Heavy metal fans of all ages were witness to a truly memorable moment in music history on ANZAC day, as hard rock legends Black Sabbath took the stage in their (almost) original lineup, for their first Australian show in nearly 40 years.
Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler; these are names synonymous with the foundations upon which heavy metal was built, and for most Australian fans, the idea of witnessing these three English gents on stage at one time became nothing more than an unattainable pipe dream long ago.
The night begins with tour support Shihad – the native New Zealand post-grunge outfit who had some hugely popular songs in the mid-90s.
They opened with ‘Screwtop’, a track from their debut album, and at this point there is more movement from the photographers than the crowd; it is clear that this audience have no interest in watching their set.
They try their hardest to lure the crowd into clapping along in unison on more than one occasion but they just don’t bite – even after an ANZAC day dedication… maybe it was the over-choreographed performance.
However, it is somewhat reassuring to see that Shihad have stuck to their roots and still sound exactly as they did 10 years ago. Now lets face it, these guys are talented, and they have some cool tracks – ‘My Mind Sedate’ (undoubtedly their most popular song) got a reassuring cheer, but still, they had no place opening for a band of such caliber as Black Sabbath.
After a very short setlist, the curtain came down and within 30 minutes the audience grew from 1/3 full to its near 13,500 capacity, all the while being teased by light projections of the iconic winged demon image associated with the Black Sabbath logo.
The room goes dark and an air raid siren starts. The curtain is raised to reveal frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, and bassist Geezer Butler, along with tour drummer Tommy Clufetos (Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie), replacing Bill Ward.
Iommi looks as smooth as ever with his trademark glasses, black jacket, and a cross worn around his neck; completing the picture with his ever-present blood-red Gibson SG electric guitar. Osbourne wears a floor-length coat which he later removes to reveal a long-sleeved black shirt emblazoned with what appears to be a torso-sized skull, outlined with diamantes.
The stage backdrop is displaying projections of wartime imagery, and Osbourne takes the time to announce “I love all of you!” before Butler launches into the unmistakable bass riff for ‘War Pigs’, from the 1970 release: Paranoid.
Iommi’s guitar part for this track sends the entire crowd into a mind-melting eargasm, scaling every inch of his fretboard and delivering one of rocks greatest guitar solos without even a hint of difficulty. It is very clear from here on that this show will be every bit as awe-inspiring as expected.
The band breeze through the next hour and a half smashing out six-minute classics including ‘Black Sabbath’ and ‘N.I.B’ from their self-titled debut album, before Osbourne disappears from the stage and leaves the rest of the band to strut through an instrumental version of ‘Symptom Of The Universe’.
Two minutes or so into the instrumental, Iommi and Butler stop playing and leave the stage. The lights narrow to Clufetos, now alone on stage, who proceeds to blow the collective mind of all present with a six minute drum solo, proving to everyone that he was the best choice for this highly anticipated tour.
The quartet then reunite on stage and jump immediately into ‘Iron Man’, another cut from the band’s second (and most iconic) album Paranoid.
Throughout the show, Osbourne often interacts with the crowd with a lot of “I love you”s and “god bless you”s, and manages to get the entire 10,000+ audience clapping along in unison on a few songs – a feat attempted without success by their opening act.
But let’s face it, when the Prince of Darkness tells you to “clap your fucking hands!”, you clap your fucking hands.
‘Dirty Women’, from the 1976 release Technical Ecstasy, sent more than a few punters mental – during the song a bra was thrown on stage, which Osbourne initially strapped to his chest, before deciding that it might look better wrapped around his head.
Before the show came to an end, we were treated to a very special encore that made the perfect ending to a perfect show: ‘Paranoid’. Brilliant!
The set list for tonight’s show was impressive to say the least; the focus was more on the band’s first two albums, with a few thrown in from their new album 13. The stage presence was unbelievable – Geezer’s spectacular bass lines melded beautifully with Iommi’s hypnotic riffs, and the sound – like a fine wine – has only gotten better with age.
Setlist:
- War Pigs
- Into the Void
- Under the Sun
- Snowblind
- Electric Funeral
- Black Sabbath
- Behind the Wall of Sleep
- N.I.B.
- End of the Beginning
- Fairies Wear Boots
- Symptom of the Universe (Instrumental)
- Drum Solo
- Iron Man
- God Is Dead?
- Dirty Women
- Children of the Grave
Encore - Paranoid (“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” intro)
