"This will change everybody's impression of the way touring in the summer in America should be." — Sharon Osbourne

With that statement, originator, manager and wife of the infamous OZZY Osbourne would set out on a mission to shock, and rock the world in unprecedented style!

This year Sharon and Ozzy decided to GIVE BACK to the people with "FREE-FEST" 2007.

Free tickets to see Ozzy? Are you serious? It sounded too good to be true! There's got to be a catch... right ?

Ozzfest is more than just a concert, more than just traveling festival. This for many is an annual journey to mecca to pay homage to their hero, the man who has single handedly saved hard rock and heavy metal from total annihilation from the evil corporate record labels.

Many past mornings I have awoken at the crack of dawn to stand in line for a chance at halfway-decent seats when the ticket outlets open. I have also anxiously awaited online to try and land good seats at nearly $90 a pop to Ozzfest's past. This year, I simply pre-ordered the new Ozzy CD containing a golden ticket to redeem online for what would turn out to be the best ever seats I've ever scored. Best of all it only cost $18, that's less that the "convenience charge" that I've had to pay for online tickets! There's got to be a catch... right?

At long last when the day of Ozzfest rolled around, there were still no signs of a catch, but there must be one right? The only visible evidence of price gouging was the $20 parking fee if you wanted to park anywhere near the venue. A small price to pay, aside from having no other choice.

Upon entering the concert, price gouging was expected to be rabidly evident, but there were no signs in sight. Prices were "normal" (if you consider $6 beers & $8 chicken fingers normal). Perhaps not as many sponsor and gaming tents as in years past, after all, the sponsors were the ones supposed to pick up the tab this year.

Preparing for the sunburnt endurance test that is Ozzfest., the parking lot is always an interesting study of human nature. Underage kids, parent-free are openly pounding cheap, warm beer. The legal kids are simply priming their livers with whiskey and weed before stumbling along for a very long day of hot, sweaty drinking and headbanging adrenaline. A nice breeze, and overcast conditions are actually comfortable, which means today's crowd is going to be energized the entire day, which is great news!

Upon entering the overhauled parking lot known as the "second-stage" the journey begins as we are met by a few thousand like-minded friends who are ready to forget about their daily routines, let their hair down, release some aggressions, and most of all, have a great time.

Ozzfest has always been a great showcase for up and coming bands, and this year woud be no different. Among the notables include Atlanta's own DAATH who certainly have a bright future with Roadrunner Records giving them a fairly decent push. Taiwan's CHTHONIC finally receive some long awaited American exposure upon their 4th full length album, of odd, but unique black metal style, complete with corpse paint. ANKLA (meaning 'anchor' in spanish) feature the former frontman from the past Ozzfest band PUYA, and were definitely a treat with their South American style ala SOULFLY and SEPULTURA-ish. THE SHOWDOWN hailing from Tennessee, did an admirable job getting the crowd into their music despite what seemed like a "lull" in the action. Unfortunately there were a few bands we didn't get to see upon getting lost within the midway vendors and zany antics that one can only find at Ozzfest.

As the heat of the day begins winding down, so does the second stage, and finally some of the bands the fans are really here to see begin ripping up the Semi-truck trailer created to expand into a very impressive mobile stage setup. South Carolina's NILE takes the stage, and there is a noticeable rush of bodies collapsing towards the stage. The bands super low tuned, hyper-fast blast of blistering metal greats many in the crowd with familiar songs that gets the pit swirling with a charge of freshly lit fervor. Although on a breezy day like this one, it's difficult to maintain a constant stream of crushing metal as the sound waves begin to bounce around, so unless you knew the songs already, there were a few moments when it was tough to make out what the hell was going on.

Next up was DEVILDRIVER with a fresh new album recorded right here in Sanford FL at AudioHammer studios, and a big gigantic push from RoadRunner records. If you look this band up on YouTube, you'll see why they hold the unofficial record for the "World's Largest Mosh-Pit". These guys no doubt unleash a fury of metal aggression, and front-man DEZ is no noobie when it comes to getting a crowd motivated! The mosh-pit quickly turns into a giant dust bowl as the band 'politely' encourages the 'big guys in the pit' to 'push the little guys back' and open the pit up. The crowd aggressively answers the call, as the band shows everyone why they are one of the new contenders to the metal throne. Metal icon Phil Anselmo himself has called them "the next Pantera". That may be a little too much when it comes to high expectations, but DevilDriver are no doubt a band that fans will want to keep their eyes and ears out for.

The final band for the 2nd stage is none other than the mighty HATEBREED. This is one of the few bands that both "hardcore" and "metal" kids can generally agree on, and a band that many call "working man's blue-collar" metal. At last year's Ozzfest the band was forced to cancel due to an unfortunate death in the family, so this particular show was a long time coming, and an amazing way to end the day on the 2nd stage. Belting out the hits that 75% of the crowd knew the lyrics to opened up the pit to the largest of the day, and proved once again why Hatebreed are one of Metal's most successful acts in recent years.

Miami's BLACK TIDE opened up the main stage with a curious mix of Metallica and strangely obscure originals, or perhaps cover songs that they seemingly had no business covering, or being on the main stage at Ozzfest. The lead guitarist wasn't half bad trying to play some Kirk Hammett licks on his token "Dimebag" model guitar. These kids weren't even BORN when "Seek and Destroy" were written, and in some ways reminded me of the early days of a certain band from Orlando who just spent the summer opening for the likes of Korn, and Iron Maiden. Please kids, don't try this at home, but then again, what do I know? Thankfully, the "Freaks" from the traveling sideshow invaded the stage to make the set at least entertaining, complete with zany midget, and bearded ladies.

A ton of "buzz" surrounds Finland's #1 export LORDI, who can best be described as a cross between Alice Cooper and GWAR. If that sounds odd, it truly is just that. Musically they write in the vein of Alice Cooper's "Poison" album, and dress like characters who belong at "Halloween Horror Nights". Cool costumes, but we American's have already seen this before, leaving Oderus Urungus from the band GWAR to comment "We love LORDI,... We love all GWAR tribute bands". Lots and LOTS of PYRO accompanied the band throughout the set,and who doesn't enjoy FIRE and EXPLOSIONS ???

If you're looking for a good review of STATIC-X then you'll have to look elsewhere. It must be the hair of frontman Wayne Static that has gotten this band through all the years of being a touring band. Once upon a time I would have said something different, but fortunately there is still hope for this band. Original guitarist Koichi Fukuda is now back with the band, and the one most responsible for the band's signature sound and album "Wisconsin Death Trip". Stay tuned for the next release from Static-X as it should make or break this band once and for all.

What can you say about main-stage co-headliners LAMB OF GOD that hasn't already been said? While SLAYER can not be disputed as the true kings of the metal universe, there are those who would argue that L.O.G. are kings of the metal mountain. Their latest album "Sacrament" hasn't had quite the hype as the preceding release "Ashes of the Wake" did. The success of that album thrust the band to new heights and seriously high expectations from the Metal community. None of the less, these guys know what to do when they step foot on stage. They simply kick ass, with crushingly tight rhythms and that intangible energy being transmitted throughout the crowd.

OZZY! OZZY! OZZY! The familiar chant fills the air as the audience awaits the arrival of "The Prince of Darkness", I'm not going to be the one to bash Ozzy, I simply have too much respect for a man who is 59 years old, able to SELL OUT the Sound Advice Amphitheater, sell millions of records, support up and coming bands, and still get up in front of 40,000 people and rock night in and night out. With one of the coolest backup bands in the history of rock, Ozzy made his way to the stage (something sorely missed from the previous year). As usual, OZZY and his bandmates made their way through a killer set of classic's as well as a couple of new track peppered in the mix, complete with sing-alongs like "War Pigs", and super foam cannons to shoot at the crowd. Ozzy never disappoints no matter how old this guy gets. His legacy is, and will forever be known as the true KING of Rock, and father of all that it Metal.