July 22nd, 2025 marked a dark day in the history of music. Ozzy Osbourne, legendary musician, Prince of Darkness passed away at the age of 76. But in Ridgefield Washington at the Cascades amphitheater, the mood was almost jovial. Halestorm lead singer Lzzy Hale said “This is a celebration of Ozzy’s life”, refusing to let the passing of metal music’s patriarch affect the mood and the spirit of Rock and Roll.
Volbeat is currently on a worldwide “Greatest of all Tours” run with dates in the United States through August 22nd and European dates through mid November. During the US leg of the tour, support includes The Ghost Inside, and Halestorm.
Halestorm seems to be varying their sets from one tour stop to the next, so internet setlist sleuths may be surprised each time Halestorm takes the stage. In Ridgefield, we got to hear five tracks from their latest album, Everest, along with classic favorites “I Miss the Misery”, “Freak Like Me”, and “I Get Off”. Lzzy, heart on her sleeve, made no excuses about the influence Ozzy had on her. At one point in the set, shots were brought out for the band and as they all raised their cups, Lzzy said “Remember how I told you all we were celebrating tonight? See you on the other side, good sir”. She later went on to say that her name “L-Z-Z-Y” wouldn’t have been spelled as such if not for Ozzy. The band closed out their set with Ozzy’s “Perry Mason”.
Volbeat took the stage with a much more predictable selection of tracks, only slightly altering their setlist from previous sets on the tour. They played a brief homage to Ozzy with a portion of Black Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave” before kicking off their set. Just before playing “In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom” Lead singer Michael Poulsen pointed out that Volbeat and it’s members don’t believe in any specific religious belief going on to state “It’s all crap. We’re just having fun”. Volbeat also debuted “Time Will Heal” from their most recent album God of Angels Trust.
But if you’re looking for a good time and an immersive Rock and Roll experience, Volbeat delivers. Touring guitarist Flemming C. Lund is a shredder and his guitar tone is absolutely punishing. The stage presentation is simplistic, allowing the audience to focus in on the music and performance in lieu of distracting stage theatrics and the tracks from the new album are a great fit in the live performance.
