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Full metal racket
Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Slayer rule Ozzfest 2004
BY SEAN RICHARDSON
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The metal gods were smiling Saturday at the Meadows Music Centre in Hartford, where Ozzfest 2004 kicked off its summer before coming to the Tweeter Center in Mansfield this past Monday. The weather was perfect for the 14-hour concert marathon, and rumors of flat ticket sales, which caused the cancellation of this summer’s Lollapalooza and have apparently plagued other big concert tours, proved not to be a problem for the monolithic Ozzfest. I arrived as the sun was starting to fade, just in time to see second-stage headliners Slipknot play all their hits, from their breakthrough single "Wait and Bleed" to their current modern-rock charter "Duality." By then, the white-trash carnival was in full swing: kids were kicking up dust in the mosh pit, girls were walking around with nothing but body paint covering their breasts, and beer was being chugged and flung through the air. And for the first time since 2001, Ozzy Osbourne is touring with the original reunited Black Sabbath, who continue to deliver performances worthy of their legend. With a new box set out to support (the eight-CD Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath, on Rhino), they opened with the thunderous Vietnam-era anti-war anthem "War Pigs." To accompany the song, the band went for Michael Moore–style shock value with a video montage that compared Bush with Hitler. (Only a smattering of boos were heard in liberal Connecticut, but it will be interesting to see how that bit of politicking goes over with heartland audiences.) Bush bashing took a back seat to head banging for the rest of the show, which found guitarist Tony Iommi and company shifting tempi with an energy that belied their age on chestnuts like "Children of the Grave" and "Into the Void." As for Ozzy, he hit most of his cues and smiled his way through the entire set. This year’s Ozzfest was full of reunions: after 12 years apart, Judas Priest and their original frontman, Rob Halford, who are also supporting a new box set (the five-disc Metalogy, on Sony), reintroduced themselves to the metal faithful with the longest and most theatrical set of the day. On the opening "Electric Eye," Halford unleashed his legendary howl from the pupil of a giant eye that loomed atop the drum riser. Toward the end of the set, he brought the house down by riding out on a motorcycle for "Hell Bent for Leather." The band’s classic guitar harmonies — a touchstone of the Priest sound — were much in evidence. And their set list, which touched on everything from the epic "Victim of Changes" to the sing-along "You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ " to the thrashy "Painkiller," did not disappoint. The third reunion of the evening had drummer Dave Lombardo rejoining the original line-up of Slayer for a set that in contrast to Judas Priest’s kept things simple. No stage props or pyro, just 45 minutes of unbridled, thrash-metal aggression. Despite Lombardo’s return to the kit, Slayer threw a curveball of sorts by leaving out "Angel of Death," a song best known for his big solo. Still, they fulfilled their oldies quota in style with the one-two closing punch of "South of Heaven" and "Raining Blood." And even more recent material like "Disciple" and "Payback" brought the vicious thrashing guitar attack and breakneck drumming that ensured the speed freaks in the crowd would head home happy.
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