Ozzy Osbourne and Slipknot had a press conference yesterday (May 12th) to announce that they will be combining their two festivals, Ozzfest and Knotfest, into one epic weekend called “Ozzfest Meets Knotfest” in San Bernardino, California on September 24th and 25th. They will be having guests such as Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Disturbed, Megadeth, Anthrax and much more. This is going to be one of the most insane music festivals to date and will be Black Sabbath’s last concert appearance in California.
This press conference was not what I was expecting. I thought it would be Ozzy standing in front of a podium that had a bunch of microphones while the press yells at him to answer question about the tour. It was, however, way cooler than that. First of all they let in hundreds of fans for free, some like Brandy, didn’t even know it was going on. “I was on my way to the gym,” says Brandy, “and I saw that Ozzy Osbourne was showing up so I skipped the gym to see what it was all about.” She was the only one in yoga pants and compared to the metal heads there she stuck out like a sore thumb.
The event took place at The Hollywood Palladium, a cool venue off of Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. Ozzfest is known for having a freak show and some of the freaks were there. “This will be my first time doing Ozzfest,” says professional contortionist Scarlet Checkers, “I’m really looking forward to seeing Disturbed. I’ve seen them before and they rock.”
Before the announcement, they showed a short film about the first tour of Ozzfest back in the 90’s called “We Sold Our Souls for Rock ‘n’ Roll.” It was amazing seeing all the bands back when most of them were just starting out. The movie showed the Metal Scene’s Beauty and the ugliness. It was very well done and I suggest it to anyone. You don’t even need to like the music to appreciate the film, but it helps.
After the announcement, Zakk Sabbath played a set. It was amazing and he sounds just like Ozzy. Boy could he shred too on that guitar.
On the whole, I think this is the event that Metalheads everywhere have been waiting for. With all the big names and activities this festival should prove to be one of the greatest and go down in the history books. Hopefully I can get some tickets.
[UPDATE] The full lineups have been announced for each day:
