Black Sabbath: The End

The Ozzman cometh one last time (presumably) as frontman for ‘70s heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath in this February 2017 swan song concert featuring founders Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitar, and Geezer Butler on bass, with backup from Tommy Clufetos on drums and Adam Wakeman on guitar and keyboards. The 16-song set (which includes some medleys) draws heavily from the group's first four LPs, with hits/faves including “Fairies Wear Boots,” “War Pigs,” “Iron Man,” “Children of the Grave,” and their signature hit “Paranoid.” Even without the likely added audio sweetening in the studio, Ozzy sounds a bit fuzzy (when not downright garbled) and his stage moves are mostly limited to rocking back and forth in front of the mic. Still, the enthusiastic crowd head-banging along in Birmingham, England's Genting Arena are clearly enjoying this show from the early bad boy rockers (remember this line from “After Forever”—performed here—“Would you like to see the Pope at the end of a rope?”). Well, it's the end of an era, as they say. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include a bonus disc with the five-song “Angelic Sessions,” which includes the beloved “Sweet Leaf,” and the still-haunting “Changes.” Recommended. (R. Pitman)