I have chosen to review the album Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath. For those of you who know anything about the band Black Sabbath, you'd know that their lead singer was Ozzy Osbourne. This was true, up until 1979 when Ozzy was fired for being a drunken lay-a-waste. This heralded the inclusion of one Ronnie James Dio, formerly of the band Rainbow. Dio's signature roar echoes throughout every track, destroying all memories of Ozzy's memorable wail. Let's go over each track one by one...
1. Neon Knights: fast paced, great start to signal the reinvention of a band.
2. Children of the Sea: slower, creates a mood of despair.
3. Lady Evil: average track, nothing that stands out.
4. Heaven and Hell: the only song on the album that reminds us of classic Sabbath circa 1970.
5. Wishing Well: Iommi's best guitar work on the album, blistering solos.
6. Die Young: best track on the album, gritty, fast paced.
7. Walk Away: far too poppy to be a heavy metal song, reminiscent of Boston.
8. Lonely is the Word: good closing song, more good Iommi work.
Overall it's a solid album musically, quite worth the time if you're a fan of Ronnie James Dio. For Sabbath fans however, you may just prefer listening to Paranoid one more time.
3 out of 5 satanir pentagrams
Thursday, January 8, 2009
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