PRINCE OF DARKNESS DESCENDS

November 14, 2010

With surprising vitality for a musician who's spent the better part of his life headlining the heavy metal movement, Ozzy Osbourne brought his signature doom and gloom to Vancouver, Sunday night.

The show opened with a video featuring his humourous side, depicting Ozzy as the star of various snapshots of popular culture including Avatar, Jersey Shore, The Hangover, Lady Gaga's "Telephone", Twilight, and Iron Man—which sent the stadium into a fury of cheers.

Without smoke or fire, Ozzy swept on stage in his trademark black trench coat, greeting the Vancouver crowd with a huge grin and some cursing. The opening number "Bark at the Moon" packed a solid punch and kicked off the pyrotechnics that lit up Rogers Arena.

Defying the laws of modern science, Ozzy is a medical marvel. The fact that he lived through his debauchery-filled years is astonishing, let alone still having the capacity to perform.

For someone who has built a successful career around a dark and demonic stage persona, Ozzy was downright cheerful, full of life and energy as he worked the crowd with "Mr. Crowley", and "I Don't Know", breaking after each song to engage the crowd.

The second stop of his month-long North American tour was full of Ozzy antics, including hosing the crowd—security guards included—and himself with foam and water.

Providing a full range of material that really spanned the four decades of music under Ozzy's belt, the set list hit "Let Me Hear You Scream" off his tenth studio album Scream, released in June 2010, as well as Black Sabbath hits "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Iron Man", both off the band's second album Paranoid, released in 1970.

The celebrated, multi-platinum status musician's work with Black Sabbath is credited with pioneering the genre and earned him the title "Godfather of Heavy Metal".

"Suicide Solution" made an appearance, as did "Giant Killers" bringing out the lighters, and "Crazy Train", which transfixed the crowd in a trance. A collection of dark classics, the show gave fans young and old their Ozzy fix.

The musician, who will celebrate his 62nd birthday next month, is obviously past his peak, but what he lacked in stage jumping, he made up for with enthusiasm, and the fans lapped up every drop.

Not only is Ozzy still alive, he still exudes the hell-raising, dark and doom spirit that earned him the moniker Prince of Darkness.