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There's no messing about on
Ozzfest: Second Stage Live. Metal purists will possibly be scared off by the sprinkling of eyebrow-pierced alt-metal types, and some will say that, even in the context of metal's obsessive rigidity, we've heard all this before. But you know what you're going to get on
Second Stage Live, and it's appealing, not least because, unlike most albums recorded live at festivals, it actually sounds live, and loud. And it gets progressively louder. Disc two is where things become very serious:
Neurosis plough through an ultra-belligerent "Locust Star"; the Max Cavalera lineup of
Sepultura sound like the moon rolling through your room; and
Slayer perform "Angel of Death"--and you can never really hear Slayer do "Angel of Death" often enough.
Ozzy Osbourne, of course, provides the climax, sounding maybe a little out of breath, but as heroic as ever.
--Taylor Parkes
