High-concept cover bands succeed when they breathe new life into something old and familiar. Dread Zeppelin started doing it in the 1990s, with its Elvis impersonator meets reggae band take on Led Zeppelin’s catalog. Today Mac Sabbath takes the form to its most bizarre extreme: exploring the proto-doom and heavy metal of Black Sabbath while dressed as mutant (and unauthorized) characters from the marketing world of McDonald’s. The result is, in a word, sacrilegious. It’s also hysterically funny. But what’s most important is that it works. The band’s fast food-themed parody lyrics somehow fit well onto the classic sludge of Ozzy and his pals.

Mac Sabbath
Thu, 8pm, $18+
The Ritz, San Jose

Ozzy Osbourne’s notorious drug-fueled career in 70s and 80s is the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll cliché—how is the guy still standing after more than 40 years? What isn’t cliché is the performance Black Sabbath delivered Monday night at a nearly sold out Shoreline Amphitheatre.

For two hours, the iconic hard rock band ran through four decades worth of songs with the same churning persistence that brought Sabbath international fame and cemented the group as one of the founding members of the heavy metal genre.

The band set the tone opening with “War Pigs” as Ozzy jumped in place holding the mike stand. Guitarist Tony Iommi hit his classic two-chord riff and solo like it wasn’t a big deal, Geezer bobbed cooly with his bass and tour drummer Tommy Clufetos added some muscle behind double kick drums topped with an arsenal of toms, cymbals and a giant gong.

Ozzy screamed “I can’t fucking year you” and “let me see your fucking hands” about a thousand times, dunked his head in buckets of water, blessed the crowd with the leftovers and told us “It’s fucking great to be crazy.” And it was great to be a Sabbath fan with nearly flawless takes on classics “Snow Blind,” “Black Sabbath,” “Sweet Leaf,” “Fairies Wear Boots,” “Iron Man” and “Children of the Grave.”

Newer songs like “God is Dead?” from this year’s full-length 13 were met with less enthusiasm but stayed in form enough to fit with older songs and keep the crowd’s interest. Clufetos added to the mix with an epic extended drum solo midway through the set.

The night peaked with the Iommi’s best guitar solo of the night on “Dirty Women” before the band hit the encore like a ’71 Camero redlining down the 101 with “Paranoid.” Despite the wear and tear, the Sabbath machine has a few miles left.

More photos from the concert.

After an 18-year break between studio albums, Black Sabbath did what’s expected for an aging iconic rock band looking for a comeback in 2013—they recruited super producer Rick Rubin to record their new album.

Rubin, who helped reinvigorate the careers of Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Neil Diamond, among others, asked Black Sabbath to channel the energy and spirit of their groundbreaking self-titled debut, an album that many consider the first in the heavy metal canon. Rubin’s magic worked again, with the album, called 13, scoring the first No. 1 release from the group in 33 years.

Black Sabbath performs at Shoreline Amphitheatre on August 26 with all but one of the band’s original members. Frontman Ozzy Osbourne spoke about the tour and the new album in a media conference call earlier this year.

On splitting with original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward for the album and tour:
We would love to have Bill back in the fold, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. We knew we had to deliver an album because we had kept people waiting for, like, 35 years. We all just got on the boat and, unfortunately, Bill had some discrepancy about something or other, but we’d love to have him back and work something out.

On working with Rubin, who asked the band to revisit their first album before recording 13:
For us, when Rick says, “I don’t want you to think of a classic heavy metal album,” I’m like, “Well, what the fuck do you want me to do? What are you looking for?” I know either way it took me the longest to understand what he was saying. He says, “Forget all the other albums. I want you to concentrate and zone into the vibe that you had on the first album.”

I thought, “What is he talking about, you know?” And then the [record needle] drops, and then I suddenly remembered that we originally started out as a jazz/blues band, and that was a part of the first album. We hadn’t written that many songs and it was just like a jammer on side two—a bluesy album sound to it.

So I got what he was saying. he didn’t want a structured album in the respects of verse, riff, verse, riff, middle, solo … He wanted that freedom that we had on the first album, which was just a natural vibe.

On how his voice and how it has lasted 40 years:
Well, I’ve stopped smoking cigarettes. I’ve stopped smoking dope. I’ve stopped taking drugs. I’ve stopped drinking alcohol. Before I go on the road now, I try and warm my voice up and before a show I warm my voice up.

I’ve got one instrument and that’s my voice that’s given by God. I’ve got to start taking care of it because it ain’t going to last very long.

I was abusing it. I mean, my voice [was there] all the time when I used to smoke, and I just thought, it’s a good idea to quit. I haven’t smoked a cigarette or dope in a long, long time.

On being labeled a heavy metal band:
You know, the ’70s heavy metal, the ’80s heavy metal, the ’90s and the new millennium metal are nothing like each other, but yet we’re all under this one bag and I never really got my head around it.

We never said, “Oh, we’re the godfathers of heavy metal,” because we’ve always felt that it doesn’t say anything. Musically, it just puts you in one bag. It was heavy rock, which was more of a musical thing to me.

I’ve never really liked using that word “heavy metal” because ’80s metal was all Poison, Motley Crue, Ozzy and so on, and the ’70s was a different thing, and it got different in the ’90s. I mean, it’s like it doesn’t have any musical connotations for me.

On his nickname ‘Prince of Darkness’:
It’s a name. I didn’t wake up one morning and go, “You know what, I’m going to call myself…”—it started as a joke name really. I’m okay with it. You know, it’s better than being called an asshole.

On touring now compared to 30 years ago:
Well, we’re all a few years older and nobody gets stoned or drunk. Geezer’ll take a drink now and again but I don’t drink or use anymore. Every time I do I get in fuckin’ trouble. We’re just guys now; we’re men. We’ve got families and we got responsibilities, but I’m still fucking crazy. I’m still having fun, you know?

On playing with guitarist Tony Iommi again:
The guy is a warrior in the respect that when he was about 17 he was working in a factory and he had the tips of his middle two fingers on his hand lopped off in a metal shaving machine. They told him that he would never play guitar again. He proved them all wrong by making these signatures, and for years I would say to Tony, “How do you know when you’re touching the strings?” And he goes, “I just do it,” you know.

But you say to him, “You can’t do this again,” and he’ll find a way if he wants to do it. When we started this last album, he was struggling with lymphoma. We all thought, “Oh, this is never going to happen.” He marched through it, and for that alone he’s my hero. I mean, he pulls things off like when you think he’s done, he’ll come up with something bigger, better and badder than before.

Black Sabbath performs August 26 at Shoreline Amphitheatre. More info.

Black Sabbath-influenced stoner-metal has been on the rise in underground music since the 70s. Locals Dark Earth take all the best elements of this sound—loud meaty licks, bluesy grooves, howling vocals, and create something fresh, but still familiar. We asked the trio (James Sotelo—guiars/lead vocals, Bobby Daly—Bass, Kevin Boockholdt) about their upcoming releases and how they write their songs:

Tell me a little bit about your recent record deal with F.U. Hollywood? How did that come about?

KB: Our friend, Dave Nevin from San Jose Rock Shop, introduced Greg Brodick to us. He liked our music and has been looking to put out a vinyl featuring San Jose artists. He offered us a deal to put out a 12″ split vinyl with Bibles and Hand Grenades, as well as a potential full length album release. The split will have some of the songs from the 42012 EP, along with a digital download that includes the complete 5 song EP.

It seems like there’s been a lot of bands this past five years that play 70s Sabbath metal. Why do you suppose this sound is making a comeback?

BD: I think it’s been going on under the radar continuously since the 70s, but it’s definitely gotten a lot more attention lately. This is our favorite music so we’re a little biased. It rules, that’s why!

Your songs, while obviously rooted in this old sound, have a vibrancy to them. What do you do to give it a modern edge, or is that even needed?

JS: We don’t really think of it that way. We just play what we feel at the time and write songs that come out of those jams. From the beginning, we’ve been improvising whole practices and pulling music out of that. We improvise a lot of parts live but that’s part of what makes playing a visceral experience. We each bring different influences to the table.

How much of what you play is deliberately creating new sounds versus specifically paying tribute to the music you love?

KB: We can’t separate ourselves from our influences, but we’re not a tribute band, in any sense. Our music comes from moments of inspiration while we’re playing together. Improvisation!

Tell me a little bit about the band name, Dark Earth. Where does the name come from?

KB: Honestly, James came up with it while working. James and Bobby were working at the same place and James approached Bobby and asked him what he thought of the name Dark Earth. We agreed that it suited our present reality.

So many different subgenres of metal have evolved from the 70s metal sound, the most extreme being thrash. You guys are taking influence directly from the source. What do you think you and other more “modern” metal bands have in common?

KB: It’s hard to compare across so many subgenres what makes us more or less like the other bands outside of our differing influences. Everyone feels like their own thing is different from everyone else in their own minds. We are just playing the music that we enjoy and comes naturally to us.

Tell me a little bit about your live shows. The style and sound you play, typically makes for some heavy, intense shows. Is that what yours are like?

BD: We play really loud live. We play loud all the time because it’s the best way to play! We bring high volume, our music, and ourselves to the shows.

I find the idea of the power trio interesting since everyone’s role in the band is critical to the band. How do you think that being a trio has shaped your sound and songwriting?

BD: As a trio, we play off of each other. It’s easy to jam and improvise.

Dark Earth play the Caravan on Thursday March 21. The show starts at 10pm. It is free.