When Ozzy Osbourne gave his final send-off in his hometown in Birmingham, England at Villa Park on July 5th of this year between as a successful solo artist and with Black Sabbath, it marked the end of an era. Despite the condition he was in, he gave it 100% and gave his fans, an emotional goodbye. On July 22nd, two weeks after Back to the Beginning, he was gone.
The love, the passion, and the true heart that Ozzy gave, it’s the legacy that keeps his music going. But when it comes to female tribute band Black Sabbitch, who were handpicked by both Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, they are the real deal when it comes to the Ozzy-era of Sabbath’s music. They headlined Psycho Las Vegas, sharing a bill with The Flaming Lips, Danzig, Ty Segal, and championed by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, they take it up a notch by carrying the flaming legacy of Sabbath’s music.
That and their highly anticipated live album Unrest in the West released on the Ripple Music label, will make you revisit this hard-hitting, dooming, and eruptive live shows that the band have captivated Sabbath’s music by making sure the legacy doesn’t die. When I think of tribute bands that have made sense to me, I think of The Musical Box (re-creating the golden-era of Peter Gabriel’s time with Genesis from 1970 to 1975), The Ultimate Doors, and The Australian Pink Floyd Show, they have kept the flames spread and keeping their music stronger than ever.
And for Black Sabbitch, they are up there with the tribute bands as they have the power and the glory to delve into the swirling Vertigo years of Sabbath’s golden-era and deeper cuts to prove that they were more than just the big hits that they are known for besides ‘Paranoid’, ‘Iron Man’, ‘Black Sabbath’, ‘N.I.B.’, and ‘Changes’.
The line-up considers Alice Austin on lead vocals, Emily Burton on Guitar, Melanie Makaiwi on Bass, and Angie Scarpa on Drums. They tackle tracks from the first album, Master of Reality, Sabotage, Vol. 4, and Ozzy’s final album with the band Never Say Die. Each of the eight songs Sabbitch has done, just took a whole other level with respect and honesty the way they pour their heart and souls during the live shows they’ve done.
When you hear the rumbling turned chaotic composition on ‘Children of the Grave’ which tackles themes about the dangers of Nuclear War and the Undead, Sabbitch makes it heavy, sludgy, and revved up thanks to Austin’s vocal lines pouring down the venues to make you feel that the apocalypse is about to kick off at any second. And we ain’t talkin’ about the Walking Dead franchise, we’re talking about the nightmare that’s about to unfold in front of our very eyes.
The powder-keg has just exploded between the riffs on ‘A National Acrobat’ as both Emily and Melanie do this slowed-down groove between each other and the tide that starts to rise from Angie’s chorus, those wah-wah’s come in handy with a stop-and-go treatment. They got the motorcycles all ready to go and drive off into the red-sky that’s approaching.
I mean, think about it, you need to go ahead and dig out those swirling Vertigo labels you have in your cabinets and dig back into the Sabbath sound, to prove how killer and how incredible the band were and ahead of the game. Then you hear the train going 900 miles per hour when it comes to the fast-paced opener ‘Wheels of Confusion / The Straightener’ from the Vol. 4 album as Emily and Angie go into this Yardbirds effect that speaks a bit of the ‘Stroll On’ effect, honouring the late, great Jeff Beck.
It is prog as prog as you can get. I think I hear some synths in there in the live show where it becomes an alarming effect before Alice tips her hat to the late, great Janis Joplin. It’s almost as if the spirit of the Texas-based legend is giving Alice, her massive stamp of approval to keep on truckin’. And Alice herself, is making sure that she and Ozzy are up in the heavens, knowing that they are so proud of her and the rest of the band as well.
The loud harmonica wail on ‘The Wizard’ becomes a standstill before the rhythm section kicks it in overdrive with Angie’s cannon blast sound on the drums, makes it an earth-shattering effect. It showcases her talent, her jazz-inspired textures that has a swinging effect in which Bill Ward might had had an inspiration in his background.
One of the tracks, ‘A Hard Road’ from the final album Never Say Die before Ozzy departed to embark on a successful solo career, becomes a sing-along effect for Sabbitch and the audience to celebrate the Prince of Darkness’ everlasting adventure and this wild roller-coaster ride that we’ve embarked on from beginning to the very end.
I could imagine each of the members were fighting back tears to sing this song live during the live shows and showcasing their empowerment and roaring Beatles-like taste to fill up our beverages and serve up more juicy steaks, that’s waiting for seconds. Let’s not forget ‘Hole in the Sky’ from 75’s Sabotage.
Here, Alice is almost like the new captain of Millennium Falcon and telling her band members to make the jump to light-speed as she sings to the lyrical textures and always going in this evocative texture by reaching towards the heavens with a maddening look and fighting back, like there’s no tomorrow.
This isn’t just a live album; this is an event. It sounds more powerful, more incredible, and even more joyful for Black Sabbitch to place an Unwest in the West. Not to mention the album covers nod to the amazing Barbara Steele in the 1960 cult classic, Black Sunday directed by Italian maestro, Mario Bava.
