MOB RULES

The Mob Rules!

[Instant action inside! Too bad it is the same action as before.]

Turn up the Night is a rocking opener, but it doesn't do much for me. Perhaps I am biased against pure hard rock. But the song does well enough, and Dio's vocals make me like it a bit more than Paranoid. (Sound familiar?)

That is right, this song is an exact copy of Neon Knights, only not as exciting. Voodoo is Children of the Sea without the clammy introduction, and...

Clang!

Sign of the Southern Cross comes in. It takes Children of the Sea, and Heaven and Hell, morphing them into the album's only really standout amazing song. Dio sings amazingly, and the lyrics are actually good. This is saying a lot for your standard Black Sabbath album. The riff kicks in and smashes out your teeth. The song goes form soft to hard, in a fluid and tension building manner. The guitars are in overdrive when they pop up, and it feels like metal. A Black Sabbath classic.

E5150 is the dark and evil atmospheric track. It gives the album a bit of an identity over Its predecessor, and if it weren't so average, I'd be glad to have it. Serves as a well enough introduction to the title track, though...

My word this is metal. The guitars flash, and Dio shouts so vibrantly. Another highlight. It is an unexpected stunner, in a minefield of copies. That solo is wild, and fits the wild theme of the song (which doesn't overstay its welcome). So, if you listen to fools, the mob rules!

Country Girl is this album's Lady Evil. Only better. That riff is much catchier. It may be better than the Heaven and Hell counterpart, but it is still in the same vein. A Dio era classic, though. The lyrics are better in the imagery department, but still pretty banal. Good head banging stuff. Slipping away continues the strong plodding heavy rock and doesn't offend, but it doesn't stand out, either. Decent.

Plop!

Falling is next, and it is a remake of Children of the Grave, it seems. Black Sabbath were always the first to jump at ripping themselves off, weren't they? Who better? Beat those wily new kids to the manufactured mediocrity of it all, right!? I do enjoy the song, even if it is slow to start the fiery part. Another faceless but enjoyable track.

Is my skin chaffing!?

Over and Over is the album's requisite melodic ballad. For shame, this is Sabbath. A ballad? I don't ever remember a single fan ever asking for something like this, so it isn't selling out, is it? What is it, then? It is mediocre and banal, an average closer to an average album. The song has been done before, and after, better and worse. The melancholy soft rock ballad with the solo that seems to shoot out of Iommi's nether region. Why? Perhaps to keep people interested? I think he'd have to. It is a nice solo, and gets pretty ferocious, though. A solid ending.

It is a shame that this is the last testament to the greatness of Black Sabbath, it only gets worse from here. And this isn't even a brilliant album. At least Dio and Ozzy would both go on to do better, but poor Iommi is left to steer his sailing ship into the watery grave of mundane and depressingly disappointing metal...

Three Stars.

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