Life in the old rock monster
Nov 6 2007 By Simon Rushworth, The Journal
Heaven And Hell, Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
IF Meat Loaf can’t hack it at the highest level, then this vibrant group of heavy metal veterans prove there is life in the old rock monster yet.
Ronnie James Dio may be nearer 70 than 60 and yet the diminutive showman delivered a vocal performance so rich in quality and oozing charisma that he calmly restored faith in the long-held belief that nothing beats experience.
A bad week for big names just got better.
Forget Ozzy. This was how Black Sabbath was meant to sound – the ferocity of Tony Iommi’s ice cool chords complementing a tight-as-spandex rhythm section and all playing into the willing hands of that holy diva Dio.
Bar the sketchy opening minutes of
Following hot on the heels of Rush and the fading Meat, staged the night before Foo Fighters and less than a week before Alice Cooper, Lemmy and Joan Jett ride into town, it is just possible this was one fret-busting show too many for cash-strapped punters. Yet those who missed this missed out.
Heaven and Hell – the second coming of Sabbath – were simply immense. There was the Spinal Tap-esque mock stonework and the traditional wall of noise, Dio’s flawless vocals and Iommi’s masterclass in musicianship.
If a 15-minute version of
Young bucks Iced Earth and Lamb of God both heaped lavish praise on Sunday’s headliners towards the end of their respective support slots but it is a measure of modern metal that neither can hold a candle to Dio-era Sabbath.
Thankfully, Iommi insists this line-up of the band will live on. On Sunday’s evidence why the (Heaven and) Hell not?
