As Epiphone joins forces with Mr. Osbourne in '97 for Ozz-Fest II, record consumers (with really powerful speakers) can sample last years' festivities with Ozz-Fest Live.

The live record is highlighted by performances from well-known thrashers such as Biohazard, Sepultura, Slayer and of course Ozzy and crew. But Ozzy lends a helping hand to some lesser-known bands on independent labels. If you want to hear bands like Coal Chamber, Earth Crisis, Powerman 5000 and others, now is your chance.

This reviewer, admittedly, is not a huge fan of atonal-type music, so this collection was a struggle to listen to at times. To the credit of the various bands, however, they all understand the importance of rhythm and of groove, with flash taking a back seat. On the other hand, it would be nice to have intelligible lyrics, so the listener can appreciate the band's message on a higher level than primitive anger.

The bands gets progressively more polished as the CD wears on. The reward for surviving the sonic onslaught is the final tune, by none other than Ozzy himself. "Perry Mason" (off Ozzmosis) is the only song on the whole disc with a melody, and a memorable one at that.

This is also the first cut this reviewer has heard featuring Zakk Wylde's replacement, Randy Rhodes protégé Joe Holmes. Though he overdoes that "pinched harmonic" squeal thing throughout the song, Holmes proves suitably heavy handed in his rhythm work and nimble-fingered on lead, mixing melodic themes well with pyrotechnic displays of chops.

Overall, this isn't a selection I would personally seek out, but if this type of music is your thing, it's an excellent sampler of established bands and up-and-coming thrashers.