Primal Fear

Meshuggah

Jorn

Firebrands

Eluveitie

A.O.T.W.

more interviews?

Band:Ozzfest Review Album:July 12th Auburn, Wa at White River Amphitheater Record Company:Ozzfest 2007 Writer: Mark Carras MP3: MySpace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

So the second year of being the first to post photos from Ozzfest is mine. However I learned more important lessons. We had fancy automation, but two things killed us. First, our camera went from giving us photos with the extension in all caps to lowercase. Sounds like a minor problem, but within the insanity of Ozzfest, this is major. Our programmer Slowfuse is already working on a way to make it not matter what case the file extension is. Too bad they make my PDA so you can’t edit the file type, or we could have solved this remotely. The other problem is when we “stole” part of the script for this automation from the CD Review template, I forgot to change the line that says “CD Review” to Live Photos”. Editing that kind of crap through an FTP on a cell phone is a pain in the ass!

We also learned was that last year when things ran so slow, it was because of our old little server. With our new hosting company things uploaded pretty damn fast using the Verizon Ev_Do network. So next year the wife will stay home and I will do most of this through my cell phone. Then when shit goes wrong she can help fix them. Having her on site turned out to be not so good since the heat sucked up battery life. Her batteries normally hold up for two hours, but they lasted only a fourth of that. So next year we should be kicking major ass! If they kick off the tour somewhere else I might even be willing to fly in for it. Who wants to do this with me?

I must say that although many might be pissed off at Live Nation because of the server issues when tickets were handed out, the Live Nation crew along with the staff at White River Amphitheater is always amazingly helpful and cool to work with. I also must say that Sherri and I would not have made it through the day if it wasn’t for the free Monster Energy drinks we were given. I haven’t tasted an energy drink that good in a long while. You all know what an opinionated bastard I am, so I hope you know this is not ass kissing. I do not get one penny from them for saying this. The only question I have now is, do they have a sugar free version and does it taste as good as the classic versions we had today? Yummy!

Oh wait, did you expect me to talk about the music? Sorry, but I only saw the first three songs of each band and had to leave after Lamb Of God’s third song to rush home and get these photos posted. I will say this. I think the band that will kick the most ass as far as increase in sales goes is Lordi. These guys put on one hell of a show! But the best part was something most people did not get to see. A few minutes after their set, several members walked by the media tent. There’s something about a bunch of monsters walking by while drinking from dainty little straws that burns an image. That was a photo I wish I could have taken. The photos I did take turned out pretty damn kick ass though, I must say. The other band I think will get a huge response from Ozzfest is In This Moment. This band works their asses off onstage. I never got to meet them because they didn’t spend much time backstage. They must have been out with fans the whole time, or something. Chthonic sticks out pretty well too, but they’re a little too heavy for most. If you love extreme music, but demand quality with the brutality, then check Chthonic out!

I don’t want it to sound like the other bands were bad. Everyone else is either already pretty established or they just didn’t stick out on an Ozzfest bill. I won’t mention any names, but I think a few bands tried to gruff up the vocals to fit in and ended up not sticking out as much as they would have if they stayed true to their own sound. Bands need to know that you will always do better if you stick to what you do best and what is honestly in your heart. So I am curious to read reviews from the fan’s point of view. Post them on the forums, and if they are good enough I might archive them in the official review sections. Cool?

Band:Ozzfest Review Album:July 12th Auburn, Wa at White River Amphitheater Record Company:Ozzfest 2007 Writer: Mark Carras Click Album Cover To Buy Now

To post comments CLICK HERE!