July 16, PNC Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
(photos: Lisa)

Zakk Wylde had a great performance, the guitar playing was awesome! In the beginning of his set Zakk said, "God Bless Randy Rhoads" and used a Randy Rhoads guitar for the first couple of songs. He then switched over to his bullseye guitar. He dedicated "Berserkers" to the troops in Iraq. I don't know how I missed this, but I was told at the end of the set Zakk threw his bullseye guitar into the crowd.

Setlist :
Funeral Bell
Suffering Overdue
Stillborn
Stoned & Drunk
Berserkers


Superjoint came out strong and the crowd enjoyed them at first. They got the crowd going with "Antifaith" and "Fuck Your Enemy". Phil started talking between songs and the crowd was getting pissed. There was a lot of smoke coming from either the food stands or the lawn area. Phil looked at the smoke and said, "Fuckin' Cheech and Chong are here." lol. I felt the set could have been a lot better if Phil would just shut the hell up and played more songs.

Setlist:
Antifaith
Fuck Your Enemy
Waiting For The Turning Point
Personal Insult
The Alcoholik
4 Songs
Ozena


This was my first time seeing Dimmu Borgir. Since I'm not familiar with this band I couldn't say whether this band was on point or not that night, but I did enjoy it (even better than Superjoint).

Setlist:
Spellbound (By The Devil)
Vredesbyrd
Kings of the Carnival Creation
Progenies of the Great Apocalypse
Mourning Palace


A lot of Slayer chants going around before they took stage and just kept on going. Just about everyone was headbanging and screaming out the words to each song. This was a kick ass set from a legendary metal band. If you attend Ozzfest do not miss this band!

Setlist:
Darkness of Christ
Disciple
War Ensemble
Die By The Sword
Payback
Mandatory Suicide
Chemical Warfare
Dead Skin Mask
Hell Awaits
South of Heaven
Raining Blood


The band came out to "Hellion" as Halford appeared in the center of the eye background and stayed there until the beginning of "Electric Eye". The crowd went nuts from the first note to well after the set was over. Downing, Tipton, and Hill were playing on point and Halford's voice was incredible, especially during Painkiller. They proved that Priest is still one of the best metal bands out there. Rob Halford came out on his motorcycle and sang "Hell Bent For Leather" on the bike. They stood in a line and rocked back and forth with their guitars which was so 1980's, but I got a kick out of it. Rob Halford announced that the band will be back next year, so keep an "eye" out for them on Ozzfest and beyond.

Setlist:
Hellion (intro)
Electric Eye
Metal Gods
Heading Out To The Highway
A Touch of Evil
Victim of Changes
Painkiller
The Sentinel
Beyond The Realms of Death
The Green Manalishi
Breaking The Law
Hell Bent For Leather
Living After Midnight
You Got Another Thing Comin


A curtain was up while they were setting up the stage for Sabbath. Then out of nowhere, we could hear Ozzy's voice and everyone went nuts. He got the crowd warmed up by making them chant with him. Soon, the lights went dark and they played a video montage of the history of Black Sabbath and before it ended, we could see shadow figures of Geezer, Ozzy, and Iommi behind the curtain. Ozzy was taking the microphone between his legs and simulating masturbation. I laughed my ass off! The curtain then lifts and there they were, the godfathers of metal...Black Sabbath.

They immediately kicked it off with War Pigs and Ozzy was jumping around like a madman. I couldn't believe this was the same Ozzy that was in an ATV accident and was worried he might not be able to do the tour. If Ozzy can keep this energy up, then anyone who gets the chance to see this amazing band will not be dissapointed. I was told that there were comparisons of George W. Bush to Adolph Hitler in the video clips, but I didn't see it in the clips. Maybe they took it out?

Tony Iommi's guitar playing was incredible as usual while Ozzy had the crowd going crazy with his head banging and chanting “I can’t fucking hear you” throughout the show. Geezer Butler and Bill Ward were good too, but I would have loved to hear a Geezer bass solo with Bill Ward drumming along. During "Snowblind", they played clips from the Al Pacino movie "Scarface" and everybody was clapping along for "Iron Man". Sabbath went off the stage for a bit and came back on for their encore. They played the opening for "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and went straight into "Paranoid" for the last song of the night. Red, white and blue confetti filled the arena while the last notes of the song played.


Like Slayer and Priest, do not miss Black Sabbath at Ozzfest! It's a long day, so make sure you pace yourself and drink plenty of water. Missing Sabbath at Ozzfest is like going to heaven and not getting to see God.


Setlist:
War Pigs
N.I.B.
Fairies Wear Boots
Into The Void
Snowblind
Black Sabbath
Iron Man
Children of the Grave
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (intro)
Paranoid

Review : by Lisa