Featured Artist of the Week

This week I'm going to introduce a weekly featured artist. It took a lot of consideration to figure out who fit the bill to be the first ever featured artist. After a lot of thought, I decided no one would be better than Rob Zombie, who has accomplished so much in his career, not just in music but in other areas as well.

Zombie began his music career in 1985 with the band White Zombie, named after the film starring Bella Lugosi. White Zombie released four studio albums during their 13 years together, producing two double platinum albums, La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1 and Astro Creep 2000. Just before the disbanding of White Zombie, Rob released his first solo album Hellbilly Deluxe, which went triple platinum in the United States. Since then, he has released three more albums: The Sinister Urge, Educated Horses, and Hellbilly Deluxe 2.

On Halloween of 2002, Zombie married long-time girlfriend Sheri Moon who starred in several White Zombie music videos and some of Zombie's solo videos as well. She has played leading roles in all of Rob's films, which include House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, Halloween, Halloween II, and the Haunted World of El Superbeasto, an animated film.

Rob has been nominated for several Grammy Awards as both a solo artist and with White Zombie.

Rob Zombie is one of the greatest musical artists to ever live and if you're not already a fan, he's well worth checking out. This summer he'll be playing on the Main Stage of Mayhem Festival, so go and see him; he puts on the best show you'll ever see. He's got an electricity about him that no artist can achieve, and standing alongside guitar god John 5, bassist Piggy D and new drummer Joey Jordison, his show is a spectacle you won't want to miss.

Mayhem vs Ozz

This is it! Ozzy has finally announced his lineup to wage war against the Mayhem Festival All Star Team...and he's lost, miserably. After all the waiting and anticipation he gives us Motley Crue as the headliner. There is nothing wrong with Motley Crue, but the question is, are they metal enough to headline Ozzfest, one of history's biggest metal festivals? I don't know, that's a pretty tall order. Main stage bands include metal powerhouses like Lamb of God, Marilyn Manson, Disturbed, Slipknot, and Rob Zombie. This year's Ozzfest pales in comparison, sporting Halford, DevilDriver, and Nonpoint as Ozzy and Crue's supporters. While DD and Nonpoint are good bands, do they compare to the cast brought together by RockStar Energy? Frankly, NO. Korn, Rob Zombie, Lamb of God, and Five Finger Death Punch annihilate Ozzy's lineup.

Personally, I think Ozzy has put together a better second stage than first stage with Black Label Society, Drowning Pool and Kingdom of Sorrow at the top, supported by Goatwhore, Skeleton Witch, Saviours, and Kataklysm. BLS, DP and KoS are all main stage quality acts demoted to the second stage. Comparing the lesser stage of Ozzfest to Mayhem, we see the two stages Mayhem has put together. The first of which includes Atreyu, Norma Jean, In This Moment and 3 Inches of Blood; a solid group. The "Jagermeister Stage" is where we see Jamey Jasta of Ozzfest compete with the Jamey Jasta of Mayhem as Hatebreed headlines Mayhem's sideshow, followed by three quality bands in Chimaira, Shadows Fall and Winds of Plague, four bands I would drop 30 dollars on to see at the local ballroom, not to mention when the aforementioned headliners are present on another stage.

At this point you probably realize that I have much more support for Mayhem, but if you're not convinced yet, this may tip the scales. Have fun TRAVELING to Ozzfest as there are only six dates on the WHOLE TOUR, compared to 26 (yes, 26!) on Mayhemfest. So unless you live in CA, IL, PA, CT, NJ, or ME, you've got some driving to do.
Lucky for me, Mayhem is coming to Dallas. See you there!