Black Sabbath, one of the most prominent and influential faces of the 70’s Rock topography were, by the decade’s end, a band in disarray. Once the masters of their own reality, the Birmingham four-piece of Tony Iommi (Guitar), Geezer Butler (Bass), Bill Ward (Drums) and Ozzy Osbourne (Vocals), were now battle weary veterans, wearing the deep scars of a near ten year album-tour-album cycle that had left them bereft of any real sense of direction and motivation. The pace of the Heavy Metal and Hard Rock scene was now being set by the younger New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands and spunky young upstarts, such as Van Halen invading from the U.S. Black Sabbath’s latest album, the ironically titled, Never Say Die!, released in September 1978, did little to reclaim lost ground and would transpire to be their final studio recording with their much-loved front-man, who in less than a year, would be unceremoniously sacked for narcotic and alcoholic induced lethargy.
To many, the odds on the band continuing in the absence of their distinctive ‘voice’ seemed like a wager that no-one in their right mind would take. However, elsewhere in the world another Hard Rock behemoth was undergoing dramatic changes of equal tumult, the results of which would have a ripple effect upon the world of Black Sabbath with quite dramatic consequences.
Ex. Deep Purple guitar maestro Ritchie Blackmore now impulsive leader of demigods, Rainbow was preparing to re-brand his Anglo-American myth makers into a sleek, chart-troubling troupe of AOR heroes. Ronnie James Dio, Rainbow’s founding lead vocalist whose lion’s roar had taken the band to gold and platinum status soon realised there was to be no place for his Arthurian-lyrical style in this exciting new operation and, like Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne, eventually found himself one band short of a gig. Several phone calls later and a chance meeting in, of all places, the Rainbow Bar & Grill on Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, Iommi invited Dio to join the remaining members of Black Sabbath for an impromptu rehearsal. Within fifteen minutes and one brand new song later (that’s ‘Children Of The Sea’ trivia fans), Black Sabbath had their new lead vocalist in situ, Dio had a new gig and all were once more, ready to roll.
The resultant album releases over the next few years proved without question, that this match was one without peer and succeeded without question in carrying the name of Black Sabbath (later with Vinnie Appice replacing Bill Ward on drums) proudly into the new decade. With an accompanying soundtrack featuring some of the most exciting and dramatic Heavy Metal to ever grace a studio or stage, Black Sabbath rose once more to a place of highest regard within elite Rock circles.
Such was the chemistry between these players, that two reformations of this Black Sabbath line-up have since been made, the second of which, occurring in 2007, went under the title of that first ground-breaking album, Heaven And Hell, and still survives at the dawn of yet another exciting new decade for Heavy Metal.
The album that reinvented Black Sabbath for the Eighties is a powerhouse of epic proportions. Weighty by riff, strident by style and in new vocalist, Ronnie James Dio plying his lyrical Arthurian bent just a little more towards the macabre, and delivering a vocal as only an ex. Rainbow singer can, Heaven And Hell has few contenders as being one of the most complete Hard Rock and Heavy Metal albums ever recorded.
Originally released on April 25th 1980 and produced by Martin Birch whose c.v. reads like a who’s who of top Rock bands (up to this point, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, Whitesnake, Jeff Beck, Fleetwood Mac), Heaven And Hell would therefore be the first Black Sabbath album to benefit from an outside producer’s hand since Master Of Reality way back in 1971.
And the results speak for themselves. With tracks of such dynamic power as opener, ‘Neon Knights’ (although the last track to be written during the album’s sessions), this song seems to represent perhaps more completely than any other the skewed yet perfect marriage of Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio. Iommi’s SG chug, Geezer’s rumble-some bottom end and Dio’s lyrical conjuring with worlds and characters of both dread and wonder all meld together to create as perfect a Black Sabbath as one again dared to hope. Elsewhere, such stand-out’s as the single, ‘Die Young’, ‘Children Of The Sea’ and the title track, prove without question, the platinum plated quality of writing and performance offered within these most Metal of grooves. The results helped to take the album into the U.K. Top Ten and the U.S. Billboard Top 30.
This Re-mastered Deluxe Expanded Edition offers a complete second disc of bonus tracks from the same period. Eight live cuts from various locations on the U.S. Heaven And Hell tour offer a fan’s-eye insight into the kind of reception the band were receiving when they took the album to their devoted audience. Also featured is a rare mono cut of the track ‘Lady Evil’ previously only available as a 7” Single B-Side.
Deluxe Expanded Edition Of
“Heaven And Hell”
Release date: 5th April 2010
Disc 1
1. Neon Knights
2. Children Of The Sea
3. Lady Evil
4. Heaven And Hell
5. Wishing Well
6. Die Young
7. Walk Away
8. Lonely Is The Word
Disc 2
1. Children Of The Sea Live
2. Heaven And Hell Live
3. Lady Evil Mono Edit
4. Neon Knights Live
5. Children Of The Sea Live
6. Heaven And Hell Live
7. Die Young Live
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