Free Republic

If you need me to explain why you should spend 1:26 watching a man wielding an iron guitar in a Faraday suit playing Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" on MIDI-compatible Tesla coils, you are in the wrong place, pal. ArcAttack is performing a Tesla Coil version of Iron Man by Black Sabbath. The Guitar Player is using an iron guitar in a faraday cage ArcAttack testing out the world's first lighting-proof MIDI guitar in their warehouse in Austin, Texas. The MIDI signal from the guitar is routed through a fiber optic cable to control the Tesla coils. Update: From the comments,...

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has cancer. The 63-year-old musician is "upbeat and determined" after being diagnosed with early-stage lymphoma, and intends to proceed with his band's comeback album and tour.

Ronnie James Dio, whose soaring vocals, poetic lyrics and mythic tales of a never-ending struggle between good and evil broke new ground in heavy metal, died Sunday, according to a statement from his wife and manager. He was 67.

Message from Wendy Dio Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever. - Wendy Dio

It may not surprise parents that the head-banging, string-shredding world of heavy metal can seriously damage your health. But now Tony Iommi, the British guitarist who helped to invent the genre, has revealed that he is undergoing stem-cell treatment to save the hand that inspired a generation. The number of rockers suffering from repetitive strain injuries is on the increase, and medical specialists have warned that their careers will come to an end unless they seek professional help. As a founder member of Black Sabbath, the Birmingham rockers fronted by Ozzy Osbourne, Iommi, 61, hit on the distortion-heavy riffs that...

Musicians Ozzy Osbourne, Stevie Nicks, Ted Nugent, Steve Winwood, Robert Plant, Kenny Loggins, Glenn Frey, Alice Cooper, Tony Iommi, Chris Squire, James Taylor, Todd Rundgren, Jackson Browne, Olivia Newton-John, Donna Summer, John Bonham (R.I.P.) & Rick James (R.I.P.)

It's easy to forget that Halloween isn't the same carefree holiday for every child in our community.In the central city, some neighborhoods can be scary places all year round. These are not places where you feel comfortable allowing young children to go from house to house accepting treats.In areas where drug dealing, gunfire and other negative elements exist, you think twice before allowing young kids to knock on every door. Mac Weddle, executive director of Northcott Neighborhood House, 2460 N. 6th St., thinks some of today's children will never get to know about the kind of Halloween fun their parents...

NEW YORK - Between the Sex Pistols and Ozzy Osbourne, there's an air of malice associated with this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class. Blondie is doing its part, too. The band being inducted Monday includes two members, Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante, who unsuccessfully sued their former colleagues for being left out when Blondie reformed in 1999. Deborah Harry's voice turns hard when she's asked if the two men will be invited to perform again with Blondie for old time's sake at the Waldorf-Astoria ceremony. Even the Police and Talking Heads managed to set aside bad feelings...

What do Geezer Butler, the long-time bassist of heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath, and Bobby Ingram, the frontman of the venerable Southern rock band Molly Hatchet, have in common besides making legendary music? Both rockers have joined PETA’s boycott of KFC until the company ends the worst abuses of chickens raised and killed to fill its buckets. Geezer and Bobby have prominently displayed links on their respective Web sites (GeezerButler.com and MollyHatchet.com) to PETA’s KentuckyFriedCruelty.com site, where visitors can learn how KFC torments the more than 850 million chickens raised and killed for the company each year. Why are Bobby...

Days after confounding fans with a so-called "special announcement" that fell short of expectations, organizers have confirmed that Black Sabbath will headline Ozzfest 2004. The timing of the announcement comes as more of a surprise than the news it contained, since, for weeks, assumptions were high that the legendary metal quartet was on board for the trek. Last week, Ozzfest.com promised a big announcement on Friday, though visitors to the site were met with a message about an unsigned-band contest instead of the news that Ozzy Osbourne himself first hinted at in a radio interview in early April (see "It's...

IS OZZY TO BE PITIED OR SCORNED? J. Grant Swank, Jr., POB 1984, Windham ME 04062 Pastor, New Hope Church, Windham ME Ozzy’s English boyhood was poor—father worked nights in a steel plant, mother worked days at a car plant. No money, no auto, meager food. He claims as a child he had one pair of shoes, no underpants, trousers and one jacket. At the base of his bed was a bucket for urinating in. There were no clean sheets on his bed, overcoats used as sheets when all else failed. Dad beat on Ozzy, chiefly for the boy’s attempts...

Sharon Osbourne, the wife and manager of expletive-spewing rocker Ozzy Osborne, has been diagnosed with what her family spokeswoman called a "treatable form of cancer."She is scheduled to undergo surgery today at an undisclosed location.Ozzy Osbourne and the Osbourne children — Aimee, Kelly and Jack — were with Sharon Osbourne in Los Angeles last night, spokeswoman Lisa Vega said."The family is together," Vega said. "They will be with her through her surgery and recovery."Vega declined to be specific about the type of cancer, saying, "I want to protect their privacy."The spokeswoman said Sharon Osbourne only recently learned she had...