Ozzy Osbourne performs at the BankAtlantic Center. (Kate Dingle / rhythmscene.com)

Photos: Ozzy Osbourne and Slash at BankAtlantic Center | Visit this writer’s website

It doesn’t matter how you look at it, Ozzy Osbourne is a legend. He’s done a few things in his lifetime that people of all ages have heard about (like one particular incident involving a dove) and his music is timeless (but not in that Engelbert Humperdinck kind of way). And everyone who didn’t know the phrase, “I am Iron Man!” knows it now courtesy of the Prince of Darkness himself.

Ozzy brought the BankAtlantic Center to its knees in submission Sunday night and proved that he’s still, “f***ing crazy after all these years”.

As soon as the house lights went down, “Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy” chants resonated throughout the arena. A series of videos portraying Ozzy as a cast member on the Jersey Shore and as Edward in Twilight showed on a screen, and fans ate it up. By the time Ozzy stormed the stage and into “Bark At The Moon”, crowd members could no longer contain themselves.
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On Nov. 2, Sanctuary UK re-released two “lost” Black Sabbath albums from 1986 and ’87. I say lost because Tony Iommi was the only original member of Black Sabbath on either album, and they didn’t exactly sell like gangbusters, especially when you take into account that anything that had Black Sabbath in the name would sell on name alone.

Seventh Star was actually supposed to be a Tony Iommi solo effort until record company pressure decided to put it out under the Sabbath name. Iommi took plenty of grief for the move. To add insult to injury, the album was labeled Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi, which to this day remains one of the most ridiculously boneheaded decisions in rock history. This led to much mocking in the music press.

Eternal Idol was released a year later. The recording and production of that album, along with its numerous contributors made for great soap opera material as musicians, vocalists, and venues were in flux as the album got closer to its release.
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Artist: Iron Maiden

Album: The Final Frontier (Sony Legacy)

Our spin: No, this is not Iron Maiden’s final album as the title may indicate. It’s simply a continuation of the sci-fi interests of main lyricist and bassist Steve Harris. The band puts together a string of epic songs with master musicianship and the powerful voice of Bruce Dickinson.

The Final Frontier is Maiden’s 15th studio album and reminds us how great these guys are together. Except for a couple of misguided releases in the mid ’90s, the band has been a model of consistency. Their songs more resemble arrangements as they continue to use all of the weapons in their arsenal; three guitarists and a stampeding rhythm section. Bruce Dickinson sounds great as he’s ratcheted down the more operatic style he exhibited in the ’80s.
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It hasn’t been long since Hollywood Love Scene released their 561 EP, and already they’re getting noticed.

Rock 108, an FM station in Waterloo, Iowa (also servicing the Iowa metropolises of Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Dubuque), began to play the West Palm band’s cover of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” a couple of weeks ago.

Rock 108, which has the kind of playlist any metal fan worth their salt would love (not only featuring Metallica, but also Disturbed and Mudvayne!), will be featuring the band on an upcoming show. Hollywood Love Scene’s Joe Malmuth will appear on Unsigned & Unleashed, a show hosted by the station’s morning DJ Brian Marshall and featuring unsigned bands from all over.

Paranoid – of, like, or suffering from paranoia; that’s the dictionary.com definition. Instead, let’s use a picture of the album cover to Paranoid and illustrate what the word truly represents; the greatest hard rock/heavy metal album in history that defined a genre and created a paradigm shift in what was considered “mainstream.”

Paranoid was released in September of 1970 and was the follow up to the band’s self-titled debut earlier in the year. It’s considered by many to be Sabbath’s magnum opus. It was produced by Rodger Bain on a shoe-string budget for the Vertigo label. The actual tracks were laid down from June 16-21 of 1970. It took five days to record one of the most influential records of all time.

The original title of the album was “War Pigs.” Due to pressure from the record company to avoid the Vietnam War controversy, they decided to re-name it at the last minute. Ironically, the song “Paranoid” was an afterthought that was laid down in 20 minutes after Tony Iommi came up with the riff. By this time Sabbath hadn’t had anything remotely resembling a radio single. “Paranoid” fit the bill. It came in at under three minutes and had a catchy repetitive sound that stuck in your head, and Ozzy’s nasally vocals that had the listener humming and singing along.
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Rob Zombie, back on the road for 'Hellbilly Deluxe 2' as he performs on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Tour. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

More: Directions, nearby food

Of artists, it’s often said that appreciation is never achieved in one’s own lifetime.

Fortunately, these days with pop culture, that time has been cut down considerably. But for some entertainers, there’s still a waiting period.

Take Rob Zombie, for example.

The musician/film director/comic-book author is seeing his creations from the first two films he directed, House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects — which weren’t embraced by critics or audiences when they first came out — being appreciated as part of Universal Studios Hollywood for the California attraction’s Halloween Horror Nights.

"It’s great that 10 years after the movies come out to have them be part of a theme park," Zombie said in a telephone interview. "It always seems to be the case — they weren’t beloved right away."

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Last month Ronnie James Dio died of cancer at the age of 67. Although his death was sudden, it wasn’t unexpected to those in the know. His battle with the disease lasted six months. When Heaven and Hell (basically the early ’80s version of Black Sabbath) canceled all of their European tour dates in April, one had the feeling that Ronnie’s situation had taken a bad turn. On May 16, the news broke that he’d died early that Sunday morning. Many stories have been written and many tributes have happened since.

It’s now fitting to remember RJD in a way that he would have wanted. 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of the seminal hard rock/metal release Heaven and Hell. Regardless of age, the album and its production stand the test of time, and is as relevant today as much as it was deemed progressive at the time.

Dio literally brought Sabbath back from the dead. When Ozzy was unceremoniously relieved of his duties, band leader Tony Iommi went on a mission; to replace one of the most popular lead vocalists and front men in the history of music. When Dio left Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow after great success, Iommi and Dio got together. The result was the first song written for the H&H album, “Children of the Sea.” The rest, as they say, is history.
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More: Metal icon Ronnie James Dio dead at 67

Al DeGaetano is a former intern for ‘Spin’ and writer for ‘Traffic’ who is currently a free-lance writer in Palm Beach County.

When I was 14 years old in 1980, I decided it was necessary to get into this band called Black Sabbath. I was on a bus one day and some guys who were a few years older than me were blasting this music that was unlike anything I’d heard before. I went up to the kid and asked what that was. He looked at me with some disbelief and proceeded to let me know that it was Black Sabbath and the song was “Iron Man.” That one moment changed my life.

I was already bored with Zeppelin, and bands like Rush were great, but just not heavy enough. Bands like Slayer and Metallica were still a few years away. I knew a little bit about Sabbath, but what I hadn’t realized was that the newest album, “Heaven and Hell,” didn’t have Ozzy on vocals. The guy who sang “Iron Man” wasn’t in the band anymore! I was disappointed to say the least. I immediately started doing research. Now that was a time I wish Wikipedia was around. Funny, home computers weren’t even close to being around yet. So I did it the old fashioned way. I asked a ton of people. I asked the guy at the record store. I spoke to anyone who’d listen. The questions was the same, “Who is Ronnie James Dio?”
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Life-long rock fan discusses Ronnie James Dio’s influence

Guest book: Post a tribute

RonnieJamesDio.com

Ronnie James Dio, whose soaring vocals, poetic lyrics and mythic tales of a never-ending struggle between good and evil broke new ground in heavy metal, died Sunday, according to a statement from his wife and manager. He was 67.

Dio revealed last summer that he was suffering from stomach cancer shortly after wrapping up a tour in Atlantic City, N.J., with the latest incarnation of Black Sabbath, under the name Heaven And Hell.

“Today my heart is broken,” Wendy Dio wrote on the singer’s site, adding he died at 7:45 a.m. “Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away.

“Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all,” Wendy Dio continued. “We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us … Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.”
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Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria rocks Revolution Live. (Ellie Faust / Rhythm Scene)

Photos: Coheed and Cambria, Circa Survive and Torche

From all of the hype before the show and the tickets being sold out weeks beforehand, this was definitely going to be a performance to remember. Torche, Circa Survive and headliners Coheed and Cambria put on a great live performance at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale. Now you’d think that a Sunday night isn’t the best “concert night”, but in this case, it was the “concert night”.

Torche started off the night with a bang, hyping up the crowd with their upbeat, classic rock sounds. Familiar to fans of the South Florida rock scene, Torche were a great opening band to start off the night. After about a 35-minute set, the next band to take the stage was Circa Survive, a band from Philadelphia. A lot of people, myself included, had been anticipating their performance for a while now because of their newly released album, Blue Sky Noise, that hit stores on April 20 of this year. Although it released only 5 days before the show, it was nice to see that nearly everyone in the crowd was singing along with the band throughout the entire set, which made it that much more enjoyable to watch. They ended their impressive performance with one of their hit songs, “Imaginary Enemy”. The one thing I liked most about Circa was how well they connected with the crowd.
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