This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Some Ozzfest acts are good. Some are bad. And some are just plain weird.
This latest instalment in the live album series from Ozzy Osbourne’s annual summer metal tour hits all three points as always. On the plus side, you’ve got Oz himself delivering a decent version of War Pigs, along with high-quality acts like the intricately punishing System Of A Down (Needles), the bludgeoning Down (Ghosts Along The Mississippi), the homicidal Hatebreed (A Call For Blood) and the challenging Swedish outfit Meshuggah (New Millennium Cyanide Christ). On the minus side, you’ve got past-his-prime Rob Zombie (More Human Than Human) and way too many appearances by Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde, who plays with his boss, his own Black Label Society and Soil. But when it comes to overdoing it, nobody tops Andrew W.K., who fulfils the bizarro quotient with a typically adrenalized version of She Is Beautiful featuring none other than Kelly Osbourne. Papa don’t preach, indeed.
