OZZFEST NO LONGER SUMMER-LONG FREEFEST, NOW ONE-OFF EXPENSIVEFEST

As expected, the rumor that this year’s incarnation of Ozzfest would be a one-off destination show (or possibly a small handful of one-offs) was confirmed today. According to the Shadows Fall official website, the event, dubbed Ozzy Osbourne’s Monsters of Rock (sidenote: lame title), will take place July 26th in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and will features Ozzy, Judas Priest, Serj Tankian, Hatebreed, Cavalera Conspiracy, Voivod, Testament, 3 Inches of Blood, Priestess, Zimmers Hole and Dillinger Escape Plan.

Not a bad lineup… at all. But honestly, given that last summer’s “Freefest” experiment apparently failed so miserably that pretty much the whole festival was scrapped this year, couldn’t we do without another boring Ozzy headline performance to bring the ticket price down from the egregious $120? Not that we’re planning on going, but anyone who does plan to attend could surely do without Ozzy’s frog-hop and water hose gimmick for the umpteenth time. Dude needs to call it a day already, and Zakk Wylde… well, he’ll figure something out.

On second thought, I hear they have some pretty killer ganj on the West Coast of Canada…

-VN