Heaven and Hell, the only band on Wâldrock 2009 I really wanted to see. Fifteen minutes before the show started it was still quite easy to get to the front rows. Nice for me, but I had expected these Grand Fathers of Hard Rock would attract some more people.
As usual, ‘E5150’ started and the audience started to look at the stage. All of a sudden, people started yelling. Vinny Appice had somehow managed to enter his drum kit.
The other members also got on the stage and ‘The Mob Rules’ (not surprising this tour) was the first song. Tony Iommi looked like I had expected. Black. With blue glasses and a big cross around his neck. Geezer Buttler and Vinny Appice also were dressed in black. What else? Well. Ronnie James Dio was wearing an awful, red and glittery wizard-like long sleeve. But, as long as he keeps singing like he does: no comments.
After ‘The Mob Rules’, “the first song we wrote together”: Children of the Sea.
‘I’: Tony almost screwed up the intro but he switched of some kind of effect after a few bars, which solved the problem. This was the first song in which the screen in the backdrop was used, a nice addition to the other lights.
‘Bible Black’ was the 4th song they played. After this the obliged drum solo was played. I was just staring to like Vinny’s drumming, but the solo was too long for me. I have never lived in the ’70 where endless solos were common, so I only like songs. And their songs are good enough.
After the drum solo I don’t exactly know anymore which songs were played. At least ‘Fear’, and ‘Follow the Tears’. I didn’t know them, because I haven’t listened to the latest album, but it sounded ok, not much different from other songs.
‘Falling off the edge of the world’ was also played, and I think ‘Time Machine’ as well. ‘Die Young’ never impressed me much. But live it was very cool. The intro nearly blew me away somehow. And of course ‘Heaven and Hell’ was played. It was the last song before the encore. With smoke and some red lights the stage was transformed to hell, Ronny was the devil in this hell. And he seemed to like it. He was more enthusiastic than the audience, unfortunately. Or like Ronny would put it when the audience was lit by some massive stage lights: “now I can at least see you, hearing is something else...”.
Only when we could sing o-o-o-oooooooo during Heaven and Hell I could hear there were people behind me.
The encore was started with “the Tony Iommi surprise song, I wonder what it is going to be tonight”. ‘Country Girl’, which was only played half and then, Neon Knights was played.

Concluding, the set was not very surprising. Some old stuff which has to be played (Neon Knights, Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules) because it is good, and some tracks from the latest album. Not surprising, but very good. I hadn't thought the sound would be so powerful and yet so clear (on a festival!).

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