Repost: I tell you one thing: as a kid, if I’d gone up to trick or treat at a house and Elvira answered the door … I would have been pretty, ah, scared. Looking at the photo, I’m pretty sure I would have the same reaction today.
Black Sabbath is back – almost. Earlier this year the original lineup of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward announced they would be making a new album and touring this year. However, guitarist Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma for which he’s required treatment and drummer Ward has stayed away due to contractual issues. So they’ve drastically scaled back any touring plans.
Instead of a full-fledged Sabbath tour, people in Europe are going to get a few dates and the group – with replacement drummer Tommy Clufetos – will make its only North America appearance this year at Lollapalooza, in Chicago. Gearing up for an appearance June 10 at the U.K. Download Festival, Sabbath played a warmup show recently at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, England. Here’s “Iron Man” from that show.
Many people will be celebrating this weekend – Passover, Easter or just two or three days off from work. Let us be the first to welcome you to the weekend … here are some hard rockin’ tunes to help get you in the right mood.
This is what all the speculation was about … Black Sabbath, with original members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, announced today they are recording a new album with mega-producer Rick Rubin at the helm. Then, in June or so of next year, they will begin a world tour. And to think I almost purchased Roger Waters tickets today. Awesome!
You can see a short video from today’s news conference here.
Ozzy Osbourne gave us our money's worth in Houston
Under a nearly full moon, Ozzy Osbourne came to Houston near the beginning of his 2011 tour and thankfully the big white night light was the only moon we saw last night at Toyota Center. Last time we saw Ozzy, in 2007 during Ozzfest, he mooned the crowd after one of his ballads. But he didn’t have to do that Tuesday night – he turned in a 2-hour-or-so set heavy on the Black Sabbath classics that satisfied pretty much everyone in attendance.
At age 62, the Ozzman seems to be in pretty good shape, remaining in motion during his entire time on stage. When he wasn’t singing he was egging on the audience – “Let me see your hands, you f**kers!” – and doing his clapping-side-straddle-hop thing like some deranged heavy metal high school gym coach.
Watch out for that foam-shooting fire hose!
Nice to hear some lesser-known Ozzy classics, like “Shot In The Dark” and “Road To Nowhere” (from his album No More Tears). It was even more nice to hear six Sabbath classics, including “Fairies Wear Boots,” “Rat Salad” and “Into The Void” alongside the more predictable “Iron Man,” “War Pigs” and of course “Paranoid.” Ozzy doesn’t so much sing as he sort of screams, so when his voice is off it’s only until he can hit that hand-waving chorus.
It helps that Osbourne has behind him a stellar metal band, including his long-time bassist Blasko and veteran keyboard whiz Adam Wakeman (son of Rick, from Yes). Drummer Tommy Clufetos is new – he played with Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie, among others – and sizzling guitarist Gus G. is now scaling the fretboard in place of Zakk Wylde. They get their spotlight time to give Ozzy a rest, but the 10-minute keyboard/guitar/drum solo fest was pretty much the only time Osbourne was off stage.
Dripping wet from his foam firehose and buckets of water that he dumped over his head, Ozzy ripped into the homestretch of his show with “I Don’t Want To Change The World” and “Crazy Train” then just stayed on stage for the encore, “Mama I’m Coming Home” and closer “Paranoid.”
Worshipping at the feet of guitar god Slash
The night was a solid package, particularly with ex-Guns n’ Roses guitarist Slash and his band serving as opening act. Starting their set a full 10 minutes before the listed opening time, the band – with singer Myles Kennedy, moonlighting from his regular band Alter Bridge – offered up selections from Slash’s 2010 solo record as well as Velvet Revolver and Guns favorites. You can’t beat the knockout punch of “Nightrain,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” the Velvets’ “Slither” and finally “Paradise City.” What an opener!
At a time when dollars are dear and concerts tend to fall low on the list of normal priorities, it’s nice to see veterans like Ozzy Osbourne and Slash giving some bang for your buck. They turn in a spirited show, leaving pretty much everyone satisfied. Even without Ozzy’s “moon” I got my money’s worth.
Slash setlist: Ghost/Sucker Train Blues/Mr. Brownstone/Back From Cali/Rocket Queen/Nothing To Say/By The Sword/Nightrain/Sweet Child O’ Mine/Slither/Paradise City
Ozzy setlist: Bark At The Moon/Let Me Hear You Scream/Mr. Crowley/I Don’t Know/Fairies Wear Boots (Black Sabbath cover)/Suicide Solution/Road To Nowhere/War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)/Fire In The Sky/Shot In The Dark/Rat Salad (Black Sabbath cover; Gus G. & Tommy Clueftos solo spots)/Iron Man (Black Sabbath cover)/Flying High Again/I Don’t Want To Change The World/Into The Void (Black Sabbath cover)/Crazy Train/Mama, I’m Coming Home/Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover)
Tonight Ozzy Osbourne plays Houston’s Toyota Center, as part of the second leg on his Scream 2011 tour. Opening act Slash promises to bring some Guns n’ Roses fire, and Ozzy has been performing Black Sabbath classics like “Iron Man,” “War Pigs,” “Fairies Wear Boots” and of course “Paranoid.”
We’ll be there, sounds like a fun night. So, to celebrate Ozzy’s visit to our fair city, why don’t we take a listen to some of I Am Ozzy, the autobiography’s audio book – read by Frank Skinner.
REPOST: Another one we get requests for, believe it or not.
Santa Claus is an embodiment for Satan. Have you noticed he is all about Desires? Give up the desires of the flesh and repent of your sins! Ha, ha, not really … I got that off a religious website. What are these dudes smokin’?
Santa is not Satan – in fact, he’s the anti-Satan. I know, because I saw this movie on TV once, Santa Claus, and it was made in Mexico. Lucifer was pissed at Santa for some reason so he sent his emissary, Pitch … look at the clip below, that’s Pitch doing an interpretive Evil ballet. He and those other devils dancing around, they look kind of … ah, flaming. There were no masked wrestlers around to foil Lucifer’s Evil plan, so Santa had to do it.
Anyhow. The thing is, even at a time like Christmas when we’re supposed to love or like (or pretend to like) each other, Satan’s in there doing his Evil work. Always one to piss on a parade, Satan wants to ruin Christmas for everyone because he’s just so Evil. Santa does his best, but he needs your help in stopping Satan’s mischief this year. You gotta know where to look for Satan, because he’s a master of disguise.
Heavy metal superstar Ronnie James Dio has died, according to a statement from his wife Wendy. Dio, 67, was being treated at Houston’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for stomach cancer. He is of course the lead vocalist for Black Sabbath (replacing Ozzy Osbourne), and the bands Heaven and Hell, Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow and his own group Dio. He is also credited with inventing the “devil horns” hand sign. Throw some horns tonight, and remember the great Ronnie James Dio.
You sorta knew we were gonna get here, didn’t you? Today we sail into heavy metal seas with our friends Black Sabbath and their 1975 release Sabotage. Believe it or not, when Black Sabbath first appeared in 1970 they were universally recognized as one of the better imitators of peers Led Zeppelin. But after their debut Sabbath went in a completely different direction, and along the way invented heavy metal.
Sabotage came at an interesting juncture for Ozzy Osbourne and Co. Sabbath had already become world famous (thanks to Paranoid and “Iron Man”), they experimented with progressive rock (Vol. 4) and became recognized riff-meisters (thanks to guitarist Tony Iommi’s work on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath). So on Sabotage, their sixth album, the newly evolved Black Sabbath retrenched a bit to their meat-and-potatoes headbanging with killer riffs and (slightly) more mature lyrics.
Osbourne has never been much of a singer, but he presides over everything here with his trademark earnestness. That goofy cluelessness is just a put-on – Ozzy’s actually a pretty shrewd showman. “Thrill Of It All” is a perfect place to jump in on Black Sabbath: it has one killer riff after another, and just enough extra filigree (subtle synth shading) to make it sound up to date (for 1975). Iommi’s solos aren’t too far removed from Jimmy Page’s, and he helps himself out by providing some fine rhythm guitar backing.
“Megalomania” is also pretty decent, despite its nearly 10-minute length. Here drummer Bill Ward shines – and when you get to the multi-tracked guitar assault from Iommi toward song’s end you realize this is the beginning of the path that would eventually lead us to Metallica and Megadeth. Likewise with “Symptom Of The Universe” – but you don’t have to wait eight minutes to get those crunching riffs. Iommi begins “Symptom” with a volley of warning shots that’s only a harbinger of the fun to come. Actually, I think Ozzy turns in one of his best-ever vocals on this song.
