I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many gigs I have been to in my life. It numbers in the hundreds. Maybe even more. But there are only a handful that I have really, truly anticipated. To finally get the opportunity to see Ronnie James Dio, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Vinny Appice on a stage was something I was not going to miss out on. These guys are the stuff of legend and as each day was creeping closer to the gig’s date, the anticipation was growing. I’ve never had the chance to witness any incarnation of Black Sabbath and the last time this version of the band permeated our our shores was 1980 and I’d only be guessing when the original Ozzy-led line-up where here.
Still, given a choice on seeing the original line-up or the Dio-era one - I’d much prefer the latter! Easy! This is the Black Sabbath I grew up and loved as a kid. I vividly remember clutching a copy of the ‘Heaven & Hell’ album and copying the cover in art class. I still have that drawing somewhere. To this day, nearly 30 years later - this record ranks as one of my fave albums of all time. I still play it constantly to this day without fail.
But I digress, as I am want to do when excitedly talking about this band. The day finally arrived. I was finally going to see Black Sabbath! Sure, the official monicker is Heaven & Hell, but all legalities and Sharon Osbourne bullshit aside… these guys have every right to call themselves Black Sabbath.
As the evil and creepy tones of the opening music ‘E5150? came to a close, and seeing Iommi and Butler storm the stage with the diminutive Ronnie James Dio in tow - I totally lost it! Fists pumping in the air, howling out ‘SABBATH!!!’ in pure abandon - I was finally seeing my heroes! I couldn’t even tell you the last time I had this sort of reaction at a gig. These days I like to just sit it out and enjoy a show, but for Sabbath, it seems everyone was on their feet singing along every single word of every song.
The band were simply astounding. Playing material from the Dio era of the band comprising of the ‘Heaven & Hell’, ‘Mob Rules’, ‘Dehumanizer’ and ‘The Dio Years’ compilation - they sounded superb. Dio in particular was in breathtaking form. His vocals were perfect. Never missing a solitary note and showing all young upstarts just how to do it. The new track ‘Shadow In The Wind’ sounded menacingly surreal live, with Iommi’s riff just tearing Rod Laver Arena to shreds!
Tony Iommi has practically written some of the greatest riffs the Metal genre has ever heard. Coolly he stood on his side of the stage and just oozed magic and charisma from his persona and guitar. Gold cross hanging from his neck - just like it has in nearly every single picture I’ve seen of the man from the beginning. His playing was sublime and all held magically together by Geezer Butler & Vinny Appice.
I had the time of my life. It was truly a fabulous night and one I’m taking to the grave!
Vox Populi
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