First I want to say that the band was tight, heavy and powerful. Ronnie sounded awesome. It's like they picked up where they left off from the last tour. I'm just going to post some moments so others can chime in with their thoughts. It started out with E5150 which lead into "Mob Rules" this time instead of "I". The first 3 songs were from each Dio era Sabbath album. The second song was Children of the Sea which totally rocked the place. As soon as the song went from the slow soft beginning to the heavy part, it was like one synchronous action where the entire audience put their head forward then back then forward and back with their fist in there air. It was awesome! They didn't just make the mountain shake when they played they made the entire Susquehanna Bank Center shake.
Surprise songs. I didn't expect to hear "Ear in the Wall" get played. I guess they wanted play every aspect of the Dio era Sabbath. Personally I think this was the best choice to play from the "Dio Years" of the 3 songs because of the faster pace so they wouldn't lose the crowd. There wasn't any applause after this song but I think the band expected that because just as the song ended Vinny ripped into the drum solo without delay.
The next surprise was "Time Machine" from Dehumanizer". It sounded great. The bass was thunderous. It seemed to go over fairly well.
They ended with "Heaven and Hell". It was the extended version. I didn't expect that. I thought they'd cut it down to fit in an extra song. There was no encore. The band came on at 7:50 and finished at 9:00.

First off, I have to say that the show was not bad. I've seen this lineup 3 times now in 16 months, and overall they are pretty tight. I was however disappointed that the only new song to the setlist was Time Machine (Ear in the Wall is semi-new, but it was also played sparingly last year). Before they took the stage, the crew was having problems with one of the columns that supported the chain-curtain in front of Tony's amps. There must have been 6-7 guys with hammers and drills trying to get it fixed.

Anyway, from my 2nd row pit seats, I could see the side-stage clock, which read 7:45 when the band went on. They played for 75 minutes. I actually liked last year's stage set better then this time. There were twin winged demons in trees on each side of the stage. In between were 4 metal columns with a crystal ball inside a giant hand on top. The backdrop was a tapestry of a rivited wall with vines. It looked more like a Dio set than Black Sabbath, actually. Not that theres anything wrong with that, I just liked the church graveyard better.

The sound was fine, Geezer was sometimes low in the mix. The band was tight on almost all the songs except for Time Machine. Ronnie didn't come in at the bridge (the "Looking at the world" part) and improvised his way back in. Also the up-tempo part of Heaven and Hell was played a little slow, or maybe it started too fast and wound down at some point. A little off, but not anything terrible, most people may not have even picked up on it. Lots of little in-jokes between the guys, smiling and having a great time.

The jam improv during Heaven and Hell was different, I noticed. They still did the "Little white shape looked down at me" thing, but before that Iommi put together a little jazz riff that made me think for a moment that we were getting a small taste of the new writing sessions. For what its worth, it was a nice jam, and the highlight of the show for me.

Also absent was swag. I was practically handed a dozen picks by Iommi at Radio City Music Hall, but he didn't toss out a single pick tonight. Very strange, especially since Lemmy threw out about 30 bass pics (two which are now mine) and Tipton/Downing/Hill tossed out dozens at the end of their set. Not a big deal, but it was something I noticed.

T-shirts looked cool, even though I passed on them. They had 4 main ones for Heaven and Hell, one for each of the first two albums with cover artwork, a third one had the Rules of Hell cross on the front with the words "So Live For Today. Tomorrow Never Comes" on the back. The last one is a playing card with an angel in one corner and a devil in the other corner, the back says "The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams."

Took some nice shots, they are in Joe's email.

I was unfortunately not able to see Heaven & Hell on their first comeback tour due to work issues, so I jumped at the chance to see them this time around. They absolutely did NOT disappoint. I pretty much figured they would start the show off with the whole "E5150/Mob Rules" thing, in which they did. It was nice to see them all in good moods, especially when Dio said "Ok this is the opening night so you will get to hear the mistakes, of course there wont be any mistakes" or something along the lines of that lol.

One thing that bothered me (and still is) is the damn Vinnie Appice drum solo. It is NOT necessary, especially when they only had an hour and fifteen minutes to play. They could have dropped that solo and made room for "Neon Knights" since the drum solo was pretty much 5 minutes long. Oh well, maybe they will drop it during the other shows of the tour.

As previously stated, Geezer was great, but was lost in the mix from time to time. However, when you DID hear him, the man was ferocious. The infamous bass line to "H&H" was razor sharp. Tony, well that goes without saying. He was fantastic, and (in my opinion) he played better this night than the other times Ive seen him with the original Sabbath both at the 04 Ozzfest (With Halford replacing Ozzy at this very same venue which they didnt even mention which was suprising), and the 05 Ozzfest.

Dio was totally wicked, and the man sounded great live. Vinnie was good of course, but he needs to get over himself and that stupid drum solo.

No need to post a set list since its been posted already, but not hearing "Neon Knights", and especially "Computer God" was a little bothersome. However, thats a small complaint since the dudes were absolutely throwin down some heavy stuff, and were pretty much flawless for the opening night of the tour.

All in all they put on a great performance. Priest was good as well but I guess Im being bias in saying Iommi and Co. were a tad better since that was who I came to see. Now bring on the new album and tour and play for more than an hour and fifteen minutes!

Awesome show!!

I got there during Motorhead's set. Fantastic bare bones ass-kickin' metal. But let's move on to Sabbath... sorry, Heaven and Hell.

It was my first time seeing them NOT be the last band to play. It was also surreal that there was no curtain in front of the set. We watched them move the gargoyles and everything out. The natural sun light pouring onto the stage sort of took away from the gloomy scenery, but once nightfall came, it was all good.

When E5150 started, there were no lights to come down, since it was still daylight. It was kind of awkward because not everyone knew to stand up. I LOVED the way they extended the beginning of Mob Rules, something I haven't heard them do since Halford sang for them in 1992 (I admit I wasn't there, but have seen bootlegs.)

There was a moment when Dio mentioned "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years" and to my recollection, Iommi came over and said something to Dio. My wife thinks he was telling him to stay away from the name "Black Sabbath." But I'm not sure what happened.

Dio was in 100% spirits and voice, smiling often, and very energetic. It all sounded great. The theatrics weren't as stylish and spectacular as the last "Heaven and Hell" reunion tour, but the smoke spewing gargoyles were still pretty cool.

"Time Machine" replaced "Computer God" as following Vinny's drum solo. "Ear in the Wall' was cool to hear. The epic "Heaven and Hell" was amazing as always. Only wish, that the show could have went on longer.

Judas Priest was fantastic. Lots of songs were played that I never expected to hear live. Surprisingly, only one from Nostradamus and one from Angel of Retribution, but it was a treat to hear them dig up a lot of the classics.

How many awesome entrances can one singer make? First, Halford appeared by elevator, face hidden in a gleaming robe, holding the Priest trident. Then, halfway through the first song, flinging back the robe and revealing his face, to thunderous cheers. Then, descending the elevator and coming through double doors on the stage floor, silhouetted in red smoke. Later in the show, riding the Harley out, a tradition. And changing his jacket after almost every song, all which were badass. One looked like a bath robe, but he's the only performer I know to be able to dress like that, and look awesome. Though he didn't do as many elongated screams as I've heard him do before, his presence was as strong as always. The way he walked about during Painkiller, looked like he wanted to kick someone's ass.

Metal Masters Tour is a great treat to any fan of classic metal. I didn't want the night to end.

Great show. 5th time seeing them since the Dio reunion. Amazing. Drum solo should have been dropped for another song. No "Neon Knights"? Set was a little short. Otherwise...fantastic.

Vinny was awesome period. No matter what others say about another song, the drum solo was awesome, at one point vinny stood up ann coaxed the crowd int going crazy before continuing. As a matter of fact-eevry band motorhead, heaven and hell, testament, and judas priest were all led by amazing drmming i was amazed at how good these guys were especially scott travis-probably the most underrated drummer besides cozy powell. awesome show lemmy is god

This was the third time i'd seen H&H since May, 2007 and the third time it was obviously not a sold out show. In fact, in my pathetic hometown of Reading, PA last September, only 2,700 people bought tickets to see Queensryche, Alice Cooper & Heaven and Hell. This is why it will probably be another twenty years before another top act comes here. If you're one of the bands, this isn't good; if you're a fan, it's great from getting in, buying a shirt, getting a drink and a more overall enjoyment of the show.

I went without a ticket and as i was parking was approached by scalpers. I got a great seat 20 rows back dead center for $45 that was face value of $125. When i went in the centre, i checked the Mdse out first as i had already missed Testament. No more bargains here! With my ticket savings, i bought what i thought were the best four Tees at $40 a pop - The Rules of Hell, Heaven & Hell playing card, Priest shirt w/ four horseman on it and the traditional Motorhead/England white on black shirt. The only H&H program was the same one from last years tour which i already had.

I caught most of Motorhead and was happy they did my 2 favorite MH songs, Killed by Death and Ace of Spades. Lemmy berated the crowd a few times for not screaming enough, probably forgetting the orchestra section was half empty in the bright sun. He then stated when their last song was and added that this is all you get for a third on the bill act.

I knew being second on the bill Heaven and Hell's stage would have to be different than their headlining stage and it was, highlighted by two demonic creatures with red eyes which breathed fire. Being very nearsighted the past ten years, anymore, i always take binoculars with me to these concerts and even though i was only 15 rows from the pit area, with binocs, you can see everything. In all of the incarnations of Sabbath i've seen, the first song is always the impression that stays with you. Of course that was always helped also by having the best intro of any rock song ever in War Pigs. I can remember, Philly Spectrum - 1983, Ian Gillan tripping, no literally, as he walked out to the mike and a piece of paper flew out of his hands. i swear he then ad libed just about all of War Pigs not having a telepromter back then like Ozzy always uses today. Anyhow this night, the initial visual of Iommi coming out looking great at 60, never, ever missing a note is something that stays with you. I noticed immediately his black SG looked brand new and did not have the trademark inlaid cross fretting on it. For the rest of the night, he used his old brown SG with the crosses. As you can see in pics sent, he also was wearing his gold cross whereas Geezer wasn't. E5150 should always be followed by Mob Rules as it was on the record. For years they use to go into Neon Knights after E5 which i don't think is as effective for fans. I won't go into the rest of the songs except to say their best was Heaven and Hell, both musically and visually. Looking at Dio covered in red light with binoculars almost makes you feel you're in Hell itself if there is such a place; quite effective, and the demonic creatures coming alive was cool. No encore. They played 70 minutes and i'm old enough to remember for years, headlining Black Sabbath NEVER played more than 70 minutes whether Ozzy, Dio, Gillan or Tony Martin was singing. So we didn't get gipped with no Neon encore! At about this time i decided my ears had suffered enough damage, probably more than usual with a sort of sparce crowd not absorbing as much sound, and decided to leave after about 6 or 7 Priest songs.

One final comment. All of these rockers are NOT too old enough too rock and roll, too young to die. These people, at least the last 3 groups to play are of a different species than you or I. I'm 49. I drove one hour to this venue, had one drink, only watched half of the show and felt like shit for the next two days. Dio(aged 66) & Iommi(aged 60) rocked their asses off for a solid hour in heat and subhuman volume and have to do it again 4 out of the next six nights. It is incredible. I remember what my father was like when he was 55 and now what i am like. Amazing!

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