A reliable staple of the summer concert season, it’s easy to take Ozzfest for granted. Just slap Ozzy Osbourne and one of his bands at the end of a full day of metal and everyone goes home happy.
The past few Ozzfest outings featured less-than-memorable lineups, but for its eighth year Ozzfest rebounded in a big way, buoyed by three bands topping the main stage bill: Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Slayer, a trio of metal titans.
At the Tweeter Center Saturday, which opened its gates at a very un-metal-like 9 a.m., over a dozen other groups played in anticipation of the finale. Ranging from buzz bands such as Lamb of God and Otep to such tried-and-true rabble rousers as Hatebreed and the clown-masked industrial-style speed metal of Slipknot, these second-stage acts kept the thousands cordoned off in a corner of the parking lot violently happy until the main stage opened for business.
When it did, guitarist Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society and Superjoint Ritual (showcasing Pantera screamer Phil Anselmo) offered little beyond generic high-decibel thrills and jingoistic banter. The Norwegian black metal act Dimmu Borgir, on the other hand, brought something new to Ozzfest, its pummeling metal augmented with grand, orchestral keyboards.
But everything paled before Slayer, whose warp speeds and unrelenting aggression have made its music timeless; few have yet to match it. With virtuoso drummer Dave Lombardo back in the fold, the incredible precision and overdriven assault of songs such as the group’s classic “Raining Blood” felt like being on the receiving end of a truck spewing tons of rattling munitions.
Compared to Slayer, Judas Priest sounded very much the midtempo relic. But that’s the point: The legendary British band’s reunion with singer Rob Halford is one of the reasons fans are calling this Ozzfest the best one yet, and Priest stuck to a greatest-hits set that placated old (in every sense) fans while turning on newcomers to its hummable hard rock hooks and the twin-guitar attack of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton.
It was when Halford, clad head to toe in chrome-studded black leather, hit the first few high notes of “Metal Gods” and “Heading Out to the Highway” that the excitement of his return really clicked. No one can shriek like Halford; and even topping 50, his ear-piercing operatic pipes remain in fine form. “You’ve realized you’re gettin’ old,” he belted in “Victim of Changes, “and no one seems to care.” Indeed, from Halford leading the near-capacity venue through the chorus of “Breaking the Law” and riding out on a Harley to sing “Hell Bent for Leather,” the crowd couldn’t get enough.
The once-again reunited Black Sabbath proved a tad anticlimactic, given that Ozzy’s preservation is a lot shakier than Halford’s. Yet as heavy metal’s template setters, Ozzy, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward, and guitarist Tony Iommi get special dispensation for sounding a little ragged and out of sync. The key remains Iommi’s monster riffs — if he did sell his soul to the devil for such air-guitar masterpieces as “N.I.B,” “Into the Void,” and “Iron Man,” it was worth the price.
