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Live Reviews : Black Sabbath & Rival Sons @ Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne 19/04/2016

By on April 20, 2016

Black Sabbath, eh? One of the year’s most hyped shows finally rolls through Melbourne and the anticipation was high to see Ozzy and his cohorts blow the roof off Rod Laver Arena one last time with all the riffs. All of them. Every single one. All thanks to the legend that is guitarist Tony Iommi.

California’s Rival Sons opened the show and really, how do you open for Sabbath? That must be one tough gig but these guys have been doing it the whole tour and it shows. They’re pros. They sound tight. Packed with groovy licks and a voice that wails, Rival Sons opened with Electric Man which seriously packs one hell of a punch. A good choice of opener which they followed with Secret before tearing it up with Pressure & Time which is an absolute pearler of a song. Doesn’t matter whether they’re playing bluesy ballads like Where I’ve Been or heavy jams like Open My Eyes, just think Zeppelin meets The Cult and you’re pretty much on point with Rival Sons. They are all the good things about rock n roll and they’re amazing. They finished their set with Keep On Swinging and by this time the crowd were totally warmed up and ready for what was to come. Seriously, I have to be honest here, 35 minutes is just not long enough for a band with five albums of solid material. I hope they return sooner than later and if you’re still not hip to the sounds of Rival Sons, check them out because you won’t be disappointed.

Only 20 minutes had passed when the lights dropped and the video introduction to Black Sabbath played on the screens signalling that this was it. The room screamed and cheered and you could feel just how amped up the punters were for this defining moment they were lucky to be a part of. A sold out Rod Laver was ready for one last time to go crazy. It was electric. It was insanely awesome. Opening with the track Black Sabbath, they sounded great and let’s be honest, at times Ozzy seemed a little dishevelled and his vocals missed a few notes but did anybody care? Nope. This was Black Sabbath’s last hurrah for Melbourne and everyone was engaged.

Ross Halfin (www.rosshalfin.com)

Ross Halfin (www.rosshalfin.com)

They played a flawless set filled with classics and some hidden gems such as Dirty Women that a few opted to use this time as their toilet break / drink refill missing out on seeing one of their true blessings in disguise as it sounded completely bitchin’. Cuts like After Forever and Hand Of Doom which weren’t played on their last visit here in 2013 were welcomed to much applause while Rat Salad gave time for Ozzy, Geezer and Iommi to take a breather as drummer Tommy Clufetos, who did a solid job by the way, smashed out one huge drum solo. Sure it would have been great to see Bill Ward up there but I don’t think people really cared all that much. Clufetos gave every reason why he should be there and I don’t think Ward would have done the job with this much energy and enthusiasm.

Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler both are masters of their craft with the latter introducing N.I.B. to a thunderous cheer while Iommi’s constant shredding and riffage was just perfect throughout the night. While Ozzy doesn’t stray too far from his teleprompter which honestly doesn’t at all surprise me considering his well-documented past with substances, I’m surprised he remembers what city he’s in, when he’s not singing he is still embracing his audience and loving every minute of it throwing buckets of water over the audience and telling them he loves them. So what if he can’t remember the lyrics to a song he’s been singing at every show he’s ever played for over 40 years, he’s Ozzy Osbourne and nobody cares cos he’s a goddamn legend. Into The Void, Snowblind and Fairies Wear Boots all went down an absolute treat while Children Of The Grave was our warning to “go fucking crazy!” so they’d give us one more song. Which they did as their encore was not surprisingly, Paranoid.

Once again, Ozzy and Co. delivered one huge set of Sabbath awesomeness. Nobody was walking away from this show disappointed. Nobody. Those who did are lying. This show was as awesome as the riffs played on Iommi’s guitar. This was a great way to say goodbye and while yes, it would have been rad to hear a bit more variety in the setlist, I doubt anyone was left feeling cheated.

I feel I was lucky enough to see both Dio Sabbath and Ozzy Sabbath and while personally I like the Dio era more than the Ozzy era, and as sick and tired of hearing Paranoid, War Pigs and Iron Man that I am, it still has to be said that tonight’s show was simply fucking amazing. Thankyou. The End.

Catch Black Sabbath on their remaining Australian tour dates. Tickets from Live Nation Australia. 

Saturday, 23rd April – Sydney @ Allphones Arena
Mondya, 25th April – Brisbane @ Entertainment Centre