System of a Down mixes metal elements.

While Ozzy Osbourne wasn't scheduled to appear at Sunday's Ozzfest date at Verizon Wireless Music Center, he left headlining duties in the capable hands of System of a Down.

The California-based band represented the sum of all parts for the 19-act lineup. If you didn't want to show up at 10 a.m., you could have arrived at 9:20 p.m. for System of a Down's performance and be exposed to just as many elements of metal music.
Passages of tender balladry, breakneck riffing, barked lyrics and meat-and-potatoes rock are heard during a System of a Down performance -- sometimes within a single song.
"Needles," a selection from 2002 album "Toxicity," opened with a head-banging guitar assault, moved to art-rock syncopation and later breathed enough to allow a mainstream pop payoff.
At times, the nimble-minded quartet of guitarist Daron Malakian, vocalist Serj Tankian, bass player Shavo Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan seemed to be showing off for the crowd of 15,254 or merely amusing themselves. With a giant video screen at its disposal, System of a Down didn't use it for moving images but instead displayed details of paintings as a backdrop.

As the band prepares to take a hiatus at summer's end, it's setting an example regarding the power of imagination and the value of questioning the status quo.
The status quo, however, is a good fit for guitarist Zakk Wylde and his band Black Label Society. Headlining Ozzfest's open-air second stage, Wylde and company overcame a distorted sound mix to make a mighty stand for traditional metal.

Wylde showed heart when playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" as a precise, powerful guitar solo and also when he introduced his band members as brothers. Wylde has a kindred spirit in "Survivor" celebrity Rupert Boneham, who watched Black Label Society's performance from the side of the stage.
Back at the venue's pavilion, Avenged Sevenfold resembled a collision of '80s bands Poison and Guns N' Roses. Slick and melodic would be Poison's legacy and a street perspective would be Guns N' Roses' contribution to Avenged's sound.
Pumped-up frontman M. Shadows delivered an amazing approximation of vocals recorded for the band's "City of Evil" album. He also wore sunglasses until the closing moments of the performance, lending a detached quality to his time onstage -- even when Avenged paid tribute to late guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott with a cover of Pantera's "Walk."
Hard-core punk band Hatebreed graduated to the main stage after three previous Ozzfest stints on the second stage. Similar to Wylde, Hatebreed vocalist Jamey Jasta spoke about unity within the Ozzfest family between songs. No guitar solos punctuated Hatebreed's material, which rely on Jasta's intense bark and pulverizing chords from guitarists Sean Martin and Frank Novinec.
Also at the main stage, Disturbed performed an assortment of its minor-key anthems, including a rendition of Genesis' "Land of Confusion." Ever-smug vocalist David Draiman railed against non-Ozzfest rock bands -- presumably acts such as AFI, Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco -- for losing the "dirty, dangerous" traits of metal.
Second-stage upstart Unearth crushed Disturbed in the categories of "dirty" and "dangerous." Boston-based Unearth unleashed a new strain of speed metal worthy of the multiple mosh pits that broke out in the band's honor.

By David Lindquist - indystar.com

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