Black Sabbath has scrapped many of its upcoming European tour dates due to Tony Iommi’s ongoing battle with lymphoma, according to an issued press release. Instead, the reunited outfit will perform just one show this summer — their headlining appearance at this year’s Download Festival – while a majority of other shows will now feature “Ozzy and Friends.”

For these shows, frontman Ozzy Osbourne will be joined by Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler and longtime collaborator Zakk Wylde. In addition, Slash and other “special guests” will appear at select dates. Check out the tour’s schedule below.

Despite the news, Black Sabbath — currently sans Bill Ward — remain at work on their first studio album in 33 years. They also plan to announce new tour dates soon.

Black Sabbath 2012 Tour Dates:
05/18 – Moscow, RU @  Olimpiski
05/20 – St. Petersburg, RU @ New Arena
05/21 – St. Petersburg, RU @ New Arena
05/23 – Helsinki, FI @ Hartwall Arena
05/25 – Stockholm, SE @ Stadium
05/26 – Jelling, DK @ Jelling Music Festival
05/29 – Bergen, NO @ Bergen Calling
05/31 – Oslo, NO @ Spektrum
06/02 – Malmo, SE @ Malmo Stadium
06/04 – Dortmund, DE @ Westfalenhalle
06/06 – Prague, CZ @ O2 Arena
06/10 – Leicestershire, UK @ Download Festival
06/12 – Rotterdam, NL @ Ahoy
06/15 – Bilbao, ES @ Azkena Rock Festival
06/17 – Nantes, FR @ Hellfest
06/19 – Paris, FR @ Bercy
06/22 – Dessel, BE @ Graspop Metal Meeting
06/24 – Milan, IT @ Gods of Metal
06/26 – Vienna, AT @ Wiener Stadthalle
06/28 – Belgrade, RS @ Usce Park
07/01 – Athens, GR @ Rockwave Festival

Ozzy and Friends 2012 Tour Dates:
05/23 – Helsinki, FI @ Hartwall Arena
05/25 – Stockholm, SE @ Stadium
05/27 – Jelling, DK @ Jelling Music Festival
05/29 – Bergen, NO @ Bergen Calling
05/31 – Oslo, NO @ Spektrum
06/02 – Malmo, SE @ Malmo Stadium
06/04 – Dortmund, DE @ Westfalenhalle
06/06 – Prague, CZ @ O2 Arena
06/15 – Bilbao, ES @ Azkena Rock Festival
06/17 – Nantes, FR @ Hellfest
06/19 – Paris, FR @ Bercy
06/22 – Dessel, BE @ Graspop Metal Meeting
06/24 – Milan, IT @ Gods of Metal
06/26 – Vienna, AT @ Wiener Stadthalle
06/28 – Belgrade, RS @ Usce Park
07/01 – Athens, GR @ Rockwave Festival

The long-rumored reunion of Black Sabbath is finally official. At a press conference in Los Angeles this morning, the iconic metal outfit’s four founding members — frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward — revealed plans for their first studio album in 33 years. The as yet untitled record will be produced by Rick Rubin and released in Fall 2012 via Vertigo/Universal Republic.

In addition, the band will embark on a worldwide arena tour, as well as headline the 2012 installment of the UK-based Download Music Festival on June 10th.

Below, you can watch a video promo for the reunion.

The band’s original lineup previously reunited in the late 1990s with similar plans for a new studio album. However, studio sessions with Rubin were halted in favor of Osbourne’s solo album, and the band ultimately went on hiatus.

Now, I could have started with a number of videos and teams, but I feel the finest place to start is where everything changed within the sport and art of videos. This goes back to the early ’90s, when legendary Steve Rocco was taking the industry by storm. After proving that skaters could independently own their own companies, skater Mike Ternasky recruited a number of skilled skaters to form the Southern California-based Plan B. Considered to be one of skateboarding’s most legendary lineups, the Plan B team basically wrote all the rules to modern skateboarding and skate videography…and then they fucking broke them. I don’t think they realized they were literally going to change how the sport was perceived and executed.

Plan B was composed of some of skating’s most revolutionary players, who, in my opinion, still could school today’s top boarders. Ternasky had picked some of the finest people to associate with until his untimely death in 1994. Rodney Mullen was their “great one,” as he was already notorious throughout the sport as one of the top freestyle competitors (he won his first competition at 13).  And Danny Way was their vert mastermind who has continually kept this style interesting. Colin McKay was probably the youngest on the team at that point (apparently he was 16, but he looks at most 12) but showed a lot of promise. Pat Duffy, Mike Carrol, and Rick Howard were no slouches either, and all were newer to the game but have gone down as icons. Oh, and they had Matt Hensley (for a minute), who retired and joined Flogging Molly. And pretty much all of them had “swell” tastes in music.

Part 1: The Videos

The opening to their first film, 1992′s Questionable, is a poorly edited montage set to “Los Bastardos” by Primus, as Pat Duffy was a huge Primus fan (more on this later). This was Plan B’s first time in the public eye, and they were literally warning us, “Here they come.” At this point, Primus was still a relatively budding California band whose most famous moment prior to this was showing up in Bill and Ted (Claypool was still becoming Claypool). It seemed the whole team was on point with “underground selection.” Sal Barbier skated to Del’s “Ahonetwo, Ahonetwo” before Del had even become a hip hop icon. It should also be noted that the demo section contains a Green Day track during the pre-Dookie era. Plan B may have been doing a cut-and-paste job, but their musical tastes were right on the main nerve.

The editing definitely got better the following year in Virtual Reality, and Plan B learned that music could add to their image in a huge way. Of course, this was 1993, and skateboarding wasn’t nearly as popular as it would become five to six years out. Teams didn’t necessarily need to claim an image for themselves, but the videos on the mass market started to create “personalities.” In this video, Plan B’s basic message was “we kick ass.” This is evident from two things: the intro with a live Ozzy Osbourne song (complete with “O Fortuna” intro) and a contest section featuring “For Whom the Bell Tolls”.

Also, it was at this point that it seems the guys at Plan B made a business deal with the Hieroglyphics crew. There are four Hiero songs in the video, and Domino is credited as a “musical assistant” and, at the end, reads an ad for an 800-number for any info regarding the Hieroglyphics crew (it is now a phone sex line). Not only did Plan B make a sweet musical business deal, they also had fantastic taste in hip hop (enough to shred fantastically). More interesting than that is their choice for the final credits. After Buffalo Springfield, the end credits feature Rick Howard jamming on “Here Comes the Sun” with a homeless man. They could have picked anything, but they wanted a homeless man innocently rocking out… and then getting taken by the cops.

By the time 1994′s Second Hand Smoke came out, Plan B had really learned to craft their videos. The intro was still cheesy as hell, complete with Rush’s “YYZ”, but the video clocked in at 25 minutes as opposed to an hour. Jeremy Wray’s part set to Cream’s “White Room” is insanely dramatic, too, as he does a one-take intro that finishes right when the song kicks in (to be more specific, he sticks a huge set). 1998′s The Revolution was a true last hurrah, though. At this point, skating was becoming more mainstream, and the guys at Plan B had to step up their game, but they failed to outshine some of the other videos at that point (primarily those of Toy Machine and Zero), although they did start adding artsy shots. But Way and McKay’s finale (more later) to “The Four Horsemen” is fantastic, and the closing credits being the Beatles’ “Revolution” is somewhat prophetic.

Part 2: The Skaters

The videos are fantastic…but the skaters have, for years, been what I was most interested in. Their musical selections are the most honest glimpses we get into their personalities.

As stated earlier, Pat Duffy loved Primus, which probably meant he was goofy and liked to party. This is clearly shown in Questionable; he begins shredding a handrail to the opening of “Tommy the Cat”, and now the editing actually is more on point. And Duffy wasn’t done with Primus until Virtual Reality, where he skated to “DMV”. One must note how someone says, “Go, Pat” as the bass starts. Later on, after grinding a handrail in the rain (to the Doors), he flaunts his Primus shirt – in slow motion. At the start of Questionable, Duffy is referred to as a “Terminator whose program malfunctioned and now he can’t be destroyed,” and one might say the same thing about Les Claypool and his bass as well.

However, this doesn’t explain why, in Second Hand Smoke, Duffy skates to Peanuts or to big band in The Revolution. Maybe another program malfunction.

Mike Carroll was definitely the first person to get it right. Carroll’s first part was perfectly in time with the Beastie Boys’ “Time for Living”, and he did what skaters should do in videos: He skated really hard and really fast to a really raw and quick song (see: Zero). It was triumphant. However, this would not be how Carroll would continue to skate. Every other part was a hip hop groove, primarily Beastie Boys and Hieroglyphics. (Thank BMG for not being able to post Carroll’s true parts on the web).

Colin McKay kept his parts strictly metal. To be hilarious and ironic, his part in Questionable kicks off with him rapping to “O.P.P” in his living room. McKay’s Naughty By Nature opening shows he was the brat of Plan B, as his voice hadn’t even dropped yet. The rest of his part was a set to Iron Maiden’s “Aces High”.  For his next part, McKay went classic rock in Virtual Reality, which shows how his style had progressed a bit. While the first half was the Steve Miller Band’s “Serenade“, he still wanted to thrash as hard as the guitars did in his favorite songs. His next three parts would be songs by Kiss and Metallica, and his ending in The Revolution with Danny Way is the least boring vert clip I have ever seen.

Have you ever watched vert skating? It’s excruciatingly mundane – at least in comparison with everything else. But Danny Way always kept it interesting (especially once he joined forces with McKay). I think the reasoning behind that would be Led Zeppelin. Danny Way’s intro to Plan B was as rock solid as the first chords to “Good Times, Bad Times” (which he skates to in Virtual Reality), as he jumps from a rooftop to a trampoline. He even used “Over the Hills and Far Away” for his short SHS part (due to injury). As Led Zeppelin did with their music, Danny Way did with vert skating: He kept it interesting. He is the least boring–and therefore best–vert skater to ever exist.

The one who I could never figure out was Rick Howard. Eventually, Howard went on to help found Girl, which is (arguably) one of the most successful skate companies to date. Howard’s song choices, though, always seemed to be more about being ironic than necessarily reflecting his enjoyment. For example, in Virtual Reality, Howard skates to Rick James‘ “Give It to Me Baby”, which on its own is pretty funny. I mean, come on– a tall, skinny, white dude busting heelflips to that sensual track. And in Questionable, he obtained the sole hit by Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. This may have been as a poke at modern music, but I don’t remember if the mass public perceived that song as cool. Plus, he had a thing for talking to crazy homeless people (click the Rick James link). I still think  everything truly shines through when he sings with the bum. Oh, how the Beatles bring people together.

But, of course, the most interesting character to ever exist in Plan B history is Rodney Mullen. Mullen will forever be the king of skateboarding, and his musical choices clearly reflect that. Like his own skating, Mullen picked songs by musicians who were innovative and had complex personalities. For Mullen’s first two parts (because he was that good), he chose beautiful works like “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong and “If You Want to Sing Out” by Cat Stevens. Both are in no way songs most people would ever think to thrash to, but Mullen saw something reflective of his skating in those pieces, as they flow with his amazing flat-ground footwork perfectly. His next choices would be two songs by Jim Croce, including a slow-motion casper slide sequence set to “Time in a Bottle”. This makes one think he had to do enough clean casper slides to fill up that portion of the song. His other choices included “Help” by the Beatles and “Dream On” by Aerosmith, where he had the most technical flat-ground part ever in a pair of bowling shoes. And by the time the song picks up, you’re really rooting for Mullen and his kickflips. Not many skaters are advanced geniuses, but I think Rodney Mullen definitely qualifies.

Concluding Thoughts

Plan B’s efforts may have been very cut and paste, along with some trial and error, but they were writing the craft of mass-produced skate videos as they were doing it. Considering their musical selection for editing their parts, one has to give them a pat on the back for giving it their best shot. In a way, the team was a lot like the artists they listened to. Groups like Green Day, Hieroglyphics, the Offspring, and Flogging Molly hadn’t necessarily achieved fame yet but would go on to. Similarly, the skaters who made up Plan B have all gone on to have great success. You might say the bands and the skaters both were riding the same concrete wave and wound up making some pretty good artwork along the way. Plan B had so much assurance that their music tastes were superior, they even stated it in the end credits: “Go buy this music – it rules.” And we damn well listened.

Update: Not so fast. Tony Iommi has issued a statement regarding today’s news: “I’m saddened that a Birmingham journalist whom I trusted has chosen this point in time to take a conversation we had back in June and make it sound like we spoke yesterday about a Black Sabbath reunion.”

“At the time I was supporting the Home Of Metal exhibition was merely speculating shooting the breeze on something all of us get asked constantly, ‘Are you getting back together?’

“Thanks to the Internet it’s now gone round the world as some sort of ‘official’ statement on my part; absolute nonsense. I hope he’s enjoyed his moment of glory, he won’t have another at my expense.

The original members of Black Sabbath have reunited and are working on a new studio album, their first together since 1978′s Never Say Die!. Guitarist Tony Iommi revealed the news in an interview with the Birmingham Mail, noting that he and frontman Ozzy Osbourne began working on new material in June with plans for a release in 2012. ‘‘We’re really looking forward to it and I think the stuff we’ve been writing is really good. It’s more back to the old original stuff.’’

The band’s original lineup, which also includes bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward, previously reunited in the late 1990s with similar plans for a new studio album. However, studio sessions with producer Rick Rubin were halted in favor of Osbourne’s solo album and the band ultimately went on hiatus.

Iommi also said there are plans for a tour, though he added that his only concern about the reunion was the health of Ward, who suffered a heart attack during rehearsals for the band’s reunion tour in 1998. ‘‘He hasn’t been 100 per cent. He had an operation a few months ago, so we’ll see how he is.’’

We’ll keep you updated as more details become available. In the meantime, watch a live clip of the original lineup performing “War Pigs” in 1999.

We’re still two months off from this year’s event, but a number of the special edition releases have already been detailed. After scrolling through Record Store Day’s UK website, Wax Poetic, and Pop & Hiss, we narrowed down some of our early favorites and then fleshed ‘em out below. Mind you, many more releases are still to be announced, so keep checking back to Consequence of Sound for more updates. It would also be a good idea to bookmark our Upcoming Releases Calendar.

– The Beach Boys – “Good Vibrations”/”Heroes and Villains”: 78 rpm vinyl double disc set includes commercially released versions of both songs on the first disc, and early alternate takes on second disc.

– The Black Angels – Another Nice Pair: Limited edition red vinyl featuring the band’s first two albums. Artwork designed by founding member/guitarist Christian Bland. Download card also included. 100 inserts signed by the band will be randomly packed through the pressing.

– Busdriver – “Ass to Mouth” b/w “Colour Wheel”: The first offering from Busdriver’s upcoming studio album. [1000 copies]

– The Clash – The Magnificent Seven: 7″ heavyweight red vinyl reissue, plus bonus 4-track CD.

– Clinic - Ladies Night: An EP of cover versions featuring songs originally recorded by Cilla Black, Audrey Hepburn, Man Parrish & The Seeds.

– Deftones – Covers: Classic Deftones’ cover tracks, pressed together on limited edition vinyl for the first time ever. [5,000 copies]

– Derek & The Dominos – “Got to Get Better in a Little While” b/w “Layla”: 7 inch single featuring previously unreleased track backed by the classic “Layla”.

– The Flaming Lips – Heady Nugs: First 5 Warner Bros. Records 1992-2002: Special RSD edition black vinyl version. [5,000 copies]

– Franz Ferdinand – Covers EP: A 12″ EP featuring cover versions of songs from Franz Ferdinand’ Tonight album performed by Debbie Harry, LCD Soundsystem, Peaches, ESG, and Stephin Merrit (of Magnetic Fields).

– Green Day/Hüsker Dü – “Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely”: Split 7″ featuring Hüsker Dü original plus Green Day’s cover.

– Grinderman – “Evil”: 12” red glitter vinyl featuring remix with lead vocals by The National’s Matt Berninger. [UK only] [750 copies]

– Jenny & Johnny/Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris – “Love Hurts”: Split 7″ featuring Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris original plus Jenny & Johnny’s cover.

– The Kills – “Satellite”: Special dub 10″ features mixes by Mad Professor.

– Mastodon: Live at Aragon: A 180-gram vinyl edition of the band’s new live album, featuring a live DVD. [2,500 copies]

– Mastodon/ZZ Top – “Just Got Paid”: Split 7″ featuring ZZ original plus Mastodon’s cover.

– Omar Rodriguez-Lopez – Telesterion: 4LP box of his new greatest hits collection. [350 copies]

– Ozzy Osbourne – “Flying High Again”: RSD 7″ featuring live version of “I Don’t Know” as the B-side.

– Queen – Stormtroopers In Stilettos: Limited edition 7″ features two previously unreleased versions of tracks recorded in the early 70′s, “Keep Yourself Alive (Long Lost Retake)” (from Queen) and “Stone Cold Crazy” (2011 Remaster) (from Sheer Heart Attack). [2,000 copies]

– R.E.M. – Three: 3 x 7″ box set featuring three live singles.

– Red Hot Chili Peppers/The Ramones – “Havana Affair”: Split 7″ featuring Ramones original plus Chili Peppers’ cover.

– Panda Bear – Tomboy: Limited edition of new album on clear vinyl, featuring exclusive t shirt. [1,000 copies]

– Phish – Two Soundchecks: The band’s first ever live vinyl release and their first release in conjunction with Record Store Day. The A-Side is an instrumental jam culled from the soundcheck of Phish’s third show of a sold out three-night stand at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA. The B-Side is an especially exotic soundcheck from Hartford, CT in 2009, featuring Trey on Bass, and Fish on drums. [2,000 copies]

– The Rolling Stones – “Brown Sugar”: 7 inch single vinyl replica of the original EP. B/w b-sides “Bitch” and “Let It Rock”.

– Syd Barrett: An Introduction to Syd Barrett: 180 gram double LP features tracks that Barrett recorded while he was with Pink Floyd as well as solo recordings.

– Yeasayer – End Blood: 7″ single featuring two previously unreleased tracks.

But, as plenty of you know by now, there are other ways to get into shows. You can peruse Craigslist, bookmark auctions on Ebay, and (sometimes) ask friends or friends of friends. That can get chaotic, though. That’s why we’re pretty stoked about Seat Geek. They’re basically an aggregator of the online ticketing market, telling you when to buy tickets and if they’re a good deal. It works.

Given our partnership with them (see that “Tickets” button in the nav bar above?), it only makes sense for us to compile each month’s hot ticket items and the best buys. Some of them may surprise you. (They sure did for us. Avenged Sevenfold, really?) However, most should be a given.

This month we have Weezer finishing up its share of Blinkerton dates. If you want to catch them – and you’re in the Midwest – it might make sense to take a trip to Chicago. It’s nice and chilly, but it’s nothing a little “Getchoo” can’t fix. Over in the Big Apple, however, Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt are scheduled to perform what will undoubtedly be an intimate show at the Beacon Theatre.

Say you’re looking for more metal, though. You’re in luck. Ozzy Osbourne plans to slay the Twin Cities, Tool wants to ruin that sunny vacay in Honolulu, and Linkin Park will bring a A Thousand Suns to the South. Yeah, like they need it.

Then there’s Prince at MSG. If you haven’t seen him live – which, actually, is probably most of you – then it’s safe to say this is definitely a “must-see” show. After all, where else can you find such a dramatic evening of rock ‘n’ roll?

Well, there’s always Jared Leto’s thing.

Seat Geek’s Hot Tickets – January 2011
01/07 – Weezer  – Chicago, IL @  Aragon Ballroom
01/08 – Weezer  – Chicago, IL @  Aragon Ballroom
01/12 – Ozzy Osbourne – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
01/14 – Ozzy Osbourne – Saint Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
01/14 – Tool – Honolulu, HI @ Neal S Blaisdell Arena
01/18 – Prince – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
01/20 – Linkin Park  – Sunrise, FL @ BankAtlantic Center
01/22 – Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
01/22 – Linkin Park – Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forumm
01/23 – Linkin Park – Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
01/23 – Avenged Sevenfold – Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena
01/23 – 30 Seconds to Mars – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas

In October 2011, Little, Brown Book Group will publish Ask Dr. Ozzy. The book – which will be co-written with Chris Ayres – is set to not only answer readers’ health questions, but also tell stories not told in Osbourne’s 2009 memoir, I Am Ozzy. Little, Brown editor-in-chief Antonio Hodgson said the book will also “offer advice that no human should offer and shed light on [Osbourne’s] seemingly superhuman ability to keep breathing.”

No excerpts from the book have surfaced but highlights from the column include The Prince of Darkness giving readers advice on how to maintain beautiful skin, keep their kids from smoking pot, and get their girlfriends to have sex with them. One especially hilarious entry finds Osbourne explaining why he walks on a treadmill instead of outdoors. “The only reason I don’t go for walks myself is because my arse has got a mind of his own,” he wrote, “If I’m out of range of a toilet, I freak out.”

The book doesn’t hit shelves until next year, but you can ask Ozzy a question by clicking here.

In addition to those previously mentioned dates with Ozzy, Slash and Kennedy will be hitting up Soundwave Festival in 2011, along with select dates in Asia and Puerto Rico. Head on over to Slash’s official website to spy all 2011 tour dates and keep busy until the new album drops. Keep checking back with CoS for more information as it comes.

Slash 2011 Tour Dates:
01/16 – Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center *
01/18 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center *
01/20 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center *
01/22 -  Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center *
01/24 – San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center *
01/26 – Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theatre *
01/28 – Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay Resort *
02/01 – Universal City, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre *
02/03 – San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion *
02/05 - Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome *
02/08 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center *
02/10 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center *
02/12 – Detroit, MI @ The Palace of Auburn Hills *
02/14 – Moline, IL @ i wireless Center *
02/16 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena *
02/18 – Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum *
02/20 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ BankAtlantic Center *
02/22 – Jacksonville, FL @ Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena *
02/26 – Brisbane, AU @ Soundwave Festival
02/27 – Sydney, AU @ Soundwave Festival
03/04 – Melbourne, AU @ Soundwave Festival
03/05 – Adelaide, AU @ Soundwave Festival
03/07 – Perth, AU @ Soundwave Festival
03/14 – Osaka, JP @ Hatch
03/16 – Tokyo, JP @ Studio Coast
03/17 – Tokyo, JP @ Studio Coast
03/18 – Yokohama, JP @ Bay Hall
03/20 – Seoul, KR @ Ax-Korea Hall
04/13 – San Juan, PR @ Coliseo de Puerto Rico

* = w/Ozzy Osbourne

The point is there are sill music festivals to be reckoned with and since a good deal of our audience tends to favor such events, there’s a good chance many of you missed some of news and reviews we posted over the last few days. So, for your catching up purposes, here’s a recap:

– The Decemberists announced their sixth studio album, The King Is Dead.

– Watch Ryan Adams and Mandy Moore play “Oh My Sweet Carolina” in L.A.

– Stream 15 previously unreleased tracks from the legendary Bruce Springsteen.

– Check out Kanye West‘s latest G.O.O.D. Friday track, “The Joy”, featuring Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, and Pete Rock. Also, peep the official tracklist for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

– Check out Eminem and Nicki Minaj‘s collaboration “Roman’s Revenge”, off the latter’s forthcoming debut.

– Watch Jeff Tweedy, Yusuf Islam, Ozzy Osbourne, and more play Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

– Death Cab For Cutie‘s Ben Gibbard sat down with Spin Magazine to discuss his band’s next album.

– Punk legends the Descendents will play their first gig in eight years at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas this weekend.

– The Get Up Kids will release their first new album in seven years this January.

– Rivers Cuomo plans another 20 years of Weezer.

– Throbbing Gristle broke up… again.

– New concert reviews for Best Coast, Die Antwoord, and Bayside.

– Tony Hardy dusted off Genesis’ 1972 classic, Foxtrot.

– Jeff Tweddy and Mavis Staples? Kanye and Bon Iver? Jeremy Larson chooses the best odd collaborations of 2010.

Plus, Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy teamed up for a wonderful rendition of “You Are Not Alone”, with the Wilco frontman then appearing a bit later to play guitar for an original number written and sung by Stewart and Colbert. And let’s not also forget The O’Jays’ performance of “Love Train”, and uh, Kid Rock showed up too, backed by Sheryl Crow and a recorded T.I.

Both the music and the rally came to a fitting end with a singalong of “I’ll Take You There” featuring all of the aforementioned performers as well as the day’s other guests, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and R2D2. So, yeah, “spectacle” is an accurate description.

Watch the highlights below. We’ll add more clips as they show up.

Yusuf + Ozzy + The O’Jays

Jon Stewart + Stephen Colbert + Jeff Tweedy

Kid Rock + Sheryl Crow + T.I.

The two musical forces are set to begin their travels in Omaha on January 16th. From there, the entourage will pendulum from Texas, to California, and end back across in Florida on February 22nd. Find a full list of confirmed dates below.

Given that Osbourne appeared on Slash’s solo album for the track, “Crucify The Dead,” expect to see it performed by the two of them. While that would be awesome, we have one other request, Ozzy: Let’s get Slash on “Crazy Train”.

Tickets for the newly announced dates go on sale starting Friday, October 15th via Ticketmaster.com. You can find already on-sale Ozzy dates via our Concert Calendar.

Ozzy Osbourne 2010 Tour Dates:
10/16 – Kobe, JP @ Kobe World
10/17 – Tokyo, JP @ Super Arena
10/30 – New Orleans, LA @ Voodoo Experience
11/12 – Victoria, BC @ Save on Foods Memorial Centre
11/14 – Vancouver, BC @ BC Rogers Arena
11/16 – Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
11/18 – Edmonton, MB @ Rexall Place
11/20 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
11/23 – Montreal, QC @ QC Bell Centre
11/25 – Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place
11/27 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
11/29 – Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena
12/01 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
12/03 – Rutherford, NY @ Izod Center
12/05 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
12/10 – St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
12/12 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
01/16 – Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center *
01/18 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center *
01/20 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center *
01/22 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center *
01/24 – San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center *
01/26 – Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theatre *
01/28 – Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay Resort *
02/01 – Universal City, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre *
02/03 – San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion *
02/05 – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome *
02/08 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center *
02/10 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center *
02/12 – Detroit, MI @ The Palace of Auburn Hills *
02/14 – Moline, IL @ i wireless Center *
02/16 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena *
02/18 – Tampa, FL @ St Pete Times Forum
02/20 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ BankAtlantic Center *
02/22 – Jacksonville, FL @ Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena *

* = w/ Slash

Yes, Osbourne and opener Rob Halford will play a series of shows north of the border starting November 12th in Victoria, BC. Performances in Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Montreal, and Toronto then follow before the tour finally makes its way into North America, with dates in New York, NY, Rutherford, NJ, Cleveland, OH, and Minneapolis, MN scheduled.

This leg is just a small part of Osbourne’s 18-month, currently ongoing world tour, which comes in support of his most recent solo release Scream. Before his newly announced arena tour, Osbourne will also tour the UK, Europe, and Japan and headline the New Orleans based Voodoo Experience.

Find all confirmed tour dates below. Tickets for the newly announced North American shows go on sale September 17th. Get yours at Ticketmaster.com.

Ozzy Osbourne 2010 Tour Dates:
09/11 – St. Petersburg, RU @ New Arena
09/13 – Moscow, RU @ Khodynka Arena
09/16 – Oberhausen, DE @ Koening Pilsner Arena
09/18 – London, UK @ Ozzfest UK
09/20 – Paris, FR @ Bercy
09/21 – Milan, IT @ Palasharp
09/25 – Athens, GR @ Terra Vibe
09/28 – Tel Aviv, IR @ HaYarkon Park
09/30 – Istanbul, HR @ Turkcell Kurucesme Arena
10/02 – Bucharest, RO @ Zone Arena
10/04 – Budapest, HR @ Budapest Arena
10/16 – Kobe, JP @ Kobe World
10/17 – Tokyo, JP @ Super Arena
10/30 – New Orleans, LA @ Voodoo Experience
11/12 – Victoria, BC @ Save on Foods Memorial Centre
11/14 – Vancouver, BC @ BC Rogers Arena
11/16 – Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
11/18 – Edmonton, MB @ Rexall Place
11/20 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
11/23 – Montreal, QC @ QC Bell Centre
11/25 – Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place
11/27 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
12/01 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
12/03 – Rutherford, NY @ Izod Center
12/05 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
12/12 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Cente

Osbourne kicked off his performance with “Fearless” from his latest album, Scream, and he sounds surprisingly menacing for a man who mumbled his way to reality-TV immortality. In fact, you almost want to bow down as he sings “I answer/no questions/you will obey my order.” The music is as heavy as ever, and he even satiated the thirst of fans patiently waiting for that heavily-rumored Black Sabbath reunion by powering through a fresh version of the band’s 1980 classic, “Crazy Train”. A small circle pit ensued and further proved that when it comes to having fun at shows, trashing metalheads beat foot-tapping indie kids any day.

Check out the videos below and catch Osbourne on one of Ozzfest’s  remaining summer dates.  Tickets are still available via Ticketmaster.com.

“Fearless”

“Crazy Train”

Ozzfest 2010 Tour Dates:
08/17 – Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amp.
08/19 – Pittsburgh, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion
08/21 – Hartford, CT @ Comcast Theater
08/22 – Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
08/24 – Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
09/18 – London, UK @ O2 Arena
09/28 – Tel Aviv, IR @ HaYarkon Park

Now before you get out the face paint and studded bracelets, it’s not going to be for some time (if at all). In an interview with MassLive.com (via AntiMusic.com), frontman Ozzy Osbourne said he and guitarist Tony Iommi had worked out their legal issues regarding who owns the Black Sabbath name and are actually, gasp, being friendly.

When then asked about the possibility of a Black Sabbath reunion, Osbourne did not shoot the idea, but instead said that it’d have to wait at least a year or two while he does his solo album and subsequent touring. But if it were to happen, Osbourne has some pretty lofty intentions.

“We never set down when we were kids and went like, ‘This is going to be looked upon when we’re (expletive) 60 as a milestone in music.’ That was not our intention,” Osbourne said. “But it kind of happened. I always wanted to be a Beatle and people said, ‘Well Black Sabbath is a heavy metal version of the Beatles.’ But I would love to do, absolutely love to do a really great, monumental Black Sabbath album.”

We have never wanted something more to happen than a metal Beatles. Or would that be a Beatles-esque Sabbath. Either way, we hope it comes sooner rather than later. As always, though, stay tuned for more news as it’s announced.

As explained on Ozzfest.com:

As with other wedding packages, the one-stop Unholy Matrimony Package provides just about everything the happy couple will need… except a marriage license. Each special package includes a variety of items to mark the special day and 10 general admission pit tickets for the bride & groom and 8 guests; an official OzzFest wedding ceremony by ordained minister MC Big Dave; an OZZFest cake and champagne toast.

If that’s not enough, couples will also receive entry to the venue, a backstage tour, access to the VIP lounge, custom t-shirts, posters, and more.

So in summary, if you planned on getting married next month, have zero plans made, really love Ozzy, and only want eight guests, this may be just perfect for you. Just a warning: a more traditional family might not love this choice, but if this is something you’re even considering, odds are you don’t care.

All that being said, you better hurry. Wedding packages are already sold out for the California, Connecticut, and New Jersey legs of tour. Opportunities are still available for Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Boston.

For those not looking to get married, Ozzfest ’10 will feature Ozzy, Mötley Crüe, Rob Halford, DevilDriver, and Nonpoint as headliners. Other acts scheduled to perform include Black Label Society, Drowning Pool, Kingdom of Sorrow, Goatwhore, Skeletonwitch, Saviours, and Kataklysm. Find a full list of confirmed tour stops below.

Ozzfest 2010 Tour Dates:
08/14 – San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Amphitheater
08/17 – Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amp.
08/19 – Pittsburgh, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion
08/21 – Hartford, CT @ Comcast Theater
08/22 – Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
08/24 – Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
09/18 – London, UK @ O2 Arena
09/28 – Tel Aviv, IR @ HaYarkon Park

According to NME, the newest game will feature some of the heaviest rockers in the music world, including AFI, DragonForce, Drowning Pool, Foo Fighters, KISS, Metallica, Slipknot, Slayer,  The Rolling Stones, and many others. Not to mention, there’ll be slightly less intense acts to rock with, like Muse, Queen, and Silversun Pickups. And somehow Foreigner and Night Ranger made it to the final list, which you can peep below. Speaking of KISS, the developers also created a storyline mode that’s narrated by KISS’ own Gene Simmons. So, expect lots of bad sexual innuendos, gamers.

Stay tuned for more news, including any more big name additions. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock hits shelves on September 28th.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Tracklist:
01. AFI – Dancing Through Sunday
02. Anthrax – Indians
03. Avenged Sevenfold – Bat Country
04. Black Sabbath – Children Of The Grave
05. Buzzcocks – What Do I Get?
06. Children Of Bodom – If You Want Peace… Prepare For War
07. The Cure – Fascination Street
08. Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)
09. Dethklok – Bloodlines
10. Dire Straits – Money For Nothing
11. DragonForce – Fury Of The Storm
12. Drowning Pool – Bodies
13. Fall Out Boy – Dance, Dance
14. Foo Fighters – No Way Back
15. Foreigner – Feels Like The First Time
16. The Hives – Tick Tick Boom
17. Jane’s Addiction – Been Caught Stealing
18. Jethro Tull – Aqualung
19. KISS – Love Gun
20. Linkin Park – Bleed It Out
21. Megadeth – Sudden Death
22. Metallica & Ozzy Osbourne – Paranoid (Live)
23. Muse – Uprising
24. My Chemical Romance – I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
25. Night Ranger – (You Can Still) Rock In America
26. Nine Inch Nails – Wish
27. The Offspring – Self Esteem
28. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
29. Rammstein – Waidmanns Heil
30. The Rolling Stones – Stray Cat Blues
31. Silversun Pickups – There’s No Secrets This Year
32. Slayer – Chemical Warfare
33. Slipknot – Psychosocial
34. Stone Temple Pilots – Interstate Love Song
35. ZZ Top – Sharp Dressed Man (Live)

UK rockers Muse and metal legend Ozzy Osbourne will headline this year’s festivities, set to run from October 29th-31st at New Orlean’s City Park. Other noteworthy acts include Weezer, MGMT, Drake, Interpol, Hot Chip, Metric, Deadmau5, Florence and the Machine, Janelle Monáe, Jónsi, Street Sweeper Social Club, Jakob Dylan and Three Legs, Eagles of Death Metal, Minus the Bear, and Galactic, which will be accompanied by a yet to be announced guest.

Also scheduled to perform are Buckwheat Zydeco, Eli “Paperboy” Reed, The Airborne Toxic Event, Raphael Saadiq, Afrojack, Die Antwoord, Crookers, Innerpartysystem, Trombone Shory & Orleans Avenue, Toubab Krewe, George Porter, Jr. and his Runnin’ Pardners, Rebirth Brass Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights, and Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars. Click here for a listing of the current bill. In all, over 100 acts will perform during the festival’s three days.

Three-day General Admission passes, priced at $150, and 3-Day LOA Lounge VIP, priced at $500, will go on sale starting at 7 AM EST. Visit the festival’s website for more info.

Image support via Brett Bazan.

The old-school heavyweights will be joined on the main stage by DevilDriver and Nonpoint. Black Label Society, in its seventh sixth appearance at Ozzfest, will headline the second stage, accompanied by Drowning Pool, Kingdom of Sorrow, Goatwhore, Skeletonwitch, Saviours, and Kataklysm.

This lineup is at odds with various rumors naming everyone from Metallica and Phil Anselmo’s band Down, to BlackDiamondSkye tourmates Alice in Chains and Mastodon. Of course, if that’s more your speed, head right over here.

Ozzfest will tour six dates nationwide, beginning in San Bernardino, California (where Ozzfest originated in 1996) on August 14th. The series is rounded out by dates in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Hartford, Boston, and Camden, New Jersey. The tour is promoted by Live Nation and will take place in amphitheatres and arenas, depending on the town.

Osbourne will be supporting his new album Scream — his 10th overall — which features at least one killer track. Halford, who appeared at the 2004 edition of the festival with Judas Priest, will be performing solo stuff along with songs from Priest and Fight. Mötley Crüe are Ozzfest first-timers, but toured with Osbourne during his 1984 arena tour.

Along with the two stages featuring music beginning at 1:00 p.m., fans will be free to wander into the “Village of the Damned”, which features “a mix of interactive activities, shopping and entertainment throughout the venue concourses.”

You’ll be able to score tickets beginning May 22nd at Ozzfest.com and Ticketmaster.

Ozzfest 2010 Tour Dates:
08/14 – San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Amphitheater
08/17 – Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amp.
08/19 – Pittsburgh, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion
08/21 – Hartford, CT @ Comcast Theater
08/22 – Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
08/24 – Boston, MA @ Comcast Center

Debuting on the April 14th episode of CSI: New York, “Let Me Hear You Scream” is the first taste of the now-aptly-named Scream, expected to be released on June 15th of this year. While some of us are still clueless as to the fate of our beloved spectacle known as Ozzfest (though an official announcement is set for tomorrow), a song like this should surely keep everyone hyped enough to get by until word has otherwise surfaced from beyond the one-date grave.

Thanks to our dear friends at Rock It Out! Blog, we bring to you a quite-pristine stream of the latest from the Ozzy camp, with some postscript to add some ambiance (or fear, whichever suits you):

“When I heard they were going to use ‘Let Me Hear You Scream’ for a prison riot scene, I thought, ‘Well, now that’s something I know about,’” Osbourne said. He was in prison before his 18th birthday.

Meanwhile, my three-year-old is rocking out to this track, so yet again Ozzy proves that metal transcends the generation gap.

Check Out:

“The idea was really simple in the beginning,” explained Slash. “These are all artists I wanted to work with — that I thought it would be amazing to do something creative and collaborative. And I was so impressed with what everyone brought to the table. They were all so committed to doing a good job. And we had a lot of fun making these songs.”

Other contributors include Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age), who served as producer, bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction), and drummer Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails).

In other news, Guitar Center has announced a first-of-its-kind, unsigned band competition that provides emerging artists the chance to win the “ultimate career-altering opportunity”: record a 3-song EP with legendary producer, Mike Clink (Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, Megadeth) and have Slash write, record and perform on the winning artists’ single. Interested parties can click here for more information.

Slash Tracklist:
01. Ghost (feat. Ian Astbury)
02. Beautiful Dangerous (feat. Fergie)
03. Nothing To Say (feat. M. Shadows of AVENGED SEVENFOLD)
04. Crucify The Dead (feat. Ozzy Osbourne)
05. Promise (feat. Chris Cornell)
06. By The Sword (feat. Andrew Stockdale of WOLFMOTHER)
07. Doctor Alibi (feat. Lemmy Kilmeister)
08. Saint Is A Sinner Too (feat. Rocco De Luca)
09. Watch This (feat. Dave Grohl/Duff McKagan)
10. I Hold On (feat. Kid Rock)
11. Gotten (feat. Adam Levine)
12. We’re All Gonna Die (feat. Iggy Pop)
13. Starlight (feat. Myles Kennedy)

As Blabbermouth reports, the aptly titled Slash will packaged through Roadrunner Records in the U.K. as part of “new concept in record distribution.”

The standard album release will be preceded by a “Fan Pack,” in which the Roadrunner Records album will be bundled together with a highly collectable, 132-page special issue of Future Publishing’s Classic Rock magazine dedicated to Slash’s career. This will be the first format of the album available anywhere in the world.

In turn, this partnership, which is said to be the first of its kind, will allow the record to be available in the 4,000+ U.K. retailers that stock the Classic Rock magazine.

A tracklist for the effort has yet to be release, however, according to Rolling Stone, contributions from the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Grohl, Flea, Fergie, and Nichole Scherzinger are expected to be included. Unfortunately, Jack White will not be.

A U.S. release date has also not yet been released. We’ll of course have more details when they become available.

Ozzy‘s wife and television “bleep” queen Sharon has become the Simon Cowell of America’s Got Talent, making the previous Osbourne variety special seem even more archaic; Ozzfest has not done a good round of national tour dates for a while; the saving grace was once our sigh of relief that daughter Kelly’s music career came to a grinding halt. Truthfully the Ozzy camp has remained rather silent post-Texas, given the Prince of Darkness’ resounding second wind of health these past few years and the superior quality of his last solo effort Black Rain — but this silence may soon transfigure into a rude awakening by 2010 (the context of this rudeness is yet to be determined).

According to sources at NME, the pending followup is tentatively branded Soul Sucka and will be the first to subtract guitar metal aficionado Zakk Wylde from the doom rock fold since 1986′s The Ultimate Sin. In Wylde’s place will be melodic death metal’s equivalent of a Greek guitar God, Gus G — known to appear in guest spots all over the heavy facets of your elementary school globe alongside Arch Enemy, Nightrage and then some. Also, the upcoming release will feature bassist Blasko of Rob Zombie fame.

Ozzy Osbourne has been at multiple ends of the rock spectrum, from ballads to bangers, from epics to easy-as-sin radio singles. Soul Sucka on the other hand, boasts a fragrance of speed and elaborate solo elements that flow with a recent evolution via Dragonforce and Trivium. Honestly? I cannot wait to see the Prince traverse this explosive plain, but it is a damn shame that Wylde was not a part of it — I could only imagine the blistering solos to come.

The list of 16 ranges from the near blasphemous (Myth: Radiohead can do no wrong. Reality: Radiohead kinda blow) to the obvious (Myth: Marilyn Manson Is A Puppy-Killing Nazi. Turns out it’s an image, people). They also manage to raise some interesting questions, however (Myth: Biggie & Tupac Are Hip-Hop’s Pillars. Reality: Biggie and Tupac don’t matter anymore). There’s even a few that finally let the world know the deep, dark truth (Sorry, fans. There was no girl pleasured with a mud shark by Led Zeppelin. It was a red snapper!) Many of the entries and the feature interviews feature well organized insight and meticulous defenses; even if we’re still not that sure about Lady Gaga.

You can read the list here. It’s also featured in the December 2009 issue, with an expanded list of 33 nuggets of wisdom.

Featuring appearances by Rob Halford (of Judas Priest), Lemmy (of Motörhead), and Ozzy Osbourne, according to Billboard, Brütal Legend features a wicked soundtrack of more than 100 songs (tracklist here) which serve as the background for the devilish game which forged from the boiling red bile of Satan himself. Nah, we’re just kidding. Alternatively, the much-anticipated title yields from the founder/president of Double Fine Productions, Tim Schafer, who has already gained a hefty cult following with The Secret of Monkey Island and Psychonauts.

As Schafer explains, Brütal Legend is “a fantasy game inspired by the world of heavy metal album covers”. Schafer, a heavy metal fanatic himself, further divulged, “When you look at those great illustrations on Iron Maiden or Diamond Head albums, there’s an unbridled creativity there. They just threw everything on there that they thought looked awesome.”

Brütal Legend is scheduled to hit stores on October 16th.

The releases follow this year’s earlier reissues of their 1970 self-titled debut and 1971′s Master Of Reality, both of which came stocked with alternate studio versions, demos, and instrumentals of classic songs.

Ahead of the release, AngryApe has put together two Black Sabbath webisodes (via Blabbermouth) in which musicians and journalists discuss the significance and influence of these LPs.

To clarify, Judge began with two animated shorts, the rambunctious duo that is Beavis and Butt-head and the lonely yet rattled Milton. By sheer coincidence, the pseudo-geniuses in music video critique became the basis for an entire series riddled with fart flames, head banging and rather cruel outlooks on ’80s bands, all glazed over with basic crude humor that hallmarked our nation’s “benevolent” youth. While Judge may be remembered now for his cult classic hit Office Space, or his longest running victory, King of the Hill, it’s the success of Beavis and Butt-head that allotted Judge these pop-culture marvels. So, what about …Do America?

The animated film was probably the last thing anyone expected to receive praise by Siskel & Ebert, but lo and behold the critics gave many positive reviews. And while it cost about five million to make (pocket change nowadays), …Do America grossed over $60 million dollars for its domestic box office run, a feat attributed to timing as the height of Beavis and Butt-head‘s popularity only dwindled shortly thereafter. Though, in the moments before Judge’s creation found its grave, this movie became a pop culture icon cementing a laundry list of beyond stupid catchphrases like “Come to Butt-head!” or “I am Cornholio” into our feeble teen minds. The duo who shunned “wussy” bands like Winger or Poison and hailed both Metallica and Radiohead were given their own big screen debut, so one had to wonder what to expect from their corresponding soundtrack?

Turns out this album is essentially the love child of late ’90s alternative and Beavis and Butt-head-approved metal, only with a little comic relief for good measure — a perfect mix for such a confused yet brilliant decade. The on-screen duo get the ’70s buddy cop treatment with the late Issac Hayes turning their TV show theme song into the “Theme From Shaft”‘s evil twin, and it’s all aptly titled, “Two Cool Dudes”. This is perceived by some as foreshadowing of Hayes’s later animated dealings, most specifically, his portrayal of Chef on South Park. Though as popular the Academy Award-winning composer was, he couldn’t compete with the album’s most popular track, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ envisioning of The Ohio Players tune, “Love Rollercoaster”. It was the first official single and remains an alternative radio staple with Flea’s infectious funk bass and Keidis’ muffled rap verses. It also became a favorite video on MTV2 featuring the band as animated theme park attendees/daredevils, naturally interspersed with footage from the movie (namely Beavis and Butt-head dancing in Las Vegas).

Switching gears (and genres), “Ain’t Nobody” by LL Cool J was the second single off the record, but unfortunately only charted at #46 in the States. For nostalgic fans, the song holds steady, but on the whole it feels out of place amidst the funk, punk and metal. Yes, the metal. Anyone who has actually seen this movie remembers Beavis’s desert hallucination vividly (noted by The Nostalgia Critic as #5 on his Top 11 Nostalgic Mindfucks countdown), and the ensuing sonic mayhem, as well.

Inspired by Rob Zombie’s artwork and played in sync to White Zombie’s “Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks & Cannibal Girls”, the imagery results from Beavis eating a cactus. The song itself makes for the soundtrack’s heaviest metal performance, second and third easily being AC/DC’s “Gone Shootin’” and Rancid ft. Stubborn All-Stars’ “I Wanna Riot”, respectively. Known as the final recording by White Zombie, as it hit streets around the release of Rob Zombie’s Hellbilly Deluxe, this segment of the film pays homage to Beavis and Butt-head’s critic days with Beavis claiming what he sees is “like a music video!” – and for the most part, he is right on the money.

Another interesting last (as well as first) is the track “Walk On Water” by none other than Ozzy Osbourne. While the demo was featured in the film, this polished studio version boasts the only performance of guitarist Joe Holmes on an Osbourne studio recording (though he was schooled by the late Randy Rhoads and co-wrote three tracks on Down To Earth before leaving the band). While not the best of the tracks in the Osbourne catalog, the notoriety it brings to this soundtrack leaves much to aspire towards, especially alongside White Zombie’s courteous donation.

Onto ’90s territory, we have the presence of some old school No Doubt (you know, before Stefani became the second coming of Cyndi Lauper?) and Butthole Surfers. In a similar fashion to Filter, Butthole Surfers have the one song everyone knows (“Pepper”), and a healthy dose of soundtrack appearances (MI:2, Romeo & Juliet, etc.). While Filter might have been much more successful in the long run, a Butthole Surfers song by band name alone is almost a necessity on the …Do America OST, and thus we get “The Lord Is A Monkey (Rock Version)” thrown in for good measure. A bit bizarre to the point of mimicking White Zombie in some aspects, this psychotropic sound scape fits well amongst the wickedness that is Beavis and Butt-head.

Complementing the funkier Red Hot Chili Peppers we get No Doubt’s “Snakes”, which rather than scoring two slackers, actually belongs in a strip club. In fact, the animators should have put in a deleted stripper scene specifically for this song, because the lyrics by themselves are only made more provocative with Stefani’s sexy vocals and the occasional wails (“Open the basket/listen to the flute play”). While it might have taken some practice to get the dancer’s rhythm on point, boy would that have been so worth it. Where the hell is Jessica Rabbit when you really need her?

Closing out this twisted joyride of musical gene splicing (perhaps “genre splicing”), we have a song covered by Engelbert Humperdinck entitled “Lesbian Seagull”, which is played by Beavis and Butt-head’s hippy school teacher during an FBI raid, and later during the end credits by Humperdinck himself. This acts as the album’s comic relief next to Hayes’s theme song interpretation, but even more, because it’s absolutely random by all accounts. It neither adds or takes away from the film, but if they had to pick a song for the hippy teacher’s “Kumbayah” moment I suppose this is as good a satirical jab as any.

Suffice it to say that in this site’s eyes, Beavis and Butt-head Do America was Mike Judge’s crowning achievement, surpassed only by Office Space for no other reason than the “O” face. Granted, …Do America was only as successful as the TV series allowed it to be, but let’s consider the name players involved, both musically or otherwise. It’s a rag tag team of Demi Moore, Bruce Willis and even the guy fromUnsolved Mysteries (Robert Stack, for those uninformed) — all of them had voices slapped to this very vulgar film. Nobody had seen such a transition from TV to film, at least not animated. In some respects, it was very influential on South Park’s Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, only Judge lacks that musical background that both Trey Parker and Matt Stone pride themselves in. Nevertheless, the soundtrack here, and the enormity of the bands present on it, is more than enough to make you want to go: “Come to Butt-head”.

This isn’t the only Beavis and Butthead-endorsed album. Before this, there was a little collection called The Beavis and Butt-head Experience, which featured prominently heavy metal bands praised by the cartoon duo. Though this album was exceptionally better in terms of simple compilation novelty, the soundtrack of Beavis and Butt-head Do America has something for almost anyone — and even if your only initial reason for buying this soundtrack was “Love Rollercoaster”, chances are you kept it because of the other stellar tunes to follow (kind of like buying the Coneheads OST simply for “Soul To Squeeze”).  Above all else, this throwback to the ’90s is novelty but on a higher echelon of such, as it reminds us that at one time or another we all thought Cornholio was hilarious.

Beavis & Butthead Original Motion Picture Soundtrack tracklist:
01. “Two Cool Guys” – Isaac Hayes
02. “Love Rollercoaster” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
03. “Ain’t Nobody” – LL Cool J
04. “Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks and Cannibal Girls” – White Zombie
05. “I Wanna Riot” – Rancid with Stubborn All-Stars
06. “Walk on Water” – Ozzy Osbourne
07. “Snakes” – No Doubt
08. “Pimp’n Ain’t EZ” – Madd Head
09. “The Lord Is a Monkey (Rock Version)” – Butthole Surfers
10. “White Trash” – Southern Culture on the Skids
11. “Gone Shootin’” – AC/DC
12. “Lesbian Seagull” – Engelbert Humperdinck

Following twelve straight years as a traveling event, the festival reverted to a one-off in 2008 and featured the Osbourne joined by likes of Metallica, Jonathan Davis, Sevendust, and Serj Tankian. This year will mark the first time there has been no Ozzfest related event since it was created in 1996.

As for the aforementioned album, while details still remain sketchy, it will reportedly feature the producing talents of Kevin Churko, who previously worked with Osbourne on Black Rain. The album has a tentative fall 2009 release date.