Week 20 wrap-up: Ozzy, Bruce Dickinson, Serj Tankian, and more
So, in addition to getting COVID lately, everyone's favorite grandma, Ozzy Osbourne, is now also getting neck surgery.
Says The Ozz himself, "I can't walk properly these days. I have physical therapy every morning. I am somewhat better, but nowhere near as much as I want to be to go back on the road".
Even though he's supposedly long over the hump as for COVID, I can't help but feel a little anxious when I read anything that has to do with Ozzy's health. Part of the world still being kinduva cool place has a lot to do with still having legends like him and Tom Waits around.
Get fucking well, Ozz. We all love you to bits.
Also, the European Ozzy tour originally scheduled for 2019 has now had its fourth reschedule – this time to May and June 2023. Seems like you can get your tickets here, but it doesn't say anything about special guests Judas fucking Priest as originally announced. I might wait a bit on this one.
Finally, finally, finally. In a guest slot on the Break It Down Show With Pete A Turner last month, legendary Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson talked about something that many of us have been waiting for since a long-ass fucking time ago in a town called Kickapoo: New solo material featuring his long-time collaborator Roy Z:
"It should have been done seven or eight years ago – we had a lot of material written – but then I got throat cancer. And that was a year off. And then there was a year of doing Maiden stuff, catch-up. And then there was another year and then there was another year. And then there was a pandemic. [...] But we're going in to do drums and tracks and everything in June. We've got demos going. [...] And it's sounding really interesting".
According to Dickinson, he and Roy Z have already got "anywhere between 50 and 70 percent of the material for the album, depending on what we pick".
Anyone out there who haven't heard any of Bruce Dickinson's solo albums need to get after it already. They're not equally good, but for any n00bs, here's the order of priority including ratings:
- "Tyranny of Souls" ('05) – 5.5 out of 6
- "The Chemical Wedding" ('98) – 5 out of 6
- "Tattooed Millionnaire" ('90) – 5 out of 6
- "Accident of Birth" ('97) – 4.5 out of 6
- "Balls to Picasso" ('94) – 4 out of 6
- "Skunkworks" ('96) – 3 out of 6
So, last week I wrote about Slipknot being added as character skins into a video game. Well, this week, it's System of a Down singer Serj Tankian's turn. Game developer company The Outsiders have recently added Tankian to their first-person shooter Metal: Hellsinger, which, as the title suggests, features tracks from a whole bunch of metal singers.
According to creative director David Goldfarb, "We have so many System of a Down fans in the studio, adding Serj Tankian to our already incredible roster of vocalists feels unreal. He completely killed the track and made it his own in a way only Serj could. We are so excited and can't wait to see everyone playing!".
The Metal: Hellsinger track featuring Tankian is called "No Tomorrow". You can hear some of it and watch some gameplay here.
Speaking of last week and metal stars in video games, this week, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor just announced that he's establishing The Taylor Foundation, a nonprofit organization which, in Taylor's own words, will "raise money for organizations that help treat or uplift members of the military and members of the emergency services who are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder".
Anyone interested in making a contribution can do so here. One lucky contributor will be picked at random and given two VIP passes to Corey Taylor's sold-out solo show in the London Palladium on Oct. 17th. This includes a hotel room and, not the least, hanging out with Corey himself backstage.
And speaking of rock stars and social issues...
In part of the ongoing trial against Salah Abdeslam, the one surviving member of the Muslim terrorist group who attacked the Bataclan venue in Paris in Nov. 2015, shooting and killing more than 100 people during an Eagles of Death Metal show, frontman Jesse Hughes gave the following statement:
"It's important to forgive. I'm a Christian. And... everyone can be lost, and everyone needs to find a way. And most of those gentlemen in there do. So I forgive them, and I hope they find the peace of God for themselves".
Hughes is not the only remorseful person in this case. According to The Post, Salah Abdeslam has, until recently, been flippant and contradictory when questioned, but eventually broken down and asked for forgiveness from the victim's families.
Hughes concluded with a perhaps unintentional Ozzy quote by stating, "You can't kill rock and roll". I, myself, will conclude by intentionally quoting Ozzy's hero, John Lennon:
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Sources:
https://blabbermouth.net/news/ozzy-osbourne-is-waiting-on-neck-surgery-i-cant-walk-properly-these-days
https://blabbermouth.net/news/iron-maidens-bruce-dickinson-says-his-in-the-works-new-solo-album-is-sounding-really-interesting
https://blabbermouth.net/news/system-of-a-downs-serj-tankian-added-to-metal-hellsinger-first-person-shooter-game
https://loudwire.com/corey-taylor-foundation/
https://www.metalsucks.net/2022/05/18/eagles-of-death-metals-jesse-hughes-offers-emotional-testimony-quotes-ozzy-in-bataclan-attack-trial/