OK , lets get one thing straight , I have been following this band in its many guises from day one( aged 13 and my first album , PARANOID ) I lived , breathed and **** Black Sabbath for 26yrs , obviously by now you can see where this review is going , however , im gonna be honest and remain true to the reader , It was amazing , unreal , best live band of 07 , but you knew I was going to say that didn’t you ?

click Tony for more pictures

To watch Tony Iommi casually stroll onto the stage , look up , smile , then blow your mind with the intro to mob rules , is truly something to behold , it has been written a million times that he’s the grandfather of the heavy metal riff , the don , whatever you wish to call him , he is quite simply the master , a couple of shots of Iommi later and a glance to my left I find geezer standing at the back of the stage pounding on his bass , these pair haven’t changed ,sure their hair is shorter and obviously older , but it’s the same , the graveyard set swamps the rear of the stage , lit with deep reds and electric blues , rought iron fencing surround the stacks , the drum kit is centre and placed high , im back in my twenties , its deja vu……Ronnie James takes to the stage , the elf like figure brandishes the devil horns , the crowd respond , no matter what lead singer or band member shows you them horns remember one thing , it all came from this little powerhouse , his voice doesn’t miss a beat , its sharp and crisp , totally the opposite of poor old ozzy at the NEC this year , but im not gona go there , I love that man !!!!!!

Ronnie prowls the stage as always, a true rock icon, again though, he looks the same and remarkably well, there’s a lot to be said for the life of sex drugs and rock n roll!!!......

Sign of the southern cross , falling of the edge of the world , lady evil , children of the sea , voodoo , it’s the dio years and both myself and the crowd are loving it , however , at this point I do need to mention the crowd , not a good turn out for Birmingham and even worse in Nottingham .

Sitting high at the back is the ever dependable Vinnie Appice , who still delivers a very good drum solo although very predictable and a kind of going through the motions so the front 3 can take a break type of thing , I still enjoy him though ,they finally start to bring the excellent show to a close with die young and heaven and hell , at this point the upper light rig lowers and performs all sorts of tricks , and with the encore , the classic neon knights , a good night is had by all .

This band have been around a long time , through good times and bad ,but in my opinion they are like a bottle of 50yr old martell cognac , its got better with its age .

I have to apologize for this slightly bias review but for me, they have been a major part of my life and this boy is no Judas!!!.......

Leave me your feedback, get in touch james@rock3music.com …I will get back to you.
……..all the best …………James