OZZFEST 2008: Stage Times Announced

The stage times have been announced for this year's Ozzfest one-day stadium spectacular, which is scheduled to be held Saturday, August 9 at Dallas' Pizza Hut Park. They are as follows:

Main Stage:

METALLICA 9:45 - 11:15
OZZY OSBOURNE 8:00 - 9:15
SERJ TANKIAN 6:45 - 7:45
HELLYEAH/Dimebag Tribute 5:30 - 6:30
JONATHAN DAVIS 4:25 - 5:15
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY 3:35 - 4:15
SHADOWS FALL 2:50 - 3:25
APOCALYPTICA 2:10 - 2:40
IN THIS MOMENT 1:30 - 2:00

Second Stage:

SEVENDUST 4:30 - 5:00
DEVILDRIVER 3:30 - 4:00
KINGDOM OF SORROW 2:30 - 3:00
SOILENT GREEN 1:30 - 2:00
WITCHCRAFT 12:30 - 1:00
GOATWHORE 11:30 - 12:00

Texas (Third) Stage: *

THE SWORD 4:00 - 4:30
DROWNING POOL 3:00 - 3:30
RIGOR MORTIS 2:00 - 2:30
WITHIN CHAOS 1:00 - 1:30
THE DESTRO 12:00 - 12:30
1st Place Battle of Bands 11:00 - 11:30
2nd Place Battle of Bands 10:30 - 10:40

* Homage to the "many great metal bands that come from Texas."

The tribute to "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott 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 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.

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."

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.