HEAVEN AND HELL

After the disappointment that I felt after Sabbath's releases of "Technical Ecstacy" and "Never say Die" they rammed me with this release. "Sabbath" was again on the top of my "to listen to" list. What a comeback and what an album to start that comeback with. Once more Sabbath was in prog metal territory in spades. Dio's voice persuaded me that I still needed Black Sabbath in my life after the Ozzie's departure and the music was again sublime. This album has to be one of the top hard rock / metal releases of all time thus far. I loved Dio in Rainbow and I loved him in the new Black Sabbath Mk2. The track "Heaven and Hell" is up amongst the best that Sabbath have ever recorded - it is a giant of a track. The rest of the album is damn good but doesn't equal the title track itself. The only problem that I had with Dio's voice is that everything else seemed to pale in comparrison and it seemed that any band who he sang with became his backing band. Dio, to my mind, was easily one of the most powerful voices in rock music. To Sabbath's credit their own brand also shone in this release aside from the powerful vocals. A very solid 5 stars from my perspective.