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Live Reviews : Black Sabbath & Rival Sons @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane 25/04/2016

By on April 26, 2016
Photo by Ross Halfin (www.rosshalfin.com)

Photo by Ross Halfin (www.rosshalfin.com)

There are many times in life when you know you are witnessing or being a part of something special, and for a large amount of fans, the 25 April 2016 will stand in their memories as one of those moments. This was a moment in which pioneers of what we would come to term as ‘metal’, and idols to many fans worldwide would perform not only their final ever show in Brisbane, but also in Australia as part of a farewell tour that the band had fittingly dubbed The End.

I’m not really a fan of attending the Brisbane Entertainment Centre as a venue because I prefer more intimate settings, but to witness Black Sabbath perform one final time was enough to get at the venue two hours before the doors opened. There was a snaking line inside the venue camping out at the internal doors waiting to be let down into the floor area, and when the doors did open people spilled down the stairs to the front barrier. The place was filling out nicely 45 minutes before the support band took the stage in anticipation for what was going to be a good night.

Before the Brisbane crowd could witness The End of the heavyweight titans of the metal world, support act Rival Sons had the ultimate honour in warming the stage and crowd up. Having heard nothing of them before, I was pleasantly surprised with what followed. The band performed a classic style of rock n’ roll which incorporated some very blues heavy riffs and came out with something that sounded very accessible.

I’m just going to come out and say that the timbre and tremolo on frontman’s Jay Buchanan’s voice is ridiculous, and I mean that in a good sense. This wasn’t the sort of singing voice that you would usually encounter, and it almost feels criminal that someone could sound so good that they instantly command the attention of the crowd. Their set had a very eclectic vibe about it, and I don’t think that the guitarist used the same guitar for any two songs, but this is a band you can tell have serious talent and it became apparently really quickly why they were chosen as support for this world tour. With the exception of the stylistic differences between the band and the headliner, I thought that the band fit quite well, and even with the hecklers in the crowd, they kept their composure and put on a performance which was truly fitting for their headlining act.

As the lights dimmed to signal that The End was upon us the crowd erupted and continued on screaming throughout a giant CGI video of the devil causing complete destruction until the moment that Ozzy Osbourne sprinted out on stage, with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and drummer Tommy Clufetos bringing up the rear. The band then began with ‘Black Sabbath’ to begin their 90 minute long journey of their back catalogue, which read like the pages of a metal history book.

I have to admit that the Ozzy Osbourne that performed tonight was so far removed from the last time I saw the band during their ‘13’ tour. Back then, it seemed like the set was a struggle and there was a sunken, almost disinterested look about the frontmans demeanour for the whole-set. Here however, it looked like he had borrowed some power from the Energizer bunny and was running around to incite cheers of appreciation from the crowd, making jovial remarks to lighten the mood and give the fans a reason to laugh, taking the time to ask the crowd how the band was sounding, but what impressed me the most was his voice. Let’s just say that the vocal performance this time around was impeccably tight and difficult to flaw – even with the harshness that years can give, he still gave a performance which was worthy of the earliest recordings for the band. It’s a shame that this is their last tour, because I don’t think I have seen videos or heard the man in such a fine form for a very long time.

While we are on the topic of form, if there is ever another guitarist with as much style, elegance and grace as Tony Iommi, then that person will clearly be the next torchbearer for their genre of music. Not only does Iommi make everything like so damn simple, but he does it with what appears to be little effort, all the while exuding this aura of immense humility which instantly makes you gravitate towards him. There is no theatrics with what he does, and there doesn’t need to be, as his performance is nothing short of flawless. The occasional nod and thankyou to the crowd in front of his position on stage is all that is needed and it’s this compassionate side heightens the everlasting appeal of this maestro.

The setlist covered pretty much everything that you would want to hear from a Black Sabbath show, with obvious crowd favourites ‘War Pigs’, ‘Fairies Wear Boots’, and ‘Snowblind’ all receiving thunderous cheers and chants. The vibe of the night felt was so far removed from every other show I have been to, almost as if acknowledging that this was a moment of great importance for everyone present. Even the crowd was more respectful towards each other than normal, with only the occasional tussle occurring towards the front (an obvious by-product of combining so many musical generations together, and a desire to be right at the very front), but apart from that, it was an occasion which appeared enjoyed by all.

Probably the only thing that didn’t sit right with me for the whole set was the Drum Solo. Not because it wasn’t amazing (because it was), but because it dragged on. I peeked a glance over at the camera of someone recording the solo, and the timer was at the 5 minute mark around half way in. Honestly, I commend Clufetos for his endurance (because what he did was would have been like running in a marathon), but the thing that really got me was that it just kept going. Every time you thought it was finished, he would start back up again.

Following the solo, as the penultimate treat for the night, the crowd got to witness ‘Iron Man’, ‘Dirty Women’ and ‘Children of the Grave’ which all garnered massive responses from the crowd. Ozzy then told the crowd “I want to see you all go fucking crazy” as the band launched into ‘Paranoid’ one final time on Australian soil. This of course made the crowd go absolutely mental and what followed was truly some of the greatest minutes that I have ever experienced in my time attending live music shows.

As the band left the stage for the final time in Brisbane, with the lights coming up and the patrons spilling out of the venue, the reality set in that this really was The End and that the last Sabbath show in not only Brisbane, but Australia, had finished. This may be The End of the metal titans touring in our fine country – and eventually touring full-stop – but no matter what happens, their music, their legacy and the genre that they pioneered and laid before their feet, will continue to live on, and those who were at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre tonight were treated to a historic moment in metal history.

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