OZZY OSBOURNE's BLIZZCON Performance Officially Confirmed; More Details Announced

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, will headline the closing concert at this year's BlizzCon, which will take place August 21-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center. While tickets to the convention sold out in minutes, a live pay-per-view event will be available on DirecTV and via Internet stream.

The largest event of its kind, BlizzCon is a celebration of Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft game universes and the global player communities surrounding them. At the closing ceremony on August 22, Ozzy will unleash a thunderous spectacle of rock to put the Lich King in his place and cement his own title as the one true Prince of Darkness.

One of the most influential rock musicians of all time, Ozzy Osbourne rose to prominence as the lead vocalist for BLACK SABBATH before embarking on a multi-platinum solo career. He is also known for putting on the Ozzfest music festival and for starring in his own reality TV show. Ozzy Osbourne's career has spanned four decades and his music is as relevant today as ever. The Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has sold over 100 million albums worldwide — 50 with BLACK SABBATH and as many as a solo artist — and in 2003 was honored with a star on Hollywood Boulevard's "Walk of Fame." This is his second collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment, following a recent TV spot for World of Warcraft.

"Our goal with BlizzCon is to deliver an unforgettable weekend of entertainment, and we can't think of a better way to close out this year's show than having Ozzy rock the house," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Many of us at Blizzard are lifelong fans of Ozzy's music, and we're thrilled that he'll be performing for all of our BlizzCon attendees as well as those joining us via DirecTV and the live Internet stream."

In addition to serving as a gathering place for the different Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, BlizzCon will offer an array of activities, including discussion panels, hands-on playtime with upcoming games, contests, tournaments showcasing the skills of top eSports gamers from around the world, and more. While tickets to the convention are currently sold out, the live pay-per-view event can still be ordered for $39.95 USD, and is available via DirecTV and Internet stream (pricing and availability may vary by region). Visit www.blizzcon.com for more details and ordering information.

As BLABBERMOUTH.NETfirst reported on August 3, 28-year-old Greek guitarist Gus G. (FIREWIND) is rumored to have been tapped to play with Ozzy at the BlizzCon convention. It should be noted, however, that this information has not yet been corroborated by anyone in the Osbourne camp and should be treated as a rumor only.

In addition to his current axe-slinging duties with FIREWIND, Gus (real name: Kostas Karamitroudis) has played in MYSTIC PROPHECY, NIGHTRAGE, ARCH ENEMY and DREAM EVIL.

Ozzy told Classic Rock magazine in a June 2009 interview that he was on the lookout for a new guitar player, apparently to replace Zakk Wylde. He also indicated that he was auditioning a guitarist from Greece, but declined to give further details.

As for why he wanted to break away from Wylde, who has played with Ozzy on and off since 1988, Ozzy said, "I haven't fallen out with Zakk, but Zakk's got his own band, and I felt like my stuff was beginning to sound like (Wylde's band) BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. I just felt like I wanted a change, y'know?"

In an interview with a Eugene, Oregon radio station on July 29, Zakk slammed Ozzy over his Classic Rock comments, saying in part, "I've gotta be honest with you. The boss hasn't even given me a phone call, so I mean... I'm just like... I don't know what's going on over there. Are we doing this thing or are we not doing it? . . . I mean, it's like, dude, you don't wanna play with me anymore? Fine. Play with whoever the hell you wanna play with. I couldn't give a rat's ass. Like I'm gonna get all jealous or whatever. But you know what?! Man up and give me a phone call and tell me what the hell's going on."

Wylde's answer after that abruptly turned into an obscenity-filled rant directed at Ozzy that had to be heavily bleeped by the station.

The former BLACK SABBATH singer has been working on his latest solo album at his home studio in Los Angeles, He said that Wylde had recorded material for the project, but added, "I don't know if I want to use it."