Last night (May 12th) at a Los Angeles press conference, it was announced that metal festivals Ozzfest and Knotfest were merging for one massive double bill in on September 24th and 25th. The 20th anniversary of Ozzfest (24th) will feature the final California appearance of metal legends Black Sabbath and Knotfest will feature Slipknot as headliners.

Speaking with Billboard, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Sharon Osbourne discussed the upcoming show. In the following excerpt, Ozzy discusses the changes in metal, and the genre’s future.

Billboard: Talk about how you have watched metal change.

Ozzy: “What’s interesting, some of this new metal, it’s very angry and aggressive. It’s punk meets metal meets some futuristic thing. When Slipknot first came out I thought, “What the f--- is this?” But they had a lot of energy and a lot of attitude and that’s what kids like, the attitude of a lot of these bands. Some of it may go a bit over my head, but then there must be something to it cause they’re on festivals.”

Billboard: How important is it to see metal left in good hands?

Ozzy: “I just get on with it. I’m not stopping, Terry is not stopping, we’re just stopping Sabbath. We’re not gonna sit in our rocking chairs and look at our scrapbook. We’ll still be involved in the music scene, that’s what we’ve always done. It’s been the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Read the full interview at Billboard.com.

This merger of two of the most well-known and established brands in rock - Ozzfest, celebrating its 20th anniversary, and Knotfest, which debuted in 2012 - is set for Saturday, September 24th (Ozzfest) and Sunday, September 25th (Knotfest) at San Manuel Amphitheater and Festival Grounds in San Bernardino, CA. Tickets for the Live Nation-produced Ozzfest Meets Knotfest - a multi-stage, two-day weekend camping event with more than 40 acts - go on sale Friday, May 20th at 10:00 AM (PT) at Ozzfest.com and Knotfest.com. All the details and line-ups (below) were revealed at a major press conference today (Thursday, May 12th) at the Palladium in Hollywood, CA.

Saturday's Ozzfest will be headlined by Black Sabbath - marking their last Southern California performance as part of the band's final tour - and Sunday's Knotfest bill is topped by the festival's namesake, Slipknot. On hand at the press conference were Ozzfest founder Ozzy Osbourne and Slipknot's Corey Taylor and M. Shawn Crahan (aka Clown). The event began with a movie screening, followed by a Q&A session with artists from the Ozzfest Meets Knotfest bill and concluded with a performance from Zakk Sabbath, led by Zakk Wylde.

"We are here to create havoc and history," says Ozzy Osbourne. "Let the madness begin..."

"This could be the one of the coolest things I've ever been a part of," says Corey Taylor of Slipknot. "Starting out as an Ozzfest band, coming into our own with Knotfest and now combining forces to make a little metal history...it was meant to be and I'm proud to be a part of it."

"Playing with Black Sabbath is always an honor,"Shawn "Clown" Crahan of Slipknot exclaims. "Merging both festivals will be a legendary experience that will be life-changing for all fans. We are excited to bring all the families together again."

"We want it to be the loudest, biggest, dirtiest festival in California. We couldn't be happier," says Sharon Osbourne.

"The impact of Ozzfest on heavy music and on Slipknot, cannot be underestimated," says Cory Brennan, President, 5B Artist Management. "For 20 years Ozzfest has given fans their first glimpse at bands like Slipknot, Disturbed and countless others, but also bringing new fans and bands together every year. Ozzfest inspired Slipknot to continue this vital tradition with Knotfest, and it's an honor to celebrate our genre alongside them in 2016."

The San Manuel Amphitheater and Festival Grounds is where Ozzfest - the event that launched the U.S. hard rock festival market and went on to tour the world--began in 1996 and where Knotfest last year took over the San Bernardino, CA venue and expanded into a camping festival. There's also a longtime history between the two namesakes of the events, with Slipknot appearing at Ozzfest in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2013 at the inaugural Ozzfest Japan.

The Ozzfest Meets Knotfest 2016 line-up is as follows, with both Ozzfest and Knotfest dedicating a stage in honor of their departed comrade Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead.

Ozzfest line-up:

Saturday, September 24th

Main Stage
Black Sabbath
Disturbed
Megadeth
Opeth
Black Label Society
Rival Sons

Lemmy Stage
Children of Bodom
Hatebreed
DevilDriver
Goatwhore
Huntress
Dead Cross

Nuclear Blast Stage
Municipal Waste
Kataklysm
Nails
The Shrine
Still Rebel

Knotfest line-up:

Sunday, September 25th

Main Stage
Slipknot
Slayer
Amon Amarth
Anthrax
Trivium

Lemmy Stage
Sabaton
Suicide Silence
Overkill
Emmure
Butcher Babies
Man with A Mission

Nuclear Blast Stage
Whitechapel
Combichrist
Death Angel
SIM
ONI

Beyond the music, each day Ozzfest Meets Knotfest festival-goers will encounter a wide variety of attractions throughout the expansive site. Initial onsite daily activities include a Monster Truck Arena, Carnival Thrill Rides, Massive Fire Displays, Flaming Carnival Games, The Thunderdome Battle Arena, an 85 Person Traveling Troupe of Freaks, a Carnival Midway with Games of Chance, Vendor Village, Food Trucks and Craft Beer, with 50 Foot Tall x 75 Foot Wide Image-Mapped Video Walls flanking the Main Stage, with more exciting developments to be announced in the coming months.

A variety of Ozzfest Meets Knotfest ticketing and camping packages are available. Single day tickets range from $25.00 for GA lawn to $39.50-$149.50 for reserved seats, with GA pit passes starting at $99.00 for Sunday and $149.00 Saturday. Weekend passes range from $40.00 for GA lawn to $69.00-$239.00 for reserved seats, and $239.00 for GA pit passes. VIP packages start at $249.00 for VIP Lounge; options include the Ultimate Slipknot VIP Experience at $1,000.00, the Black Sabbath M&G Package at $1250 and the Ultimate Ozzy Osbourne Experience at $2500. Camping selections include Tent Camping for $150.00 and RV Camping for $250.00. Additional details on camping and ticketing options can be found at Ozzfest.com and Knotfest.com.