OZZY OZBORNE fronts Black Sabbath at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre for the first of their Australian shows. Pic: Marc Robertson Source: The Courier-Mail
HEAVY metal originals Black Sabbath opened their Australian tour at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre tonight amid a sea of black T-shirts and a heightened sense of expectation.
Not only have some of their fans been waiting for close to 40 years to see another Black Sabbath tour in Australia featuring founder members Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler, there is a new Rick Rubin-produced album ready for release in June.
On top of that, there is speculation about how Osbourne will cope with a return to the stage after his well-publicised falling off the wagon and climbing back on again.
Guitarist Iommi, whose trademark riffs are one of the founding pillars of heavy metal, is still recovering from lymphoma cancer.
Osbourne's life might have become the stuff of soap opera thanks to his dalliance with reality television, but this return to the fray was a forceful reminder that he and his old chums can still take on all comers in the metal department.
Those classic early albums make up the bulk of the set, which kicked off with War Pigs, worked through Snowblind and all the way to Paranoid, all doomy guitar riffs and Osbourne's even doomier lyrics.
OZZY OZBORNE fronts Black Sabbath at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre for the first of their Australian shows. Pic: Marc Robertson
But this is no take the money and run tour - everyone looks healthy and well preserved, Osbourne's voice is strong, the sound from the stage is loud and clear, and the stage design and lighting well done.
I'm not a Sabbath fan but I enjoyed myself, and part of that is seeing these veterans reunited and triumphing against all the odds.
They left many of the bands who have taken inspiration from them sounding pale in comparison.
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