Name	Gus G.
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Kostas Karamitroudis
Alias	Gus G.
Born	September 12, 1980
Origin	Thessaloniki, Greece
Instrument	Guitar, keyboard, vocals
Genre	Heavy metal, melodic death metal, thrash metal, power metal, black metal
Occupation	Musician, songwriter
Years active	1998–present
Associated acts	Firewind, Ozzy Osbourne, Mystic Prophecy, Dream Evil, Nightrage, Arch Enemy, Kamelot
Url	http://www.myspace.com/gusgofficial
Notable instruments	ESP Gus G Signature Guitars

Kostas Karamitroudis () aka Gus G., born September 12, 1980 in Thessaloniki, Greece is a heavy metal guitarist. He currently plays with his band Firewind and Ozzy Osbourne. He has also played in Mystic Prophecy, Nightrage, Arch Enemy and Dream Evil.

At the age of 18 he left Greece to enroll in the Berklee College of Music, but left after only a few weeks and began working on making a name on the Metal scene. During his brief time at Berklee Gus came into contact with Joe Stump, who he credits as a great influence on his career. On July 2005, he temporarily replaced Christopher Amott as guitarist of melodic death metal band Arch Enemy on their Ozzfest dates, and also contributed to their album Doomsday Machine by playing lead guitar on the song "Taking Back my Soul".

He has made guest appearances for various artists,including the title track song on the latest Rob Rock release "Garden of Chaos" as well as providing solos on the songs "Felonies of the Christian Art" and "Life Deprived" by Old Man's Child, from the album In Defiance of Existence, and a few solos on the album Gallows Gallery by the Japanese avant-garde black metal band Sigh).

Most recently Gus gave two guest solos for the new Nightrage album Wearing A Martyr's Crown marking a return to his former band. The solos appear on the instrumental Sting Of Remorse. He also appeared in In This Moment recent album A Star-Crossed Wasteland on "The Road".

The stage name "Gus G." has two sources of origin - "Gus" is a common Greek American English translation of the name "Kostas," and "G" was a nickname given to him by a friend during his time living in the U.S.

Gus G was chosen as the third of the three best guitar players all over the world in 2003 by the Japanese magazine BURRN!.

In 2010 Gus G appeared alongside Firewind in Issue 3 of the Eternal Descent Comic Book which is an epic comic series that features characters of several of ESP Guitars’ most popular artists.

Gear

Gus teamed up with ESP Guitars to make two custom model guitars to his specifications, the "Gus. G FR" and the "Gus G. NT". The 'NT' was used in the videos for "Falling to Pieces", "Breaking the Silence" and "Tyranny". The 'FR' is featured along with the NT model in the video for "Falling to Pieces" and was discontinued in 2009 for North America, being replaced by the 'NT'. In a 2009 video of Gus playing backstage at Musikmesse Frankfurt with his new T2 amplifier, he is seen with a white ESP Gus model with a black Firewind logo on the front. Before using ESP, he was endorsed by Washburn, playing a Culprit with a chrome pickguard, and before using a Fender Floyd Stratocaster. Recently Gus has released 2 new signature series guitars in Japan the ESP GUS G. NT-II which is a white version of his normal signature guitars with the Firewind symbol on the neck at 1-15 frets, and also in black on the body. And ESP GUS G. FM-NT which is the same as the GUS G. NT ESP, the only change made is to the frets who are now the same as at the ESP GUS G. NT-II. In march 2010 ESP announced a new Gus G guitar the EC Revolver, it has a custom graphic finish, 22 frets, a 25.5" scale, and Seymour Duncan Blackouts active pickups. {| | {| style="background-color:#F9F9F9; border:1px solid #AAAAAA; font-size:0.9em; line-height:1.4em; text-align:left;" !colspan=2 style="background-color:#F4BF92; line-height:1.5em; text-align:center; border: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Gus G. NT |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Body ||Alder |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Neck ||Hard Maple 3P |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Fingerboard ||Rosewood, 22 frets |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Scale ||25.5 inch (648mm) |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Nut ||Carbon (42mm) |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Joint ||Set-Thru |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Tuner ||Sperzel Trim Lock Tuner |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Bridge ||Tune-matic / Stop Tailpiece |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9;vertical-align:top;"|Pickups ||Bridge: Seymour Duncan DistortionNeck: Seymour Duncan '59 |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Controls ||Master Volume, PU Selector, Coil Split SW |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Colour ||See-Thru Red |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9;vertical-align:top;"|Price |¥378,000 ($3,214.07, £1,682.35) |} | {| style="background-color:#F9F9F9; border:1px solid #AAAAAA; font-size:0.9em; line-height:1.4em; text-align:left;" !colspan=2 style="background-color:#F4BF92; line-height:1.5em; text-align:center; border: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Gus G. FR |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Body |Top: Figured Maple, Back: Alder |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Neck |Hard Maple 3P |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Fingerboard |Rosewood , 22 frets |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Scale |25.5 inch (648mm) |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Nut |Lock Nut (42mm/R2) |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Joint |Set-Thru |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Tuner |Sperzel Trim Lock Tuner |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Bridge |Floyd Rose |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9;vertical-align:top;"|Pickups |Bridge: Seymour Duncan DistortionNeck: Seymour Duncan '59 |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Controls |Master Volume, PU Selector, Coil Split SW |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Colour |See-Thru Red |- !style="border-left: 2px solid #F9F9F9"|Price |¥417,900, ($3,552.45, £1,858.89) |} |}

While playing with Ozzy Osbourne during the Blizzcon 2009 closing ceremony, he could be seen playing 2 ESP Eclipse II guitars, one in Amber Cherry Sunburst tuned to Standard D, and another one in Vintage Black, tuned to Dropped C.

In terms of picks and strings, he used GHS strings early in Firewind, gauge 10-52, then switched to DR, using 9-50. Currently he uses Elixir 10-52. He uses Dunlop 1.5mm delrin picks.

Gus has used Marshall Amplifiers in the past as well as Krank, however more recently, he uses Randall T2 and V2 Amplifiers. Gus has a signature Randall amp designed by him and based on the T2 head named Heaven and Hell. It features 2 channels, each using independent gain and tone controls. The head has a 400 watt output. Gus G here performs with Ozzy using 10 of his Signature Randall T2HH amps & cabs.

In January 2010 he was featured on the Blackstar Amplification website to be using the Series One 200 head and matching cab. “This is the new amp that will take over the Metal world! Amazing tone, incredible gain and top notch quality! The Blackstar Series One 200 is my new addiction!”.

In June 2010 Blackstar Amplification launched a Gus G. signature pedal HT-BLACKFIRE at Summer NAMM - "Blackstar are proud to announce our first artist signature product. Developed with influential guitarist Gus G. (Ozzy Osbourne, Firewind) the HT-BLACKFIRE is a two channel, valve-driven, metal distortion pedal and was launched at Summer NAMM in Nashville on the 18th June 2010. The two channels are named after the fan-favourite Firewind track ‘The Fire And The Fury.’ With its black finish, orange and red LEDs, black grille and Blackstar designed Gus G. logo, the HT-BLACKFIRE looks as serious as it sounds. The pedal is limited to just 1,000 pieces worldwide, each pedal includes a certificate of authenticity signed by Gus G. and an exclusive Gus trading card."

References

External links

Gus G.'s official website

Firewind's official website

Gus G.'s signature ESP models

Category:Death metal musicians Category:Firewind members Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Greek rock guitarists Category:Greek heavy metal guitarists

Name	Ozzy Osbourne
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Michael Osbourne
Born	December 03, 1948Aston, Birmingham, England
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Heavy metal, hard rock, blues-rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, actor
Years active	1968–present
Label	Epic, CBS, Jet
Associated acts	Black Sabbath, Kelly Osbourne, Black Label Society, Alice Cooper, Iommi, Rob Zombie, Slash, Firewind
Url

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer-songwriter and occasional actor, whose career has spanned over 40 years. As of December 2010, Osbourne has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Osbourne rose to prominence as lead vocalist of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, a band whose radically different, intentionally dark, doom sound spawned the heavy metal genre. In his subsequent solo career Osbourne achieved a multi-platinum status in addition to the one he had earned with Black Sabbath. These things are what led Osbourne to become known as the "Godfather of Heavy Metal". It was during his Sabbath days that, due to their dark style of music, Osbourne became known as the "Prince of Darkness". Osbourne has over 15 tattoos, the most famous of which are the letters O-Z-Z-Y across the knuckles of his left hand. This was his first tattoo, created by himself as a teenager with a sewing needle and pencil lead. John was the fourth of six children. Ozzy had 2 brothers (Paul and Tony) and 3 sisters (Jean, Iris and Gillian); they lived in a small two bedroom home at 14 Lodge Road in Aston, England. The nickname "Ozzy" was first used when he was in primary school. Although called "John" by his first wife Thelma, Osbourne states that it has been a long time since he's recognised himself when called by his formal name. Osbourne grew up dealing with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. General abuse from teachers at Prince Albert Road Junior School, and Birchfield Road Secondary Modern School in Perry Barr made his childhood difficult for him. Drawn to the stage, Osbourne took part in school plays such as The Pirates of Penzance. Upon hearing their first hit single at age 14, he became a great fan of The Beatles. The band had noticed how people enjoyed being frightened, and, inspired, Iommi and his partners decided to play a heavy blues style of music laced with gloomy sounds and lyrics. While recording their first album in a castle, Geezer read an occult book and had a dream of a dark figure at the end of his bed. Butler told Osbourne about the dream and together they wrote the lyrics to "Black Sabbath", one of their first songs in a darker vein.

Musical career

Black Sabbath

Despite only a modest investment from their US record label Warner Bros. Records, Black Sabbath met with swift and enduring success. Built around Tony Iommi's guitar riffs, Geezer Butler's lyrics, Bill Ward's dark tempo drumbeats, and topped by Osbourne's eerie vocals, early records such as their debut album Black Sabbath and Paranoid sold huge numbers, as well as getting considerable airplay. Osbourne's recalls a band lament, "in those days, the band wasn't very popular with the women." In the 1980s it received platinum certification Black Sabbath's Volume 4 was released in September 1972. Critics were again dismissive of the album, yet it achieved gold status in less than a month. It was the band's fourth consecutive release to sell a million copies in the US. In November 1973, Black Sabbath released the critically acclaimed Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. For the first time, the band received favourable reviews in the mainstream press. Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone called the album "an extraordinarily gripping affair", and "nothing less than a complete success". AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia call the album a "masterpiece, essential to any heavy metal collection," while also claiming the band displayed "a newfound sense of finesse and maturity". The album marked the band's fifth consecutive platinum selling album in the US, Sabotage was released in July 1975. Again there were favourable reviews. Rolling Stone stated, "Sabotage is not only Black Sabbath's best record since Paranoid, it might be their best ever." Allmusic was not so favorable. They noted that "the magical chemistry that made such albums as Paranoid and Volume 4 so special was beginning to disintegrate". Technical Ecstasy, released on 25 September 1976, was also met with mixed reviews. AllMusic gave the album two stars, and noted that the band was "unravelling at an alarming rate".

Departure from Black Sabbath

In 1978, Osbourne left the band for three months to pursue interest in a solo project he called Blizzard of Ozz. Three members of the band Necromandus, who had supported Black Sabbath in Birmingham back in the day when they were called Earth, did backup for Osbourne in the studio and briefly became the first incarnation of his solo band. At the request of the other members, Osbourne rejoined Sabbath. The band spent five months at Sounds Interchange Studios in Toronto, Canada, writing and recording what would become Never Say Die! "It took quite a long time," Iommi said. "We were getting really drugged out, doing a lot of dope. We'd go down to the sessions, and have to pack up because we were too stoned, we'd have to stop. Nobody could get anything right, we were all over the place, everybody's playing a different thing. We'd go back and sleep it off, and try again the next day." Touring in support of Never Say Die! began in May 1978 with openers Van Halen. Reviewers called Black Sabbath's performance "tired and uninspired," in stark contrast to the "youthful" performance of Van Halen, who were touring the world for the first time. The band filmed a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in June 1978, which was later released on DVD as Never Say Die. The final show of the tour, and Osbourne's last appearance with the band (until later reunions) was in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 11 December.

In 1979, back in the studio tensions and conflict were present continually. Osbourne recalls being asked to record his vocals numerous times over and over, and tracks being manipulated endlessly by Iommi. This was a point of contention between Osbourne and Tony. With the support of Geezer and Bill Ward, Osbourne was again fired from Black Sabbath. The reasons provided to him were that he was unreliable and had excessive substance abuse issues as compared to the other band members. Osbourne claims his drug use and alcohol consumption at that time was no better nor worse than the other band members. posted in a record store, Iommi and Ward arrived at the address listed to speak with Ozzy Zig. When Osbourne answered the door, Iommi left upon discovering it was him. He knew of and disliked Osbourne from back in their school days.

Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman

In 1980, under the management of Sharon Osbourne, the Ozzy Osbourne Band formed again as The Blizzard of Ozz. The first line-up of the band featured drummer Lee Kerslake (of Uriah Heep), bassist/lyricist Bob Daisley (of Rainbow and later Uriah Heep), keyboardist Don Airey, and guitarist Randy Rhoads (of Quiet Riot). The record company would eventually title the record Blizzard of Ozz credited simply under Osbourne's name. Co-written with Daisley and Rhoads, the album brought Osbourne considerable success on his first solo effort. The debut sold very well with hard rock/heavy metal fans. This album is known for the singles "Over the Mountain, "Flying High Again," "Believer," and of course "Diary of a Madman." Osbourne explains in his autobiography that Diary is his own personal favourite album. Experiencing firsthand the horrific death of his close friend and band mate, Osbourne fell into a deep depression.

Ex-Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme was the first guitarist to replace Randy once the tour resumed. Torme's tenure with the band would last less than one month. During an audition for guitarists in a hotel room, Osbourne selected Brad Gillis (who went on to be one of two guitarists in Night Ranger) to finish the tour. The tour culminated in the release of the 1982 live album, Speak of the Devil recorded at the Ritz in New York City. A live tribute album for Rhoads was also later released. This album would also feature studio outtakes from a song by Randy taken from "Blizzard of Ozz" called "Dee." It was a song Randy had written for his mother.

Speak of the Devil

Although difficult, Osbourne moved on after Rhoads' death. Speak of the Devil, known in the United Kingdom as Talk of the Devil, was originally planned to consist of live recordings from 1981, primarily from Osbourne's solo work. Under contract to produce a cover album of Black Sabbath material, however, the album ended up consisting entirely of Black Sabbath covers, recorded with Brad Gillis, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Tommy Aldridge. Osbourne later commented (inside the cover of "Tribute") "I don't give a fuck about that album. It was just a bunch of bullshit Sabbath covers."

In 1982, Osbourne appeared as lead vocalist on the Was (Not Was) pop dance track "Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)." Madonna performed backing vocals. Osbourne's cut was remixed and re-released in the early 1990s for a Was (Not Was) greatest hits album in Europe, and it cracked the UK pop chart. Madonna asked that her vocal not be restored for the hits package, so new vocals by Kim Basinger were added to complement Osbourne's lead.

Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin

In 1983 a new guitarist was recruited to play with Osbourne. Jake E. Lee, formerly of Ratt and Rough Cutt, joined the band to record Bark at the Moon. The album, co-written with Bob Daisley, featured Tommy Aldridge, and former Rainbow keyboard player Don Airey. The album contains the fan favourite "Bark at the Moon." The music video for "Bark at the Moon" was partially filmed at the Holloway Sanitorium outside of London, England. Within weeks the album became certified gold. To date it has sold three million copies in the U.S.

1986's The Ultimate Sin followed (with bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo), and touring behind both albums with ex-Uriah Heep keyboardist John Sinclair joining prior to the Ultimate Sin tour. A rich, bold album, it features "Shot in the Dark" and fan favourites "Killer of Giants," "Lightning Strikes," and "Secret Loser." At the time of its release, The Ultimate Sin was Osbourne's highest charting studio album. The RIAA awarded the album Platinum status on 14 May 1986, soon after its release; it was awarded Double Platinum status on 26 October 1994.

Jake E. Lee and Osbourne parted ways in 1987. Osbourne continued to struggle with chemical dependency. That year he commemorated the fifth anniversary of Rhoads' death with Tribute, live recordings from 1981 that had gone unreleased for years. In 1988, Osbourne appeared in The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years and told the director, Penelope Spheeris, that "sobriety fucking sucks." Meanwhile, Osbourne found Zakk Wylde, who was the most enduring replacement for Rhoads to date. Together they recorded No Rest for the Wicked with Castillo on drums, Sinclair on keyboards, and Daisley co-writing lyrics and playing bass. The subsequent tour saw Osbourne reunited with erstwhile Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler on bass. A live EP (entitled Just Say Ozzy) featuring Geezer was released two years later. Butler continued to tour with Osbourne for the subsequent four tours, and was a major stage presence throughout. In 1989, Ozzy Osbourne performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival.

No More Tears

While very successful as a heavy metal act through the 1980s, Osbourne sustained commercial success into the 1990s, starting with 1991's No More Tears. The album enjoyed much radio and MTV exposure. It also initiated a practise of bringing in outside composers to help pen Osbourne's solo material instead of relying solely upon his recording ensemble to write and arrange the music. The album was mixed by veteran rock producer Michael Wagener. Osbourne was awarded his only Grammy for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from live album Live and Loud for Best Metal Performance of 1994.

Wagener also mixed the live album Live and Loud released in 28 June 1993. At the time, it was to be Osbourne's final album. The album went platinum four times over, and ranked at number 10 on that year's Billboard rock charts.

At this point Osbourne expressed his fatigue with the process of touring, and proclaimed his "retirement tour" (which was to be short-lived). It was comically called "No More Tours", a pun on his No More Tears album. Prior to the tour Mike Inez took over on bass and Kevin Jones on keyboards as Sinclair was touring with The Cult. Osbourne's entire CD catalogue was remastered and reissued in 1995.

Ozzmosis

In 1995, Osbourne released Ozzmosis and returned to touring, dubbing his concert performances "The Retirement Sucks Tour". The album reached number 4 on the US Billboard 200. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album gold and platinum in that same year, and 2x platinum in April 1999. The album features the hard rocking fan favourites "Perry Mason," "Ghost Behind My Eyes," "Thunder Underground," and the power ballad "See You on the Other Side."

The line-up on "Ozzmosis" was Zakk Wylde, Geezer Butler (who had just quit Black Sabbath again) and ex-Bad English, Steve Vai and Hardline drummer Deen Castronovo, now in Journey. Keyboards were played by Yes's Rick Wakeman and producer Michael Beinhorn. The tour maintained Butler and Castronovo and saw Sinclair return, but a major line-up change was the introduction of ex-David Lee Roth guitarist Joe Holmes. Wylde was debating on an offer to join Guns N' Roses. Unable to wait for a decision on Wylde's departure decision, Osbourne replaced him. In early 1996, Butler and Castronovo left. Mike Inez (Alice In Chains) and Randy Castillo (Lita Ford, Motley Crue) filled in. Ultimately, Faith No More's Mike Bordin and ex-Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo joined on drums and bass respectively. A greatest hits package, The Ozzman Cometh was issued in 1997.

Ozzfest

Osbourne's biggest financial success of the 1990s was a venture named Ozzfest, created and managed by his wife/manager Sharon and assisted by his son Jack. The first Ozzfest was held in Phoenix, Arizona on 25 October 1996 and in Devore, California on 26 October. Ozzfest was an instant hit with metal fans, spiralling many up-and-coming groups who were featured there to broad exposure and commercial success. Some acts shared the bill with a reformed Black Sabbath during the 1997 Ozzfest tour, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida. Osbourne reunited with the original members of Sabbath in 1997 and has performed periodically with them ever since. Ozzfest reinstated the integrity in and familiarity with the band name Black Sabbath.

Since its start, five million people have attended Ozzfest, which has grossed over US$100 million. The festival also helped promote many new hard rock and heavy metal acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ozzfest helped Osbourne to become the first hard rock and heavy metal star to hit $50 million in merchandise sales.

In 2005, Osbourne and his wife Sharon starred in an MTV competition reality show entitled "Battle for Ozzfest". A number of yet unsigned bands send one member to compete in a challenge to win a spot on the 2005 Ozzfest and a possible recording contract.

Shortly after Ozzfest 2005, Osbourne announced that he will no longer headline Ozzfest. Although he announced his retirement from Ozzfest, Osbourne came back for one more year, 2006, albeit only closing for just over half the concerts, leaving the others to be closed by System of a Down. He also played the closing act for the second stage at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA on 1 July as well as Randall's Island, NY on 29 July. After the concert in Bristol, Virginia, Osbourne announced he would return for another year of Ozzfest in 2007. Tickets for the were offered to fans free of charge, which led to some controversy. In 2008, Ozzfest was reduced to a one-day event in Dallas, Texas, where Osbourne played, along with Metallica and King Diamond.

Osbourne says he is looking forward to the return of Ozzfest for six dates this summer and is also looking at an 18-month world tour starting at The Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone on 29 June to promote his new album, "Scream."

Down to Earth

Down to Earth, Osbourne's first album of new studio material in seven years, was released on 16 October 2001. A live version filmed in Japan, Live at Budokan followed. Down to Earth went gold in 2001, and platinum in 2003. The album features the fan favourite "Dreamer," a song which peaked at number 10 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks. In 2003, Osbourne recruited former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted after he left the band in 2000 (and Trujillo replaced him on Metallica's line-up). Both Newsted and Osbourne were enthusiastic about recording an album together.

On 8 December 2003, Osbourne was rushed into emergency surgery at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, England when he had an accident with his all-terrain vehicle on his estate in Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire. Osbourne broke his collar bone, eight ribs, and a neck vertebra. An operation was performed to lift the collarbone, which was believed to be resting on a major artery and interrupting blood flow to the arm. Sharon later revealed that Osbourne had stopped breathing following the crash and was resuscitated by Osbourne's then personal bodyguard, Sam Ruston. While in hospital, Osbourne achieved his first ever UK number one single, a duet of the Black Sabbath ballad, "Changes" with daughter Kelly. In doing so, he broke the record of the longest period between an artist's first UK chart appearance (with Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", number four in August 1970) and their first number one hit: a gap of 33 years. Since the quad accident, aside of some short-term memory problems he fully recovered and headlined the 2004 Ozzfest, in the reunited Black Sabbath.

Prince of Darkness

In 2005, Osbourne released a box set called Prince of Darkness. The first and second discs are collections of live performances, B-sides, demos and singles. The third disc contained duets and other odd tracks with other artists, including "Born to Be Wild" with Miss Piggy. The fourth disc is entirely new material where Osbourne covers his favourite songs by his biggest influences and favourite bands, including The Beatles, John Lennon, David Bowie and others.

Black Rain

In March 2006, he said that he hopes to release a new studio album soon with long time on-off guitarist, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society. In October 2006, it was announced that Tony Iommi, Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice, and Geezer Butler would be touring together again, though not as Black Sabbath, but under the moniker Heaven and Hell (the title of Dio's first Black Sabbath album). The response to the news on Osbourne's website was that Osbourne wished Tony and Ronnie well and that there is only one Sabbath.

Osbourne's album, titled Black Rain, was released on 22 May 2007. Osbourne's first new studio album in almost six years, it featured a more serious tone than previous albums. "I thought I'd never write again without any stimulation...But you know what? Instead of picking up the bottle I just got honest and said, 'I don't want life to go (to pieces)'", Osbourne stated in a Billboard interview.

Scream

Osbourne revealed in July 2009 that he was currently seeking a new guitar player. While he states that he has not fallen out with Zakk Wylde, he said he felt his songs were beginning to sound like Black Label Society and fancied a change. In August 2009, Osbourne performed at the gaming festival BlizzCon with a new guitarist in his line-up, Gus G (Firewind, ex-Nightrage, ex-Dream Evil). Osbourne also provided his voice and likeness to the video game Brütal Legend character The Guardian of Metal. In November, Slash featured Osbourne on vocals in his single "Crucify The Dead," and Osbourne with wife Sharon were guest hosts on WWE Monday Night Raw. In December, Osbourne announced he would be releasing a new album with Gus G, Tommy Clufetos (formerly supporting Rob Zombie, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper) on drums, and Blasko (formerly supporting Rob Zombie) on bass titled Soul Sucka. Negative fan feedback was brought to Osbourne's attention regarding the album title. In respect of fan opinion, on 29 March Osbourne announced his album would be renamed Scream.

On 13 April 2010, Osbourne announced the release date for Scream would be 15 June 2010. The release date was later changed to 22 June. A single from the album, "Let Me Hear You Scream," debuted on 14 April 2010 episode of . The song spent 8 weeks on the Billboard Rock Songs, peaking at #7. Other songs from the album include "Let it Die," "Digging Me Down," "Fearless," and "I Want it More."

Osbourne held a Meet-And-Greet album signing at the main branch of HMV in his home-town Birmingham, followed later that day by an intimate show in the Birmingham Town Hall. The first four hundred fans that arrived at the store earlier in the day were given wrist bands, enabling free access to the show.

On 9 August, Ozzy announced that the second single from the album would be "Life Won't Wait" and the video for the song would be directed by his son Jack.

Awards

.]] Ozzy Osbourne has been awarded several times for his contributions to the music community.

In 1994, he was awarded a Grammy Award for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from Live & Loud for Best Metal Performance of 1994.

In 2008, Osbourne was crowned with the prestigious Living Legend award in the Classic Rock Roll of Honor. Past recipients include Alice Cooper, Lemmy, Jimmy Page and Slash, the former Guns N' Roses guitarist, presented the award.

In 2010, Osbourne won the "Literary Achievement" honour for his memoir, I Am Ozzy, at the Guys Choice Awards at Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City, California. Osbourne was presented with the award by Sir Ben Kingsley. The book debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times' hardcover non-fiction best-seller list.

Osbourne was also a judge for the 6th and 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Personal life

Osbourne has been married twice and is the father of six children total (five biological, and one adopted). He was first married to Thelma Riley (now a teacher in Leicestershire) and adopted her son, Elliot Kingsley (1966); together they had Jessica Starshine Osbourne Hobbs (20 January 1972) and Louis John Osbourne (1975). He later married Sharon Arden and had three children with her. They are Aimee Osbourne (2 September 1983), Kelly Osbourne (27 October 1984) and Jack Osbourne (8 November 1985). They also took in family friend Robert Marcato after his mother died, but never legally adopted him. Osbourne also has four grandchildren, Isabelle and Harry from his daughter Jessica, and granddaughter Mia and grandson Elijah from son Louis. He wrote a song for his daughter Aimee, which appeared as a b-side on the album Ozzmosis. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Buckinghamshire, England.

It was reported by the New York Times in 1992 that Osbourne was a member of the Church of England and prayed before each show.

Osbourne achieved greater celebrity status by the unlikely success of his own brand of reality television. The Osbournes, a series featuring the domestic life of Osbourne and his family (wife Sharon, children Jack and Kelly and special guest appearances from his son Louis, but not their eldest daughter Aimee, who declined to participate). The program became one of MTV's greatest hits. It premiered on 5 March 2002, and the final episode aired 21 March 2005. To this day Osbourne refuses to watch any episodes, claiming he was stoned during the entire filming.

The success of The Osbournes led Osbourne and the rest of his family the opportunity to host the 30th Annual American Music Awards in January 2003. The night was marked with constant "bleeping" due to some of the lewd and raunchy remarks made by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Presenter Patricia Heaton walked out midway in disgust.

In 2002, Osbourne and wife Sharon were invited to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner by Fox News Channel correspondent Greta Van Susteren for that year's event. President Bush noted Osbourne's presence by joking: "The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot of big hit recordings – 'Party with the Animals', 'Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath', 'Facing Hell', 'Black Skies' and 'Bloodbath in Paradise'. Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff."

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are one of the UK's richest couples, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. They ranked at number 458 in 2005, with an estimated £100 million earned from recording, touring and TV shows.

Ozzy Osbourne appears in a commercial for the online video game World of Warcraft. Osbourne is a supporter of English association football club Aston Villa, as he grew up in the Aston area close to Villa Park.

Osbourne published a humorous autobiography in October 2009, titled I Am Ozzy. Osbourne says ghost writer Chris Ayres told the singer he has enough material for a second book. A movie adaptation of I Am Ozzy is also in the works, and Osbourne says he hopes "an unknown guy from England" will get the role over an established actor. Meanwhile, his son Jack is working on a documentary about Osbourne's life and career. Although clean and sober now, Osbourne has frequently commented on his former wild lifestyle, puzzled at how he has survived 40 years of abuse.

Upon being fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, Osbourne spent the next three months locked in his hotel room taking vast amounts of drugs and alcohol all day, every day. He claims that he would certainly have died if his future wife Sharon Osbourne (formerly Sharon Arden), had not offered to manage him as a solo artist.

In 1982 while wearing his future wife Sharon's dress because she had hidden his clothes, Osbourne drunkenly urinated on a cenotaph erected in honour of those who died at the Alamo in Texas, across the street from the actual building. A police officer arrested him, He was later arrested May 1984 in Memphis, Tennessee, again for public intoxication.

In 1984, Osbourne toured with Mötley Crüe. The tour is known as one of the "craziest drug and alcohol-fuelled tours in the history of rock and roll".

Osbourne experienced tremors for some years and linked them to his continuous drug abuse. In May 2005 he found out it was actually Parkin Syndrome, a genetic condition, the symptoms of which are very similar to Parkinson's disease. Osbourne will have to take daily medication for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary shudders associated with the condition. Osbourne has also shown symptoms of mild hearing loss, as depicted in the television show, The Osbournes, where he often asks his family to repeat what they say. At the TEDMED Conference in October 2010, scientists from Knome joined Osbourne on stage to discuss their analysis of Osbourne’s whole genome, which shed light on how the famously hard-living rocker has survived decades of drug abuse.

Condemnation and lawsuits

on Jan. 27, 2010.]] Early on in his career, many Christian groups accused Osbourne of being a negative influence for teenagers, and that messages on his songs, his actions, and his stage decorations were portrayals of devil worship used only to glorify Satanism. At least one scholar has compared the controversy surrounding Osbourne and accusations of Satanism to those levelled against the renowned occultist Aleister Crowley. Both were demonised by the media and some religious groups for their antics. Osbourne tempts the comparison with his song "Mr. Crowley". Both Osbourne and Crowley enjoyed the infamy of being labelled Satanists, though Osbourne firmly denies the charge. Some critics condemn both men as anti-Christian.

In 1981, after signing his first solo career record deal, Osbourne bit the head off a dove during a meeting with some record-company executives in Los Angeles. Apparently he had planned to release doves into the air as a sign of peace, but due to being intoxicated at the time, he instead grabbed a dove and bit its head off. He then spat the head out, with blood still dripping from his lips. Despite its controversy, this act has been parodied and alluded to several times throughout his career and is part of what made Ozzy Osbourne famous.

On 20 January 1982, Osbourne bit the head off a bat he thought was rubber while performing at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. Rolling Stone magazine in 2004 ranked this incident number two on its list of "Rock's Wildest Myths." While the Rolling Stone article stated the bat was alive, the teen who threw it onto the stage said it was brought to the show dead. According to Osbourne himself in the booklet to the 2002 edition of Diary of a Madman, the bat was not only alive but also managed to bite him, resulting in his having to take rabies shots.

In 1985, California teenager John McCollum committed suicide while listening to Ozzy Osbourne's "Suicide Solution." The song deals with the dangers of alcohol abuse. McCollums' suicide led to allegations that Osbourne promoted suicide in his songs. Despite knowing McCollum suffered clinical depression, his parents sued Ozzy Osbourne (McCollum v. CBS) for their son's death, claiming the lyrics in the song, "Where to hide, suicide is the only way out. Don't you know what it's really about?" convinced McCollum to commit suicide. The family's lawyer suggested that Osbourne should be criminally charged for encouraging a young person to commit suicide, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favor, saying there was no connection between the song and McCollum's suicide. Osbourne was sued for the same reason in 1991 (Waller v. Osbourne), by the parents of Michael Waller, for $9 million, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favour in that case as well. One critic claims that Osbourne sings "Get the gun, get the gun, shoot, shoot, shoot," a charge firmly denied by him.

In lawsuits filed in 2000 and 2002 which were dismissed by the courts in 2003, former session musicians Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, and Phil Soussan claimed that Osbourne was delinquent in paying them royalties and had denied them due credit on albums they played on. In November 2003, a Federal Appeals Court unanimously upheld the dismissal by the United States District Court in Los Angeles of the lawsuit brought by Daisley and Kerslake. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Osbourne does not owe any royalties or credit to the former session musicians, who were let go in 1981. To resolve further issues, management chose to replace Daisley and Kerslake's contributions on the original masters, replacing them with Robert Trujillo on bass and Mike Bordin on drums. The albums were then reissued.

In July 2010, Osbourne and Iommi decided to discontinue the court proceedings over ownership of the Black Sabbath trademark. As reported to Blabbermouth, "Both parties are glad to put this behind them and to cooperate together for the future and would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business."

Band members

; Current members (as of 2010)

Gus G. – lead guitar (2009–present)

Rob "Blasko" Nicholson – bass (2003, 2006–present)

Adam Wakeman – keyboards, rhythm guitar (2004–present)

Tommy Clufetos – drums, percussion (2010–present)

; Recording timeline

Discography

Blizzard of Ozz (1980)

Diary of a Madman (1981)

Bark at the Moon (1983)

The Ultimate Sin (1986)

No Rest for the Wicked (1988)

No More Tears (1991)

Ozzmosis (1995)

Down to Earth (2001)

Black Rain (2007)

Scream (2010)

See also

References

External links

The Official Ozzy Osbourne Website

Ozzfest Information

Category:1948 births Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Black Sabbath members Category:British harmonica players Category:English male singers Category:English rock singers Category:English heavy metal singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Music from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:The Ozzy Osbourne Band members Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:English expatriates in the United States

Name	Eternal Descent
Background	group_or_band
Born	London, England, United Kingdom
Instrument	Guitar
Genre	Cinematic metal, gothic, rock, heavy metal
Occupation	Musician, songwriter
Years active	2002 –present
Label	Incendium Records
Associated acts	Eddie Kramer
Url	Official website
Notable instruments	Guitar

Eternal Descent is a virtual band created in 2004 by multi instrumentalist and writer of the Eternal Descent comic book Llexi Leon.

Whilst the music is partly played by fictional characters represented in visual media, additional orchestral and industrial elements act as a soundtrack to the ongoing plot. The band's music is a collaboration between various musicians; Llexi Leon being the only permanent musical contributor. Their style is broadly Heavy Metal, but with a large number of other influences including: Industrial, Goth, Romantic.

In 2009, producer Eddie Kramer (Led Zeppelin, Kiss, The Rolling Stones) signed a deal with Eternal Descent to produce their second album to be released in 2011.

ESP Guitars became affiliated with Eternal Descent in 2008, granting the property rights to use ESP Guitars likeness and logos in their publications and visual media. As such, Eternal Descent feature ESP Electric guitars exclusively, and many ESP endorsed musicians have collaborated with Eternal Descent, such as God Forbid, Firewind, Atreyu, and Static X.

Other Eternal Descent/Llexi Leon equipment endorsements include Kahler Tremolo System, Coffin Case, DiMarzio, DigiTech, Ovation Guitar Company and Ernie Ball.

IDW Publishing inked a deal with Eternal Descent to publish the comic book series. The first issue of the Eternal Descent comic book will be published in March, 2010 with subsequent issues to follow.

Discography

Losing Faith (CD) (2007)

The Phantom of the Opera (EP) (2008)

References

External links

Eternal Descent website

Eternal Descent myspace profile

Category:Animated musical groups

Name	Zakk Wylde
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt
Born	January 14, 1967Bayonne, New Jersey
Instrument	Guitar, vocals, bass, banjo, piano, keyboards, drums, mandolin, harmonica, organ, mellotron
Genre	Heavy metal, southern metal, groove metal, southern rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, Actor, producer,
Years active	1987–present
Label	Geffen, Spitfire, InsideOut Music, Artemis, Roadrunner, Epic, Sony
Associated acts	Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society, Pride & Glory, Steel Dragon
Url	zakkwylde.com
Notable instruments	Zakk Wylde Signature Les Paul,Zakk Wylde Signature Gibson Flying V

Zakk Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory, who released one self-titled album in 1994 before disbanding. As a solo artist he released Book of Shadows in 1996.

Equipment

He is known for his use of Gibson Les Paul Custom model guitars with a "bulls-eye" graphic on them, a design he used to deliberately differentiate himself visually from Randy Rhoads - who was also frequently identified by his white Les Paul Custom. Interestingly, one of Wylde's favorite stage guitars of late is a replica of Rhoads' Flying V. The "bulls-eye" paint job was originally supposed to look like the spiral from the movie Vertigo, but when it came back incorrect from the luthier, he liked the result and stuck with it.

Wylde's signature Les Pauls include a red flame-maple bulls-eye model, a black and antique-white bulls-eye model, an orange "buzz-saw" model, the pattern on which was inspired by a design on a Zippo lighter, and a "camo" bulls-eye model with mother of pearl neck inlays and a green camouflage paint scheme. His original bulls-eye Les Paul was purchased from one of the owners of Metaltronics Amplification. Metaltronics was building a one-off live rig for Wylde that was designed around one of the owner's guitars, a creamy white Les Paul Custom with EMG pickups, which would later become known as "The Grail". Zakk also has a Custom Dean Splittail With Mud Splatter Bulls-eye graphics, as well as a signature Splittail shaped Gibson model called the "ZV". Another Dean in his collection is a Dime series Razorback with custom Bulls-eye graphics ordered for him specially by Dimebag Darrell.

Practice: Zakk uses Marshall MG Series practice combos ranging in wattage levels from 10-30W during tour/private use especially in hotels and buses. Zakk also has an extensive relationship with Marshall Amplification due to his love for their amplifiers, both solid state and valve powered.

Live: Zakk exclusively uses Marshall JCM 800's with twin 4 X 12 Cabinets loaded with EVM12L 300W Black Label Speakers.

His usual signal path consists of his guitar > Dunlop Wylde Wah > Dunlop Rotovibe > MXR EVH Phase 90(*Soon to be replaced by the new MXR Wylde Phase) > MXR Wylde Overdrive > MXR Black Label Chorus > split signals, one to each distorted amp.

Personal life

Wylde currently lives with his wife, Barbaranne, and his three children: Hayley Rae, Hendrix, and Jesse—who is godson to Ozzy Osbourne. He was good friends with Dimebag Darrell before Dimebag was killed December 8, 2004.

Health

Wylde's health has come under scrutiny for several years. Wylde was asked by Sharon Osbourne to attend rehab, but left very early on.

In August 2009, Wylde was hospitalized due to blood clots. He was forced to cancel his tour due to an embolism. He has been sober ever since, because alcohol and blood thinners cannot be used together.

Appearances in media

Music

Wylde has made guest appearances on various albums, such as Damageplan's debut album, New Found Power, as guest vocalist and guitar on the tracks "Soul Bleed" and "Reborn",

He played guitar solos on Dope's single "Addiction" from their newest album, No Regrets.

He plays a solo on Fozzy's 2005 release "All That Remains" on the song, Wanderlust.

He has also worked on five of Derek Sherinian's solo albums: Inertia, Black Utopia, Mythology, Blood of the Snake and Molecular Heinosity alongside Yngwie Malmsteen and others.

Wylde was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards. His contributions helped assist independent artists' careers. In 2010 he played lead guitar on My Darkest Days first single "Porn Star Dancing", along with guest singers Chad Kroeger and Ludacris.

Live performances

On August 1, 1993, at Great Woods Amphitheatre in Mansfield, MA, Wylde appeared on stage with the Allman Brothers on lead guitar since Dickey Betts was unable to make the show, and they needed a guitarist at the last minute. This show is documented on the bootleg "Zakk Goes Wylde".

Wylde is a New York Yankees fan. He performed the National Anthem on the electric guitar during a New York Rangers game in October 2005. He has also played the anthem at Los Angeles Kings and Dodgers games. A video of a Kings performance is included as an extra feature, on the DVD Boozed, Broozed, and Broken-Boned.

On February 1, 2007 Wylde and Nick Catanese began a tour of acoustic shows at the Hard Rock Cafe in various cities across North America. Although Catanese had to leave mid-tour due to unspecified personal reasons, Wylde continued to play shows alone. He performed several songs, on both the acoustic guitar and keyboard. The tour was eventually canceled due to unspecified reasons.

Film and television

Wylde's film credits include Rock Star (As "Ghode", guitarist of the fictitious band Steel Dragon)

Wylde also appeared on the TV show Angel in the season four episode "The Magic Bullet" where he plays acoustic on the song "Mandy" while Angel and Conner sing along.

Wylde has also appeared as a guest star on the TV show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. In it, he plays guitar on a track produced by Master Shake that is supposed to become the next big birthday song, which is called "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary." Wylde becomes irate when he finds out that Shake cannot pay him for his input on the project. Later in the show, Wylde is killed when caught between the crossfire of two robotic banjo-playing scorpions.

On September 26, 2003, Wylde appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and sat in with the house band. During the course of the night he repeatedly made fun of and threatened to beat up Fred Durst, the front man for Limp Bizkit.

On January 30, 2007, Wylde, alongside Black Label Society, were the musical guests for MTV's Wrestling Society X debut episode. He worked the night as a guest commentator as well.

On February 2, 2007, Wylde guest hosted on Seattle's 99.9 KISW on the afternoon program The Men's Room.

On the May 18 edition of WWE Smackdown!, Wylde appeared with Ozzy Osbourne to perform the song "I Don't Wanna Stop", at the First Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

Wylde performed alongside Osbourne on the 2007 VH1 Rock Honors broadcast.

On October 18, 2009, Zakk Wylde performed the National Anthem on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's biggest PPV, Bound for Glory before the matches officially started.

He appears as a guest in .

He appears in the Pantera episode of Behind the Music.

He appears as a music store worker in a scene from the TV show Californication on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 2.

Video games

Wylde recorded a guitar duel for the video game . He also appears as a playable character performing the songs Stillborn and, along with Ozzy Osbourne, Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley.

Some of Wylde's signature guitars have been for sale to play with throughout the Guitar Hero series. These include "The Grail", "The Camo Grail", and "The Buzzsaw".

Wylde was featured in the first Guitar Hero with the studio version recording of Fire it Up.

Discography

;With Black Label Society

1999: Sonic Brew

2000: Stronger Than Death

2001: Alcohol Fueled Brewtality Live!! +5

2002: 1919 Eternal

2003: The Blessed Hellride

2004: Hangover Music Vol. VI

2005: Mafia

2006: Shot to Hell

2009: Skullage

2010: Order of the Black

;With Ozzy Osbourne

1988: No Rest For The Wicked

1991: No More Tears

1995: Ozzmosis

2001: Down to Earth

2007: Black Rain

;Pride & Glory

1994: Pride & Glory

;Zakk Wylde

1996: Book of Shadows

References

External links

Black Label Society official website

Zakk Wylde's guitar gear

Zakk Wylde interview in Reverb Magazine (November 2010)

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:The Ozzy Osbourne Band members Category:People from Bayonne, New Jersey Category:People from Ocean County, New Jersey Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Lead guitarists Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:American musicians of Irish descent