heavy metal rhetoric

Today Mr. Husband has been packing up 3,000 LPs, more or less, and uncovering all sorts of relics wedged in with them. Among those was a program for Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules tour, which would be 1981-ish. I love the opening text, which postures and rants and alludes to Ozzy’s fairly recent departure and displays some generally drunken logic. (And also it made me think of Josh, but in a good way.) I’ve not changed the spelling or grammar a bit.

DONT LOOK NOW!!!!…….BUT THEY‚ÄôRE BACK!!!!!! The Merchants of Menace, Masters of Reality, The Doyens of the Doom Laden Riff. Yes, oh believers of the unknown, oh you countless unholy bangers of thine heads; Black Sabbath have returned, with what is undoubtedly their most spectacular show to date. This is something I can say with a certain amount of authority having just seen them three times on this current tour in the States where I witnessed their devastating brand of Heavy Metal Thunder. The sold out shows, which were met with ecstatic approval demonstrated without a showdow [sic] of a doubt that Black Sabbath still reign as unchallenged Kings in their court and haven‚Äôt lost one iota of adrenalin which has consistently surged through their tainted souls (which have long been sold for rock and roll) and propelled them strength to strength from the seedy formative clubland years to the triumph, power, and glory of the vast and magnanimous arenas of the US plus a series of gold and platinum albums, in a career that clocks in a staggering 14 years, which has seen three decades.

In a period where Heavy Metal is purported to have made a sudden return to favor, a fact which has only recently been discovered by the bulk of the media (although it’s still regarded to be ‘uncool’ by some of the more jaded, cynics) and is a futile testament to the long standing iron fisted legions who have remained firm followers of the cause throughout the groups history. Sabbath have risen like some glorious phoenix with a Blitzkrieg symphony that maintains their title as the mentors of metal. I have no doubt that this tour will consolidate the growing reputation of the current line up, which in fact is not so new being in its second year of existence, and you will be impressed when you see how the group have evolved after what some HM-ites with a little more catholic attitude considered to be some drastic changes within the structure of these survivors of the Iron Age. Black Sabbath have almost become an institution in this insane world, having consistently stuck to their guns and roots musically. And you the fans know yourself that whatever upheavals occur internally the Sabbs will always play with that distinctive style that one expects of them simply because that’s what they do the best.