OSBOURNE's New Guitarist GUS G. To Make Debut At BLIZZCON

[Ragehead91]

As BLABBERMOUTH.NET first reported on August 3, Randall Amplifiers has now confirmed via its Facebook page that 28-year-old Greek guitarist Gus G. (FIREWIND) has been tapped to play with OZZY OSBOURNE at the closing concert of this year's BlizzCon, which will take place August 21-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

In addition to his current axe-slinging duties with FIREWIND, Gus (real name: Kostas Karamitroudis) — who has an endorsement deal with Randall — has played in MYSTIC PROPHECY, NIGHTRAGE, ARCH ENEMY and DREAM EVIL.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[icecab21]

ragehead suffers another dramatic broken heart about creative differences

[Ragehead91]

I just hate to see a talented guitar player wasting his time playing for a drug-addicted freak who is 20 years past his prime and can't sing his songs without telepromter and even if he has one he fucks them up.

[icecab21]

He wants to do it , therefore he is not wasting his time.

[Ragehead91]

He should keep Firewind alive and stay away from Ozzy as far as he can. Another good talent wasted.

[Intiaani]

What's the use? Firewind can't offer anything above decent with their mediocre Greek singer anyway. The first guy there was extremely good. And they had the energy and/or really own production style which I haven't heard in their newest recordings. The band went from unoriginal, ballsy and energetic group to blatant noice anyway, so who not boost Ozzy?

[emperor_black]

He should keep Firewind alive and stay away from Ozzy as far as he can. Another good talent wasted.

ehhhm... stop the drama :S

The news doesn't say he's disbanding Firewind, and I REALLY doubt he would.

Maybe he needed some bucks and i'm sure Sharon is going to pay him a lot o' money fo sho!

[Ragehead91]

What's the use? Firewind can't offer anything above decent with their mediocre Greek singer anyway. The first guy there was extremely good. And they had the energy and/or really own production style which I haven't heard in their newest recordings. The band went from unoriginal, ballsy and energetic group to blatant noice anyway, so who not boost Ozzy?

Your opinion. I think the last few Firewind albums were really good and better than anything Ozzy has released since the 80s.

[NeonVomit]

What's the use? Firewind can't offer anything above decent with their mediocre Greek singer anyway. The first guy there was extremely good. And they had the energy and/or really own production style which I haven't heard in their newest recordings. The band went from unoriginal, ballsy and energetic group to blatant noice anyway, so who not boost Ozzy?

Your opinion. I think the last few Firewind albums were really good and better than anything Ozzy has released since the 80s.

I dunno about better than Ozzy in the 80s, but the last couple of Firewind albums have been great.

Anyway, Gus G is not disbanding Firewind, not after fighting for the band for so long despite all his other projects. If anything, this is going to boost Firewind's popularity through the roof when everyone tries to find out more about who Gus is and what his band is like.

[Mormegil]

Zakk Wylde could manage Black Label Society while being in Ozzy's band, so I don't see any problem with this.
Especially if it means new Ozzy-material that is actually worth something.

I'm curious to see Gus' renditions of Mr. Crowley and other classics.

[Ragehead91]

What's the use? Firewind can't offer anything above decent with their mediocre Greek singer anyway. The first guy there was extremely good. And they had the energy and/or really own production style which I haven't heard in their newest recordings. The band went from unoriginal, ballsy and energetic group to blatant noice anyway, so who not boost Ozzy?

Your opinion. I think the last few Firewind albums were really good and better than anything Ozzy has released since the 80s.

I dunno about better than Ozzy in the 80s, but the last couple of Firewind albums have been great.

Anyway, Gus G is not disbanding Firewind, not after fighting for the band for so long despite all his other projects. If anything, this is going to boost Firewind's popularity through the roof when everyone tries to find out more about who Gus is and what his band is like.

Sorry, maybe I used the wrong words. What I was trying to say is that Firewind is better than anything Ozzy has released since 1988.

[stratowerner]

I just hate to see a talented guitar player wasting his time playing for a drug-addicted freak who is 20 years past his prime and can't sing his songs without telepromter and even if he has one he fucks them up.

Zakk worked at a gasstation before he joined Ozzy,he's a rich and famous man now,and more important a great muscian with a huge solo career. This is great for the career of Gus G and most important he can learn a lot from Ozzy and the team that he is going to work with...

[Intiaani]

And maybe just make their music a bit more... dimensional. Personal. More anti-clichéd power metal.

[Ragehead91]

And maybe just make their music a bit more... dimensional. Personal. More anti-clichéd power metal.

I don't understand what your problem is with Firewind. Okay, Allegiance wasn't that good, but the other 4 albums kick major ass.

[Kmasters]

ALL RIGHT FIRST VIDEO OF GUS G WITH OZZY REHEARSING FOR THE BLIZZCOM SHOW HE LOOKS GREAT BUT I REALLY PREFER THE SECOND GUITAR HE SHOULD BE ZACK REPLACEMENT IN THE BAND.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dahvFdmmR8&eurl=

[Intiaani]

My problem with Firewind is, if there ever was one, that they are a good power metal band. There's, like, 300 of them that I know of, and it's somewhere in the 100th position or so. That, quite frankly, isn't enough. They are not original enough for me to really like them, I can't find satisfaction from their style. After their singer change to a poor one who is horrible live, too, often even fucking up the lyrics according to reports, my interest towards Firewind has anything but risen. And that's _all_ that counts: interest, prejudices. I can't find any harm in Gus joining Ozzy Osbourne. Might bring much needed variation to Firewind's music as well, to make the band less active (= they will actually have time to think of their new material, not necessarily forced to make a new, decent record out every 1½ years), thus maybe even better.

I wish I just could forget all my opinions and prejudices and always anxiously wait a new album to blow my mind. But, with Firewind, it's definitely not so. They've gone downhill with every work of theirs - maybe, just maybe, they now get back up with some Ozzy-influences and possible little more, too, not with their basic 'good power metal' almost any band is able to perform.

[mayhem-for-all]

I think it is good Gus gets some publicity.
Maybe this will bring more fans for Firewind as well.
They are going to come up with the next album in 2010 anyways.

[Ragehead91]

OZZY OSBOURNE To Perform With 9-Year-Old Guitar Prodigy At BLIZZCON
According to a posting on his official Facebook page, nine-year-old guitar prodigy Yuto Miyazawa will play with OZZY OSBOURNE at the closing concert of this year's BlizzCon on Saturday, August 22 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Miyazawa is expected to join Ozzy and the rest of his current band — including 28-year-old Greek guitarist Gus G. (FIREWIND) — to perform the Osbourne classic "Crazy Train" and possibly other tracks as well.

It is not presently clear who will sit behind the kit for OZZY OSBOURNE's performance at BlizzCon, since his longtime drummer, Mike Bordin, is currently on the road in Europe with the reunited FAITH NO MORE.

Miyazawa performed "Crazy Train" on the May 11, 2009 episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show". Yuto was then surprised when Ozzy himself was brought out to meet the boy.

It's Official: GUS G., TOMMY CLUFETOS To Perform With OZZY OSBOURNE At BLIZZCON

It's Official: GUS G., TOMMY CLUFETOS To Perform With OZZY OSBOURNE At BLIZZCON - Aug. 21, 2009
OZZY OSBOURNE's official web site has been updated with the following announcement:

"Ozzy will be performing [on Saturday, August 22] at the Anaheim Convention Center [in Anaheim, California] as part of the closing ceremonies at BlizzCon '09. However, due to [longtime OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist] Zakk Wylde's current touring commitments with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and [longtime OZZY drummer] Mike Bordin's ongoing reunion tour with FAITH NO MORE, Ozzy will be playing with guitarist Gus G. [FIREWIND] and drummer Tommy Clufetos [ROB ZOMBIE, ALICE COOPER, TED NUGENT] for this special performance. They will be joining current Osbourne band members Rob 'Blasko' Nicholson (bass; ex-ROB ZOMBIE) and Adam Wakeman (keyboards).

"Ozzy loves the challenge of working with new musicians and is enjoying the sound and energy that this band has been producing in rehearsals this week.

OZZY OSBOURNE At BLIZZCON: Video Footage, Photos Are Here - Aug. 22, 2009
OZZY OSBOURNE has just finished playing a 10-song set at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California as part of the closing ceremonies at BlizzCon. His backing band for the concert consisted of guitarist Gus G. (FIREWIND), drummer Tommy Clufetos (ROB ZOMBIE, ALICE COOPER, TED NUGENT), bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (ROB ZOMBIE) and keyboardist Adam Wakeman.

Nine-year-old guitar prodigy Yuto Miyazawa joined Ozzy and the rest of his group on stage to perform the Osbourne classic "Crazy Train".

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Bark At The Moon
02. Suicide Solution
03. War Pigs
04. I Don't Know
05. Mr. Crowley
06. I Don't Wanna Stop
07. Iron Man
08. I Don't Want To Change The World
-----------------------------------
09. Crazy Train (featuring Yuto Miyazawa)
10. Paranoid

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I think it is bad because Firewind, one of the better Power Metal Bands, will get the status of a side project while Gus will be playing in the band of a braindead drug addict who is 20 years past his prime and hasn't released a good album since 1988.

[NeonVomit]

Man, Ozzy is a terrible singer.

[Ragehead91]

Man, Ozzy is a terrible singer.

I've seen footage from him in the 80s and yeah, he is past his prime.

And listen to Firewind. Then listen to the gig footage. Why the fuck is Gus trying to sound like Zakk?

[Ragehead91]

OZZY OSBOURNE On BLIZZCON Performance: 'It Was Even Better Than Some Gigs I've Done' - Aug. 25, 2009
Kotaku.com reports: Before rock legend Ozzy Osbourne took the stage at the closing ceremonies of BlizzCon 2009, he didn't know "what the fuck to expect" from an audience full of gamers, he told Kotaku.com in a private interview.

Ozzy Osbourne took the stage around 7:45 p.m. at the Anaheim Convention Center to help bring BlizzCon 2009 crashing to a close. Thousands of fans screamed along as he burned through classic songs like "Iron Man", "Paranoid", "War Pigs", and the song featured in Blizzard's World of Warcraft ad, "Crazy Train". Ozzy seemed to be having a great time on stage, bowing to the crowd when he wasn't spraying them with a fire hose, but he wasn't so sure about the BlizzCon gig going into it.

"Coming here (unintelligible) to the show tonight, I thought, 'They're all gonna be like scientists and fucking brain brain (unintelligible) fucking audience,'" he said. "Glasses-wearing spectacles and coke bottles. I didn't know what the fuck to expect. I kept saying to my wife Sharon, 'Sharon, do you think you'll like me? Do you think they'll understand what I'm about?' And it was even better than some [regular] gigs I've done. It's a gift that I've had a good life through music."

[NeonVomit]

I like how even the interviewers can't figure out what the hell he's saying.

[Ragehead91]

I like how even the interviewers can't figure out what the hell he's saying.

I guess that is what you get for year and years of drug-abuse.

[Ragehead91]

TRIP MUSIC FESTIVAL - Sep. 7, 2009
FIREWIND guitarist Gus. G will play his second concert with OZZY OSBOURNE at the second annual Sunset Strip Music Festival (SSMF), which will take place September 10-12. The three-day festival will kick off when Ozzy is honored at a tribute event Thursday, September 10 at the House of Blues and then Ozzy will perform the festival's final set Saturday, September 12. That's when, for the first time ever, the Sunset Strip (between Doheny Drive and San Vicente Blvd.) will be closed to host two concert stages. KORN, PEPPER, THE DONNAS and KOTTONMOUTH KINGS are among the 40 acts performing throughout the day.

[warrencurrymetal]

I like how even the interviewers can't figure out what the hell he's saying.

I guess that is what you get for year and years of drug-abuse.

Supposedly,He doesn't even sing his songs anymore, but has a guy hidden singing the songs. I'm not sure if this is true. . . but funny still

[Ragehead91]

I like how even the interviewers can't figure out what the hell he's saying.

I guess that is what you get for year and years of drug-abuse.

Supposedly,He doesn't even sing his songs anymore, but has a guy hidden singing the songs. I'm not sure if this is true. . . but funny still

I doubt that. Because if it would be like that the songs would actually sound good. But they just sound horrible. This is the same reason why Coverdale's singing doesn't come from tape. If it was from tape it would actually sound good.

[hiro23]

One thing I'll give Ozzy is that he has a very unique voice, however I have talked with many other metal fans and most do agree with me that when it comes to the best singers Black Sabbath ever had they consider Dio to actually be the best.

[Ragehead91]

One thing I'll give Ozzy is that he has a very unique voice, however I have talked with many other metal fans and most do agree with me that when it comes to the best singers Black Sabbath ever had they consider Dio to actually be the best.

As much as I hate Ozzy I have to agree. His voice is technically the worst but at the same time very unique and holds much recognition value. And yes, in the 70s and 80s this guy really was the prince of darkness. But nowdays he is just a shadow of his former self.

[hiro23]

I've always liked Ozzy's music, what I can't stand is his attitude as of late, it seems as though he's trying to put himself out as some kind of victim and justifies alienating his friends.

The two guys I feel the most sorry for is Tony Iommi and Zakk Wylde. Maybe Zakk and Iommi should do a Heaven and Hell/Black Label Society tour and call it the "F.U. prince of dorkness tour"

[Ragehead91]

Well, I also like his first 5 albums. But that isn't becaus of his voice.