Heavy metal and hardcore fans from as far away as Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia stormed Germain Amphitheater Friday for Ozzfest 2006. The Columbus show was the annual rock tour’s only Ohio engagement, bringing with it music fans from all parts of the state and beyond. Those able to get off work and make it to the show early enough to see the tour’s morning performances were treated to some of the day’s best sets.
Taking to the tour’s second stage around 10 a.m., Canadian group Strapping Young Lad began the concert with a heavy dose of industrial influenced thrash metal. Vocalist Devin Townsend took control of the show by baiting the crowd of mostly high school and college age kids. Taking full advantage of his shrieking vocal style, Townsend was able to whip the crowd into a spastic mob. Following SYL’s high-energy opening, North Carolina mathcore group Between the Buried and Me took the stage. Between the Buried and Me performed the most musically diverse performance of the day. The quintet infused blues, classic rock, heavy metal and hardcore into their set making for a more melodic and technical set than SYL.
Detroit metalcore band Walls of Jericho took to the stage with a burst of energy. Vocalist Candace Kucsulain provided the day’s most engaging individual performance; running from one end of the stage to the other, the redhead, tattooed minx controlled the show’s tempo while at the same time demanding the growing crowd’s attention. Flashing her bright smile while delivering guttural lyrics, her stage persona had an odd duality that coincided perfectly with drummer Dustin Schoenhofer’s aggressive and frantic playing. The intensity Walls of Jericho brought to the stage was maintained by their successors – Full Blown Chaos. The four man New York outfit offered a balanced helping of traditional head banging metalcore, infused with lyrics about family, love and redemption. Unfortunately, any message FBC offered its audience was quickly forgotten, thanks to a terrible and annoying show provided by Bad Acid Trip.
The California based quartet took the stage with grating guitars and shrieking vocals. A poor man’s version of System of a Down, Bad Acid Trip’s stupid stage antics and politically charged, yet utterly ridiculous lyrics left the crowd in a state of grumbling annoyance. Vocalist Dirk Rogers’ constant talking between songs added to the crowd’s disappointment. Their 20 minute show felt as if it took an hour.
Luckily, Philadelphia deathcore band, A Life Once Lost, was able to revive the second stage with a competent set. Much of the credit goes to the band’s vocalist, Robert Meadows, who asked the crowd to perform a ‘wall of death’ (think of the Scots and the English meeting on the battlefield in “Braveheart”), which opened up and expanded the once nonexistent pit. Once crowd members started moving, the sour taste of BAT was quickly forgotten. Melodic deathcore group, All That Remains, followed suit. Providing high energy bursts of musical mayhem, the Massachusetts quintet performed one of the second stage’s most intense shows. Fellow Massachusetts deathcore setup, The Red Chord, followed, but were unable to keep their statesmen’s antics alive. Hindered by the day’s increasing heat and sub-par sound, lead vocalist Guy Kozowyk was reduced to baiting the crowd in order to get any form of feedback.
Christian metalcore band, Norma Jean, suffered the same fate. Despite a loyal and fervent fan base that created a large pit, those in the crowd who were new or indifferent to the Georgia group more or less stood around waiting for the next act. They wouldn’t be disappointed.
Orange County sextet Bleeding Through took the Ozzfest second stage with a high-energy performance. Flanked on each side of the stage by banners featuring a bloody mouth, the group ripped into a non-stop, 30-minute, metalcore set that sent the crowd into a frenzy. As the crowd dissolved into a gigantic pit, the band continued their hellacious assault. Finishing their set with their 2003 hit, “On Wings of Lead,” the California based group left the crowd begging for more. Unfortunately, melodic deathcore group Unearth, was unable to follow suit. A lack of stage presence and the unbelievable heat doomed the Massachusetts group from the beginning. Their successors, Atreyu, also did very little get the concert back to its Bleeding Through greatness. Vocalist Alex Varkatzas’ whiney screams and the band’s overuse of its amplifiers helped to sour the feel of the show.
Rounding out the second stage experience was metal strong hold, Black Label Society. Lead by Ozzy Osbourne’s band’s guitarist, Zakk Wylde, Black Label Society’s set included a unique blend of southern rock, blues and heavy metal. Playing off of their biker/hard drinker stereotype BLS geared their show toward the concert’s older patrons. As a continuous flow of youth crowd surfers made their way toward the stage, Wylde’s gravely, nasal-tone voice called out to the older viewers to drink more booze and smoke more pot. The set featured an odd assortment of gimmicks including roadies unleashing giant beach balls, painted to look like eight-balls and Wylde’s now famous four to five minute long rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Amidst a sea of sweat, booze and American pride, BLS’s set concluded and the attention of concertgoers moved from the Germain parking lot to the Amphitheater.
The concert’s main stage opened with the internationally constructed, English-based power metal group DragonForce. Easily the lamest band on the tour, DragonForce models its style of music (as well as its stage presence) on 1980s metal groups like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Unlike Maiden and Priest, however, DragonForce’s live show comes off as more gimmicky than genuine. Watching these guys perform is like being at a bad Queensryche concert circa 1990. It says something when the only people cheering are either in their late-40s, under the age of ten or have their collars popped. Still, somehow, they weren’t as annoying as Bad Acid Trip.
Following the debacle of DragonForce, Italian goth metal band Lacuna Coil took the stage. Both vocalists, Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro, were immediately drowned out by the incessant guitars of Christiano Migliore and Marco Biazzi, thus setting the stage for yet another poor performance. Despite their abilities to wail with the rest of the metal scene, Scabbia and Ferro’s vocals were reduced to nothing more than background noise, thanks to the band’s terrible acoustics. Singles such as “Heaven’s a Lie” came off as annoying nu-metal buzz rather than actual music, and the band’s on-stage outfits (some sort of Catholic school boy/girl get up) were nauseatingly cliché. Despite this, Scabbia and the rest of the band were able to pull off an interesting cover of Depeche Mode’s 1990 hit “Enjoy the Silence.” The song was the performance’s one saving grace.
The main stage’s saviors came with the next act. Connecticut based band Hatebreed – the former darlings of the hardcore underground – took the stage with a vengeance. Ripping into a set that encompassed old favorites such as “Puritan” and “Empty Promises,” new songs like “This is Now,” and hits such as “I Will Be Heard,” the boys from New Haven brought a small concert feel to the enormous venue. The size of Germain was upsetting to vocalist Jamey Jasta, who prowled the stage looking longingly at the circle pits forming out on the amphitheater’s lawn. The placement of Hatebreed on the main stage was an odd choice considering that the band’s lyrics and performances are very intimate ordeals. Though they gave the main stage’s best performance, their act was hindered by their distance from the fans. The same could not be said for the next three bands.
Starting with hard rock band, Avenged Sevenfold, the main stage was transformed into a full-blown arena rock venue. With lights, smoke and a giant anamatronic skull with wings, A7X took the stage. Lead singer M. Shadows (real name Matthew Charles Sanders) showcased his vocal range
on songs like “Bat Country” and a cover of Pantera’s “Walk.” The latter, a song Shadows dedicated to former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell (who was murdered in Columbus on Dec. 8, 2004), was a major hit with the Ozzfest crowd. Ending their set abruptly amidst an array of lights and smoke, Avenged Sevenfold gave the tours roadies ample time to prepare for the next band.
Unfortunately, Disturbed and its theatrical vocalist David Draiman, decided to take as much time in between songs as its crew took to set up the show. The quartet’s performance was often slowed by Draiman’s diatribes about metal, politics and brotherhood. By the time a song began, only the hardcore Disturbed fans seemed to care. Though songs like “Stupify,” “Down with the Sickness,” “Prayer” and “Stricken” sounded decent, Draiman’s incessant talking and the rest of the bands continual off-stage antics slowed the performance. Draiman’s rhetorical talk especially hindered the effectiveness of the band’s newest single, a cover of Genesis’ “Land of Confusion.”
Finishing the Ozzfest experience was a surreal performance by Armenian-American political band System of a Down. Relying on their odd personalities, SOAD, gave the weirdest performance of the day. Lead vocalist Serj Tankian and guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian commanded the crowds attention with their unique voices and goofy stage antics. Hits like “B.Y.O.B.,” “Toxicity,” “Aerials” and “Sugar” were performed at either faster or slower paces giving the concert an odd feeling. This manic performance style was a fitting end to the day long concert.
Overall, Ozzfest 2006 was an interesting mix of hard music and stage spectacle. Unfortunately, it was missing a key component: Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzfest without Ozzy is like a fall Saturday in Columbus without a Buckeye game. A lot of noise without purpose.
