Heaven and Hell
Chevrolet Theatre
Wallingford, Connecticut
August 26, 2009
Tony Pijar
It’s no secret that the Northeast is a stronghold for Heaven and Hell; they’ve played here quite a bit since they reformed and have consistently sold out all of the venues. :The Devil you Know” received the usual plaudits since it’s been out, but the band stayed true to form plucking the majority of their set list from “Heaven and Hell” and “Mob Rules.”
They opened with the frantic “Mob Rules” and followed with the sublime “Children of the Sea” and the monolithic “I”. “Bible Black” and “Fear” were aired from the aforementioned “The Devil you know”, and sounded far more ferocious live. “Country Girl” was a welcome surprise, as it hadn’t been played live previously. Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler were locked into that indelible, magical groove that can best be described as a gift, and Ronnie James Dio remains one of rock’s best front men. How does he do it after all these years?
The rest of the classics including “Heaven and Hell”, “Die Young”, “Falling off the Edge of the World”, and encore “Neon Knights” proved again that Heaven and Hell can take this ride for as long as they want. Classic metal never gets old and never stales, and in comparison to the incomprehensible nu-metal nonsense, the likes of heaven and Hell need not worry about their popularity ever waning.
