Ozzfest 07

On August 16, 2007 I went to my fourth Ozzfest which was at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ.  Amy and I got there early and we still had to park far away cuz that's where they were hoarding everyone and, oh yeah, taking $25 along the way.  This is obviously a total rip, especially considering that PNC usually doesn't charge anything for parking.  Luckily we met up with our friends Adam and Ryan as we did some tailgating before taking the trek over to the venue.

Once inside we (Adam) wanted to check out all the tents and merch booths.  I was pleasantly surprised when we happened upon the Sirius tent where the Hard Attack channel was broadcasting live.  I got to meet three cool DJs: Mario, Ian Christie, and Jose.  It was cool to chat with them and see them in action but unfortunately we also missed the first two bands (Ankla and Chthonic) completely.  Here is a tidbit about the rest of the bands on the bill:

In This Moment: chick lead singer; only caught the last song; sounded good but from the clips I've heard I don't think I'm gonna spend my money on their cd.

Daath: To me they look like a bunch of long-haired metal dudes who play pretty extreme metal.  The playing is fast and clean with growly vocals.  Their website would have you believe that they are spiritual intellectuals...go figure.

3 Inches of Blood: By far my favorite of the day.  Lead singing is a throwback to Rob Halford style (who by the way loves this band too) but they have a screaming back up vocalist.  Very cool sound and really stand out in today's scene.  Fittingly, I bloodied my elbow while moshing to them.

The Showdown: Southern grunge metal.  Kinda reminiscent of what Soil used to sound like.  They were good, but I kinda wanted so see more of a spark from them.  That is until they through in covers of Pantera and Metallica which really got the crowd going.

Nile: cookie monster metal.  We took this opportunity to go get lunch.

Devildriver: Caught the end of their set as we got back.  Former Coal Chamber leader Dez has grown his hair out, but his voice remains the same.  Again, I don't think I can bring myself to buy their album but I really enjoy seeing them live.

Behemoth: Polish metal dudes with painted faces!  Not really my style, but they were much better than I expected them to be. Ala Gene Simmons they spurted out mouthfulls of blood towards the end of their set.

Hatebreed: Always bring it at their live shows and this was no exception.  They mixed up some new and old material to the delight of the crowd.  We stayed for most of the set and then went to secure our lawn seats.

Black Tide: Never heard of them but they were good. Straightforward kind of rock/metal.

Lordi: Look like Gwar; sound much better.  Still it wasn't enough to keep me from putting in my ear plugs and dozing off before my boys in Static X came on.

Static-X: Hold a special place in my heart since they were at the first concert I ever saw.  The sound wasn't as good as it could have been from our lawn seats on stage-right but their mixture of old and new songs was still enough to get me pumped and jumping and headbanging behind the railing.

Lamb of God: My second time seeing these guys.  I liked them a little better this time.  I can see that they are pretty awesome musicians, but their music and incomprehensible vocals just don't do it for me as it seems to for others.

Ozzy: My third time seeing him live (since last time Rob Halford filled in when Ozzy had voice trouble) and by far the worst I've seen him.  I still love Ozzy and he wasn't downright horrible, but he wasn't nearly good either.  The video montage they played prior to his stage entrance was more entertaining than hearing him struggle with classics like "Bark at the Moon" and "Mr. Crowley" so we didn't stick around for long.

Overall I had a fun time and I got to learn about some new bands.  I'm getting really tired of the festivals that overcharge you for parking, food, and drink though.  Then some idiots have to go and ruin it for the rest of us and make tailgating at PNC become illegal.  Therefore, it will take a long time or a really great lineup for me to go back to PNC again anytime soon.