Gus G is Ozzy's Man

Jasonic said:
Ok....fine....

So, let me ask you all this, since many are getting defensive.

What do you want to see happen out of this for Firewind?
I think we are all in agreement that we are happy for Gus, in that he will gain some exposure as a talented guitarist. Also, he will benefit financially, which is more than well deserved.

Let's discuss Firewind specifically.

Is anyone hoping for mass mainstream acceptance?
Or, simply, just hoping that Firewind could gain some recognition so they could tour more regularly, sell more CDs, etc.....

I hate to use the DragonForce example here, but I have to......
I have said it before.
It wasn't even 5 years ago when DF were on MANY people's wishlist for Prog Power.
They made very little change to their sound.
In all honesty, I think their newest is FAR superior to Inhuman Rampage.
Their success though has also lost them many fans, who I think have no reason to no longer be a fan, considering they haven't compromised their musicianship at all.

So, what I am getting at here is, if Firewind blows up by some chance, would you still be a fan?
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I would still be a fan, yes it would suck to go see them at a big deal like Ozzfest but I guess it's a good excuse to actually go to one.

As for the DF comparison Firewind songs don't sound like the same song from the last 3 albums rehashed, so I don't think that would be an issue.

I totally get what your saying, and I am in agreement that I would prefer to keep them low key and all to myself, but that would be selfish and if they can pull it off and do big tours like Ozzfest more power to them.
 
Entrerie said:
I totally get what your saying, and I am in agreement that I would prefer to keep them low key and all to myself, but that would be selfish and if they can pull it off and do big tours like Ozzfest more power to them.
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Yeah, it's not so much the whole wanting to keep good underground bands underground.

It's just that in 2009, with thousands more of metal bands in the underground than the 80s, breakout bands can be hit or miss.

I think the reality of all this is that Firewind will be able to successfully tour larger clubs, House of Blues, etc. Or, they could possibly land a more solid opening slot on a larger tour.

Certainly will be interesting to see how this plays out.
 
They have a tour co-headlining with Leave's Eyes I think early next year. and they were here last year with Dark Tranquility I think. So I don't see how it's going to effect them that much over all unless they as you said get 15 minutes of fame like DF. As long as it doesn't interfere with Firewind and their musical integrity, I doesn't matter much to me.

Maybe instead of getting comments when wearing a "Volbeat" shirt, "Oh that's like GWAR or something" people will know what Firewind is about...and I won't get asked "Is that some kind of video game" because of the dragon lol.
 
I must admit....these are the kind of threads that make me chuckle. Lots of opinion....very few facts...:heh:
I don't own any Ozzy CDs. Can anyone supply some past facts as to songwriting credits on Ozzy Osbourne albums so that we might get a better feel for whether Gus will be called on to be a songwriter, or just a hired guitar player?

Nevertheless, I am compelled to opine:
I am thrilled for Gus.
I am interested that I might actually buy a new Ozzy album in the "near" future.
I hope that Firewind continues. I am glad that I and 30 other people saw Gus/Firewind headline at Pearl Room in Chi-town only 2 years ago. Who would've thunk he'd be Ozzy's new man?
Perhaps this will give the other Firewind members' side projects, namely Outloud, some more time to potentially be more than just "projects".
 
Diabolik said:
I doubt any Ozzy fans are going to run out and research where this guitarist came from. Reluctantly I have to agree with Jasonic on all aspects of his post. There is just a small core bunch of fans in the US who research and post all over then net....while majority of the fans are casual fans who may buy the new album but always go to the live show to hear the classic material. 10% of Ozzy's fans will maybe look into Firewind....maybe 5% will listen to them....maybe 2% would even buy or download legally some stuff. Any exposure is good exposure....but it isnt like Firewind will ever reach BLS level in the states.
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Bob...For awhile there, I thought you had hacked Jasonic's ID. Usually it's your posts that cause so much...debate...:lol:
 
They had pretty much no recognition in the US when they played PP. They opened up for Sonata (The Agonist got the middle slot) but the few shows they headlined on their own had extremely small numbers. Which suggests the existing power metal fanbase didn't even seem to know of them. It'd be nice if they at least could get to a Sonata level where they could headline and practically fill a place like Palladium or The Chance. Who knows if it'll happen but there will at least be more people checking them out.
In the end it'll probably depend more on them getting a slot at a resurrected Ozzfest than anything else.
 
Jibrille said:
It'd be nice if they at least could get to a Sonata level where they could headline and practically fill a place like Palladium or The Chance. Who knows if it'll happen but there will at least be more people checking them out.
In the end it'll probably depend more on them getting a slot at a resurrected Ozzfest than anything else.
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Agreed 100% on all accounts.
 
Jasonic said:
Sorry, I have to strongly disagree with you there.
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I agree with Jasonic.

There are a number of reasons why Firewind will never see BLS' sales numbers...

1. Ozzy's career is winding down. Artistically, it's been over for quite some time.
2. When the next Ozzy disc tanks, who do you think Sharon will blame? I'll give you a hint, his name rhymes with "Fuss B."
3. The problem with Ozzy wasn't Zakk's songwriting. The problem is Ozzy is Ozzy.
4. Zakk had a sound to sell. The first time I heard "Miracle Man", I was blown away. Zakk's sound was quite unique at the time. Gus G's impressive technical prowess aside, nothing about his sound is at all unique.
5. Zakk gained national exposure at the age of 21. Gus will be 29. Zakk had an eight year head start in building what he built with BLS.
6. Zakk broke on to the scene in 1988, at the height of Metal's popularity. Gus G. is joining Ozzy 20 years later, at a time when people no longer buy records.

Zod
 
Jasonic said:
On the flipside, I disagree 100% about FIREWIND getting ANY more exposure.
Do you really think that the average OZZY fan seriously gives a rat's ass about underground metal, or where Gus G came from?
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Any extra exposure for Firewind could lead to some added album sales, and perhaps some better touring options. I can't imagine a band like Firewind getting huge over this deal, but I don't see how it doesn't help improve sales potential.

I don't know what Ozzy's fans are like these days, but it seems to me that fans of his will be interested in learning more about his new guitarist. Being an Ozzy guitarist has some history to it ya know.



Britt
 
The Invisible Guest said:
Any extra exposure for Firewind could lead to some added album sales, and perhaps some better touring options. I can't imagine a band like Firewind getting huge over this deal, but I don't see how it doesn't help improve sales potential.
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It might help some.
I dunno though.
I still think your average fan of Ozzy solo material who isn't really into the underground scene is going to all of a sudden seek it out.

As I pointed out before, I still have to refer to all the other underground bands who had members go onto metal stardom, with VERY little impact on their own careers (IE - Exodus, Jag Panzer, Flotsam, etc, etc)

As Zod pointed out, and I agree, that was 20 years ago.
Now it is harder than ever to sell a damn CD.
It will be hard enough for Ozzy to sell Ozzy CDs, let alone have any impact on sales for Rob Zombie or Firewind discs.

Either way, I agree that the name will get out there more, and it should help with some touring options for FW.
 
Jasonic does bring up a good point of how we sometimes turn on bands for the simple "crime" of actually succeeding in the mainstream. It's not like Dragonforce decided to sound like Shinedown. They didn't compromise a damn thing. Neither did Nightwish.

I love Dragonforce still. They do the same thing over and over, but they play well, know how to write good hooks, and no one does quite what they do. 8 years after they've come out, there are still no real Dragonforce copycat bands out there. Plenty of bands trying to be Rhapsody, Stratovarius, Helloween, Sonata Arctica and Nightwish, but no one could even hope to do what Dragonforce does. Even if you could play that fast, could you write hooks like they do?

Although I don't think their 15 minutes are over. Ultra Beatdown debuted at #18 on the Billboard 200. Not even sure Dark Passion Play did that well. Allmusic Guide calls Dragonforce a "juggernaut" and gave Ultra Beatdown 4 stars. Heroes of Our Time was nominated for a Grammy.

Herman Li said it best:

....playing fast just works for us. People who say we play too fast are probably right, but guess what? There's a million other bands that play slow. People listen to DragonForce and go to the show because they know that we're doing something other bands aren't doing.
 
I agree with Jasonic all the way.

How much exposure did Savatage ever get after TSO went double platinum? None. And it's not just one guy, like Gus G. It's the ENTIRE band. Firewind has nothing to gain from Gus G.'s gigging with Ozzy. Even if Ozzy let Gus write all the music on his new album, which won't happen, and it kicked super-ass, I doubt more than a handful Ozzy fans would check out "the guitarist's other band."
 
batmura said:
I agree with Jasonic all the way.

How much exposure did Savatage ever get after TSO went double platinum? None.
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Excellent example! I didn't even think of this one.
Yeah, TSO sells a HELL of a lot more tickets annually than Ozzy.

I suppose the one difference here though is FW is active, and might land an opening spot on either Ozzy's tour or Ozzfest, where there is zero promotion going these days for Savatage, but still a valid point nonetheless.

The non-metal TSO fans certainly did not run out to snag every Savatage disc to discover the roots of the band.
 
Excellent example! I didn't even think of this one.
Yeah, TSO sells a HELL of a lot more tickets annually than Ozzy.

I suppose the one difference here though is FW is active, and might land an opening spot on either Ozzy's tour or Ozzfest, where there is zero promotion going these days for Savatage, but still a valid point nonetheless.

The non-metal TSO fans certainly did not run out to snag every Savatage disc to discover the roots of the band.
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Trick is that at least at an Ozzy concert, the fans are fans of metal, and may have some appreciation for Firewind were they to hear them.

At at TSO concert, the audience is split between metal fans mostly all familiar with Savatage, and non-metal fans only there because of the Christmas theme. These folks are NOT going to be interested in Savatage no matter what.

A closer comparison would be finding out how the metal fans of TSO respond to Chris Caffery's solo work, for example.
 
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