April 25, 1980 - Heaven And Hell

Eleven days after my last release and a year and a half after "Never Say Die!", Black Sabbath released their ninth album "Heaven And Hell" on April 25, 1980. After they finished touring for their last album Sabbath began sessions for their next album that were very unproductive. This led to the firing of lead singer Ozzy Osbourne and the end of the original line-up. This is upsetting news for sure as Black Sabbath's earlier material with Ozzy is some of the best music of the decade, but their last two albums were both lesser ones and a change needed to be made I guess. Osbourne was replaced by Ronnie James Dio, former lead singer for the band Rainbow. Black Sabbath aimed to reinvent themselves with this new record, let's see how they do!

The album begins with "Neon Knights" and they kick into things right away with Tony Iommi playing some nice fast guitar to drive the main riff. We hear Dio sing for the first time and he has a high, epic sounding voice that sounds more operatic than Ozzy's but still sounds pretty solid. He sings apart from the music but they sound nice together as they jam out a couple verses. The chorus is a bit slower but still fairly upbeat as Iommi continues to drive the music and Dio hits some pretty high notes. Right after the chorus Iommi begins a guitar solo and he is just as great as always as he plays a pretty amazing solo. Sabbath will always have Tony to blame the trail with his great guitar. Things move back to the main beat as they jam out a final verse and chorus. Iommi starts what sounds like another sweet solo, but the music is beginning to fade and the song is over before he is finished. Don't make that a habit guys! Up next is "Children Of The Sea" and Iommi and Geezer Butler both play some cool stuff in this slow but epic opening. Dio sings overtop of this cool riff as his epic voice sounds pretty good leading the verse. Once Bill Ward comes in with a drum fill though things shift into a heavier, more Sabbath-like beat with Iommi leading the way with some nice guitar. Dio sings the same and it fits nixely in this part as well as he just has such a commanding voice. They play a slow, smooth chorus and unlike their last two albums, this actually sounds like a Black Sabbath song! They play another heavy and solid verse and chorus before Iommi takes off for his solo. It starts slow with Dio "oh whoa"ing in the background but he ramps it up for a short burst of awesomeness before they return to the slow opening riff. This leads into a final chorus and they resume the nice heavy riff for one last verse and end this song much better in my opinion. Track 3 is called "Lady Evil" and Butler kicks this one off with a groovy bass line as Iommi plays some sweet guitar overtop. They settle into another nice metal verse and once again Dio seems to draw all eyes (or ears) to him with his grand voice. It's a pretty catchy main riff and it leads to an even catchier chorus that sounds pretty good as well! Iommi plays a short guitar solo after the chorus that fits the mood really well and they resume the main verse. They repeat the same formula only after this chorus the solo is much longer. Iommi really goes off in this one as he is really shredding it in parts of this wicked guitar solo! He ties things nicely back into the main riff as well as Dio takes over again and leads a final verse and chorus. They jam out the chorus a few times while Iommi solos overtop and they bring another pretty solid song to a close. The final song on the first side is the seven minute "Heaven And Hell" and it starts with a catchy guitar riff as Butler and Ward play a nice rhythm section to back it. The guitar stops for the verse though as Butler leads the way with some great bass and Dio sings some more epic vocals. Iommi only comes back in for the chorus but he plays a nice riff when he does. He leaves for another verse though and I like that the bass gets to shine a bit on this one as Butler is really talented. After another chorus they play a slow "ooh"ing part that is alright but nothing special before resuming another verse. No chorus follows this one though as Butler's solod bass continues and Iommi begins a guitar solo.  He seems to play all the right notes and I think he provides another superb solo. The bass and drums speed up and now Iommi really let's loose playing some great stuff in this great new verse. Dio sings a quick new verse that sounds good but it's Tony's amazing guitar that steals the show! After this amazing showing Iommi slows things right down with an acoustic guitar bit for the rest of the song as they end this great song with a quiet, but epic finish. 

Side two begins with "Wishing Well" and Ward and Butler play a nice fast rhythm section as Iommi leads the way with another solid guitar riff. Dio sings the verse in his usual style and I really like Butler's bass in this riff. The verse flows right into the chorus and afterwards Iommi reels off a nice little solo before they play another verse. Instead of the chorus, this time it leads into a new slower riff that sounds okay but not great. Iommi begins a much longer guitar solo that starts a little slow but he works his way into another superb showing! He keeps reminding us of his talent as he plays some awesome stuff in this extended solo before tieing things nicely back into the main riff. They play a final verse and chorus and Iommi delivers one final epic solo while Dio continues to sing the title several times over as they bring this song to a nice finish. Up next is "Die Young" and it has some slow, droning keyboards in the background as Iommi plays some nice epic guitar overtop. The keyboards don't seem like they belong with the rest of this album but Tony plays some nice guitar as usual. After this slow opening things kick into a more typical beat with a speedy metal riff led by some pretty sweet guitar. Dio's voice leads an epic verse that sounds pretty great and after a solid chorus things get quiet once again. Iommi and Butler both play some cool stuff in this quiet part as Dio sings a soft verse. We hear some more more keyboards in the background as the rest of the band builds up a nice riff until we reach a short guitar solo. Tony connects things right back into the sweet earlier riff as they play another great verse and chorus. As Dio seems to like to do, he repeats the final line of the chorus several times towards what seems like the end but Iommi continues another very fast guitar solo! They begin a slow fade but it takes long enough that he has lots of time to play some fantastic stuff before things finally fade away. Track 7 is called "Walk Away" and Iommi leads the way with a slow, catchy guitar riff as this song gives off a much more radio-friendly feel. It's not a bad riff by any means, but it's slower and much easier to follow. Dio's vocals still sound pretty epic in this slower one as he sings about a woman like no other in a pretty typical rock verse. The chorus is very predictable as well and this song just doesn't have much bite to it all. After another simple verse and chorus they move into a new bridge verse that again sounds decent enough, but it's not doing anything to really grab and hold your attention. This is easily the weakest song so far in my opinion and they continue to jam out the boring chorus over and over. This sounded like every other band on the radio, which is not good at all when you are Black Sabbath. The final song on the record is "Lonely Is The Word" and it's also a bit slower paced, but has a much heavier feel to it as Butler plays some nice low bass and Iommi plays a slow, epic guitar riff. This sounds more like it I think as Dio sings nicely along to this heavy beat. The chorus is short and sweet as they prefer to jam out the slow verse, and they sound pretty great doing so. Dio sings a more epic chorus this time and afterwards Iommi plays a slow guitar solo that sounds epic and amazing. After a Ward drum fill Tony kicks into a new gear, playing some much faster guitar and unsurprisingly delivering another fantastic solo! When they stick to what their good at, they still sound like some of the best and after another brief chorus the guitar solo keeps going! He is just full of great guitar work on this song as this solo just keeps going and going all the way until the end of this near six minute song. What a fantastic way to finish off what I think was a successful comeback for these legendary rockers.

That is the end of "Heaven And Hell" and I thought overall it was not amazing, but a pretty solid album. Ozzy would seem irreplaceable, but Ronnie James Dio is a great lead singer and he does a solid job. Tony Iommi shows all over the place that he is still one of the best guitarists out there and I think this blows Sabbath's last two more experimental albums out of the water. However, I don't think it cracks into their first six albums, all of which are pretty spectacular. So while seventh place may seem like a low ranking, Black Sabbath have so much amazing music that it's not a knock on this new record at all. I'm intrigued to see where this new Black Sabbath will go next!