It was just over a year ago that Black Sabbath performed their final show at Birmingham’s Villa Park, an event that was instantly etched into the annals of music history: even after Ozzy Osbourne’s passing, he, and the rest of the band, are revered as the fathers of heavy metal, and adored because of it. On this tour, Canadian outfit Cancer Bats have discarded their original material to pay tribute to the “lords of metal,” an idea the metalheads of Nottingham were all-too eager to get on board with. They, together with Froglord and Black Mastiff, proved that Black Sabbath’s influence is undying.

Black Mastiff

It was a low-key entrance from the night’s opening act, as the three members of Black Mastiff wandered onto the stage without much fanfare: compared to the dazzling theatrics of Froglord and the dominating confidence of Bat Sabbath that would follow, this trio were an unassuming lot (that is, right up until their rumbling stoner riffs smacked you about the head). The group describe themselves as “a rock band from Canada that has fun playing music together,” and this laid-back style came to define their set, which was loose and relaxed at every turn. With the odd false-start and ad-libbed joke thrown in, Black Mastiff’s thirty minutes felt more like an extended jam session than a choreographed show, not that that’s much of a criticism in-and-of itself: bassist Clay Shea’s vigorous head-banging and drummer Allan Harding’s wicked grin proved the band were having a hell of a lot of fun up on that stage, a feeling mirrored by the crowd.

Black Mastiff’s set was characterised solely by its groovy stoner rock riffs, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way. Shea’s bass was obviously the focus of this mix, which was bulbous and throaty at every turn— Yiannakoulials’ guitar parts could, at times, feel smothered beneath his bandmate’s gigantic tone, but it was honestly hard to care when each track was so infectious. With some impressive vocal harmonies thrown in, this was a show to be felt in the room, and you could tell the people who’d shown up early were glad to have done so. A fitting cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Heaven and Hell’ solidified Black Mastiff as a fitting opening act, and one that could absolutely get you head-banging if given the opportunity. They made for a strong, if understated, start to the event, which would only increase in scale and majesty as it progressed.

Froglord

Even when they’re playing a support slot, Froglord demand your attention like few bands of their size. In a matter of minutes, the Bristol-based four piece worked to transform Beta into a mystical swamp, complete with ritualistic altars, symbol-adorned wall-hangings, amphibian masks and a few toads dotted around the place, just for good measure. After seeing the group play a headlining show back in April, we can confirm their ambitions were not diminished in the slightest on Sunday night: this was yet another delightfully theatrical outing from Froglord, chock-full of prophetic ramblings and daring turns. You have to imagine this is the first Cancer Bats support act to play a harmonica solo, and the first to play the bass using a frog ornament— no matter the venue or the occasion, you cannot deny that these guys go all-out to draw you into their swampy excess.

New single ‘Croak’ kicked off the set, and what a note to begin on: Froglord’s show opened with energy, showcasing the range of bellowing growls and nasally clean vocals their titular frontman is capable of. From there on, the four-piece made sure to thrown in just about every sound and style they’ve ever adapted to, getting the sizeable audience head-banging to the pulverising riffs of ‘Green Inferno’ and the momentous climax of ‘The Mystic Toad.’ It was apparent, right until the end of the show, that Froglord are huge fans of Bat Sabbath, and were making sure to enjoy the chance to play with them— how else would you explain the range of adorable dance moves they were pulling out? Even if closer ‘They Came From Saturn’ didn’t feel quite as humongous as the songs before it, oddly enough, you can be sure that this crowd (which had come to see some old-school doom shenanigans) fell in love with the amphibian quartet, who continue to delight every time we see them.

Bat Sabbath

From the rapturous cheering that greeted Bat Sabbath on entry, you’d have thought the real Black Sabbath were in attendance: Cancer Bats have made quite a name for themselves in the last twenty years, and when you add on the promise of hearing them play ‘Paranoid’ and ‘War Pigs,’ you can bet Nottingham’s metalheads were well up for this doom metal exhibition. The band certainly looked the part, sporting flamboyant capes and trousers better left in the 70s— you barely had time to take such bold fashion statements in before the pummelling riffs of ‘Children of the Grave’ came at you thick and fast. In terms of sound, this cover had more in common with Lamb of God’s rendition from last year than it did with the Black Sabbath original, amping up the intensity (and the tempo) to really fill the space at Beta. Liam Cormier’s raspy vocals were almost drowned out by the crowd, which was whipped up into a frenzy in seconds: just like that, we were off.

Bat Sabbath weren’t pulling out the deep cuts, but no-one would’ve expected them to— if you’re coming to see the songs of Ozzy Osbourne and company, it’s those legendary hits you want to hear, and Cancer Bats brought those in spades. Even more than fifty years since they were originally written, the jovial guitar parts of ‘Supernaut’ and the groovy changes of ’N.I.B.’ still pack one hell of a punch (though it must be said that the technically-flawless playing of Jackson Landry, Jaye Schwarzer and Mike Peters didn’t hurt in this regard), earning some fantastic mosh pits in the second half of the show. For all their talk of “worship,” the greatest tribute Cancer Bats paid to Black Sabbath was the uncontrollable smiles they were sporting all set, and the phenomenal response they got from the audience in turn: with songs like these, they probably didn’t need to work the crowd as well as they did, but we’re not complaining! The likes of ‘Iron Man,’ ‘Fairies Wear Boots’ and ‘Symptom of the Universe’ are still fresh and exciting today: Bat Sabbath simply took them to the next level.