Words and pictures by Mark Gromen

Black Heaven…Hell Sabbath…eh, HEAVEN & HELL completed the current US tour by joining the August 29th parade of aged rockers playing the Atlantic City casinos: BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and THE BLACK CROWES were also in town, competing for the few dollars that hadn’t been lost in slot machines. For just about anyone reading this, these guys are old enough to be your dad, if not grandpa, yet as they proved throughout the night, they possess more vitality than most bands half their age. $50 for a signed copy of the new The Devil You Know CD and $150 for an embroidered denim jacket might be a little steep in this economy, but by comparison $40 for either an embroidered golf shirt (devil logo on breast, band name on sleeve) or cut-off/sleeve-less button down seem reasonable, and only $5-10 more than a standard t-shirt.

The stage looked to be built against a giant steel plate, two gates flanked Vinny Appice’s impressive percussive array, and each of four pillars was topped with a glass orb, held by a three-fingered alien hand. A video screen behind Appice periodically added visual accompaniment. Essentially identical to the set witnessed at Wacken, at the start of the month, they came storming out of the gates with ‘The Mob Rules’, followed by ‘Children Of The Sea’, the ageless sprite Ronnie James Dio twirling a mic stand that’s only slightly thinner than him. When someone threw a Philadelphia Eagles towel/t-shirt onstage, the native upstate New Yorker stomped on it, then mouthed “F off,” good naturedly punctuated by the two-fingered British vee salute. ‘I’ gave way to the first newbie, ‘Bible Black’, then ‘Time Machine’, during which Appice had a solo spot.

The stage bathed in red and green as the drum spotlight segued into ‘Fear’, then ‘Falling Off The Edge Of The World’. The greatest living left-handed guitarist, a bespectacled Tony Iommi, wore a knee length black trench coat and a guitar strap emblazoned with his surname. A heavy bottom end rumble of Follow The Tears was greeted by a teal/aqua lighting, with purple accents, and electronic teardrops falling from the screen behind the drummer. Most of the new material received a favourable reaction. Just past an hour, Dio introduced Iommi, as the keyboard intro to ‘Die Young’ spun. Alone on the stage, the six-stringer played a solo that saw him make his only foray to the opposite side of the stage. The chorus generated an impromptu audience sing-along. Listening to the lyrics, and fake electricity/lightning bolts pulsating on the screen, ‘Die Young’ could be viewed as something of a longevity mantra for these guys. They certainly show no signs of rust.

As it was the final night of the tour, Dio dedicated ‘Heaven And Hell’ to the crew. The stage shone a red hue and the crowd basically sang the entire song. An extended version, complete with jam between Iommi, Appice and bassist Geezer Butler, its stretched nearly 20 minutes and closed the proper set. Fog cannons, shooting straight up (like erupting steam) replaced the flame throwers utilized in Europe. After a brief moment in the wings, the band came back, played the first verse of ‘Country Girl’ and directly into ‘Neon Nights’. Not sure if they were pressed for time (against a curfew), but it seemed as if it was going to be a medley, but no, just the end of a 90 minute evening.

Dio will hit the road overseas with his own band while Iommi undergoes planned hand (cartilage) surgery. Hopefully things go well and they’ll all be back on a stage together, soon.

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