Jim Dalrymple.com

The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, has already said that he will only headline select shows at this year’s OzzFest tour, but now Ozzy said he will headline one show on the second stage. The lucky show will be the July 8 stop at San Bernardino, CA’s Hyundai Pavilion of Glen Helen.

Typically, the second stage is where the hard and heavy action goes on during OzzFest and this year will be no different … well a little different because Ozzy will be there too.

“After 10 years of headlining OZZfest’s main-stage I think it’s time for a change,” said Osbourne. “I haven’t had a chance to play this close to an audience in years and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to it. So look out LA.”

Headlining the second stage for most of this year’s tour will be Black Label Society headed by Zakk Wylde. Other acts on the second stage include Unearth, All That Remains, Full Blown Chaos and others.

Zakk Wylde’s follow-up to the hugely successful “Mafia” is pretty much completed. “Shot to Hell” will be released to the public in early July, just over a year since Mafia first made its appearance.

The news came in a recent interview in Guitar Player magazine, where they met Zakk in the studio while he was putting the finishing touches on the new album.

Zakk’s new album isn’t the only thing he’s working on. The day they did the interview at the studio in Hollywood, Zakk said he was heading over to Ozzy’s to start writing songs for his new album.

It’s going to be a good year for Zakk fans!

Zakk Wylde signed his band Black Label Society to a new record deal with Roadrunner Records to do the follow-up to their hit album “Mafia.” Zakk is currently working on the album, which will be called “Shot to Hell.”

The best guitarist in the world is busy these days. In addition to working on his new album, Zakk has been named as the headliner on the second stage of Ozzfest 2006 and he is writing and recording with Ozzy for his new album. Ozzy has said in recent interviews that he will release a new studio album in 2006.

According to Roadrunner, “Shot to Hell” will be released this summer, although no specific date was released. Zakk is working with producer Michael Beinhorn (Soundgarden, Ozzy Osbourne, Red Hot Chili Peppers) on the new album.

The band’s last album Mafia debuted in March 2005 at #15 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart and at #1 on the Top Independent Albums chart.

Anyone that has a navigation system in their car knows how annoying the voice can be when giving directions. They sound so calm and relaxed — who the hell is that clam and relaxed when driving. Well, people living in Europe have a solution — you can download Ozzy’s voice to give you directions.

“In 400 meters you have reached your fucking destination,” says Ozzy’s imitation voice. If a car loses its signal he shouts: “I’ve lost the fucking satellite!”

Ozzy’s X-rated rants are selling double the combined total of all the other stars used for voice-overs which can be downloaded on to satnavs, according to the company responsible for the voices.

If Ozzy is not your cup of tea, you can listen to Sharon give directions: “Turn around, asshole.”

Now all we need is Zakk Wylde’s voice saying “Suck my Ass” no matter what you do in the car.

Besides being great friends, Ozzy Osbourne and longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde have made some of the best heavy metal songs of all time. Fans of the pair were a bit distressed earlier this month when Ozzy posted a note to his Web site looking for a new guitarist.

Ozzy has blessed Zakk’s solo project, Black Label Society, which has become more of a lifestyle for band members and fans. However, even with Zakk’s busy touring schedule, a new CD and an upcoming DVD he said in a recent interview that he is willing to play with Ozzy again.

“Ozzy knows I’ll always be there for him,” Zakk said in the interview. “What comes around goes around, ’cause I remember Ozzy, awhile ago when he was lookin’ for a guitar player, he goes, ‘Zakk, it’s a nightmare.’”

“I mean the bottom line is, with Oz, he makes the calls, he’s the boss, you know what I mean? Whenever he tells me to jump, I ask, ‘how high?’ With us it’s real easy, Sharon calls Barbara Ann, my wife, and goes, ‘Tell the idiot to be down at rehearsals on Wednesday.’ ‘What time?’ ‘Tell him to be there at 1 O’clock.’”

Let’s hope that Ozzy decides to ask Zakk to play on the next CD.

Zakk Wylde has made a statement on the event surrounding members of the Osbourne entourage pelting Iron Maiden band members with eggs during their Ozzfest 2005 tour. Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson apparently berated Ozzy, sending Sharon Osbourne on a path of revenge.

“Iron Maiden were chosen for the Ozzfest tour because the Ozzfest committee felt they were a good band, plus the fact that they had not done shows in the U.S. for some time,” said Sharon in a statement. “From day one, Bruce Dickinson started berating Ozzy and belittling the Ozzfest audience. He stated he ‘didn’t need a reality show to give him credibility’; ‘We’re not just some fucking reunion band’; and continuously complained about the sound system, saying that when he comes back to America he’ll have a better one.”

Dickinson also complained in an interview about American audiences in general saying that “when you do the ‘hits’ tour here [in the U.S.], the audience is smug, and there’s a sense of self-satisfaction, like, ‘We got what we wanted … I’m looking at an audience that is self-satisfied and happy and fat, and getting what it wants and isn’t prepared to get off its ass.”

Although Zakk wasn’t personally involved, he made his views on the incident very clear in a prepared statement.

“Although I’m a huge fan of the IronMaiden band and their music, I have a problem with Bruce Dickinson talking shit about America and more personally, about the Godfather of my first born son.”

I took quite a few pictures at Ozzfest last weekend, but unfortunately I had to use the camera on my cell phone. Needless to say they didn’t come out that good. One picture, however came out pretty good. A marine that was sitting next to us took the picture using my cell.