Ozzfest is Coming to Japan

At this point I think it’s safe to say that there will never again be a “traditional” Ozzfest the way we’re accustomed to it here in the U.S. And that’s fine, because there are plenty of other Ozzfest-like traveling festivals/giant package tours (e.g., Mayhem, Summer Slaughter, etc.) to fill that need.

But the Ozzfest brand still has value, especially in territories that haven’t been oversaturated with similar tours. So it’s not all that surprising that the latest incarnation of Ozzfest will hit Japan next spring as a two-day event at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City. And the line-up that’s been announced thus far is really, really strong:

May 11th:

Slipknot
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators
Deftones

May 12th:

Black Sabbath
Tool
Stone Sour

Relatively speaking, there is not a bad band on that bill. The odds are not in favor of the complete line-up being that perfect — I mean, at least one Winds of Plague or Coal Chamber is bound to sneak onto there — but the fest’s organizers are obviously off to a great start! We’ll see how the rest of the line-up shapes up in the coming weeks…