Sunday, 6 July 2025

Back To The Beginning - Brief Thoughts


Yesterday I watched the live stream of Black Sabbath's final concert at Aston Villa's stadium in Birmingham. I'm no expert in writing music reviews, so I'll just write a few thoughts.

There were 12 support groups and various supergroups made up of famous musicians. Each group played a cover song of Black Sabbath or Ozzy Osbourne. The show was hosted by Jason Momoa.

1. Mastodon

I knew their name, but I don't think I've ever listened to them. The music was fantastic. I'll definitely check them out in the next few days.

2. Rival Sons

This is another group I didn't know. I was less impressed. Their music isn't bad, but I have no interest in listening to them again.

3. Anthrax

Anthrax is one of my favourite groups, but I've always found their studio albums better than their live performances.

4. Halestorm

I used to listen to Halestorm a lot ten years ago. Their performance was great. I need to follow them again.

5. Lamb of God

Lamb of God is a group I've always liked, but their performance yesterday blew me away. Incredible.

6. Supergroup A

Five songs were played with rotating members, all songs by Black Sabbath and Ozzy. A surprise appearance for the fifth song was made by Yungblud, who hadn't been announced in the program. I didn't know him, but evidently he was well known to the crowd, because he was booed when he came on stage. Then he sang "Changes" so convincingly that he won the crowd over. He has a terrific voice, but let's be honest: "Changes" is a ballad, not a rock song. I checked out his songs on YouTube this morning, and he's not a rock musician. Not even close. His participation was probably kept secret because they knew he'd be unpopular.

7. Jack Black

This wasn't a live performance. It was a video shown in the arena. Jack Black did an incredible performance of "Mr. Crowley".

8. Alice in Chains

I like some of their songs more than others, but their on-stage performance today was great.

9. Gojira

I've been listening to Gojira a lot lately. They were terrific on stage.

10. Supergroup B

Eight songs were played with rotating members. I'm surprised that Ronnie Wood was invited. He's never been a good guitarist. I was amazed by Travis Barker. I've never been overly keen on Blink-182, but he's an incredible drummer.

11. Pantera

Pantera is a group I've never liked much, but they were excellent today. Jason Momoa went into the mosh pit and did crowd-surfing.

12. Tool

At the risk of offending their fans: Tool isn't a live group. Tool is a group to listen to at home with headphones. They did a terrific version of "Hand of Doom", but that isn't a Tool song.

13. Slayer

This was the best band so far. The crowd went wild, and I loved them too.

14. Guns'n'Roses

Disappointing. Axl Rose isn't what he used to be. He should quit and let the group find a better singer. Maybe they can hire Yungblud?

15. Metallica

I loved Metallica's first two albums, maybe the third, but they've been downsliding ever since. They're not what they used to be. Their set started out sounding dull, and only their last song, "Master of Puppets", really excelled.

16. Ozzy

Ozzy can't stand, but his voice is better than ever. It was an emotional show. Many of the fans were crying in the audience, especially during "Mama I'm coming home". But his backing band was incredible. Who are those musicians? If Ozzy has retired, they should form a band without him.

17. Black Sabbath

This was the main act and the highlight of the evening. A first class performance. I'm sad that they only played four songs, but Ozzy's health obviously didn't allow him to stay on stage any longer.

I can watch the concert again as video on demand for the next 48 hours. After that I'll wait for it to be released on Blu-ray. I hope it will be remixed and/or remastered. In the middle of the concert there were problems with the vocals not being loud enough, especially Alice in Chains and Gojira.

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