Black Sabbath: The End

The End is a concert that captures Black Sabbath performing for the very last time, right at the very end of their farewell tour. Which all ended on the 4th February 2017 in their own town of Birmingham in England at the Genting Arena which was formerly known as the NEC Arena when I first saw them back in 1997.Since the concert was released in various media formats on the 17th of last month. I have come across quite a few mixed reviews about it, which led myself to hold back my own review to check out a few things first, and wait for more reviews from other people to surface.There appears to be a lot of unhappy fans regarding this release just by reading some reviews, and apparently The End was put out on the cinemas before the official media release in the stores.Eagle Rock were the team behind the film and it appears that what was shown on the cinema did also contain some film footage of the members of the band in the way of a documentary, as well as the live concert performed at the Genting Arena in Birmingham.To be honest I am not a cinema person so I never got to see it. I did also buy this release for the concert alone, and was not aware that any documentary had been made. But that would of made a great extra bonus feature for the Blu Ray, and I would liked to have seen that myself. So I can see why some of the fans are a bit upset.There also seems to a lot of mixed reviews regarding the actual footage of the concert that was released. Many saying it was badly out of sync and they was not happy with the slowed down film footage you get every now and then.Having watched the whole concert on Blu Ray a few times to be honest and I cannot see what on earth all the fuss is about. To be honest on the opening track which is the bands self titled song "Black Sabbath". Ozzy does sing the opening verse of the song a bit too fast. But this has nothing what so ever to do with the film being out of sync, and is a case of Ozzy being out of time and nothing more. It's also the only real mistake he does make as well.Regarding the slowed down camera shots. This is something you get with a lot of concerts, and it's done more for visual effect. OK for some it may be annoying but they do not do it throughout the whole of the concert and its more so in the first half. I do not really think it spoils the concert here at all. Honestly some of the people winging over this release need to get a life :))))).The only real fault I did find on the Blu Ray was that on uploading the disc it just starts playing the concert straight away rather than present with you with a menu. By pressing the menu button on the remote control of your player it does take you to the menu so that you can make your choice of audio and see the extra bonus material and so on.The 5.1 Mix.To be honest concerts of bands like Black Sabbath are not the type of bands that will utilise the surround system for a 5.1 mix, and in general the rear speakers are more used for the noise from the audience to give you the feel and atmosphere of actually being there.But of course it also impossible to capture the whole atmosphere of a live show on a recording and nothing beats actually being there on that score.But no doubt a 5.1 surround mix can get closer to this feeling than any stereo recording could ever possibly get near to, and to be honest I was quite surprised how well they used the rear speakers not just for the audience but also the drums and the odd bit of Tony Iommi's guitar to really good effect.Ross Gregory was the guy behind the 5.1 mix and he's done a really good job of it I have to say and overall sound of the concert is quite superb. They have also utilised the .1 sub woofer channel very well too, and it's worth having your sub turned a notch or two more to get even more of a greater drive from your system.The Picture Quality.The whole of the visuals shot by the video cameras at the concert was directed by Dick Carruthers. Being a guy myself who has 100's of music concerts on DVD and Blu Ray I can tell you that Carruthers is one of the best in the business. His work for other bands such as Led Zeppelin, Oasis, The Rolling Stones and many more is phenomenal to say the least.Reading some of the critical reviews regarding the way this concert was shot with all the angles and people saying that the quality of the picture of the Blu Ray was no better than the DVD. I can honestly say they must of watched it with mud covering their eyes (LOL).The show looks totally awesome in full HD and I can tell you straight that no DVD is ever gonna get nowhere near the pristine picture quality of the Blu Ray. It's purely immaculate.Onto The Show…Well just by looking at set list of the concert, it very much seems that Black Sabbath decided to go out with most of the material from their first 4 albums. To which I feel was a bit of a shame, especially as I love the material they did on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage just as well.The band do play an instrumental medley of "Supernaut". "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and "Megalomania" whilst Ozzy goes off the stage, but that's hardly good enough I am afraid, and to miss out songs such as "Looking For Today" and "Hole In The Sky" is sacrilege :))))).The only other song that did not come from the first 4 albums they play is "Dirty Women" from their 6th album Technical Ecstasy. I do like that one as well and Tony Iomini does a superb job on the solo and it's one of the high points of the show.It's also a bit odd that the band never chose to play anything off their last album 13. But perhaps they thought they covered that with the live release of Live... Gathered in Their Masses from 2013. Perhaps they wanted to make sure that some of their lesser known songs that never got that much live attention in past from their first 4 albums, got done on this final show in favour of some of their other classics.Speaking of classics the band kick off the show with one with the self titled song "Black Sabbath" which gets followed by another with "Fairies Wear Boots". Later on we get "War Pigs" and the show ends off with "Iron Man" "Dirty Women". "Children Of The Grave" and of course no show would be complete without "Paranoid" to which they also tend to end the show on.Overall the band do a grand job on all of the songs and once again you get to see Ozzy effing and blinding all over the stage and tipping buckets of water over himself :))))). The only time you get to see Rick Wakeman's son Adam is when Ozzy introduces him as the man you never get to see when he's introducing the band.The Special Feature…The special bonus feature they have titled The Angelic Sessions. It captures the band in the Angelic Studios a few days after the live show, and is the last time they played live together even if it was in a studio.They most likely recorded these other old classics for the future release of the DVD and it's extras feature. I was pleased that none of the 5 songs here was not ones they played at the concert, so it made this much more interesting and worth watching.There are a few classics in the 5 songs they do here too, and it was great to see them do "Changes" with just the 3 of them and see Tony playing the piano. Geezer playing the orchestration on a synth and Ozzy singing along to it all.Summary…The Blu Ray edition of The End by Black Sabbath is great value for the money especially down to the fact that it's priced at a couple of quid cheaper than double CD. I do not see the need to buy the CD when you can see and hear the concert with your own eyes in both superb higher quality with the it's picture and sound. I would even recommend the DVD over the CD as well on that score.No doubt some people maybe a fussy over the slowed down camera shots you get every now and then, which is mainly through the first half of the show. But that's done by Dick Carruthers direction for visual effects and I honestly do not mind it myself. You do not get those effects on their last concert in 2013 with Live... Gathered in Their Masses. But for me personally they are both great concerts, but I do also feel that The End contains a better set list even if it is mainly focused on the bands first 4 albums.Although I have not seen the documentary that was shown on the cinema. I do feel that it should of been put on the Blu Ray and it would of made a great extra feature. I have no idea why it was omitted unless they are holding it back for a later release or even for it to be shown on television at some time in the future.Conclusion…To conclude my review of The End by Black Sabbath. I would say that even despite there being no documentary and the fact that the band never played some of the material from the albums Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage which I would of loved to have seen. The Blu Ray still represents great value for the money and is well worth it's price point.I would also say that with the bands 50th Anniversary coming up next year. This may not be the end, but if it is I am so glad they choose to end it all were they started 49 years ago in my home town of Birmingham.

A terrific concert-it actually exceeded my expectations. I thought they were amazing at the London show a few days before this one, but I wasn't sure how well such a gig would transfer to being watched at home, at a much quieter level, and under much more sober circumstances. I needn't have worried-it sounds superb. I wondered if flaws in Ozzie's vocals would be apparent-but they aren't. I think he sings really well. I am not keen on swearing when I listen at home-it might be appropriate when you are there-but it can be a bit tiresome listening at home. But, although there is the off "f" word, it isn't intrusive.The band are immaculate-and what a fantastic guitar sound Tony gets. His playing is inspired throughout-perfectly timed and executed riffs. Geezer, Tony and Adam offer powerful support. The best solos are on the outros to "Iron Man" and "Dirty Women". He must surely be one of the most underrated guitarists of his generation. The set list is great, too. My favourite albums are the first 4, so, for me, this couldn't have been better. The only real classic that isn't played is "Electric Funeral"-but so many others are that it doesn't really matter.As for the editing-I like it. The frequent scene changes seem to add to, and remind me of the excitement I felt being there. All in all, a great concert beautifully recorded. Lets hope that "The End" referred to means the end of touring, and not the end of one off shows. A 50th anniversary concert would be an amazing encore to this show.

After reading an excellent review from a fellow Brummie, I decided to ignore the reviews about the editing, & purchase the Blu-ray, along with the cd version. Yes, the rapid switching is a tad more than normal, but it did not spoil my enjoyment in any way. They were playing their last ever concerts in their home city, so the atmosphere was always going to be electric. Dick Carruthers was capturing those moments, by including regular shots of all band members, & especially the audience. Could they have prolonged the shots a tad longer? - yes, but I still like it. I have since watched David Gilmore at Pompeii & Jeff Lynne at Wembley (both excellent), & the editing is a little easier on the senses. I liked the fact that they focused on the earlier albums, as this was definitely their fertile period. I thought the sound seemed to dip sometimes, as I have not yet played the cd's, I don't know if it's from the concert or elsewhere. Also, the bonus inclusion of The Angelic Sessions was very nice. So in conclusion, if you are an avid Sabbath fan, you will want this in your collection for posterity, & ignore the rights & wrongs of alleged 'dodgy' editing.

i dislike that the song the wizard was not in the main event....

This Band and Iron maiden are my favourite bands. I was fortunate enough to see Sabbath on this tour, with my fiancee and other times. The magic of Sabbath is they always sound better live than on record or video. This DVD Is fantastic but breaks my heart to say this, it ain't the same as seeing them live. but it's a fantastic document of this unique band . Ozzys drummer is fantastic but he ain't Bill Ward. Bill has a percussive style that contributes greatly to the heaviness of Sabs music. Tony and Gezzer are great but what impresses me most is Ozzys voice. He sounds fantastic!!!! the tracks "Iron man, " "After Forever" & "Hand of Doom" were a high point on this DVD & tour but " black Sabbath " doesn't quite gel as well as it does on the 1st album. but "behind the wall of sleep" &" war pigs " more than makes up for that.This DVD is definatley a must for Sabbath heads like me but to hear the chemistry of Ozzy, Bill,Gezzer & Tony I would recommend the "Reunion" & "Live at last" cds!!!However a fantastic visual documentation of this classic , unique, out of this world band.