4th November 2007, Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle

Very Good Performance.

Took my 19 year old son and his mate to see performance. Iced Earth opened and were well received, Lamb of God came on and the foyer of the arena was fuller than the arena!!!!!!!!, when the "singer" announced last song there was a muted cheer in the foyer where I had been since the first "song". Still my son enjoyed them, must be a generation gap thing.

The boys came on and after E5150 went straight into Mob Rules, Children of the sea, I, Sign Of The Southern Cross, Voodoo (with drum solo), Computer God, Falling Off Edge of World, Tony Solo then into Die Young, Heaven and Hell (longer than Music City Dvd version), then encores of Shadow of the Wind and Neon Knights.

Only scored very good in my view as some minor things prevented it scoring higher, ie Vinny's drum solo, which is overblown and average, and Lamb of God who were again in my opinion dreadful. On the plus point Tony was excellent, I hadnt seen him live since the 80's and think he has got better with age., Geezer played only as he can. RJD for a little bloke aged 65 puts the younger generation to shame, with energy and a fine set of pipes. Solo apart Vinny does a sterling job, but I missed Bill Ward. The sound quality was good, as well noting that in reviews of later shows it was critiscised.

Thoughts for the future: if Tony and Geezer are in it for the music the next album will be with Dio, if its about money it will be with Ozzy.

review: John ......

6th November 2007, Glasgow SECC

Dio, Appice, Iommi and Butler finally landed on UK soil after 25 years away, but could they live up to the hype?

Well, once the eerie intro of 'E5150' was out of the way, the band blasted into 'The Mob Rules' and all was well with the world. But then things got really crazy as my two favourite Dio era Sabbath tracks were played back to back. 'Children Of The Sea' followed by ''I'. It was absolutely stunning and fair took my breath away.

Ronnie seemed to be having the time of his life up there, and with Appice, Iommi and Butler playing out of their skins, it almost seemed like Geezer and Tony were just delighted to have a particular monkey off their backs, as they could jam out on songs they hadn't played in 25 years.

The set, staging and lighting were as good as anything I've seen in the last decade, as Heaven & Hell (hereafter known as Black Sabbath) put on a proper metal spectacle. As 'Sign Of The Southen Cross' slid into 'Voodoo', not even the obligatory weegie ('Glaswegian' I believe!) pint throwing retard could dampen things, although the nutter who seemed to think that him howling "Sabbath we love you" every thirty seconds enhanced the material, came very close to getting his arse skelped.

The obligatory drum solo was followed by my least favourite Sabbath track, 'Computer God', but with the main set finishing up with 'Falling Off The Edge Of The World' and 'Heaven And Hell' things got right back on track.

Unlike the shows at the beginning of the tour, they had moved back to a 90 minute set with the new material being dropped, bar the first encore of 'Shadow Of The Wind'. I was gutted that 'Lonely is the Word' has gone missing but a closing blast of 'Neon Knights' rounded off a truly outstanding performance from Black Sabbath. No wonder they've decided to stick around for a new album!

review: Stuart A Hamilton, Zeitgeist, PO Box 13499, Edinburgh EH6 8YL, UK

10th November 2007, Wembley Arena

I was hoping Iommi & Hughes would get to flex their collective muscles ' live ' with nearly 3 albums of material between them..& Iommi being excited about the prospect of getting out the comfort zone & into the Danger Zone with Glenn. Still with the Dio led 'Mob Rules' line up the bums on seats is a deciding factor I'd imagine for Tony & his Managment.

In 2007 sans Geoff Nicholls kicking off with 'Mob Rules' it is like they have never been away. Sound glitches were soon ironed out. I thought Geez'n' Tone did what they do best; still too static for some but I.have only the '92 NEC Dehumanizer Show to compare. Then there were no overlong solo intervals. 2007 finds them basking in respective solo spots, the flow of the song 'Heaven & Hell' was lost somewhat, with Geezer's bass solo losing the flow of a classic number. Maybe a minor quibble as I get the rose tinted specs on a few years down the line.

I was seated up in wings over the curtained off keyboards area. (Scott Warren?) did a good job I hope Blackers gives him the job should he 'n' RJD decide to catch the rainbow again! We all have our personal favorites & I'd have welcomed 'Buried Alive', 'Time Machine' + 'Over & Over' but it was great to hear 'Sign Of The Southern Cross' at long last! Some reviewers of the Black Sabbath -The Dio Years mentioned RJD's vocals being "brittle" nowadays. I noticed Ronnie's voice is deeper, but it is still powerful, although without the ferocity present on the Dehumanizer album. Live in 2007 RJD doesn't hit that .."angles fast descending" line like he does on the studio version of 'Neon Nights', but he still delivered that scream in 'Mob Rules'.

RJD worked the audience well, and seemed to be enjoying the unexpected outing of this line up after all the animosity when the guys broke up in '92. I appreciated the honesty of calling the group 'Heaven & Hell', and the fact that they have only committed to one world tour to back up the Black Sabbath-Dio Years compilation, albeit with some new material. A new album would be welcome, but with the 40th Anniversary of the Sab's formation Ozzy would be fronting that. The even mighter kerrching of Cash Registers would likely put on H&H on ice for a couple of years..stranger things have happened of course!

review: Simon Ford

17th November 2007, Plymouth Pavilions

I arrived late in order to miss the support bands - not late enough though! My ears were berated by Lamb of God growling/screeching something or other while I queued for a beer (draught at £3.20 per pint; take note NEC). The amazing thing was some people were singing along - I'm in danger of sounding like my father now, so I'll move on to the main event - Heaven & Hell. From a good position on the balcony I awaited the curtain dropping to reveal the 'hidden' set - when the lights went up this was revealed as a brick wall painted on a backcloth & mock iron railings (a cemetery, I guess) in front of the amps - worth the wait then! The brick wall was used as a screen for images to suit the song - an eye in 'I' for example.

Heaven & Hell set off full tilt into 'Mob Rules' - that's when the bad news started. The sound balance was atrocious - Dio's vocals were drowned out by bass & drums. Iommi's guitar sound was just a mush; very few individual notes could be heard except in the higher registers.

That said, Dio did his usual sterling job, when he could be heard. Highlights were 'Children Of The Sea', 'Heaven And Hell' & 'Die Young'. Iommi was not very animated, strolled across the front of the stage a couple of times & failed to impress (as I know he can) with a lacklustre solo. Geezer was a nodding dog on the left, playing as many notes as possible. Appice was a man possessed, as usual, & his solo was actually entertaining. Looked like he had some weebles fitted to his drum riser to stop the tom-tom racks falling over!!!). So, a fairly disappointing night based on lousy sound & - apart from Dio - a fairly static band. I'm still glad I went & I will see them again if they tour on the back of the rumoured new album; but I can't get the 'Holy Diver' tour performance out of my head - that was Dio at his unparalleled best - ah well, 'till the next time RJ.

review: Tom Dixon