Some fairly important late-breaking news this morning, starting with the venerable Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne.
Ozzy Osbourne has revealed that he has been diagnosed with a form of stage II Parkinson’s disease. Appearing on ‘Good Morning America‘ in the below interview this morning (January 21st) alongside his wife Sharon Osbourne, he revealed his diagnosis. Sharon commented of her husband’s condition:
“There’s so many different types of Parkinson’s. It’s not a death sentence by any stretch of the imagination, but it does affect certain nerves in your body. And it’s like you have a good day, a good day, and then a really bad day.”
Ozzy discussed keeping his diagnosis secret up until now:
“I’m not good at secrets, I cannot walk around with it anymore ’cause it’s like I’m running out of excuses…. I feel better now of owning up to the fact that I have a case of Parkinson’s and I just hope they [his fans] hang in there for me, ’cause I need them.”
Osbourne found out he had the disease after being treated for a bad fall in early 2019. That fall disrupted various surgical work he had done following a severe ATV accident back in 2003. That injury and the resulting surgery earlier this year left him sidelined for much of 2019, leaving him with nerve damage and other complications. The lengthy healing process forced him to cancel various tour dates.
Sharon went on to state in this new interview that she feels her husband has received the extent of the treatment he can for the disease in the United States. The couple now intend to seek more specialized treatment in regards to Ozzy‘s immune system and more in Switzerland in April.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include shaking and tremors, difficulty with balance and speaking, slowed movement, numbness and stiffness and more. Speaking of his outlook for the future, Ozzy offered:
“I just can’t wait to get well and get back on the road again. That’s what’s killing me. I need it, you know? That’s my drug today. Not all the other crap… I ain’t going yet, I ain’t gonna go anywhere yet.”
Ozzy has also taken to doing Pilates and more to help aid his condition. Osbourne remains determined to complete his planned touring this year and will release a new album titled “Ordinary Man” ahead of those dates on February 21st. Thanks to The PRP for this write-up!
Just yesterday, Rammstein revealed ten North American cities for their upcoming tour. While we thought they were going to keep us in suspense for a little bit longer, these German industrial metallers have officially announced their North American tour dates. The tour is scheduled to kick off on August 20th in Montreal and will run through September 27th in Mexico City, Mexico. You can see the full run on the Road Rage page. Tickets go on sale this Friday (24th) at 10AM local time. Thanks to Metal Insider for the info!
Original Dirt post follows below:
Good morning Radicals! Hope you’re coming back from an extended weekend! If not, that’s a bummer. Either way, we got some music news to get into, let’s get toasty!
It is with incredible sorrow that we said farewell to Cliff’s dad Ray Burton last week… https://t.co/pjmJWGJV7G
— Metallica (@Metallica) January 20, 2020
Metallica paid tribute to Ray Burton who passed away last week at the age of 94. He was the father of the band’s late bassist Cliff Burton.
On the band’s website, they posted this: “It is with incredible sorrow that we said farewell to Cliff’s dad Ray Burton last week. For 38 years, we were lucky enough to have the energy, wisdom and light of Ray in our lives. His eternal youth with his drive, positivity and relentless smile were both incredibly powerful and stirringly honest. From coast to coast and overseas too, Ray’s beaming face would regularly greet us, offering warmth and anchor to our travels, and when it came to the entire Metallica family, band, crew and fans, he viewed us all as his own.”
Roy Burton’s son, Cliff, joined Metallica in 1982 and performed on the band’s first three studio albums. His life was tragically cut short at the age of 24 in a tour bus crash on September 27, 1986 in Sweden.
Announcing Gigaton: A new album and tour coming Spring 2020!
More info at https://t.co/uDIWRrKT1y pic.twitter.com/AwECDMa5Zz
— Pearl Jam (@PearlJam) January 13, 2020
Pearl Jam has released the track list for their next album, Gigaton. According to Rolling Stone, this will be the band’s first co-production with Josh Evans, who previously worked with Soundgarden, Chris Cornell and Pearl Jam members Mike McCready and Jeff Ament.
The band will launch a 16-date North American tour on March 18th in Toronto that will run through April 19th and wrap in Oakland, California. After that, they head to Europe.
The 12-track album includes their new single, “Dance of the Clairvoyants.” Pearl Jam’s eleventh studio album, Gigaton, will be out on March 27.
Gigaton:
1. Who Ever Said
2. Superblood Wolfmoon
3. Dance of the Clairvoyants
4. Quick Escape
5. Alright
6. Seven O’Clock
7. Never Destination
8. Take The Long Way
9. Buckle Up
10. Come Then Goes
11. Retrograde
12. River Cross
Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has been away from social media for 6 months and says he doesn’t miss it, calling the experience, “brilliant.”
In a recent interview that was posted at Louder Sound .com, he said, “I don’t miss it at all. Here’s the thing. It made me go back and read the news again. I read the news every day.”
About that he continued, “Now I’m getting the story itself and I can form my own opinion. I can talk to people face-to-face about it. I can’t tell you how tired I am of people being incensed about something. That’s all news stories are now. It’s everyone looking for a reason to be mad. I’m tired of people being mad.”
Taylor said his mental health has improved because of it and stated, “It brings out the worst in people. It is social mania. It’s ridiculous.”
He talked about how he leaned on social media while his marriage was falling apart and said: “The fallout from that marriage had forced me into social media, burrowing into a place where people wanted to make me feel better about things because it was bad in my house. From my point of view, you don’t know who is trying to talk to you, who they are and what they want from you. When you don’t give them attention, they turn on you.”
Corey Taylor is currently on a UK tour with Slipknot and confirms that someone else now runs his social media.
Finally, we want to wish a Happy Birthday to Messer frontman Dereak Messer! Have a productive day!
