Ozzy Osbourne
Beast In The Darkness. Live In Tokyo, 29/06/84

Ozzy has always been a beast on stage, and this bootleg is further proof of that. The tour is the one following "Bark AT The Moon," one of Ozzy's most badass and wild tours. The recording isn't perfect but more than acceptable.

The star of the concert is Jake E. Lee's guitar with its downright acidic sound. At that time, Jake indeed used distorted, acidic, dry, and sharp sounds, almost to the point of annoyance. The rest of the band is perfectly seasoned, and even if Ozzy sometimes shows he's struggling a bit with his voice, no one gives a damn, given the result is still a bomb, a truly unstoppable steamroller. But let's talk about Jake E. Lee: I've already written in the past about how much I adore this six-string phenomenon who, among other things, was in his prime during those years. It's impressive to hear how, in just over a year (Jake joined the Ozzy band at the end of '82), the young man fully dominates the situation, managing to interpret Ozzy and Sabbath's historic tracks in a very personal way.

The result is magnificent: after the classic opening with Orff's "Carmina Burana" (a true staple of Ozzy), "I Don't Know" kicks in, and the result is terrifying, with Jake E. Lee enriching the central riff with badass phrases and touches; "Mr. Crowley" is almost hypnotic and the arpeggio of "Revelation Mother Heart" gives goosebumps; superb "Bark At The Moon," with that solo taking off like a missile and when it unfolds in progression, it always manages to thrill me.
The rest of the concert goes straight along, with an acidic and unhealthy "Paranoid" ending the show. It's interesting to note how already in this live dimension, Jake E. Lee's sounds were evolving, heading in the direction that would later complete with "The Ultimate Sin," the album Ozzy would record two years later: as I said before, the distortion is very dry and sharp, much more acidic compared to Jake's previous performances.
 

There's no need to talk about Ozzy because even when he's screaming like a slaughtered pig to rally the crowd, he still manages to convey incredible energy and vitality; besides, "chubby" Ozzy was entering his darkest period (involving alcohol, drugs, and various medications) from which he would emerge towards the end of the '80s, but on stage, he remained the absolute master of the scene: rock & roll!