2005 EUROPEAN TOUR REVIEWS

July 7th, 2005 - Spektrum - Oslo, Sweden

Jan Hoel:

Well, I'm fresh back from the show.  First thoughts - what a GREAT rock 'n' roll show.  There wasn't really any use for Ozzy.  The rest of the band rocked much harder than I had expected.  Bill hit those drums like there was no tomorrow.  

First, I have to make some comparisons with their last Oslo concert.  Their 1998 Oslo show was really stripped down to the basics, with no stage props or anything extra.  The band just came on, did their expected usual songs and left.  It felt to me like it was just another tedious stop along the way. 

Tonight there was a much greater feeling of a 'real' concert with a warmup band, with more stage lights and such.  They really looked like they loved being here too.  It felt like these guys were 20 years younger than what I saw in '98.   And what a treat it was (not to mention the difference)  in seeing Ward in action instead of Appice.  Ozzy really didn't do much.  He sang half of the words on most of the songs and many of them were out of tune.  "Dirty Women" was his absolute low and rather embarrassing to listen to.  It was especially funny when he did the introductions and went "Bill Waaeeeeeeeeekkkkkk... ehem WARD".  There was a really cool groovy part in "Dirty Women" where the three really rocked.  Also, I never have been a great fan of "Faeries Wear Boots", but this version REALLY rocked.  And they went -straight- into "Symptom Of The Universe" the end.

The show was really great all the way through with lots of punch and intensity, plus some groovy bridging parts.  The crowd was great.  They even stayed back to sing along loudly to the outro song.  

So, I decided to whip out my camera and have a go.  I got through "N.I.B." and halfway through "After Forever" before some guy came over and stopped me.  :(  "Bah!  Ah, very annoying. 

I put the camera behind my back, but forgot to turn it off.  So I do have the audio of most of the show, even though it was recorded through the built in microphone.  Having it behind my back didn't improve the sound any either.  So, I don't think it's much worth to anyone.  I'll try and see if I can transfer the first 1 1/2 songs at least.  The picture quality looked quite nice.  But hey, it's my first ever self recorded piece of Sabbath, so I'll hang on to it for sure.  And heh, Ozzy's awkward "Bill intro" is on it too - LOL.

BTW - the warmup was Soulfly, who were very good even though I wasn't really familiar with them.

Martin Nilsen:

35 and Alive – Hard Rockin’
Black Sabbath, Oslo Spectrum, Oslo Norway (spelled with an C actually)
07.07.05

Same set list as the other shows from this tour.

Spectrum is mainly an arena for sports events, but because it’s the largest venue in Oslo, it also often used as a concert arena.  I’ve attended a few shows there myself, both Dylan and Marilyn Manson.  The sound can be really bad sometimes and especially at loud rock shows.  The last Manson show was disappointing sound wise.  But the Sabbath crew had done their job well, although the drums could have been more upfront.

Soulfly, the opening act, was hard rocking and not my cup of tea really.  The only thing that caught my interest was the section which featured everyone in the band on drums.  Really great and a great variation from the otherwise straight forward kind of music they played.  They also included a song which featured a trumpet and reggae /ska kind of music.

The show opened with Ozzy screaming out that "we" (the audience)  weren't loud enough.  Then followed the well known Sabbath medley intro.  I have a hard time understanding why, since "Supertzar" would fit much better I think.  When we take into consideration the time period the songs were picked from, maybe a straight forward spoken intro by a MC would be the thing for them to have done.  I’m not the one to tell the Sabs how to run the business, but anyway....

I had some hopes we maybe would get "Bassically", but I’ve read the reviews and set lists from this tour and wasn’t surprised when it didn’t show.  "N.I.B." was great anyway.  Ozzy didn’t try to cover up for his age and worked around the higher notes with style.  His vocals were sometimes double-tracked, making him feedback and doing choruses by with some delay.  I don’t know the reason for this and I don’t think it’s needed.

"After Forever" is not one of my favorite songs.  I can’t truly say why, but it doesn’t sound that Sabbath to me.  But it worked really good on this night, so I maybe has to re-think my approach.  Adam Wakeman replicated the intro as we know it from the album version.  At the very end, it sounded somewhat distorted, but it worked just fine as Tony took over and began the guitar riff and the song proper.

Then Ozzy introduced the band.  Adam Wakeman and Geezer were first up and each was mentioned only once.  Ozzy said Bill’s name at least six times and the audience begun to chant his name.  Both Ozzy and Tony pointed to him and gave their respect to this fine drummer.  The low point of the show to me was that the drums were too low in the mix.  I couldn’t hear them too well and that’s a shame, 'cause his drumming is such a crucial part of the sound.  I was standing about 15 meters in front of the mixing desk.  A friend of mine was seated from the same distance behind the mixing desk and told me afterwards that the drums sounded just fine to him.  Ozzy took his time and used a lot of words to describe and introduce Tony.  Everyone got their fair share of applause and respect from the audience.

"War Pigs" is as important as a song today as it was when it was written.  This was a strong rendition, just as the rest of the songs were.  During "War Pigs",  Ozzy traded lyrics with the audience, just as usual I guess from listening to other shows I’ve got.  "Dirty Women" and "Fairies Wear Boots" were both strong and good.  Everyone did their job to the fullest and the songs turned out fine.  I always loved the almost classical ending of "Fairies" and it was great to hear it live.  The power of Geezers bass made my pants vibrate and Bill's bass drum hit my lower stomach area.  Tony’s solo made my ears ring, it still does and will probably tomorrow.  But what a great feeling.  This is rock ’n' roll.

The "Symptom Of The Universe" (instrumental) / "Sweet Leaf" (instrumental) / "Electric Funeral" medley was interesting to hear.  Ozzy kneeled before the audience for the first time and I believe he tried to sing a few lines to "Symptom" but it fell apart.  Instead he splashed the front row with many buckets of water.  I have seen a few shows on film and its always entertaining to see Ozzy running with the bucket and finding his victims.  Tony Dennis had a full days job serving the buckets and other kinds of
liquid refreshments on stage.  Once during the show he had to correct something just in front of Ozzy and Ozzy tried to grab him while singing.  Through this medley I think I heard Tony improvise a bit, throwing in bits of guitar fills here and there.  

"Iron Man" was another highlight to me, because this was the song that made me a Sabbath fan in the first place.  While Tony played the intro he stood almost completely still.  Through the rest of the show Tony walked around his part of the stage, much like the way he moves in the DVD THE LAST SUPPER.  On the other hand, Ozzy jumped, ran around and made scary looks and other bizarre moves.  Geezer looked a bit tired or something.  He didn’t move that much, he only raised his bass a few times.  But hey, they recorded their first album when my father was a very young man and they still is here to entertain us.  No complaints really.  Bill Ward played tight and he seemed to have a good time.  Good to see that he has grown his hair long.  

"Into The Void" was another highlight of the show.  Really strong rendition and they played out whatever the song had in store for us.  I thinks its a killer riff with great lyrics.  Next up was "Black Sabbath", with the rain and bell intro.  During the intro, Ozzy asked us to find our lighters and the venue lights were dimmed.  The stage lighting reminded me of running water and the arena itself was illuminated with lighter flames.  I actually turned slowly around just to witness it and it’s maybe THE highlight of all concerts I’ve attended.  It was so beautiful to see the lighters and it was the complete opposite of the rather scary loud song.  A great contrast that you have to see and feel.  I tried to film this with my cell phone but I fucked up.  I won’t cry though, I was
there and saw and heard it.  Beautiful isn’t a big enough word. 

Before they began "The Wizard", Ozzy played many lines/riffs on the harp.  Just as Tony was to start the song, Ozzy said something that made Tony stop for a moment.  It was a second of silence before they started the song and delivered another fine addition to the show.

"Paranoid" had "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" tagged at the start.  Too bad the complete song isn’t played on this tour.  Or any more from the SBS album which is one of my top 5 all time records.  "Paranoid" is always a pleasure to hear.  The audience knows it well and sings along, only to make it reach new heights of power and pleasure.  Adam Wakeman was positioned at the outer side of Geezer and was visible all the time.  We could see him smile and keep the rhythm with his head.  When "Paranoid" was played, he got a guitar and backed up Tony with the main riff while Tony did the solo.  Otherwise he didn’t make too much of himself.

Before the band re-entered the stage, Ozzy screamed out something that sounds like the vocal lines of "Iron Man" and continued with singing Bill Ward's name.  The audience picked up on that and continued for at least good five minutes.

The encore was "Sleeping Village", which segued into "Children Of The Grave".  "Sleeping Village" is so great to hear because it isn’t the song you would expect live. B ut it made perfectly sense as an intro to "Children Of The Grave".   Like "War Pigs", "Children Of The Grave"  is as important today as when it was written.  Before Ozzy started the vocals of "C.O.T.G.", he kneeled in front of the audience for the second time. R eally awesome and made me feel really good

On a general note, I can’t believe it's the same Ozzy that performed this evening as we see in the Osbourne's show.  He didn’t seem that old and wrecked.  He looked fresh and rocked - real hard and well.  He ran around the stage and worked the audience, not many could keep back the rocker in them
and almost everyone clapped to Ozzy’s command.  ill played well just as Tony and Geezer did.  For the encore, Geezer replaced his dark Fender bass for a light green one.  Tony used a black Gibson SG all through the show with the exception of "Paranoid". For this song he brought forward a light brown and worn SG, probably the same as we can see in THE LAST SUPPER DVD.  All through the show, I could see people with their cell phones making their own recordings of film.  Although this isn’t of high quality it’s a valuable source of material I think.  Wouldn’t it be great to collect these samples and spread them among fans and collectors.  Just an idea.

Truly a great show.  and now I can erase another legend from the list I’ve got of bands and artists I must see.  Only to look forward to next time The Sabs in town.  The show was 5 out of 6 in my opinion.  I wish I could afford to see and experience the Bergen show on the 9th of July.  This was written only a few hours after the show and a few details may have escaped my mind.  I still got a ringing sound in my ears and I’m too excited to go to bed.  And excuse my sometimes bad English, I’m tired and a Norwegian.

Last but not least, I have to submit a big thank you for doing a great job with your site.  It's been very helpful when it comes to my collecting of Sabbath material.