News of OZZFEST to come next week.

Annual (or so) heavy metal/hard rock festival Ozzfest will release news after months of speculation beginning next week.

It has a chance to be amazing, especially considering the weak Mayhem Fest lineup.

Ozzfest has been to Sandstone every year (except 2004/5 with Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath playing) so it's sure to hit here.

Rumored bands:











And lots more.

The Big Four Tour - a reality, kinda.

Pretty entertaining stuff going on at the Sonisphere festivals over in Europe:

METALLICA's official web site has been updated with the following message:

"You've been posting and chatting about it for months and we're here now to confirm it . . . METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, and ANTHRAX will all share the same stage for the first time EVER! Look for the four of us at the Sonisphere shows in Warsaw, Poland and Prague, Czech Republic on June 16 and 19, 2010, with a few more of the festival dates still in the works. You can be sure these shows won't be the only ones."

Commented METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich: "Who would have thought that more than 25 years after its inception, thrash metal's 'Big Four' would not only still be around and more popular than ever, but will now play together for the first time...what a mindfuck! Bring it on!"

The announcement on METALLICA's official web site seems to directly contradict MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's December 8, 2009 online posting in which he said, "Although there have been many rumors about a reunion of the 'Big Four' set to happen in Eastern Europe next summer, the plan never came together for us. We are hopeful that this will happen for real one day and will keep you posted as things develop."

New Concerts on the horizon!

Sad about Metallica not coming back to Kansas City on their next leg of their World Magnetic tour? On August 7th at the Granada in Lawrence, will be a Metallica tribute band by the name of Battery. They're a nationally touring band, so they must be good!

After some absence, The Mars Volta will return to KC at the Midland by AMC on September 14th. Tickets go on sale soon!

Possibly the heaviest show of the year, Kylesa will be at the Granada on October 10th along with Doomriders, Bison B.C., and Red Fang. It's gonna be loud.

Metallica announces 2009 US Dates

Looks like they're skipping KC for now, but expect that to change: Metallica has played KC on every major tour they've had except for the Kill 'Em All tour back in the 80's.

Dates so far:

Sep. 14 - Nashville, TN - Sommet Center
Sep. 15 - Cincinnati, OH - US Bank Arena
Sep. 17 - Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse
Sep. 19 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
Sep. 28 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
Sep. 29 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
Oct. 01 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Bank Atlantic Center
Oct. 03 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
Oct. 04 - Atlanta, GA - Phillips Arena
Oct. 12 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
Oct. 13 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
Oct. 15 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
Oct. 17 - Charlottesville, VA - JPJ Arena
Oct. 18 - Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Bobcats Arena
Oct. 26 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
Oct. 29 - Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place
Oct. 31 - Quebec City, QC - Colisee Pepsi
Nov. 09 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
Nov. 10 - Buffalo, NY - HSBC Arena
Nov. 12 - Albany, NY - Times Union Center
Nov. 14 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
Dec. 05 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay
Dec. 07 - Boise, ID - Idaho Center
Dec. 08 - Sacramento, CA - ARCO Arena
Dec. 10 - Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
Dec. 12 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavillion

Metallica -- Kansas City, MO -- October 25th, 2008

What a great concert for my first arena show! I arrived very early, About an hour and 15 minutes before doors at 6:00 PM but there was already a large line and lots of people going in. I got to my second-level seat around. 6:15. One thing about the Sprint Center that took me by surprise: It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be! It only holds around 15,000 people, but my second-level seat was absolutely perfect. I had a clear view of the stage and it was great! Another great thing about this show: The bands started right on time.

The Sword came on right at 7:00 PM. Some of the people commented on how quiet it was. They were definitely loud enough, but a lot quieter than I expected. A good show overall, though. Took around the middle of the first song with vocals to get the lead guitarists voice to be heard. At several points during their set, I thought to myself "It sounds like High On Fire playing Black Sabbath with Karl Sanders writing the music". Not sure if it accurately represents the band, but they were pretty good. The crowd got into them during "Freya", apparently from its appearance on Guitar Hero 2. They'd be way more awesome at a smaller venue, however. Pretty heavy.

?? (Maybe The Sundering or Celestial crown)
?? (Maybe The Forest Giant's Daughter or Barael's Blade)
Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians
The Black River
Freya
Iron Swan

7.5/10

Down came on at about 7:40 and lots of people around me really wanted to see them. I wasn't looking forward to them: Never liked Pantera and I thought they'd be really slow. They were heavy, but never slow! Phil Anselmo really worked the crowd during the songs, including actually throwing the mic into the crowd while he fooled around with something else! All the band worked all sides of the stage, and people went crazy whenever Mr. Anselmo came over to them. My favorite song of them would've had to be "N.O.D.". Very awesome, but once again, I think they'd be better in a smaller environment. Perhaps Ozzfest 2009?

??
The Path
Phil introduced himself and a bassist for being in Pantera, dedicated the song to Dimebag, then played one? I dunno if it was a Pantera song or what, but it sounded like he said "Standing by myself" a lot.
Beneath The Tides
N.O.D.
A song where he said "Bleed My Eyes" or something a lot
Bury Me In Smoke

8/10

Right at 9:00, the lights went down and The Ecstasy Of Gold came over the PA. People went insane, and the entire Sprint Center lit up with lighters and cell phone lights. After Ecstasy, a recorded version of the intro to "That Was Just Your Life" started to play and the band took the stage in darkness, kicking in along with the song at the right time. Metallica also worked the stage very well, moving back and forth across the stage, playing to everyone. During several songs, the four giant casket-shaped lighting fixtures hanging above the stage would slowly lower themselves closer to the stage and twist and contort themselves before retreating back to the ceiling again. The show also made use of laser light shows (That Was Just Your Life, Enter Sandman) and Pyro (One, Fight Fire With Fire). There wasn't a whole lot of banter to the crowd, but that's fine. Made room for more songs. The band played 18 songs within two hours, and threw in some surprises and treats, such as Ride The Lightning and Fight Fire With Fire. By the end of the night, they brought up the house lights and unleashed tons of inflatable "Metallica" balls on the crowd for "Seek And Destroy". Afterwards, they spent a long time throwing things to the crowd and thanking them. One can only hope they come back soon with something even better.

That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line
Harvester Of Sorrow
Ride The Lightning
One
Broken, Beat And Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Until It Sleeps
Wherever I May Roam
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Fight Fire With Fire
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
- - - - - - - -
Last Caress
Motorbreath
Seek and Destroy

9/10

Better Metallica setlist.

Here's their set from last night in New Mexico:

01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End Of The Line
03. Creeping Death
04. For Whom The Bell Tolls
05. One
06. Broken, Beat And Scarred
07. Cyanide
08. Sad But True
09. Until It Sleeps
10. No Remorse
11. The Day That Never Comes
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
- - - - - - - -
16. Die, Die My Darling
17. Stone Cold Crazy
18. Seek and Destroy

If we get Creeping Death tomorrow in KC, I might pee.

Mandatory Metallica -- Oct. 21, 2008

Sorry for the lack of MM updates. I'll do them a lot more often now!

Until It Sleeps
Suicide & Redemption
Battery

Didn't catch the first of Until It Sleeps, but man, I'm glad. If it was anything like the rest of the song, it was bad. Hetfield's vocals are pretty bad, but what is really bad here are the guitars. This song basically proves that Metallica and be a alt. rock band! Pass.

Suicide & Redemption is one of the 2 songs off of Death Magnetic that I honestly don't care for. Yeah, it's another instrumental track like the first records, but it really doesn't serve any purpose. Once again, until the halfway decent solo, it's just Metallica once again proving they can be a hard rock band. No metal in sight.

But really, can I stay mad at this nights Mandatory Metallica when the first Metallica song I fell in love with is on?! Battery is the song that got me into Metallica and had me start listening to the Mandatory Metallica program. Everything about it is fantastic. I dunno what else to tell ya.

Hopefully they throw it in the setlist as a surprise on Saturday!

Potential Metallica US Setlist?

From Blabbermouth

01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End Of The Line
03. Harvester Of Sorrow
04. Wherever I May Roam
05. One
06. Broken, Beat And Scarred
07. Cyanide
08. Frantic
09. Until It Sleeps
10. The Four Horsemen
11. The Day That Never Comes
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Fight Fire With Fire
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
- - - - - - - -
16. Last Caress
17. Blitzkrieg
18. Seek And Destroy

Can't say this is the strongest setlist they could be doing, but I'll take what I can get.

No Frantic or Until It Sleeps in Kansas City please.

Mandatory Metallica -- September 3rd, 2008

Until It Sleeps

Cyandie (Live)

Eye Of The Beholder

Only heard a little bit of Until It Sleeps but I could tell I didn't like it. I listened to the whole thing and it's just another slowish song. Not cool for a thrash band, damnit!

Cyanide is from Death Magnetic and it sounds fantastic live and in the studio (that version is on Metallica's site). I really love the Bass part before it kicks in. And the lyrics are good stuff, too. James founds fantastic on it. A+

I've heard Eye of the Beholder before and I think it's my favorite song off of AJFA right behind One. Great everything about it. Got a great beat.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Metallica tickets go on sale next saturday (the 13th) but you can get them now for about $112 at www.989therock.com which includes a floor seat, Death Magnetic and a download of the KC show after it's done. Too much for me, but some might like it!

Metallica will be here Oct. 25

Another new one from Metallica

Another new one: My Apocalypse, the last song on the album. thanks, blabbermouth!

[URL="mms://wm.elektra.com/metallica/metallica_com/2008/de/My_Apocalypse.wma"]Windows Media[/URL]

[URL="rtsp://rm.elektra.com/metallica/metallica_com/2008/de/My_Apocalypse.rm"]Real Media[/URL]

[URL="rtsp://rm.elektra.com/metallica/metallica_com/2008/de/My_Apocalypse.mov"]Quicktime[/URL]

also: Skeletonwitch got canceled this upcoming Thursday at the Riot Room. :( Sucks. You'll have to catch them at Uptown Theater on Halloween opening Danzig's Blackest of the Black tour.

Best Class Ever

Today is my first day of class and in my Music Listening class, we're required to go to 4 concerts and one more for extra credit. Credit is given based on a report of them.

Expect more in-depth than usual reports for:

Alice Cooper (Sept. 12)
Impaled (Sept. 15)
Obituary (Oct. 1)
Ben Folds (Oct. 22)
Danzig (Oct. 31) (although this one will probably be more about Skeletonwitch)

I may switch out Danzig for Metallica.

Metallica's comin' to town!

http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=601097



Multiple sites report that Metallica's upcoming North American tour includes a stop at The Sprint Center in Kansas City on October 25th. Support for this show will be Down and The Sword, with support on other dates being Lamb of God and Machine Head replacing Down.

All dates (thanks to Metallica's site):

All October/November dates with Down and The Sword :

October 21 - Glendale, AZ Jobing Arena
October 23 - Albquerque, NM Tingley Coliseum
October 25 - Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
October 26 - Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
November 1 - Portland, OR Rose Quarter
November 3 - Salt Lake City, UT Energy Solutions Arena
November 4 - Denver, CO Pepsi Center
November 6 - Omaha, NE Qwest Center
November 8 - Moline, IL iWireless Center
November 9 - Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
November 17 - St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
November 18 - Tulsa, OK BOK Center
November 20 - Houston, TX Toyota Center
November 22 - Little Rock, AR Alltel Arena
November 23 - New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena

All December dates with Lamb of God and The Sword:

December 1 - Seattle, WA Key Arena
December 2 - Vancouver, BC GM Place
December 4 - Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome
December 7 - Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
December 12 - Ontario, CA Citizens Bank Arena
December 13 - Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
December 15 - San Diego, CA Cox Arena
December 17 - Los Angeles, CA The Forum
December 20 - Oakland, CA Oracle Arena

All January dates with Machine Head and The Sword:

January 12 - Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
January 13 - Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
January 15 - Washington, DC Verizon Center
January 17 - Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
January 18 - Boston, MA TD Banknorth Center
January 26 - Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
January 29 - Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
January 31 - Newark, NJ Prudential Center