by Velouria

Last Sunday 25,000+ came to worship their metal gods at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA. The line-up included Slipknot, Black Label Society (featuring former Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde), Hatebreed, Lamb of God, Lacuna Coil, and Otep, but the real story of Ozzfest 2004 is the appearance of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Slayer, each performing with all original members. Quite a feat considering the age and tumultuous pasts of these bands.

Hard-living Black Sabbath, considered by many to be the first heavy metal band, emerged on the scene 36 years ago. Judas Priest has been around for 30 years, but over a third of that time without original frontman, Rob Halford - a man whose voice is so respected in the metal world that his coming out, before coming out was trendy, had little, if any, affect on the reverence he inspires among metalheads. Slayer's 22 year stint has largely been without their original drummer, a position incredibly important in a speed-metal band.

The scene at Nissan Pavilion Sunday was as white-trash as Kid Rock strives to be, complete with black t-shirts, black socks, mullets, big-bleached hair, tattoos, bandanas, beer guts (on men and women alike), and thousands of hands saluting with their index and pinky fingers up. There were bad-ass biker mamas, burly trucker dudes, scantily clad rock chics, bold ass-grabbing men, MTV kids and a sprinkling of DC professionals looking around at the carnival-like atmosphere in amazement. During the performances the crowd participated by chucking whatever they could get their hands on in the air. The unbelievable amount of trash soaring around seemed an appropriate companion to the music, but it necessitated watching the sky instead of the stage in order to dodge the water bottles and pizza boxes raining down. The occasional smoke bomb here and there topped off the surreal experience.

Slayer's performance kicked off the trilogy of reunion sets with a bang. The band's on and off relationship with original drummer Dave Lombardo is, for now, on again. Tom Araya (vocals, bass), Jeff Hanneman (guitars) and Kerry King (guitars) accepted Dave back into the fold last year after kicking him out eleven years prior. Apparently feeling nostalgic, Slayer thrashed out several of their oldies but goodies including: "South of Heaven" and "Raining Blood," a signature song from the Rick Rubin produced Reign In Blood. The band was tight and the vocals were surprisingly strong given the strain constant screaming must place on Araya's vocal chords.

Slayer was followed by the reunited Judas Priest, Rob Halford (vocals), Ian Hill (bass), Glenn Tipton (guitars) and K.K. Downing (guitars). The band took the stage clad in red and black leather, reminding us that they pulled off a color-based dress code before Jack and Meg of the White Stripes were even born. Priest toured without Halford following his departure from the band in the early 90's, replacing him with Ripper Owens. After seeing Halford's amazing vocal performance on Sunday I can't imagine they were ever as good without him. His five-octave vocal range was shockingly powerful and clear. A few of his piercing screams left the audience dumbfounded and looking around at each other in disbelief. The band wasn't bad either, Glenn and K.K. thrashed out some amazing dueling solos. Highlights of the show included "Breaking the Law" and "Painkiller," but they brought down the house with an encore of "Hell Bent for Leather," which began with Halford's roaring back on stage at the helm of a Harley Davidson.

And then there was Black Sabbath. Those in the audience still sober enough to care seemed nervous before the set, they weren't positive that frontman Ozzy Osbourne could pull it off. After all, he was in a serious ATV accident last December and told by doctors not to tour for at least two years. On top of that, those who have seen Ozzy on the MTV reality show the Osbournes, have born witness to him stumbling around his house slurring and generally incomprehensible. The fear that he might embarrass himself was fueled by Ozzy's moaning the beat to "Iron Man" into a microphone before the band took the stage.

Then a light appeared behind the curtain shrouding the stage and silhouettes of the band appeared, distorted and larger than life. The crowd erupted as the curtain fell and the band launched in to a rocking version of "War Pigs." Screens behind the band showed images of Vietnam, World War II, and Hitler. Interestingly enough, at the first Ozzfest show in Hartford a week ago the "War Pigs" images included a now absent picture of George W. Bush with a red clown nose. I'm guessing that Sabbath fans weren't thrilled with the comparison of our President to Hitler. Ozzy's voice, though warbly at times, was strong. He spent most of the show in front of a teleprompter and occasionally confused lyrics, but all in all he pulled it off. He was sedentary, but full of defiance and personality. Tommy Iommi (guitars) was flawless. A big part of what makes Black Sabbath so unique, apart from their sideshow of "Satanism" and horror, are Iommi's heavy, haunting guitar riffs. This sound is part design, but largely accident, as Iommi lost the tips of his fingers on his right hand in an industrial mishap and had to learn to play guitar with his strings slightly slack. Geezer Butler (bass and lyrics) was also in top form and much more active than the rest. Bill Ward (drums) was solid, though probably shouldn't have taken his shirt off. The show, rounded out with performances of "Paranoid" and "Iron Man," was impressive and definitely worth seeing.

After all, who knows if you'll ever have the chance to see these geezers -- ahem --music legends again?

Labels: Ozzfest