Iron Maiden releases a statement about events at Ozzfest
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: The manager of Iron Maiden has released a statement about what happened at Ozzfest.
Topic: Heavy Metal
From Iron Maiden's official website, http://ironmaiden.com:

"23/08/2005OZZFEST - SAN BERNARDINO AUG 20


Maiden are currently returning from America and preparing for UK festivals this weekend and don't wish to waste time giving Sharon Osbourne's statement the dignity of a reply. Considering the disgraceful nature of the events that occurred they feel it's a pretty dismal effort at self justification and they don't think Metal fans are at all gullible and that they will easily see through it. They want no more to do with this sorry incident and are very much looking forward to headlining Reading and Leeds Festivals this weekend.

I would however like to add my own comment on this.

In 30 years in this business and after attending hundreds of gigs l have never seen anything anywhere near as disgusting and unprofessional as what went on that night. I was standing on our sound desk out front as usual but ran to the stage as soon as the hail of missiles began and from then on watched from the front of the stage right next to Bruce's walkway. The scale, viciousness and concentration of the throwing made it obvious that this was a premeditated and co-ordinated attack. Assaulting musicians while performing by throwing bottle tops, lighters and eggs at them from just a few yards away is vile, dangerous, criminal and cowardly. It is incredible that Ozzfest security apparently did nothing about it - aren't they there to protect the bands too? Especially when the band is concentrating on a performance in front of 45,000 people and the missiles are coming out of the glare of the spotlights. And to spit at a band on stage is unforgivable.

Iron Maiden, like all the bands on Ozzfest, had to sign quite onerous legal documents part of which was promising not to throw anything into the audience, even wristbands!!! Ironic isn't it.

It is well documented on the web who was responsible for planning and participating in this attack and for musicians to join in this assault on other musicians is a shocking disgrace akin to treachery. You should all be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves.

We know who authorised the making of the 'ozzy - ozzy' chant tape the day before and how it was played secretly through the PA at the very beginning and end of our set.

We also know who continually turned off the power interrupting our set at crucial moments. It is a good thing that the power was turned back on before there was a riot as you could sense on stage a lot of the huge audience were getting totally pissed off at this continual onslaught on the band.

The great majority of the Ozzfest crew throughout the tour were terrific and we thank them. Those who participated or stood idly by and watched as this all went down should also be ashamed of themselves and l would certainly hope they never come near a tour with which we are involved.

There is little point in my commenting on the chap with the flag or their trying to hold up Eddie or Sharon's speech as the audience made their feelings very clear on each occasion.

And in the end what was all this about?? If l had any sort of problem or misunderstanding with a band working on a tour we were involved in l would go and talk to them or their manager - not wait until the end of a tour and assault and ambush them. Or was that really it?

I find it staggering that this ambush would take place in front of any audience, let alone in San Bernardino, the biggest audience of the tour. Didn't that audience merit any consideration? They pay an awful lot to be there in terms of prices for tickets, parking, food, beer etc. Surely if they spend this sort of money they deserve to watch the bands they paid to see be able to put in a full unhindered performance. Free of danger and intimidation. If I had paid I would ask for my money back!

And this audience really were outstanding, giving the band incredible support and many voting with their feet in disgust after the set and the speech, which to many was the final insult.

I have to say l was immensely proud of Maiden who stood up to it all and showed great courage and just got better and better through the adversity. Their heads never dropped, instead they went on the offensive. It was a truly memorable moment when Bruce went to the very front of the stage during Trooper - something which he never normally does as he is usually on the ramps - waving the flag whilst avoiding the hail of missiles and yelling 'This is a fucking British flag, and these colours don't fucking run!'. The imperturbable attitude and ability of the band shone through and in the end made this a truly remarkable rock and roll event, even if for all the wrong reasons.

We will have no more to say on this matter except that l do think the band deserve an apology from a number of people, and you know who you are."

ROD SMALLWOOD
MANAGER, IRON MAIDEN
CHAIRMAN, SANCTUARY ARTIST MANAGEMENT

Wow. I'm one of those fans who are thoroughly pissed off.

----------------------------------------------------
On another note:
Ozzy says that this Ozzfest tour will be his last. He has been suffering from throat problems lately, and says that next year he will only play a few gigs. He also says that since the Ozzfest name has been established, the biggest metal tour in the world will continue in 2006.

USA Poll "100 Greatest Rock Artists" gets very mixed feelings
Mood:  sad
Now Playing: Mixed Feelings about a USA Today poll.
Topic: Misc.
Top 20 greatest American rock bands of all time, according to the readers of USA Today:

01. PEARL JAM
02. AEROSMITH
03. VAN HALEN
04. THE EAGLES
05. JOURNEY
06. GUNS N' ROSES
07. THE GRATEFUL DEAD
08. QUEENSRŸCHE
09. THE DOORS
10. R.E.M.
11. THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND and FLEETWOOD MAC (tie)
12. METALLICA
13. KISS
14. THE RAMONES
15. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND and CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL (tie)
16. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND and LYNYRD SKYNYRD (tie)
17. THE BEACH BOYS
18. NIRVANA
19. THE REPLACEMENTS
20. BON JOVI

I personally will not comment on this list (but I assure you the comments from visitors will speak for me). Comments from Blabbermouth.net visitors:

"COMMENT | Wel...
posted by : Chuva
7/6/2005 7:00:17 AM
The only thing I can respect about that list is... uhm... nothing? F**king Pearl Jam? WHAT? HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Bon Jovi are 1000 times better than f**king Pearl Jam... across the board. Better musically, bigger selling, better songs... just better, and they're 20? Man... I hate these lists... they all suck.

Well, at least Zepplin couldn't be on the list... thanks for that... cause I'm SICK of hearing about how "great" they are... f**k them."

"COMMENT |
posted by : znarf
7/6/2005 7:05:24 AM
According to this list the USA sucks in rock music."

"COMMENT | ..
posted by : Pod
7/6/2005 7:57:53 AM
the replacements? The Grateful Dead??? The Allman Bros??? The creedance clearwater revival???? Dave Matthews band????

this is up there with the rolling stone top 100 guitarists list as one of the worst polls in the history of music"

"COMMENT | PJ Haters
posted by : jamfan95
7/6/2005 1:23:26 PM
For those of you that don't agree with the list, I ask you this, have you seen any of these bands live? I don't know if I agree with Pearl Jam being #1 on the list, but they are certainly deserving of a top 5 spot, based on their live performances anyway."


"COMMENT | crap
posted by : Opeth Owns You All
7/6/2005 2:15:14 PM
1. crap
2. crap
3. crap
4. crap
5. crap
6. crap
7. crap
8. crap
9. crap
10. crap
11. crap and crap (tie)
12. crap
13. crap
14. crap
15. crap and crap (tie)
16. crap and crap (tie)
17. crap
18. crap
19. crap
20. crap"



"COMMENT | Fuck!
posted by : Loddiej
7/7/2005 6:38:20 AM
Guns N' Roses & Metallica are way to low!
F**k this!"

"COMMENT | OMG
posted by : Tooth & Nail
7/6/2005 7:59:33 AM
Peral Jam over Aerosmith, the Eagles and Journey? And Dave Matthews Band is right there with Lynyrd Skynyrd? Man, this list completely blows. If this list represents what you people from the states take pride in, you should be ashamed of yourselves."

Well, I think you get the picture. More bad comments than good, though, and I certainly agree with them. Until next time, keep on rocking (not with Nirf**ckingvana, please!).

Iron Maiden disgraced
Mood:  surprised
Now Playing: Los Angeles Ozzfest may have been the straw breaking the camel's back.
Topic: Heavy Metal
Metal legends Iron Maiden were disgraced on August 20 when the crowd had thrown anything and everything at the band. Beer cans and eggs were thrown at Maiden, and Black Label Society interrupted "The Trooper" when they came on stage with their bikes. "Big" Dave, from the Black label society, s tarted to make fun of Bruce (frontman Iron Maiden) over the PA, and Maiden's drummer had to ask Bruce to stop so he could clean the egg off of his drums. Bruce then ran to the front-row and started to call names at the people who had thrown the eggs, saying, "That a**wipe right there, with the curly hair, the f**king glasses, and Ozzfest laminate throw his f**king a** out of here right now. It's gonna take more than eggs to stop IRON MAIDEN, and if it wasn't for a lawsuit, I'd rip your f**king head off right now, you piece of s**t!!!!"

What happened? Supposedly, Sharon and Kelly Osborne approached the side stage bands to "'join them in throwing eggs at IRON MAIDEN this evening.' All the bands were encouraged to rally the other side-stage bands to do so. Members and/or friends of the hardcore band BURY YOUR DEAD were seen actively trying to encourage other side-stage bands to 'join in the fun.' Thankfully, many side stage bands angrily declined," said one bands manager who reported the story.

Tony Martin's new solo album delayed.
Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: Tony Martin's new solo album is now scheduled to be released in 2006.
Topic: Heavy Metal
Tony Martin's new solo-album Scream has been delayed until 2006. It was originally scheduled to be released this fall. This is what Tony had this to say: "Mostly the industry is working on Novembers releases right now, the problem with that is it's the season of silly songs!! The market gets pretty hooked on Christmas stuff like compilations etc and that might just take the edge off my album. The most likely event will be to release the album at the end of January/February next year."

Tony Martin, formerly of Black Sabbath, is Sabbath's least credited and most under-rated singer. He made his debut with "Eternal Idol," released in 1987.

A little update headbangers
Mood:  vegas lucky
Now Playing: Livin' On A Prayer- Bon Jovi
Topic: Only-Rock News
Whats up rockers? Its time for the somewhat weekly website update!

First off---you only have 10 more days to view "How To Be An Ultimate Hair-Metal Star" and "Ultimate Albums." We might keep one if the visitors were high (currently we have had 7 people view Hair-Metal Star and 11 view Ultimate Albums, we need at least 20 to keep it).

Second off---Be sure to check the AMBER ALERT tickers when you visit Only-Rock. Only-Rock hopes that you would take a second to possibly save a life. The top ticker is for the US, while the bottom is for Canada.

Third off: Introduction To Tabs has once again fallen dormant. Introduction To Tabs is a high-quality 6-lesson course designed by extremely talented guitarists for both beggining and intermediate level. It focuses on exercises, congs, power chords, and how to read tabs. Intro To Tabs is located at Guitarist's Paradise.

Other news:
-I will be working on re-doing a lot of the album reviews in the next week, and adding more. Some new bands that will be added are Van Halen, KISS, Kix, Poison, and Black N' Blue. These will be added at different times throughout the week.
-This week's Hall Of Rock band is Poison. Bon Jovi is scheduled for next week. I will try to add more band more frequently, since i know I've fallen behind.
-I have changed the way that you give feedback. As you probably know, the feedback button has not been working and I have not been recieving any comments on the site. Now, there will be a feedback form at the bottom of the Home page & Guitarist's Paradise. Please leave a note if you have ideas or comments about the site, would like a certain guitar or album reviewed, would like a link to a guitar tab, would like to suggest a band for the Hall Of Rock, or any other misc. thought.

Until Next Time,
Keep On Rockin', Rockers!!

Holy Diver to be reissued
Now Playing: Dio, formerly of Black Sabbath, will reissue his best solo-album.
Topic: Hair Metal
HOLY DIVER' SET TO BE RE-ISSUED SEPTEMBER 30: It has now been confirmed that Dio's 1983 landmark album, Holy Diver, will be re-released in upgraded form on September 30th 2005. A joint project between Universal Music & Rock Candy Records, this new version of a recognised rock classic has been comprehensively remastered for maximum impact, and will also come complete with extensive sleeve notes, expanded original artwork (including hand-written lyrics) plus a brand new audio interview with singer Ronnie James Dio himself. Distribution is via Universal Music. In the course of the interview, Ronnie talks in detail about the formation of Dio the band, and the background to the Holy Diver debut - the first time he'd released a record under his own name, and the first time (having parted company with both Rainbow & Black Sabbath) he was truly in charge of his own destiny. Dio start an 11-date UK tour on October 9 2005, the intention being to play the 'Holy Diver' album in full in the course of what promises to be a memorable night of truly timeless music.

Steve Whiteman rates some big singer names...
Mood:  lucky
Now Playing: Ex-Kix singer Whiteman rates some of the industry's previous and current hits.
Topic: Hair Metal
Ex-Kix singer Steve Whiteman rated some of the music industry's biggest vocalist's in Metal Sludge's Jan. 2003 issue.

"Rate these singers on a scale of 1-10. 1 being someone who needs a lot of vocal lessons and 10 being someone who doesn't need shit.

Jizzy Pearl = Not a good Pearcy, which isn't a dig-he's best at his own material
Tom Keifer = Excellent-gives it all every night
David Lee Roth = Haven't seen anytime recent...
Dizzy Dean Davidson = Take Tom Keifer, cut him in half, and you'll get the picture
Kevin DuBrow = LOUD(like me) -seems to do it well-kudos!
Vince Neil = sorry, but even HE can't sing Vince Neil stuff anymore
Mike Tramp = WAIT-it's coming to me...
Axl Rose = Hit or miss (when he actually shows up) though more often then not a hit."

New CD from one of hair's lost bands.....
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Warrant will release new CD
Topic: Hair Metal
Long-awaited news from the Warrant website states that, indeed, Warrant will release a new CD sometime in the fall. They started recording early Feb., with producer Pat Regan, who has also produced KISS, Deep Purple, and the Nuge (Ted Nugent). The band says that this new album will have the pretty much same sound as their 1990 album, Cherry Pie. No name for the CD has been released or even gossiped about.

Warrant was another long-forgotten hair-band of the 80's, and their last album was released in 1995. Their big albums were Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich (1988) and Cherry Pie (1990).

Some more information about the new additions to Only-Rock.
Mood:  happy
Topic: Only-Rock News
Well, it is time for the some-what weekly article of Only-Rock News. New this week: Guitarist's Paradise's new Introduction to Tabs; the Ultimate Albums List; and How To Be An Ultimate Hair-Metal Star.

Last week, Guitarist's Paradise unveiled its newest addition: The new Introduction To Tabs. This new 6-Lesson Course is better than ever---and will help you on your way to playing rock and roll guitar. This course starts off with much needed exercises that any guitarist needs to practice, than goes into power-chords, how to read tabs, songs, and even more exercises. Some lessons, like the exercises and songs, are for intermediate and beginning guitarists, while all the rest are directed directly towards beginning guitarists. The Introduction To Tabs was created by high-level famous guitarists, and should help you tons.

Also last week, The Ultimate Albums page was added to Only-Rock. Created at About.com, this Ultimate Album list features some of the best Classic-Rock albums. Nobody at Only-Rock had anything to do with the list, and many of them were disappointed when they had no say in what albums--or bands--made it onto the list. This list will be here until September 1.

And, just yesterday, Only-Rock created an all new page, How To Be An Ultimate Hair-Metal Star! This 10-step list will take you from prep to hair very easily! (Note: This page is for a few laughs). How To Be An Ultimate Hair-Metal Star will remain here until September 15.

Be sure to check out other cool pages like Album Reviews and Rock Trivia (Tons Of Fun!!).

New T.V. shows feature old-school metal.
Mood:  spacey
Now Playing: KISS and Motley Crue!
Topic: Hair Metal
Some big rock shows are about to smash-down your TV screen.

Christ's Hospital Will turn from proper to rocker in Gene Simmons' (KISS) show, ROCK SCHOOL. Gene Simmons willl have the task of teaching 13 year-olds how to rock. These students have been around classical music all their life, and when the space-aged blood-spitting bass-pounding demon tries to turn them into a band, nothing but hell can break loose. This show time is at August 19 at 11/10c on VH1.

Tommy Lee, Motley Crue's drummer, finally finds time for college. In Tommy Lee Goes To College, the hard-hitting drummer enrolls at The University of Nebraska at Lincoln and struggles just like any other (famous rock star) student to balance academics with extra-curricular pursuits, his new roommate Matt and a distractingly attractive tutor named Natalie. Tommy Lee Goes To college premieres at NBC on Tuesday, August 16. Check local listing for time.