METALLICA, SLAYER, ALICE IN CHAINS, ANTHRAX Members Confirmed For OZZFEST's DIMEBAG Tribute

Hard-rocking music fans headed to this year's Ozzfest will experience a special one-time only all-star tribute to fallen PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist and Texas native "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott as part of the Saturday, August 9 one-day stadium spectacular at Dallas' Pizza Hut Park.

The tribute to "Dimebag" Darrell will feature Abbott's brother, Vinnie Paul (acting as musical director and playing drums),along with an array of prominent hard rockers. This not-to-be-missed performance will salute the acclaimed guitarist whose December 2004 murder while performing onstage at a Columbus, Ohio club still has the hard rock/metal community reeling.

Artists already confirmed to honor "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott include:

Kerry King (SLAYER)
Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS)
Mike Inez (ALICE IN CHAINS)
King Diamond
Scott Ian (ANTHRAX)
Kirk Hammett (METALLICA)
Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED, KINGDOM OF SORROW)
Chad Gray (MUDVAYNE, HELLYEAH)
Bob Zilla (DAMAGEPLAN, HELLYEAH)

These musicians will stand together onstage, following HELLYEAH's mainstage performance, to pay their respects to their fallen friend with a set including many PANTERA classics.

Dimebag's longtime partner Rita Haney — who has worked tirelessly to keep his spirit alive — organized the tribute along with the Ozzfest team. While this began as an Ozzfest idea, Rita aggressively pursued it and brought together the talent making this homage a reality.

"To have this event on the main stage at Ozzfest in Dallas is such a treat and an honor!" says Rita Haney. "When this tragedy originally happened, I saw the music community come together like I've never seen before. To have the name 'Dimebag' still, to this day, unite musicians to pay homage in such a respectful way, is very overwhelming! In Dime's vision, it's always been about a damn good time!"

"When we decided on Dallas as the site for this year's Ozzfest, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to 'Dimebag' Darrell since it was his hometown," said Ozzfest founder Sharon Osbourne. "Dimebag was a part of our Ozzfest family and everyone in the metal community misses him dearly."

The official Ozzfest 2008 "gydget" can be found below.

Gydget is a widget maker providing marketing solutions focused to the entertainment industry. The service is aimed at bands, sports teams, and celebrities looking to get the word out to fans across the social networks they visit. The service is the spawn of former city events info provider Attendio.com.

Ozzfest organizers confirmed earlier in May through a post at the official web site that the festival, a touring event for more than a decade, will transform into a "destination festival" this summer. OZZY OSBOURNE and METALLICA will headline the one-day show on August 9. Also appearing on the main stage are SERJ TANKIAN, KORN singer Jonathan Davis, HELLYEAH, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SHADOWS FALL, APOCALYPTICA, IN THIS MOMENT and the "all-star tribute" to slain PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

Sharon Osbourne said in the post, "We're going to be a stadium destination festival for now — we have gone past doing the sheds every summer. We've given everyone else the blueprint and we have to keep evolving Ozzfest. This is just the beginning; (promoter) AEG Live and I have a lot of new ideas for Ozzfest."

Ozzfest 2008 lineup:

Main Stage:

OZZY OSBOURNE
METALLICA
SERJ TANKIAN
HELLYEAH
JONATHAN DAVIS
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY
SHADOWS FALL
APOCALYPTICA
IN THIS MOMENT
All-Star Tribute To "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott

Second Stage:

SEVENDUST
DEVILDRIVER
KINGDOM OF SORROW
SOILENT GREEN
WITCHCRAFT
GOATWHORE

Texas (Third) Stage: *

THE SWORD
DROWNING POOL
RIGOR MORTIS
WITHIN CHAOS
THE DESTRO

* Homage to the "many great metal bands that come from Texas," according to Sharon Osbourne

Rumors had been circulating for months that Ozzfest would become a one-or-two-day event this summer, with METALLICAsurfacing as a potential headliner in the last few weeks. This will be the band's first Ozzfest appearance.

Last year's Ozzfest, which hit 25 cities, was a free event, with tickets handled through corporate sponsorship. The tour caused controversy by asking acts to play without getting paid, which many felt led to a weaker lineup.