Ozzfest

This year’s Ozzfest — the 11th annual orgy of leather, tattoos, long hair, beer, boobs, pit surfing, devil horns, heat exhaustion, and metal/hard rock of all varieties — is particularly notable for two reasons: For the first time in the tour’s history, namesake Ozzy Osbourne won’t be headlining the main stage, either as a solo act or with Black Sabbath. He’s gone into semi-retirement and is slated to appear at only a handful of Ozzfest stops this summer (and Phoenix ain’t one of ’em). And this might be the last time you ever get to see System of a Down perform live — they’re the headliners, but the California alt-metal foursome recently announced they’re going on indefinite hiatus after the tour, placing them in the same category as Fugazi, Blink-182, and a bunch of other bands you’ll probably never hear from again. Aside from that earth-shattering news, Ozzfest XI is more or less the same as Ozzfests III, VII, IX, etc. — lots of volume, screaming, jackhammering, and testosterone emanating from two stages, from the likes of Hatebreed, Disturbed, Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, Bleeding Through, and, of course, Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society.