Ozzfest 2003, one of the hardest rocking shows of the summer pulled into Somerset, WI on July 19th towing along over 20 of the year's hottest bands. Three stages housed the onslaught of rock and roll, overproducing mosh pit frenzies and storms of stomped out dust from the outdoor venue known as Float-Rite Park. With the less known bands performing on the Hot Topic second and third stages and headliners on the main stage, little time was left to discover the nooks and festivities aside from the music that Ozzfest has to offer, which was no real problem due to the energy the music was able to manufacture. The tents to browse and activities in which one could partake were nothing compared to the music that the tour offered. Ozzfest continues for the 8th straight year to be the tour that gives its audiences more names, more attractions, and more bang for your fifty bucks. Surprisingly, the smaller stages prevailed over the main stage, with over twice as many bands and an infinitely greater amount of dedication to their work for being a part of the years biggest road trip spectacular.

Twisted Method, new faces on the Ozzfest scene, operated on high-speed during their twenty minute set on the Ozzfest second stage. Their anger driven music pushed the fist-pumping, mosh-pitting crowd to its nihilistic breaking point. The bands singer Derrick “Tripp” Tribbet hurled himself around the stage, flailing and sailing with only a voice and really cool hair to carry his music above the Ozzfest crowds and into their spirit. The all-too-short set of songs off their MCA debut album ‘Escape From Cape Coma’ was rattling with fury and distress, no doubt caused by their insipid lives in their hometown Cape Coral and all the anti-drama at hand there. Their commitment to one pursued goal leaves Twisted Method as a tight webbed band, ramming forward with their cut-and-dry hard rock, which has propelled them onto the Ozzfest bandwagon and will definitely push them beyond.

Unloco’s first time appearance on Ozzfest presented a new direction for the band following their near-career-ending climax after their first album fell through and Unloco was sent back to their beginnings to rediscover the voice and talent that they had lost on their hurried climb to the top. They cuffed it out on stage in Somerset to a crowd of fans with equally dark energy flowing through their veins and equally heavy burdens on their shoulders, which only Unloco’s music can lift. Their bottomless, disquieting musical intuition speaks in honest, philosophical poetry heightened by the intensity of the song’s instrumentals. ‘Becoming I’ has become a mesmeric analogy of the extremities of the feelings we all have, deepened by the revelation that Unloco have tapped into the human character, and exposed through their music the deepest secrets we all conceal.

Endo returned from their independent release ‘Evolve’ with a darker, more seductive aura, which got the band a second stage spot on this year’s Ozzfest tour. The rawness of the group’s music, driven with dynamics that soar from the pits of silence to peaks of vigorous rhythms and sound, takes us to the emotional core of the band, as well as their individual personas. Intensity and originality are not leading factors needed for radio airtime, but for die-hard music fans, Endo is the answer we’ve been looking for. Lead singer, charismatic Gil Bitton, brings forth vocals that separate them from any other rock band in the world. He has a technique all his own that causes the uniqueness. The originality is pure Endo with no gloss or glitter. The band hides behind no masks. It takes pure artistic talent to make it under those circumstances. The music comes directly from their souls and experiences. Nothing is made up. The music is real, which just so happens to be a rare find in the genre, giving Endo an atypical advantage.

Review by: Gabby