Rating: 10 / 10 Stars
BLACK SABBATH is: Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums/percussion)
REVIEW – 1979 was a weird year for music. Disco was dying out, although it wouldn’t die a true death until late 1980. Lots of different genres of music were getting played at the time, new, young bands were opting for dress clothes and skinny ties, and unfortunately, heavy 70s rock also appeared to be on its way out. Those same young musicians referred to hard rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple as “Dinosaurs”. Those bands were starting to feel like it as well. Purple had broken up 3 years prior, Zeppelin only had another year or so left, and Black Sabbath just fired their longtime vocalist, Ozzy Osbourne.
Right about the same time, vocalist Ronnie James Dio felt out of place in his band Rainbow, which was the band guitarist Ritchie Blackmore formed after leaving Deep Purple in 1975. Blackmore was going more for a pop sound, and less of a hard rock sound, which didn’t sit well with Dio. After 3 albums, it was time for a change, and Dio quit.
The planets do align sometimes, and they truly did with this match made in hell. Originally, Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Dio were planning on forming a new band instead of continuing with Sabbath. Iommi later acknowledged that he knew that something special was taking place. Iommi’s writing style had hit a dead end with Ozzy, and was renewed with Dio strictly based on Ronnie’s style of singing. Ozzy would just sing along with the riff, whereas Dio came up with vocal melodies that complemented the riff. Lyrics were also handled by Dio, whereas before, they were written by bassist Geezer Butler.
Sabbath also employed an outside producer for the first time since 1971. Martin Birch, who had produced, early Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple, Rainbow and Whitesnake, and would also go on to produce Iron Maiden, Blue Oyster Cult, and MSG, was chosen as producer. The album’s cover art was taken from a painting by artist Lynn Curlee, Smoking Angels, inspired by a 1928 photograph of women dressed as angels smoking backstage during a break at a college pageant.
Musically, Heaven & Hell is more diverse than anything Sabbath released during the Ozzy years. One listen through immediately tells the listener that, regardless of singing style, there’s no way possible that Ozzy could have provided vocals for this album. The powerhouse first single from Heaven & Hell, “Neon Knights”, opens the album and lets the listener know that Sabbath were back and with a vengeance, as both Sabbath and Dio had something major to prove. “Children of the Sea” dates back to a couple of years before Ozzy was let go, and Iommi also states that he has a tape of Ozzy singing along to an early version, albeit with different lyrics and vocal melody. “Lady Evil” sounds like it could have been a big single for the boys, but was not given the single treatment. The seven-minute dark and evil title track ends side one, leaving one breathless and wondering how much more can there be? “Wishing Well” (not the old tune by Free) starts side two, followed by the second single from Heaven & Hell, “Die Young”, “Walk Away”, and finally, “Lonely Is The Word” closes the album, making the run time almost 40 minutes.
Drummer Bill Ward, who did play on the album, says he has no memory of playing a single beat on it. He was given the task of telling his best friend Ozzy that he’d been fired from Sabbath, and it didn’t sit well with him, adding fuel to the fire that was his alcoholism. The death of both of his parents later in 1980 would lead him to step down from the band. Session drummer Vinnie Appice was quickly brought in to replace Ward, and he was that lineup’s drummer for the duration.
Sabbath released another studio album, “Mob Rules”, which had plenty of great material on it, but lacked the fire and brimstone of “Heaven & Hell”. An idea for a live album was brought forth, and would be Sabbath’s first live album (not counting the “Live At Last” album which was not approved by any member of Sabbath, but rather was a cash grab by their former manager who owned the rights to the recordings). “Live Evil” was plagued with sound issues stemming from being self-produced by Butler, Iommi and Dio. Sound settings could not be agreed upon, and was released without Dio’s stamp of approval, resulting in him leaving Black Sabbath, and starting his own illustrious solo career.
The same lineup would reconvene again in the early ‘90s, and the reunion would prove fruitful, producing the album “Dehumanizer”. Dio again left the band when it was announced that Ozzy would retire from touring and wanted to bury the hatchet with his old bandmates, which they accepted. Of course, we all know that Ozzy did not retire, but instead toured regularly for another 25 years after the initial retirement announcement. A complete and full-on original Black Sabbath reunion took place between 1999 and 2005. Fast forward to 2007, and the same lineup reunited once again, this time dropping the Black Sabbath moniker, which Ozzy took Iommi to court over, saying that the true Black Sabbath should only be the original four. With all parties in agreement, the decision was made to continue as “Heaven & Hell”, producing one album “The Devil You Know”, and a few tours followed.
The final tour had to be cut short, and remaining tour dates were cancelled, as Ronnie’s health was starting to decline. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2009. Ronnie James Dio passed away from the disease in 2010, silencing one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in music history. He left behind a wonderful cache of some of the best rock music ever written, including this album, Heaven & Hell. There will never be another one like it, or like him.
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