It has been a long battle between Black Sabbath fans: Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie James Dio. Both were fantastic frontmen for the heavy metal band, and each had a distinct style. Osbourne’s Black Sabbath was your blueprint heavy metal band, with heavy riffs, loud vocals, and straightforward lyrics. Dio’s Black Sabbath focused more on mythical themes and more melodic solos with fantasy and adventure intertwined in the tunes.
The Dio Vs. Osbourne battle began almost a year before Heaven and Hell was released. On April 27, 1979, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward fired Osbourne from the band. The group’s very first post-Ozzy record would be released on April 18, 1980. This time with Dio at the helm of the band. Dio would appear on three Black Sabbath records, with the last being 1991’s Dehumanizer. This record also took place between Dio leaving the band and returning. After Sabbath’s Dehumanizer record, it would take a full 20 more years before Osbourne made a triumphant return to the group… and the rest is history.
The record starts off with the fast-paced “Neon Knights.” This song clocks in at just shy of four minutes. At the start of the song, the band immediately jumps in as if blown in with new life with Dio at lead vocals. Dio, who made his living with Rainbow before Black Sabbath, fits right in with the band on this tune. There’s a noticeable fire in the band on this entire record and in this song. Since they fired their fan favorite singer, Black Sabbath had a lot to prove on this record, and “Neon Knights” was the perfect opening track to do just that.
Track three opens up with a funky bass riff from Butler before the rest of the band jumps in. Iommi layers a mini guitar solo over the bass and drums instead of adding typical riffs. On “Lady Evil,” Ward’s pacing on this song lowers the heart rate, and the band finds a nice cruising speed on this song. What makes this song stand out is that Iommi elects to bend the strings and create a tone of vibrato on his solos. He can even be heard playing a single note and bending it, creating a horn-like sound. “Lady Evil” is a great song and is one of the more underrated tunes on the album. Like most underrated songs, it gets sandwiched between two fan favorites and stronger songs.
Following “Lady Evil” is the title song. The bombastic opening screams evil wrapped up in the classic Black Sabbath flair. Butler holds the fort down for the majority of the song with a repetitive and catchy bass riff. Producer Martin Birch does a fantastic job at highlighting Dio’s vocals while keeping the presence of the rest of the band in the foreground. For a great portion of the tune, it’s a slow, trudging, and heavy song. “Heaven and Hell” is the longest tune on the album and clocks in at seven minutes. What the band does so well on this album is create a wall of sound. At the end, the tempo changes, Ward speeds up, and the band follows. The last two minutes of the song are a nice breakdown, the band gets into a nice pocket of jamming while Dio riffs about dragons, golden halls, and medieval queens.
Another tight song appears next. “Wishing Well” is one of the best tunes on the record. In fact, it gives “Heaven and Hell” a run for its money as the best song on the record. There’s a nice jump in the beat from Ward. It’s a nice comparison from “Heaven and Hell.” On the previous song, Ward had a very simplistic beat. But now, it’s more complicated, fills more empty voids, and creates a deeper sound. On this song, Iommi has a much more melodic solo. The Iommi/Dio duo allowed Iommi to explore different avenues of sound that Osbourne’s voice just wouldn’t allow. “Wishing Well” is one of Iommi’s best solos on the record, and it might be one of his best solos in the Black Sabbath catalogue. Following Iommi’s solo, the band jumps back into the bridge of the song that carries them to the end of the track.
In the back half of the record, “Walk Away” checks in at song seven. It’s a typical B-side tune. The sound of the song is catered to Butler, which allows him to showcase his skills more as a bassist. Birch has Butler higher in the finished mix of the song, which adds a heavier tone to a lighter-hearted track. “Walk Away” also has more harmonization from Dio than some of the other tunes on the record. The overall nature of “Walk Away” allows the band to try newer sounds and dip their toes into a more mainstream hard rock sound.
When some bands replace their lead singer, they never gain any mainstream success. Stone Temple Pilots, Judas Priest, and Motley Crue are prime examples of lead singers being replaced, whether living or dead, and the band not gaining much traction. On the other hand, AC/DC, Van Halen, and Black Sabbath are all prime examples of bands finding equal success with a new singer. It is a very risky game to replace the voice of a band.
For Black Sabbath during their Dio years, some fans argue that the Dio years are better than the Osbourne years. For fans of the music in general, both eras rule. But, for Sabbath, there were a lot of unknowns: would they be more successful, as successful, or would anyone care after Osbourne left? Luckily for them, they found a whole new fanbase while retaining their original fans. On the US Billboard 200, it reached a top 30 position at No. 28. While Heaven and Hell is the band’s first post-Ozzy album, it is a monstrously heavy record with a ton of great material outside of the title track and is well worth a revisit.
Rating: 9/10
Tracklisting:
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 World
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My love for live music started with my first concert ever, Guns N’ Roses back in 2016. Since then, I’ve been able to capture photos of some amazing artists like Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Ace Frehley, and Post Malone. I am based in the Boston, Massachusetts area. I am always looking for the next concert to attend.