BUBBAS METAL MELTDOWN - OzzFest Edition 2005 - Arch Enemy 

Photos by PhotoGrafiti

Ozzfest August 13 2005 Shorline Amphitheatre S.F. CA

So another Ozzfest is down the drain and the summer is coming to a close. If you missed this year’s Ozzfest you definitely messed up somewhere along the line. This was the 10th anniversary of Ozzfest and it was maybe the best one ever. With up and coming bands like Trivium, The Black Dahlia Murder, Mastodon, Arch Enemy, The Haunted, Soilwork and Killswitch Engage dominating the side stage, combined with classic bands like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath reigning on the Main Stage, not to mention Rob Zombie, In Flames, Black Label Society and Mudvayne, you just can’t miss. This year’s Ozzfest was just like it always is; over-priced beer, too many people, long walks to the parking lot, girls with spray paint on their boobs, stinky port-o-potties, 13-year old girls, and of course, nachos. Back stage at Ozzfest, I was able to get some insight on Ozzfest, among other things, from Michael Amott (GTR) of Arch Enemy, and Phil (GTR) from As I Lay Dying.


Arch Enemy Interview w/ Michael Amott

BUB: Allright, what’s up Mike! So how’s Ozzfest going for you so far? Have all the shows been going smoothly?
MIKE: Oh yeah, it’s going really good. We did miss one date because our bus broke down. The only bad part about Ozzfest is that we are one of the rotating acts on the second stage, so sometimes we have to play at like 9:30 in the morning.
BUB: Your new album, “Doomsday Machine” is awesome. Tell me about the new video for the track, “Nemesis.” Is there a concept behind the video?
MIKE: The concept of the video is basically just to Rock. It’s pretty much just a performance piece. The video shoot was pretty intense. It was four days of playing the same song over and over.
BUB: How does it feel that some magazine ranked you guys at number 8 on a list of the 25 most important Metal bands?
MIKE: What, only number eight?! What’s up with that? It would feel a lot better if we were number one. I don’t really put much thought into those things. It’s just some thing they make up to sell magazines.
BUB: Well then it must feel pretty good that your new album debuted at 87 on the Billboard charts.
MIKE: Yeah, in the US it’s pretty hard for extreme music to get recognized on those charts. We are not exactly “Fifty Cent.”
BUB: After that did you guys go to an Irish pub to celebrate with some Guinness?
MIKE: Yeah, we did. Every one in our road crew is either Irish or English so we drink a lot of Guinness.
BUB: Have you noticed that a lot of TV shows are using your riffs as background and filler music? Do you guys see any money from that?
MIKE: I haven’t noticed. I’m sure that some one is getting money for that. I just think it’s good to get into the general consciousness of people.
BUB: Which songs have the crowds at Ozzfest been thrashing the most to?
MIKE: The song “We Will Rise” is always a crowd favorite. From the new album, everyone seems to like “Nemesis.” The new album is very technical. I think our style of shred, dirty vocals and double bass is starting to really catch on in America.