In a very tongue-in-cheek interview with Metal Hammer, Ozzy says that years of devoted service to Satan must have fortified him against the killer COVID-19 virus.

“My wife had the virus; my daughter had the virus and I never got it,” he muses. “Being a devil worshipper does have its good points!”

It’s a JOKE everyone! Lighten up!

Ozzy also gave us all a health update, confirming he will have neck surgery. “I’ve struggling with this f**king broken neck, looks like I’m in for more surgery. I’m in physical therapy right now.”

Even so, Ozzy is working on his new album. “It’s going to be similar in tone to Ordinary Man,” he says, “but I can’t describe it completely. I’ve not heard it for a while because it keeps going over to the next person to add their parts – we’re f**king around with it all the time.”

Paging Dee Snider!  We need some of your PMRC righteous energy to fight this one!

Parents at Eden High School in St. Catharines, Ontario have launched a petition to fire Principal Sharon Burns because she is an Iron Maiden fan. Say what?

More than 500 parents have signed the petition to transfer Burns after she posted a picture of Iron Maiden‘s mascot Eddie, and a hand-drawn picture reading “666” on her school Instagram account.

Here are the details in the petition titled Eden High School Principal, Sharon Burns, Needs To Be Transferred Immediately!:

“As concerned parents with impressionable children at Eden High School in St. Catharines, Ontario, we are deeply disturbed that the principal assigned to the school blatantly showed Satanic symbols and her allegiance to Satanic practices on her public social media platforms where all the students can see them under @edenprincipal (not her personal account).”

“Our school is based on inclusion, and openly displaying Satanic symbols (on a public social media platform) that directly goes against the principles of the vast majority of families who represent the school, is not inclusive. As parents we are demanding her transfer to another school. Please replace her with another principal who aligns with the values of the families at Eden and will not sabotage the teaching or upholding of those values and will not try to introduce impressionable students to Satanic practices or symbolism.”

You gotta love this though – over 22,900 people have signed a NEW petition called We Need Mrs. Burns supporting her Iron Maiden fandom. Irons Up Eden High!!

Help Wanted: Hardworking Rock Stars

40 years ago, Metallica was founded when singer James Hetfield answered drummer Lars Ulrich’s classified ad and ended up with a career that changed his life.

This Labor Day, Carhartt and Metallica’s All Within My Hands’ Metallica Scholars Initiative are taking a page out of the band’s playbook to recruit a new generation of people to the skilled trades as the U.S. faces a labor shortage, especially in live events.

Behind every concert there’s a symphony of carpenters, electricians, laborers, welders, mechanics, painters, and more hardworking folks who make it all happen.

To show just how essential these jobs are, Carhartt and All Within My Hands recruited a few lucky job seekers to a workshop to build a mock Metallica stage piece at Upstaging, Inc., a production company who does shows for some of the biggest names in the music and entertainment business. The below video. “Hard Rock is Hard Work”, provides a look at the various trade jobs in live events that are also transferrable to the larger job market – including welding and fabrication, lighting and electrical, construction, transportation and more.

“To build the workforce of the future, we need to connect more people to the training and education that helps fill essential jobs,” said Janet Ries, VP Marketing at Carhartt. “With our partnership, we’re sending the message that whether you’re in high school looking for a first step, or out of work looking for a new start: come join the skilled trades. What better time to recruit job seekers into these exciting, high-demand opportunities than on Labor Day?”

Carhartt is donating all online sales on Labor Day (Monday, September 6th) to the Metallica Scholars Initiative, providing future opportunities to people interested learning the skilled trades to fill essential, and well paying, jobs.