Call it Black Sabbath or call it Heaven & Hell, but by either name, this is a great record. The Dio-era Sabbath line-up have been back together for a couple of years now First, they released The Dio Years compilation under the Sabbath name, with three new songs. Then to support the release they decided to hit the road and tour under the name Heaven & Hell. The tour went so well, the guys kept things rolling and released a full album of new material this year. Goddamn, Ronnie James Dio turned 67 years old this month, and Tony Iommi is 61, yet here they are still recording one of my favorite Metal albums of the year with The Devil You Know. I was a little disappointed with my first listen, as I thought it was to monotonous and slow, but after a couple of spins it really grabbed me. Seriously, Bible Black kicks so much ass that it could have been on Sabbath's Mob Rules album.
The packaging on this album is fantastic. It is a double LP with a gatefold sleeve, and to top it off, the album cover is an absolute killer. Some people think that it is too "cartoony" for Sabbath...umm, excuse me, Heaven & Hell...but I love the whole Guillermo del Toro feel. The fourth album side has an etching of the bands logo of the winged devil which also looks amazing.
2 comments:
I never listened to any Sabbath albums after Ozzy left. In my mind, that's where it ends.
Dio era Sabbath was all about the heavy! Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules (and later on Born Again) were big influences on the doom metal / sludge sound. Check out Live Evil sometime. The Heaven and Hell/Sign of the Southern Cross medley is top shelf!
That side 4 etching looks sick!
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