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March 23, 2005
Geezer Butler website to launch soon!
 One of the questions I get asked a lot on my site is about Geezer Butler's website. Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, & Bill Ward all have their websites, and have for some time. However, Geezer hasn't had one. If you went to geezerbutler.com there was a "Coming soon" page. That's about to change.
A few months ago I was contacted by Gloria Butler about doing a website for Geezer, and I'm now announcing that Geezer's Official Website will be launching soon, and it's been authored by Geezer and myself.
If you go there now, you'll still see the same coming soon announcement. There's no timeframe for the site launch, but it will be fairly soon. I really mean it, as I've been working on it a lot recently, and it's moving towards completion and launch.
So keep your eyes peeled for an announcement of the launch of http://www.geezerbutler.com!
Posted by Joe Siegler at 5:11 PM
Geezer Butler's Ohmwork Update
I had posted an update on Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler's yesterday, but right after I did, I got some more information, so here's some info on Ohmwork:
First, the release date for this album has changed from the last time I reported on it. The release date in the US/Canada is now May 10th. In the UK/elsewhere it's May 9th.
Second, I've been informed by Geezer's management that the album will be available on just about all of the legal music download sites (such as iTunes, Napster, Sony Connect, Rhapsody, etc). So you should be able to get it electronically in addition to buying a physical CD.
Third, the cover art for the album is now available. Check it out below.
Fourth, the album is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. You can get to the Amazon Ohmwork page by clicking here.
Finally, I'm hoping to have a pre-release copy of the album shortly, from which I will post a good thorough review once I get it. In the meantime, check out what information I do have on Ohmwork on my site here.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 12:39 PM
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March 16, 2005
Ozzy "Just Says No" to new Black Sabbath album?
Another entry in the "will they or won't they" saga of the new Black Sabbath studio album was lodged today. In a billboard article that appeared today, Ozzy has re-signed with Epic records. However, in said article, Ozzy says this..
"I could go in the studio and write a bunch of stuff, but why do an album just for the sake of [drummer] Bill [Ward], [guitarist] Tony [Iommi], me and bassist [Geezer] Butler together playing if it's not up to the Black Sabbath standard that I left?," Ozzy tells Billboard.com. "It would f*ck it up, you know? It's so sad when you hear these monumental bands do these piece of sh*t records just because they want the money."
Check out the complete Billboard article above for more from Ozzy about all this. While this news doesn't look particularly positive, I personally wouldn't take this as the final statement on the subject. This album has been on and off for the last few years.
Remember, he said he was retiring in 1992 anyway, and we all know how well he stuck to that. :) Also, this seems to contract this quote by Ozzy from the UK "Classic Rock" magazine from the March 2005 issue..
Ozzy " I'd love to do another Sabbath album , We'd be fc**ing idiots not to try again- and it's on the cards we will ".."Tell that fu**ing aresole ( Behind the Ozzy sacking petition)that it's not me (that won't do it)I tried my best Last time (an abortive session with producer Rick Rubin) but Bill Ward (Drummer) had a heart attack .
Logistically ,We all live in different places .We're friends again now ,But it's like trying to rekindle a romance with a girlfriend you had when you were 20.
The heart attack comment doesn't seem to jibe, as Bill had his heart attack in 1998, and they tried to make the album in 2001. Anyway, I think I can file all this under "we don't really know what's gonna happen". :)
Posted by Joe Siegler at 3:21 PM
Black Sabbath on iTunes
From time to time I get questions about the availability of Black Sabbath's catalogue on legal music download sites. During my recent hiatus, I was informed that two more Black Sabbath albums have turned up on iTunes. The albums are Born Again & The Eternal Idol. Previous to this, all of the Dio era albums plus Reunion were available.
A short note, though. For some reason the Eternal Idol & Live Evil albums are incomplete. But otherwise, the other albums are all there, so if you're interested in legally purchasing some of Sabbath's music in electronic format, this is your chance. Visit the respective Black Sabbath discography pages on my site for links, or you can click here to go directly to the iTunes Black Sabbath page if you have iTunes installed on your computer already.
Once I get caught up, I'll link up the other discography pages for solo bands (Ozzy, Dio, etc) through iTunes where relevant.
In other iTunes news, you can download the Mississippi Queen track from Ozzy's forthcoming "Prince of Darkness" set, as well as a new single release from Kelly Osbourne titled "One Word".
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:38 PM
Everything Comes & Goes Black Sabbath Tribute Due
 I was sent this story, which recently appeared on MTV.com's news site..
*Black Sabbath* tributes by metal bands are a dime a dozen, so the newest disc of musical homages, /Everything Comes & Goes: A Tribute to Black Sabbath,/ is definitely a change of pace. Due April 5, the nine-track disc will feature reinventions of Sabbath songs by a collection of unusual suspects including electronic laptop artist *Four Tet*, Japanese noise group *Ruins* and beatmaking *Björk* collaborators *Matmos*. ...
I hadn't heard of this CD before today, so I wanted to pass it on to others. If you click on the cover art shown here, you'll be taken to the page on Amazon.com for this album, which is due to be released April 5th.
I would like to take this opportunity to point out two other Sabbath tribute CD's that are not the "norm". One is "The String Quartet Tribute to Black Sabbath", and the other being Sabbatum, which is a medievil tribute to Sabbath (think Sabbath songs played in the 14th century). Both of these aren't your standard metal band tribute, and are worth checking out.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 12:28 PM
Iron Maiden not playing last 7 Ozzfest dates?
Yesterday it was announced that Iron Maiden was going to play Ozzfest along with Black Sabbath. However, it appears that Iron Maiden is not playing the FULL set of Ozzfest gigs.
If you look at the listed tour dates on Iron Maiden's website, the last one they list is August 20th (Los Angeles). The seven dates after that, starting with Aug 23 in Albuquerque NM will not apparently have Iron Maiden on the show. Personally, I think that stinks, and if they sign up for the tour, they should do the whole thing. I personally was planning on seeing 'em Aug 25th in Dallas.
The official Ozzfest site doesn't mention anything about Iron Maiden not playing the entire set of gigs. The Iron Maiden site simply doesn't list gigs past the 20th, there is no specific mention of them not playing the entire Ozzfest. I sure hope this is an error on someone's part, and it's not really them not wanting to play the whole thing.
UPDATE: I was emailed by site visitor Stuart Panrucker this afternoon about this topic, and it appears the reason that Iron Maiden isn't completing Ozzfest is that they're already booked to play the Reading & Leeds festivals in England.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 11:51 AM
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March 15, 2005
Ozzfest 2005 Tour Dates Announced
I was waiting until I had my big update ready before I posted anything new, but this one was a bit too big to not say something about. Today the Ozzfest 2005 Tour Dates were announced. They are:
Jul. 15 - Boston, MA - Tweeter Center
Jul. 17 - Hartford, CT - Meadows
Jul. 19 - Camden, NJ - Tweeter Waterfront
Jul. 21 - Buffalo, NY - Darien Lakes
Jul. 23 - Pittsburgh, PA - Post Gazette
Jul. 24 - Washington, DC - Nissan
Jul. 26 - New York, NY - PNC
Jul. 30 - Chicago, IL - Tweeter Center
Jul. 31 - Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
Aug. 02 - Columbus, OH - Germain Amphitheatre
Aug. 04 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
Aug. 06 - East Troy, WI - Alpine Valley
Aug. 07 - Minneapolis, MN - Floatrite Park
Aug. 11 - Seattle, WA - White River
Aug. 13 - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
Aug. 14 - Sacramento, CA - Sleep Train
Aug. 16 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Pavilion
Aug. 18 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket
Aug. 20 - Los Angeles, CA - Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen
Aug. 23 - Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
Aug. 25 - Dallas, TX - Smirnoff
Aug. 27 - Houston, TX - Cynthia J. Woods Pavilion
Aug. 28 - San Antonio, TX - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Aug. 31 - Nashville, TN - Starwood Amphitheatre
Sep. 02 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon
Sep. 04 - West Palm Beach - Sound Advice
You can read the full press release over at ozzfest.com which includes the band listing. I don't belive a breakdown of Main stage vs second stage has happened yet, but Black Sabbath & Iron Maiden are the big name headliners. Rob Zombie will be there too headlining the second stage. I did read one intersting bit from the Iron Maiden camp. Since they're supporting the excellent Early Years Pt 1 DVD release, they're not playing anything on this tour past their first four albums - it's all early stuff.
I still haven't gotten official confirmation of all the European dates (which as far as I know are NOT Ozzfest dates), if/when I get that, I'll be sure and update with that. You can check all my known tour dates for 2005 on my 2005 Tour Dates Page.
As usual, I'll be posting pictures, concert reviews, ticket stubs, etc. If you have any of that, please email me with that. Thanks for visiting!
UPDATE: Apparently if you visit the "Bands" page on the Ozzfest site, it has the main/second stage breakdown.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:39 PM
Dio Video Compilation DVD
I reported a few months ago about a DVD video compilation for Dio (the band). It's going to cover all his music videos from Holy Diver up until he left Warner Bros records (which would cover up until Strange Highways).
Anyway, this set now has a name, that being "Stand Up & Shout", and it will be released in the US in 2005. I don't have much more information than this at this time, but I thought I should mention it. As usual, when I get more info, I'll pass it along.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 10:18 AM
I'm working on a huge update
Regular visitors to my site will notice I've been without updates for awhile. I'm finally over being sick, and I've started working on the backlog of stuff I have piled up. I'm also working on another "secret" project which I can't announce yet.
The update for this site will be ready in a day or so. The other thing, I'm not sure, but should be soon as well.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 8:37 AM
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