Concert review: Heaven and Hell (aka Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio)
Last night a few of the Metalbloggers took a break from watching Dancing with the Stars and decided to catch Heaven & Hell during their San Jose, CA visit. Also on the bill were Machinehead and Megadeth.
Due to some KILLER garlic-pesto fries at the Tied House Brewery, we missed all of Machinehead and 90% of Megadeth. But what we saw was amazing. We walked in just as they were starting to play ‘Symphony of Destruction’, followed-up by ‘Peace Sells’. We don’t know how the show was up until this point. Can’t say we really care. Dave still has it. However, we have one comment to make about how they wrapped up their set. Mustaine was blowing kisses to the crowd and letting everyone know how grateful he was to everyone for coming and how, if he could, he would like to give everyone at the show a kitten. A word of advice to Dave: MAN UP, DUDE!!
Ok so Heaven and Hell. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a huge Sabbath fan. Let alone a Dio-era Sabbath fan. But it was cool to listen to some LIVE classic metal in an arena setting. Ronnie, Tony, Geezer and one of the Appice’s (not sure which — I think they’re interchangeable) on drums are Metal Gods, no doubt. I was able to get into the show, even though I didn’t know a single song. Duke swears that I must’ve heard ‘Mob Rules’ at some point in my life. So, when they played it I was determined to remember it. But..I didn’t. Sorry Duke.
I would say that we stuck it out for at least 50% of their performance. The songs are friggen long (upwards of 8 minutes). In between songs Ronnie would baptize fans in the front row by placing his devil horns (hands) against people’s horns in the crowd. I’ve seen him do this before. I still don’t know what to make of it. One the one hand, it’s awesome, right? He came up with the devil horn gesture. On the other hand….in person, he’s this little dude….in his 50’s or 60’s. Then again…I’m pissed since he didn’t baptize me when I saw him with Maiden and Motorhead in ‘04. That’s right RON. I haven’t forgotten how you forsaken me. I was RIGHT THERE MAN! You baptized dudes to my left and to my right, but not me…not me.
Ok, back on track. So the tunes ran way long and we pretty much lost interest. It’s true. We weren’t alone. The crowd thinned out pretty early. Especially since there was no indication that they’d belt out ‘Rainbow in the Dark’ or ‘Holy Diver’.
We’re glad we caught the show. It’s probably a once in a lifetime thing to catch this Sabbath line-up. But their flavor of Metal doesn’t hold up to what’s out there now. If you’re a nostalgic (that means ‘Pussy’) metal fan, then you should catch the tour when it comes to your town. If you’re a metal fan living in the present….Best to pass it up and wait for Lamb of God, Marilyn Manson or Hellyeah to hit the road.
“Mustaine was blowing kisses to the crowd and letting everyone know how grateful he was to everyone for coming and how, if he could, he would like to give everyone at the show a kitten.” - WTF???? Thought this was a METAL show, not Lilithfaire!
Not sure how you can be a metal fan and not like at least the original Sabbath. You wanted Rainbow in the Dark? WTF?
sabbath sucks.
To Chris: Hey man, I can LOVE Metal without being a fan of Sabbath. I like stuff like Paranoid, Iron Man, Suicide Solution (was that Sabbath or Ozzy?). You get my point. I appreciate them for the ground they broke. But I have to say that they don’t compare to the bands of today. It was tough sitting through a few of those songs that just wouldn’t end.
It is incredibly unfair to critique a concert when you don’t even know the music or understand the history of the band or even the current tour. I promise you on both my balls that Marilyn Manson, Lamb of God etc. will not be doing shows 20+ years after their marginal success today. Gauranteed! They just are not doing anything new or remotely inventive. You cannot compare today metal with the metal creators - the metal gods like Dio. You should simply consider yourself honored to witness the creators of what you now enjoy about metal without these old rockers you would be watching American Idol and dancing around like the nervous little school girl pesto fry eating bitch that you are in gleeful anticipation of next idols talentless release.
I concur with AlienAgenda. Carrying the concept further…The lineage is Sabbath, Piest and Maiden.. All others (Manson, LOG, Slipknot, and others) are derived from the orignial creators of metal. Ask any 1980s, 1990s or 2000 metal band who thier major influences were and I’d bet Sabbath would be mentioned on thier list someplace. Your opinion asside, it’s ok not to like sabbath or Dio for that matter. If you know anything about metal though, you’d have to acknowledge thier contributions to the genre.
Ok AlienAgenda and ihatemorons…I have nothing but respect for what Sabbath/Heaven & Hell have done for the metal world. If it weren’t for them bands like Priest and Maiden probably wouldn’t have been born. But the fact here is the show was somewhat boring. I’m sure that 99% of the crowd was there to be taken back in time to 1982 (or whatever). But since I skipped Sabbath during my younger years and jumped into Maiden and AC/DC, I wasn’t able to vibe like everyone else.
Just my opinion. I’m glad you both found your way to our site. \m/ \m/
ANYONE who says Sabbath sucks must be some young teenage punk. Most of today’s metal sucks. You can’t even understand what they are singing about. I have followed Sabbath since the early 70’s and NO ONE comes close. Most people who say such things just want attention; grow up and shut up!
anyone who says sabbath sucks and that you should wait for lamb of god is a moron. And by the way Megadeth put out on of the best metal albums of all time aka “rust in peace.”I saw the show in Dallas 2 nights ago and everything was amazing. Iommi’s guitar tone was a bit thin though.
Thanks for letting us rant Joeb0923. You would think you insulted us directly with the rash of brutal posts. I am going to the show in Cincy on the 8th. and will post again afterwards. Granted, I am going hoping to see the Dio of old and I am a bit biased, but I will try to offer an impartial review.
Its over, its done
The end is begun
If you listen to fools…
The mob rules
AlienA
LOL… How funny to see you guys talk shit….
~BLACK SABBATH
Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules is one album that has stood the test of time. Some albums take a while to grow on you, like an appreciation for wine. When I first heard Mob Rules many years ago, I didn’t like it too much, but I kept coming back to it. Dehumanizer is another album which must eventually get its due recognition. I respect the viewers opinion though, he wrote the review with the knowledge he had at the time. PS. Pesto garlic fries, that sounds yummy!
Marilyn Manson?? LMAO! Who’s the pussy here?
This guy is a douchebag!!!
Only a true douchebag refers to others as douchebags. Try and come up with something more clever. Go with “DB”. That way, you still get to use the only put-down you know AND you get to keep people guessing. “DB, what’s a DB?” Man, I just totally did you a favor. Now, go and be a good DB on someone else’s blog.
Marlyn Manson LOL. That guy looks like a 15 year old Korean whore or a French mime, either way he looks like an asshole. I’m not surprised that some who claims Sabbath as “pussy metal” likes a man dressed in drag. The song Black Sabbath is heavy metal, EVERYTHING else is JUST an interpretation. As it was the first heavy metal song. And who the fuck is “Hellyeah”?