SHADOWS FALL Singer Comments On Ozzfest 2008

SHADOWS FALL singer Brain Fair has issued the following recap of Ozzfest which featured headliners METALLICA and OZZY OSBOURNE at Pizza Hut Park in Dallas, Texas on August 9th.

"It has been a worldwide whirlwind for Shadows Fall over the past two weeks. It all began with a long flight to Korea to co-headline the second night of the Busan International Rock Festival. The set up for this show was unreal. The stage was right on the sand of a beautiful beach facing the water. The view was spectacular and the crowd was unreal!! It was a very eclectic bill featuring all styles of music so we were a little unsure of how the metal was going to go over with the crowd. We were definitely overwhelmed by the crazed response from the Korean fans!! We were greeted with huge circle pits, crowd suffering and lots of sing-alongs. This was also the first show that we ever had pyrotechnics before!! The only scary part is that we didn't know that were had pyrotechnics until the walls of fire erupted at the front of our stage during the set!!! Talk about a surprise. I had been standing right by where they went off the song before. We were only a few feet away from some fried dreadlocks. It was one hell of a show.

The next day, we returned to Seoul to film a set for TV at the EBS Space. I am pretty sure we were the first metal band recording at the national network and I don't know if they were prepared for the volume that we were about to unleash!! After a few tweaks of the PA and a dramatic reduction in stage volume we had everything sounding nice. Sometimes filming for TV can be difficult if it is just the band and a bunch of cameras, but EBS did it right and brought in around 200 crazy fans to help bring up the energy level. The show was a blast and should be airing on Korean TV sometime next month.

We want to thank all our fans that made the weekend so incredible and a special thanks to Kevin and everyone at Dope Entertainment for setting it all up!!

After an epic travel day home, we only had about 20 hours before Shadows Fall was back at the airport to fly to Dallas for the Ozzfest. Talk about jetlag!!! At least we built up our frequent flyer miles this summer. After a day of recovery at the hotel, we all woke up to head to the Pizza Hut park for soundcheck day. Besides the normal chaos of tracking down rental gear and getting everything up and running, we could tell this weekend was going to be something special. The venue was a great space for an event like Ozzfest because the floor section has no seats, almost guaranteeing mayhem and insanity from the crowd.

After a brief dip in the hotel pool (did I mention it had been over 100 degrees all day?) we headed back to the venue to sneak a peak at Metallica's soundcheck. We rolled in and instantly noticed someone else on the stage with a microphone. Yup. That's King Diamond!!!! This show is gonna rule!! After soundcheck Metallica threw a big ole Texas sized BBQ for all the bands and crew. It was a killer party with all the bands getting a chance to hang out and have a few drinks without any of the chaos of a show. It was very cool of Metallica to do something like this and I was way stoked on a chance of meeting a band that has been a huge influence on my own music.

After shaking off a slight hangover, it was time to head back to the venue and get ready to rock. Since we arrived a little early, I decided to head over to the second stage to check out some of Goatwhore's set. Damn was it hot out!! Had to be 105 degrees. Crossing that parking loot felt like staggering through the Mohave Dessert. Brutal. I decided to stay hidden in our air-conditioned trailer to try and save some energy for the set. Show time. Man, is metal alive and well in Texas!!! The set was unreal. Even in the brutal heat, kids were going absolutely insane!! I damn near passed out from the heat, but the energy of the crowd could have kept me going for hours. After the set we headed over to the Jagermeister tent for a signing. It was cool to get to meet some new fans, hang with some old friends and have The Sword provide the background music. I made it back to the main stage in time to check out the all-star tribute to Dimebag. Shadows Fall was lucky enough to spend the last six weeks of Dime's life on tour with him and those memories and experiences are something we will treasure forever. His spirit was felt strongly throughout the weekend. The tribute was a fitting honor to one of the greatest guitar players to ever pick up the instrument. After the tribute I retreated from the heat and hid in the sanctuary of the ESP Guitars air-condition box to watch the remainder of the show. Ozzy put on an electric set highlighted by an epic guitar solo from the one and only Zakk Wylde. Then it was time for Metallica to lay waste to what was left of the Pizza Hut Park. The set list was chock full of old school classics as well as a few surprises. The highlight for me was the Merciful Fate medley with King Diamond that they encored with. Sick.

After waking up with a much more brutal hangover, it was time to head back to the airport. I feel like I live there. To make it even better, my flight overheated so we sat on the runway for over an hour with no air conditioner. Sweet. It was an absolutely incredible few weeks on the road. Now it is time for rest, recovery and a whole lot of writing. We will see you soon.

Brian
Shadows Fall"



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Tags:  Shadows Fall, Ozzfest, Brain Fair  

jason    August 18, 2008