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In this era of reality TV shows and the world’s seemingly endless obsession with being a fly on the wall of celebrity life, it’s easy to forget about the rich musical catalogue build up by Black Sabbath. As Ozzy Osbourne seems to increasingly become a parody of himself while falling off quad bikes and mopping up dog vomit, we the fans crave a hard rocking antidote. Enter the Heaven & Hell project. Many casual rock and metal fans might have forgotten that after Ozzy’s departure from the band in 1979 they went on to record and tour with the legendary hobbit-like vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Fast forwarding to 2007, this lineup is back and touring under the Heaven And Hell banner and on this release also tout three new studio compositions.
The Dio Years is essentially drawn from 1981’s Heaven & Hell and the follow up Mob Rules albums which form the body of work recorded with Dio as vocalist. Anyone wishing to draw comparison with Ozzy would be hard pressed; Dio brought a flashier, more polished, rock vocal to Sabbath’s already hard and driving brand of dark rock. To compare the two would be a pointless exercise in some respects, both vocalists have styles that seem to mesh with the band and provide variations on a theme. If you haven’t listened to Dio-era Sabbath for a while then you’ll probably be struck by the same thing as me when you fire this album on; the bloody thing rocks like a big rocky thing right out of the traps with Neon Nights and just keeps going. Aside from the title track there are plenty of the big hitting songs you’ll recognise and love all over again from Die Young to the thumping Turn Up The Night. As far as summarising an era goes, this record is a winner.
Perhaps more open to the critic’s red pen are the three new studio recordings tacked on the end with The Devil Cried and Shadows Of The Wind being slightly lacklustre and consigned to the ‘anonymous chugging heavy metal’ bin that Sabbath are guilty of now and again. Ear In The Wall fares better and features a pleasing Tony Iommi guitar workout to go with the engaging vocal from Dio.
This is a really nice album let down a little by some bland new songs, but don’t let that put you off picking up a copy. If you need reminded about this little chapter in rock and roll history then you could do a lot worse that give it another listen and head along when Heaven and Hell sets off on tour this coming November.
Dio kinda lost it as a solo artiste (IMHO) after his 1st few albums but if he is touring with the BS lineup I'm in when they tour. Neon Knights is a classic track and Live Evil is an awesome album to listen to if you have never heard him live with Sabbath.
"Cry out to legions of the brave
Time again to save us from the jackals of the street"
My first album that I purchased was Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath. The cover had angels smoking. I thought it looked beautiful and therefore, the music couldn't be bad at all. I listened to that album more times then I care to admit.
