November 4, 1981 - Mob Rules

Six days after my last release and a year and a half since "Heaven And Hell", Black  Sabbath released their tenth album "Mob Rules" on November 4, 1981. Original drummer Bill Ward left the band during the tour for their last album and he is replaced by new drummer Vinny Appice. Ward is one hell of a drummer and he will surely be missed as this is very upsetting news. Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler are now the only remaining original members and Ronnie James Dio continues as lead singer, though this would be his final album with the band before going solo. Let's check out this final Dio-led Sabbath album!

The album kicks off with "Turn Up The Night" and they play a nice heavy riff that's reminiscent of "Symptom Of The Universe" as both Iommi and Butler are playing some fast, cool stuff. Dio comes in for the first verse and he sounds like his usual self singing some solid high vocals. Iommi plays some nice guitar between the short verses and when they reach the chorus he really shreds it! The chorus vocals sound catchy and similar to the stuff off last album, but Iommi's guitar in the chorus is top-notch! After another couple verses and chorus Iommi goes off for a guitar solo and again he is really strutting his stuff! He plays very fast and things sound pretty awesome as Tony reminds us how talented he is. The solo leads right back into the main riff and they repeat the short verses/chorus formula and jam out the chorus several times at the end. Normally the chorus played over until the song fades out is a bit of a cheap way to end a song, but with Iommi's guitar in the chorus being so amazing you don't mind it at all. Up next is "Voodoo" and this main riff is much slower paced, but still sounds nice and heavy. Iommi leads the way with a slow but smooth guitar riff and Butler's bass sounds great backing him up. Dio has such a commanding voice and he sounds so forceful and clear as he sings slowly along. When they reach the chorus it's very short compared to the long verse as it seems to end rather quickly. Appice plays a decent drum fill to move back into the main riff but his drumming, while certainly not bad, hasn't been impressive so far. After another verse and chorus it's guitar solo time and Iommi does a fantastic job as usual. This solo is a lengthy one and Tony slows it down and  really speeds things up as he weaves his way through another wonderful solo. Another drum fill takes it back to the main verse and they after a final couple verses they oddly don't resume the chorus. Instead they just jam out the main riff and let Iommi lightly solo overtop. He plays some more cool stuff and things slowly fade to an end and I like that they didn't follow the same formula. Track 3 is "The Sign Of The Southern Cross" and is the longest on the album at just under eight minutes. Iommi leads the way with a cool light guitar riff and Dio sings in a softer voice that still sounds pretty epic in this opening. Appice's drums signal a shift to a heavier part that sounds like the chorus, but it never really gets going. They resume the slow opening riff but instead of Iommi's cool guitar guest keyboardist Geoff Nichols leads the way with some synths that I don't think sound nearly as good. After this verse they play the chorus fully and it has Iommi playing some heavy classic Sabbath guitar that sounds way better in my opinion. Appice's drums are much better on this track as he mixes things up and plays a ton of nice little fills. They resume the slow main riff and this time we have both guitar and keyboards, which is certainly better than no guitar, but I just don't understand why they thought this riff needed keyboards at all. After another chorus they move to a droning, trippy bridge before it's guitar solo time. Iommi doesn't disappoint and plays some more great guitar and the rhythm section is great as well with Butler and Appice both playing some cool stuff. Another nice drum fill resumes the final verse and they play a final chorus before just rocking out the final minute. It has some great guitar and some more great drumming by Appice as this was easily the best song so far for me. The next song is called "E5150" and it's a short, trippy song. It has a very high piercing sound in the background and we hear some very trippy guitar and keyboards that are the backdrop for this whole song. Iommi's guitar drones and screeches and we hear some muted vocals that add to the very weird vibe. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi evil lair and is very unlike typical Sabbath, but interesting and certainly trippy. Iommi plays a slow bit of actually guitar at the end and we hear some more trippy keyboards that fade right into the next song, "The Mob Rules". They kick right into it with a catchy, sweet guitar riff and Butler and Appice form a fast rhythm section that sounds pretty solid. Dio is back to his usual epic vocals and this fast-paced pseudo title track keeps your head banging. The chorus is very catchy as well and Dio delivers the line "if you listen to fools, the mob rules" nicely. They play another verse and chorus quickly and it's guitar solo time already as Iommi takes off with some great guitar. It's a pretty great solo and it connects right back into the main riff nicely. After a final verse and chorus Iommi finishes things up with some more excellent guitar as they bring this first side to an end with a bang! 

Side two begins with "Country Girl" and Iommi leads the way with a slow, nice guitar riff and Appice plays some decent drums. Dio comes in to sing the verse in typical Dio fashion as he sings nicely along to this slow toe-tapper. After a couple decent slow verses they switch to a different slow riff that's much lighter and Dio hits some pretty high notes. This leads into the guitar solo and although it's a short one it's pretty good as usual from Iommi. It's right back to the main riff as Appice adds in some nice drum fills to spice up the riff that grows a little tiring since they play it so much. They continue to jam out the verse until the song fades to an end. Up next is "Slipping Away" and Iommi and Butler both play some cool stuff as they form a catchy main riff. It's got a nice stop-and-start beat and Dio's vocals are solid as usual as they begin the first verse. It flows right into the short chorus where Appice plays some more nice drums, then it's right back to the catchy main riff for the next verse. After the verse and a longer chorus they move to the bridge where Appice has even more solid drumming to show us and his final drum fill leads nicely right into the guitar solo. Iommi is shredding it right from the start and after some sweet stuff Butler gets in on the fun and says some pretty sweet bass! This "solo" has Iommi and Butler taking turns and both of them sound pretty awesome as this track has great contributions from everyone! They connect things smoothly back to the verse as Dio returns to lead the way again. They play a final chorus and then one last verse before ending this pretty cool song. Track 8 is called "Falling Off The Edge Of The World" and Nichols features again with some trippy keyboards overtop a slow bass riff by Butler. This opening is very slow and a bit haunting as Dio sings in a hushed but still somehow epic voice. Iommi eventually does come in with some nice slow guitar but after a minute this trippy opening fades away until only the keyboards remain. From here they shift to a much heavier riff that has the classic Sabbath feeling of slowly chugging along. It's not very flashy, but the super slow beat sounds really heavy and good I think. This is only a connecting riff however as Iommi speeds things up to a faster new riff and they begin a verse that's much more like their recent music. Dio is back to his epic high vocals and Iommi leads a pretty cool riff and chorus with some nice guitar. The chorus goes right into the guitar solo and words don't do justice to the amount of different, amazing solos that Iommi has in his repertoire. This one is another great guitar solo and it leads right into a final verse before playing the chorus a couple times to finish it off. The final song on the album is "Over And Over" and it also has a slow opening with Iommi and Butler both playing some nice slow stuff while Appice plays some nice slow drums as well. It sounds like another classic Sabbath riff and it drives this whole song. Dio comes in and sings the verse overtop this riff in slow, epic fashion as he nicely delivers a couple short verses and choruses. After the second chorus Iommi goes off for his solo and once again he plays some amazing guitar that just fits the mood so perfectly. He is a solo master and is the highlight of virtually every song. They bring it back for a final verse and chorus and Dio continues to sing "over and over" in the background while Iommi solos overtop the main riff. It's an extended final solo and he plays some more sweet stuff while Butler backs him with some pretty good bass as well. This awesome ending slowly fades to a close as Iommi continues to shred his guitar right until the end of this pretty solid album.

That is the end of "Mob Rules" and I thought it was another good Black Sabbath record, similar to their previous release "Heaven And Hell". The loss of Bill Ward was surprisingly not so bad as Vinny Appice played some decent drums on this record and Tony Iommi continues to show why he's one of the all-time great guitarists. Like their last release, I think it's a better album than both "Never Say Die" and "Technical Ecstacy" but still nowhere close to any of their first six amazing albums. But which Dio-led album was better? I think it's really close but I give the nod to this newest album, but just barely. This would also be the last good Black Sabbath album for a long time as they went through several line-up changes in the following years and in my opinion lost their way. It's a shame there won't be anymore Sabbath for a while, but these guys were the godfathers of metal and even with this album showed that they still had something left in the tank. Their former lead singer however, would continue to have a successful solo career, including an album just days after this one!