLACK SABBATH and IRON MAIDEN will co-headline this year's Ozzfest in the U.S. beginning on July 15 in Boston, Massachusetts.

[Malcolm]

 According to an online posting by IRON MAIDEN's webmaster, MAIDEN will play their final Ozzfest 2005 show on August 20 at the Hyundai Pavilion (at Glen Helen), just outside Los Angeles, California. The band will not take part in the last seven shows of the tour.

Ozzfest 2005 featuring IRON MAIDEN:

Jul. 15 - Boston, MA - Tweeter Center
Jul. 17 - Hartford, CT - Meadows
Jul. 19 - Camden, NJ - Tweeter Waterfront
Jul. 21 - Buffalo, NY - Darien Lakes
Jul. 23 - Pittsburgh, PA - Post Gazette
Jul. 24 - Washington, DC - Nissan
Jul. 26 - New York, NY - PNC
Jul. 30 - Chicago, IL - Tweeter Center
Jul. 31 - Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
Aug. 02 - Columbus, OH - Germain Amphitheatre
Aug. 04 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
Aug. 06 - East Troy, WI - Alpine Valley
Aug. 07 - Minneapolis, MN - Floatrite Park
Aug. 11 - Seattle, WA - White River
Aug. 13 - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
Aug. 14 - Sacramento, CA - Sleep Train
Aug. 16 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Pavilion
Aug. 18 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket
Aug. 20 - Los Angeles, CA - Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen

Ozzfest 2005 dates without IRON MAIDEN:

Aug. 23 - Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
Aug. 25 - Dallas, TX - Smirnoff
Aug. 27 - Houston, TX - Cynthia J. Woods Pavilion
Aug. 28 - San Antonio, TX - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Aug. 31 - Nashville, TN - Starwood Amphitheatre
Sep. 02 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon
Sep. 04 - West Palm Beach - Sound Advice

[Malcolm]

Billboard is reporting that OZZY OSBOURNE has re-signed with Epic Records and is working on material for his next studio release. "Ozzy's writing now, and there'll be something out at the beginning of next year," his wife/manager Sharon told Billboard.com.

One item not likely to see the light of day, however, is a new BLACK SABBATH studio disc, which would be the band's first with Osbourne since 1978's "Never Say Die!"

"I could go in the studio and write a bunch of stuff, but why do an album just for the sake of [drummer] Bill [Ward], [guitarist] Tony [Iommi], me and bassist [Geezer] Butler together playing if it's not up to the BLACK SABBATH standard that I left?," Ozzy told Billboard.com. "It would f*ck it up, you know? It's so sad when you hear these monumental bands do these piece of sh*t records just because they want the money."

That said, Osbourne still revels in playing live with BLACK SABBATH, which will anchor this summer's 10th anniversary edition of the Ozzfest tour. "There is no one on the face of the earth that can play these songs," he said. "The fortunate thing about me is I have two vibes; I can do the Ozzy thing and the SABBATH thing. The SABBATH thing, when we were kids, we didn't say 'We'll, write this song called 'War Pigs' and in f*cking 25 years we'll be icons. We had no idea. We didn't have any musical education."

"The beauty of those days was, we would end the song when we wanted to f*cking stop playing," he continued. "I can honestly say that [with] BLACK SABBATH, nobody ever told us what to play or how to play. It was our gig."

[Malcolm]

The following bands threads will now be combined with this one until the tour is over

Virtual Festival is reporting that IRON MAIDEN will be playing material from their first four albums at the Carling Reading/Leeds Festival, as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations.

MAIDEN are set to headline Reading for the first time since 1982, however their stage set and choice of material may be familiar to fans who were there the first time around.

The band will only be playing material from their first four albums and the stage set will also reflect the early years of their live shows.

Singer Bruce Dickinson told Metal Hammer magazine: "This will be back to the full on metal spectacular. We've always put everything, physically and mentally, into our stage shows and this will be no exception. People are back and into real live music now and we want to make sure that the MAIDEN shows are never surpassed and an incredible experience for everyone there!"

It is believed IRON MAIDEN will close Reading Festival on the Sunday after playing at Leeds on the Saturday night. It should be confirmed on Monday night at the launch of both festivals. FOO FIGHTERS and PIXIES are believed to be the other two headliners.

Reading Festival 2005 takes place at Little Johns Farm, Reading, while Leeds Festival 2005 happens at Bramham Park, Leeds, both August 26-28.

[Malcolm]

IRON MAIDEN's "Eddie Rips Up? Europe/North America - Summer 2005 Tour" has already had tremendous on-sale reactions in Europe, with tickets for their massive show in Gothenburg's Ullevi Stadim on July 9 recently selling out all 53,500 in just 2? hours ? the second fastest sell-out ever in Sweden?s biggest venue after BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN! Tickets for their show at Helsinki's Hartwell Arena on July 6 and 7 went the same way with 22,000 tickets selling out in a day.

Comments singer Bruce Dickinson, "We've always had great support there before but this is stepping up another level entirely. This whole tour will be one of the biggest we have ever done in terms in the number of fans we are playing to and if the reaction continues like this, every show will be a truly momentous occasion.

"Following the great reception received by our DVD 'The Early Days', which chronicled the MAIDEN story over the first four albums, we decided to give the fans a special treat on this tour by playing materiel almost exclusively from these albums, including a lot of songs that fans have been asking us to play for years along with fan favourites like 'Number of the Beast', 'Run to the Hills', 'Hallowed be thy Name', 'Wrathchild' and 'The Trooper'. And it will be a lot of fun for us playing stuff we haven't played for years!!

"In keeping with this, we will be bringing over for Ozzfest the full European show, naturally including as special guest Eddie in various appropriate guises!! The stage sets, production and backdrops will recreate aspects of the shows on the tours around those albums ? 'Iron Maiden', 'Killers', 'Number of the Beast' and 'Piece of Mind'. Only bigger, much bigger!!! We don't know if anyone has done anything like this before but we think it's something the fans will really appreciate both in the choice of songs and in the production values.

"Unfortunately, we are unable to complete the full Ozzfest schedule as we were already confirmed to headline some major British festivals in that period, so apologies to fans in Texas and the Southeast. Having said that we are very much looking forward to the dates we are doing, especially with such a great bill. We're sure it will be a fantastic day out for the fans."

[Malcolm]

OZZY OSBOURNE recently spoke to Metal Edge magazine about his upcoming four-disc box set, "Prince of Darkness". An excerpt from the interview follows:

Metal Edge: The box set is obviously a career retrospective, but how long has the cover album been in the making?

Ozzy Osbourne: "Over the years, I've always wanted to do an album of other people's stuff, like some [John] Lennon. I've always wanted to do 'Whiter Shade of Pale', but I didn't do it, because everybody who does a cover album, the first track is always 'Whiter Shade of Pale'. I've had a long list, and Sharon comes up to me on the Ozzfest last year and tells me that Sony's putting together a box set of rarities and live recordings ? stuff with Dweezil Zappa, the BEE GEES, WAS NOT WAS, 'Born to be Wild' with Miss Piggy, stuff like that ? and she says, 'Why don't you do an album of cover songs?' I didn't know what it was going to sound like, but it's something different instead of another version of 'I Don't Know' done underwater in fuckin' Paris in '78! I must be the only artist with six or seven solo records, and eighty fuckin' spin-offs of the best of, in different running orders, in Chinese, whatever."

Metal Edge: "The Ozzman Cometh" and he cometh again and again and again?

Ozzy Osbourne: "And when is he going to stop comething? [Laughs] We promise you this is the last cometh! It hasn't been me, though. So I built a studio in the back of the house and I said to Sharon, 'Let me just have a go at doing the covers. If it turns into a pile of shit, nothing ventured, nothing gained.' A friend of mine, Mark Hudson, who I've known for many years and wrote some of 'Ozzmosis' with, produced it. We originally did like eight or ten songs, and they said, 'Fuckin' A, this is great, keep on going!' So we're going to do an album on the box set, then another album called 'Ozzy Undercover' or something. So there's 14 or 15 for that album, and eight or 10 for the box set. I've got to confess, it's come out a lot better than I ever expected it to. It's got balls. It's got meat."

Metal Edge: Who played on them with you?

Ozzy Osbourne: "Mark Hudson, Leslie West did 'Mississippi Queen', Jerry Cantrell, Ian Hunter did 'All the Young Dudes', and a bunch of musicians and arrangers. I was doing it on the road. We had portable ProTools and a 32-track. This album has been all over the world! I was doing it down in Florida, on tour, where they were nailing up the fucking hotel because of Hurricane Charlie, and I'm singing with a big gold bowl of Red Bulls to keep me going. It was one of those albums that started, and it just got better as we went along. If it was up to me, I'd have kept going. I wasn't going to sing 'Good Times' by THE ANIMALS ? [singing] 'I remember all the good times' ? but Sharon thought it kind of summed up my life, so I did it for her. I did JEFF BECK's 'Hi Ho Silver Lining'. I thought, if it's good enough for JEFF BECK, it's good enough for me,' but once I started doing it, I thought, 'Who the fuck wrote these lyrics?' [Laughing] 'Flies are in your pea soup, baby, and they're looking at me.' That's really an earth-shattering lyric! I mean, when I started out, we used to talk to each other and go, 'Hey man, how you doing?' Then we went from 'man' to 'dude,' and I thought, 'Who the fuck thought of 'dude'?' And I thought it must have been DAVID BOWIE in 'All the Young Dudes', and I recorded that? But then when I recorded 'Mississippi Queen', there was a line that went, 'While the rest of those dudes?' And I'm going, 'I must have really been fucking stoned, because I'd never heard 'dude' before!' [Laughing] And I did 'Fire' by ARTHUR BROWN, 'Working Class Hero' on an acoustic guitar without a big production, just a few 'oohs' and 'aahs' in the background. I did 'Rocky Mountain Way' by JOE WALSH, which is fabulous, and 'Woman' by JOHN LENNON, which is fucking beautiful? it's so much fun, because the songs have already been established, and I just fuck with them and rearrange them. I've heard cover albums before where they fuck with the songs to the point where the only thing that sounds like 'Jingle Bells' is the fucking title! It wasn't like that, but they're still me. It was some of the easiest work I ever did. So that was that?"

[Malcolm]

Will someone give me some feedback on the bands they announced?

what do yas all thijnk about the bands and dates? any thaughts?

[Malcolm]

 According to Ozzyhead.com, Ozzy Osbourne appeared on XM Radio's "Opie and Anthony" radio show Monday morning (March 21). When asked about recent rumors of plastic surgery and what he had done, Ozzy replied, "I had my dick shortened". Ozzy shot down the rumors and said "I don't know where they get this shit from."

Ozzy was also asked why BLACK SABBATH hasn't put out any new albums. Ozzy basically said that the group had gotten together in the past and put together about six new songs, but the material just didn't live up to the quality of past albums. He also added that the idea of a new album has not been laid to rest, but is on the back burner at the moment. "It just didn't feel right, but if something comes about as good as 'Paranoid' or 'Volume 4', we'll release it then."

Ozzy was also asked about his quad bike accident.

Did you see anything when your heart stopped?

"Oh, look at the bird up in the sky... doesn't my house look beautiful from down here", Ozzy replied.

Did you see the Devil?

"I'm married to her!" Ozzy replied.

[Malcolm]

Roxx Productions and Thunderground Radio managed to get a brief online interview with the legendary BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward and even secured permission to broadcast his solo single, "Straws". The track will be broadcast as part of a 30-minute Bill Ward/BLACK SABBATH set that will air on ThundergroundRadio.com this Friday night, April 15 at 8:00 p.m. PST. Thunderground's interview with Ward follows:

Thunderground Radio: Why don't we start with the usual BLACK SABBATH question, What are you up to with Ozzy, Tony and Geezer, any plans on the horizon for recording or any live shows this year?

Bill Ward: "As far as I know, there are plans in the making for SABBATH to play dates in Europe, and also, this year's Ozzfest. That's really about all I can say on that. I am very excited about getting back on the road and playing live again with the band. Also, there are talks going on regarding a new album, about putting some songs together and seeing how that works out. If the songs are do-able and work out pretty good, then hopefully, we'll go on and record them."

Thunderground Radio: What inspired you to write the song "Straws"?

Bill Ward: "'Straws' was inspired by my fear of my family being attacked on American soil, my fear of the lovely town where I live being attacked and blown up, my fear of the USA being drawn into more further attacks, my fear of the current administration. Also, I wrote 'Straws' to try to overcome my feelings of powerlessness over 9/11."

Thunderground Radio: I understand copies were sent out to various government entities, to whom did you send out copies and have you received any responses from any of these? If so were they positive or negative responses?

Bill Ward: "All of the responses we've received, whether it's been through letters, or on the phone, or verbally in person, or through friends, all of them have been positive. The whole thing has been really positive and really good. I don't want to name names to be respectful, however, there are some I can mention. We did send one to President Bush. He hasn't written back yet, but who knows, maybe he will! We also sent one to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and his office sent a very nice letter back; very polite, very positive. I can't remember exactly what it said now, but it was something in terms of good luck with what you're doing, so that was nice. Then we had some rather famous politicians write back. Their responses were very short, but very reinforcing, and finally, Ozzy loves it also."

Thunderground Radio: Besides the promotional copies you sent out, you also released a limited number of autographed copies for your fans, are these sold out or can people still get a copy of it?

Bill Ward: "Yes, 'Straws' CD are still available through the web site, BillWard.com."

Thunderground Radio: When can we expect your next solo album to be released?

Bill Ward: "It's going to be out this year. I'm absolutely at my wit's end! I want to move on to new recordings, and I can't while this recording is still unfinished. It's driving me crazy. I want to get it done, and I want to get it into the safe hands of a real good distribution or recording company who will take care of it, get behind it and help promote it so I can go out and tour."

Thunderground Radio: Any plan of doing some solo shows this year? (On a side note let us know and we would love to help promote)

Bill Ward: "If there's an opportunity at the end of the SABBATH touring, or possibly at the end of the year, I'll take the band out, provided we have the support of a recording company, and we can have some decent promotion on it. You know, you have to do that these days, if you want to get in the clubs and play. I appreciate your offer to help promote it very much, thanks."

[Malcolm]

Launch Radio Networks reports: When ROB ZOMBIE hits the road this summer on Ozzfest, his touring band will feature former MARILYN MANSON guitarist John 5. Zombie told us how he and the guitar player got together. "CAMP FREDDY asked me to do this benefit, just to play one song, at the Arrowhead Pond (in Anaheim, California) for this tsunami relief thing. And John was there, and we played one song, 'Thunderkiss', and it kicked ass and he's a supercool guy and I was like, 'This is perfect.' John said, 'Do you need a guitar player for Ozzfest?' I said, 'Yes,' he said, 'I wanna do it,' I said, 'Perfect, done.'"

Zombie's new touring band also includes longtime bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson and ALICE COOPER drummer Tommy Clufetos. In addition to "Thunderkiss '65", Zombie recently hinted that his Ozzfest set list might include even more old material from his former band, WHITE ZOMBIE. We asked the singer if this was still the plan. "I don't know. I mean, I haven't rehearsed yet. John 5 and Blasko have been rehearsing and learning all these old songs that I haven't played in a million years, so we'll see."

Ozzfest kicks off on July 15 in Mansfield, Massachusetts, with ROB ZOMBIE headlining the second stage.

Zombie's second feature as a screenwriter and director, "The Devil's Rejects", opens in theatres nationwide on July 22.

[Malcolm]

BLACK SABBATH and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY will be teaming up for a bunch of post-Ozzfest U.S. dates in the fall, BLS mainman Zakk Wylde revealed during an interview with Eddie Trunk of VH1 Classic.

BLACK SABBATH and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY will both be performing on the main stage at this year's Ozzfest, which is scheduled to kick off July 15 in Mansfield, Massachusetts. SABBATH are co-headlining the event with IRON MAIDEN, who will drop off the bill on August 20 due to prior touring commitments in Europe.

[Malcolm]

Ozzy Osbourne recently spoke to the SouthFlorida.com about the end of "The Osbournes", Ozzfest and his future plans, among other topics. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

On closing in on his first year of sobriety:

"I go to meetings in bars ? quite a few. It doesn't bother me. The obsession has been taken."

On "The Osbournes":

"I still don't understand the magnitude [of the show]. I'm kind of used to walking down the street and being recognized. But not by housewives and priests."

On wife Sharon being diagnosed with colon cancer during the show's second season:

"It spun me off into another world. I had a plan, you know. I thought I'd go first, considering I'm the nut-case, drunk, alcoholic wreck. She never drinks, and she ends up with colon cancer."

On his marriage:

"I absolutely adore the woman. I don't screw around, I don't go to clubs, I'm not looking for other women. Guys are weird. They get to the age of 45 and they think they've got a pair of new testicles and want to go out and test them out again. I'm not interested."

On his childhood:

Growing up poor near working-class Birmingham, England, "my folks never told me about anything, not a damn thing. Whatever I discovered was listening to my mates on the streets or reading a book or a magazine."

On his parenting style:

"I'd say, 'If and when you become sexually active, wear these, and make the people wear them, because if you come up HIV positive, your life is ? over. And so is mine.' I'm as blunt as that. If it's wrong, it's wrong."

On his future plans:

Ozzy says he'd like to try his hand at a late-night show. All the current ones, he complains, are too " -- -- boringly formulated."

"I want to do another SABBATH album. I want to do another solo album. I'll always be about."

[Malcolm]

According to Ozzfest.com, IN FLAMES have been upgraded to a main-stage slot at this year's Ozzfest. The Swedish band will open the proceedings on the main stage, where they are scheduled to go on right before BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. The festival billing is now shaping up as follows:

Main Stage:

BLACK SABBATH
IRON MAIDEN
MUDVAYNE
SHADOWS FALL
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
IN FLAMES

Second Stage:

ROB ZOMBIE
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
AS I LAY DYING
MASTODON
A DOZEN FURIES
THE HAUNTED
ARCH ENEMY
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
BURY YOUR DEAD
IT DIES TODAY
SOILWORK
TRIVIUM

As previously reported, VELVET REVOLVER are believed to have secured the "mystery band" slot on the main stage commencing on August 23 in Albuquerque, NM. VELVET REVOLVER's participation in the tour will be in lieu of IRON MAIDEN, which drops off the bill on August 20.

Ozzfest wraps up on September 4 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

[Malcolm]

MTV.com is reporting that it's been finally made official that VELVET REVOLVER will be taking over for IRON MAIDEN as one of Ozzfest's main attractions when this year's traveling festival hits Albuquerque, New Mexico, on August 23.

In mid-March, IRON MAIDEN disclosed the bad news: because of previous touring commitments they'd made overseas, the band would be no-shows for the last seven dates of this summer's Ozzfest. That announcement fired up the old rumor mill, and all along, the most popular theory has had Scott Weiland's band of former GUNS N' ROSES members filling that void. But Ozzfest organizers have been especially tight-lipped this year, trying to keep a lid on the mammoth mainstage add ? a move industry insiders have characterized as a bid to keep ticket sales stable.

There will soon be an addition to the tour's second-stage bill. That same mysterious band image, complete with those same three question marks, appears at the bottom of the site's "Bands" page. Although unconfirmed, Ozzfest watchers consider Long Island, New York's BLOODSIMPLE the safest bet for that open slot.

[Malcolm]

On his third solo release, "Fused," due July 12 via Sanctuary, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi didn't stray too far from his quintessential metallic solo past. Most notable is the old school track "I Go Insane," which at over nine minutes in length will leave metal fans feeling right at home.

"I wanted to do a long track basically with a lot of different changes," Iommi tells Billboard.com. "And if I had had my way, they probably all would have been as long as that. I think it was good to do something finally with a bit of an extended version. I also wanted to play the album live. So, we all went into the studio together and played, which was great to do that way." While the album's release comes just as Black Sabbath kicks off its Ozzfest summer dates, Iommi is planning a fall "Fused" tour with vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple) and drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp). Both musicians also appear on the album.

"We can draw from that album, we can draw from the [1996 release] 'The DEP Sessions' and even some 'Seventh Star' stuff," Iommi says. "I think we can even do a couple of Sabbath tunes. We don't really know exactly what we're going to play but I think there is certainly plenty of material."

Iommi's solo past is a bit convoluted, beginning with the 1986 Black Sabbath album "Seventh Star." Most fans agree this ostensibly was his first solo outing despite it being released under the Sabbath name. The guitarist's first proper solo release was a self-titled effort in 2000, which was followed up four years later by "The 1996 DEP Sessions." That set featured music recorded by Iommi and Hughes that had never received an official release.

As for Sabbath, Iommi hints that a DVD release from the summer shows could be in the works. However, it's the promise of a new Black Sabbath album that continues to keep diehards waiting.

"We've certainly talked about it," Iommi says. "But to make any definite plans as to when it's going to be is another thing. Again, it's going to come down to time because we're going to have put aside quite a bit of time to get together, rehearse and write another album. [But] I really think we owe it to the fans as well to do the album."

[Malcolm]

GIZMACHI have now officially filled one of the "mystery band" slots on the second stage of this year's Ozzfest.

GIZMACHI will release their debut CD, "The Imbuing", on May 3 on Big Orange Clown Records, an imprint of Sanctuary Records. "The Imbuing" was produced by SLIPKNOT's M. Shawn Crahan (who also founded Big Orange Clown Records), engineered by Josh Wilbur and recorded at Spin Studios in New York City. GIZMACHI is comprised of Sean Kane on vocals, Jay Hannon and Mike Laurino on guitars, Kris Gilmore on bass and Jimmie Hatcher on drums.

The band filmed the video for their first single, "The Answer", in February in New York. The video was directed by Crahan and produced by Doug Spangenberg (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, LAMB OF GOD, EVERY TIME I DIE).

Ozzfest 2005 billing is now shaping up as follows:

Main Stage:

BLACK SABBATH
IRON MAIDEN (July 15 ? Aug. 20)
VELVET REVOLVER (Aug. 23 ? Sep. 4)
MUDVAYNE
SHADOWS FALL
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
IN FLAMES

Second Stage:

ROB ZOMBIE
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
AS I LAY DYING
MASTODON
A DOZEN FURIES
THE HAUNTED
ARCH ENEMY
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
BURY YOUR DEAD
IT DIES TODAY
SOILWORK
TRIVIUM
GIZMACHI

[Malcolm]

 In a head-to-head Sirius Satellite Radio interview with "Sound of the Beast" author Ian Christe, BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi exclusively reveals this week that he has studio tapes of BLACK SABBATH jamming with LED ZEPPELIN during the mid-1970s.

"BLACK SABBATH used to jam with LED ZEPPELIN all the time." reports the Birmingham-born Iommi. "We'd be trying to rehearse and they'd come interrupt us. I've got some tapes floating around the house." During the exceptional in-depth session Iommi also reveals stories of having John Bonham serve as best man at his raucous first wedding, being chastised by Bill Ward's mom after setting her son on fire, his early days playing Buddy Holly cover songs in the 1960s, receiving a Gibson SG from Leslie West, and the desire to record new BLACK SABBATH material.

The interview airs twice this week (Tuesday, May 3 at 9:00 p.m. EST and Friday, May 6 at 1:00 p.m. EST) on Sirius "Hard Attack"/27's weekly "Bloody Roots" heavy metal history lesson, hosted by Christe. The show will also include rare SABBATH demo tracks, and two songs from the upcoming Iommi solo album, "Fused".

[Malcolm]

Just picked up 3 tickets to ozzfest at darien lake through the presale..Gonna be a sweet show..Finally i get to see Sabbath

[Dead N' Bloated]

What countries is Ozzfest going to if it still is going overseas


 

[Malcolm]

IrishExaminer is reporting that Ozzy Osbourne has been diagnosed with Parkin Syndrome and will have to take daily medication for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary shudders associated with the condition.

The BLACK SABBATH star was given the all-clear for Parkison's disease in 2003, after he complained his tremors were "practically destroying (his) life".

And the 56-year-old singer presumed his body shakes were a result of a lifetime of drug abuse, until doctors recently told him he has inherited the condition from his relatives.

He says: "I'd always assumed it was the booze and stuff. Now I've found it all stems from the family. It's called Parkin but it's not Parkinson's. Anything to do with the central nervous system has the word Parkin in it.

"A doctor in Los Angeles tried to tell me I had multiple sclerosis. And I believed him until I had a second opinion.

"When I told my sisters she said: 'Not you as well? Mum had that and Auntie Elsie and your grandma.'

"I'm like, 'Thanks for fucking telling me'. Me walking around thinking I've got some drug paralysis."