Slipknot at Ozzfest PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ, 8/11/01 Photos by Glenn Emerstone Photos © 2001 NY Rock, more photos

I arrived just in time to catch the crunchy metal of Mudvayne, the last band at the second stage. Frontman Kud, looking dapper in top hat and farmer johns, was getting philosophical with the crowd, like a heavy-metal Socrates. "Hold on tight to your integrity," he cried as the band ripped into "Cradle."

Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society took to the main stage looking much like a prototype motorcycle gang. Wylde, reminding me of a mean-ass Hell's Angel, turned into a spitting machine onstage as he sang a long, cool version of Ozzy's "No More Tears." At the end of the set, the boys guzzled Meister Brau beers onstage, then chucked the half-full cans at the crowd. Mouth wide-open and broke, I caught a few gulps, as did my face. Considering the going price for a cup of suds at PNC was six and change, it almost tasted good.

Crazy Town performed their Beastie-Boys-meets-metal variety of noise. While the attempted demonic grunts didn't scare me one bit, I did like "Only When I'm Drunk" ("dedicated to the art of getting fucked up" to quote singer Shifty Shellshock). It went down smooth, just like a cold one.

David Draiman of Disturbed PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ, 8/11/01 Photos by Glenn Emerstone Photos © 2001 NY Rock, more photos

Disturbed rocked the steel girders off the banks of the PNC Arts Center. As the band roared, singer David Draiman paced the stage like a patient in Ward C. He communicated in fiery grunts and bird howls while guitarist Dan Donegan wind-milled his guitar. During "Stupify," the crowd raised their middle fingers in perfect unison, a community gesture which would occur frequently throughout the night.

Oh, how the kids loved Southern California rockers Linkin Park. Easily receiving the biggest response all night, the band laced into "One Step Closer" while singers Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda took on tales of angst and rebellion that had the crowd standing on their seats with fists in the air.

Things became real interesting when Papa Roach took the stage. Leader Coby Dick, ready for trouble, swung his microphone around with the glazed look of Conan the Barbarian and then taunted the crowd in the lawn area to "throw some mud, you fuckin' pussies." The crowd obliged and the mud began to fly. Coby smeared mud pies all over his face and taunted the crowd some more as small fights began to break out among the frenzy. Ending with "Thank you. Fuck you, and I want chaos," Coby launched into "Last Resort" and the crowd obliged once again by offering more chaos than one could hope for.

Slipknot appeared onstage looking much like the comic-book offspring of an apocalyptic meltdown with their assorted masks and nuclear-fallout duds. The blood-curdling grunts, grinding riffs and industrial pounding on steel cans, drums, and beer kegs generated a fair amount of psychotic mania during "Heritage Song." Gunslinger/guitarist Jim crunched lead after lead behind a smoke-machine haze while vocalist Corey grunted in baritone. Meanwhile, steel-can man Chris wacked off with the microphone between his legs. All in a day's work, they say.

Shocker Marilyn Manson rocked with excellence and professionalism. The girdled one took to stilts, pontificated from the rock alter with a shotgun crucifix in the background and let the butt cheeks bounce like bowls of Jello. On Patti Smith's "Rock N Roll Nigger," the band's sonic boom screeched through the humid air as images of Sinatra, Onassis and Gandhi flickered onscreen. Once again, Minister Manson didn't fail to deliver healthy doses of his demonic charm and bad-boy sneer.

Chester Bennington of Linkin Park PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ, 8/11/01 Photos by Glenn Emerstone Photos © 2001 NY Rock, more photos

Ozzfest closers Black Sabbath, who single-handedly invented in-your-face rock, proved once again who the grandmasters of the genre are. That these boys haven't been admitted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame yet is inexcusable. Hopefully, this will be rectified in the not-too-distant future.

Sabbath opened with "M.I.B" and took the crowd on a greatest-hits journey of its tortured history. "Spellbound," "War Pigs," "Iron Man," and the eponymously titled "Black Sabbath" flowed like bluesy odes to death, madness and the darkness within. On "Black Sabbath," Osborne's high-pitched vocals stung with raw intensity as Tony Iommi's dark melodic guitar work flowed from a slow pace into a fast and furious crescendo. Amidst the gongs and fire, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward kept the rhythms earthy and solid.

During the guitar solos, Ozzy doused the audience with buckets of water and cackled like a burnt-out baby, all to the crowd's delight. "Paranoid" ended the set, finding most of the crowd on their seats, dancing in the aisles and chanting "Ozzy."

After eight hours of this, many were happy to see Ozzfest come to a close. I know I was – my middle finger and vocal chords needed a rest. Fortunately, to hold me over till next year, I have the new CD Ozzfest 2001: Second Millennium sitting comfortably in my changer.