Sabbath And Maiden To Headline 10th Aniversery Run Of Ozzfest

BLACK SABBATH and IRON MAIDEN will headline the 10th anniversary edition of Ozzfest, In addition, ANTHRAX's "Among the Living" lineup ? featuring vocalist Joey Belladonna, guitarist Dan Spitz and bassist Frank Bello ? is said to have secured a slot on the main stage at the festival, which is expected to kick off in mid-July.

According to unconfirmed reports, the Ozzfest 2005 shows will start later than the previous 9:00 a.m. kick-off time and will include more non-rotating slots on teh second stage.

Prior to headlining the 2005 edition of Ozzfest, BLACK SABBATH will embark on a short European tour, which will include an appearance at the U.K.'s Download festival (where they will headline the "Ozzfest" day on June 11).

The original lineup of BLACK SABBATH ? Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward ? have confimed a headlining date at the 8,000-capacity Oslo Spektrum arena in Oslo, Norway on Thursday, July 7. Support at the show will come from VELVET REVOLVER. Tickets for the concert go on sale on Saturday, February 19. In addition, the group are scheduled to play at the Globen arena in Stockholm, Sweden on July 3. Although there has been no official confirmation on the matter, it is believed that VELVET REVOLVER will be the opening act at this show as well. Tickets for the Stockholm date go on sale on February 14.

In an interview with the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, a spokesperson for SABBATH's Scandinavian booking agency, EMA Telstar, indicated that talks are currently underway to bring the band to the Hartwall arena in Helsinki, Finland sometime in early July. That show is expected to be confirmed in the coming days.

Confirmed BLACK SABBATH European tour dates:

Jun. 11 - Derbyshire, UK @ Donington Park (Download)
Jun. 18 - Nijmegen, NETH @ Fields of Rock Festival
Jun. 20 - Vienna, AUT @ Wiener Stadthalle
Jul. 01 - Roskilde, DEN @ Roskilde Festival
Jul. 03 - Stockholm, SWE @ Globen
Jul. 07 ? Oslo, NOR @ Oslo Spektrum