SYSTEM OF A DOWN BEATS HEAT AT OZZFEST
Providence Journal, RI –
Aug 2 2006
BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer
MANSFIELD, Mass. — It was punishingly hot and witheringly humid,
and they had run out of earplugs by 4 in the afternoon. But among the
seven mainstage acts at the Tweeter Center for yesterday’s Ozzfest
(preceded by a second-stage bill that began shortly after 9 a.m.)
were two reasons to stick it out.
System of a Down, who preceded headliner Ozzy Osbourne, broke out of
the gate with the intro to "Solider Side" and headed into the blazing,
political "BYOB," comparing desert war to a dance party ("why do we
always send the poor?").
>From there, the L.A.-based quartet threw out a dizzying array of
stops and starts ("Chop Suey") and tempo and volume changes ("Kill
Rock ‘n’ Roll," "Suggestions"). All this fit the slightly unhinged,
Jello Biafra-like voice of singer Serj Tankian (leavened by the more
traditional heavy-rock voice of guitarist Daron Malakian).
As the set went on, the band got more straightforward, but only
relatively so. This yielded the less-interesting conventional ballad
"Lonely Day," but also the catchy ’60s-pop/metal hybrid "Old School
Hollywood" and the vaguely disco-esque "Violent Pornography," both
distinguished by keyboards from Tankian and Malakian (and a vocoder
on Malakian’s voice on the former).
There were a few guitar solos and intros that hinted at the band
members’ Armenian heritage, but mostly just as flavoring, and there
was plenty of volume to provide good metal bona fides. In all, the
most interesting, varied band on the mainstage.
Dragonforce opened the mainstage show with a tuneful and powerful
combination of an early-’80s British-metal songwriting sensibility
with modern-day speed and muscle. "Through the Fire and Flames,"
for example, was a power-ballad template hung over a speed-metal
foundation. Combine that with a sense of fun, a little showmanship
and some Darkness-style self-awareness (breaking out a keytar!) and
the British band’s a winner in the making.
Ozzy Osbourne did his traditional valedictory performance, which is
becoming rare on this tour, as he is skipping some dates and playing
the second stage on some others. He’s been showing wear and tear on
stage since about 1970, but it’s getting serious, especially on the
set closer "Crazy Train" and "Mama I’m Coming Home," on which he
ranged from backing out of singing choruses and missing the notes
completely. His band, as usual, included guitarist Zakk Wylde (who
headlined the second stage with his Black Label Society) and former
Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin, and you can’t go far wrong with
them at the spine, but Osbourne’s appeal seems largely historical at
this point, and last year’s Black Sabbath reunion had more of that.
Massachusetts-based Hatebreed did well with the home crowd,
and frontman Jamey Jasta won points for the positivity and crowd
solidarity of his lyrics and onstage vibe. He reminisced midset about
being in the stands at the Tweeter Center and wishing he were on
stage. As usual, Disturbed was distinguished by the vocal dramatics
of singer David Draiman and little else. There was an occasional bit
of distinction with taped synthesizer intros, but with the exception
of "The Game," the intros went away as soon as the guitar kicked in.
The most melodically interesting song was a cover of Genesis’ "Land
of Confusion."