Daily Staff Writer

“Ozz-Fest Live”

Various Artists

“Ozz-Fest Live” is a collection of songs from various artists appearing on the tour. It was meant to be a commemorative of this awesome event, which is highlighted by the reunion of Black Sabbath. Unfortunately, the CD falls far short of its original mark.

Headliners Pantera, Marilyn Manson, Type O Negative and Black Sabbath are nowhere to be found on the disc. Instead, we are treated to a plethora of second stage acts which range from poor to mediocre (with a few exceptions), two main-stage acts (Ozzy Osbourne and Biohazard) and two groups that aren’t even on the tour anymore (Slayer and Sepultura).

Not to say that the music is all horrible. Amidst such crap as Cellophane’s surf/metal “Ride Thy Neighbor” and Earth Crisis’ formless “Broken Foundation” are such gems as Coal Chamber’s raw “Loco” and PowerMan 5000’s “Organized,” which sounds like a cross between Rage Against the Machine and G-Love.

Neurosis is probably the closest any band gets to mimicking Black Sabbath’s sinister sound. “Locust Star” sounds like a heavier, tripped-out version of Sabbath’s “Planet Caravan.”

The real highlights begin over halfway through, however. Biohazard delivers a fiery version of “These Eyes” from its newest release.

Slayer performs a tepid version of the death-metal classic “Angel of Death,” and Sepultura’s “Attitude” shows why the band was considered one of the hardest hitting heavy metal groups in the world.

The grand finale finds Osbourne joining an all-star band, which includes drummer Mike Bordin (Faith No More) and bassist Robert Trujillo (Suicidal Tendencies) to deliver his recent hit “Perry Mason.” Unfortunately, it sounds almost exactly like the version from “Ozzmosis.”

“Ozz-Fest Live” was obviously made for those die-hard metal fans that want to relive the experience again and again. However, it does not do a great job of capturing the festivities.

The sound quality throughout the CD is poor (even for live heavy metal) and so is the selection of bands and material.

2 1/2 stars

— Ben Jones