(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
Ozzfest is celebrating its 10th anniversary this summer with Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Rob Zombie, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and Black Label Society kicking off July 15 in Boston and winding down in West Palm Beach on September 4. The 26-show tour will also feature The Hot Topic Second Stage, which will be headlined by Zombie and feature a preview of rock's rising stars, including As I Lay Dying, Mastodon, The Haunted, In Flames, Arch Enemy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Bury Your Dead, Soilwork, Trivium, It Dies Today, A Dozen Furies and more.
"I'm most proud of the success of Ozzfest," says founder Sharon Osbourne. "Everyone said it would never happen and 10 years later we are still in business." In fact, 125 bands, 238 shows and over 4 million fans later, the all-day extravaganza of music and deranged merriment is roaring louder than ever. History in the making, 2005 marks the first time metal legends Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden have toured together and also represents Iron Maiden's first Ozzfest appearance. "
"This summer's Maiden touring is based on the recent Early Days DVD and all the songs we do at Ozzfest will be from our first four albums–Iron Maiden, Killers, Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind," says Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson. "We will be bringing over our full European show, naturally including as special guest Eddie in various appropriate guises!! The stage sets, production and backdrops will recreate aspects of the shows on the tours around those albums–only bigger…much bigger!!! We don't know if anyone has done anything like this before but we think it's something the fans will really appreciate both in the choice of songs and in the production values."
Also debuting on the tour will be Texas-based band A Dozen Furies which landed their coveted Hot Topic Second Stage slot after winning Ozzy and Sharon's MTV "Battle For Ozzfest" reality series competition.
This year, a limited number of fans who purchase Ozzy Osbourne's 's first-ever 51-song, four-CD retrospective box set Prince of Darkness (out March 22 of Epic Records) will be able to obtain one free Ozzfest ticket. The initial pressing of the box set will feature a precedent-setting promotion allowing fans to buy one Ozzfest general admission ticket and get one free.
Ozzfest itinerary:
7/15 Boston, MA Tweeter Center
7/17 Hartford, CT Meadows
7/19 Camden, NJ Tweeter Waterfront
7/21 Buffalo, NY Darien Lakes
7/23 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette
7/24 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion
7/26 New York, NY PNC
7/30 Chicago, IL Tweeter Center
7/31 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
8/2 Columbus, OH Germain Amphitheatre
8/4 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/6 East Troy, WI Alpine Valley
8/7 Minneapolis, MN Floatrite Park
8/11 Seattle, WA White River
8/13 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
8/14 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train
8/16 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Pavilion
8/18 Phoenix, AZ Cricket
8/20 Los Angeles, CA Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen
8/23 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
8/25 Dallas, TX Smirnoff
8/27 Houston, TX Cynthia J. Woods Pavilion
8/28 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
8/31 Nashville, TN Starwood Amphitheatre
9/2 Charlotte, NC Verizon
9/4 West Palm Beach Sound Advice
–Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
