MOB RULES

Meanwhile, drummer Bill Ward left Black Sabbath due to ill health and was replaced by Vinnie Appice (brought in by Ronnie James Dio). "Mob Rules" was almost as successful as its predecessor "Heaven and Hell": In the U.S., it went gold, and in the U.K. it reached the Top 20 and spawned two chart singles, the title track and "Turn up the Night."

This second album with Dio as lead vocalist proved to be much mature than the previous one. Both Iommi and Dio seemed to find their chemistry so that music making became a work of fun. The opening track "Turn Up the Night" (3:42) is a good hard rocker followed with another rocker "Voodoo" (4:32). I like when the CD reaches third track "The Sign of the Southern Cross" (7:46) where the opening part comprising vocal and acoustic guitar are really nice. This song moves naturally in relatively mellow style into heavier part with some blues components. "The Mob Rules" (3:14) is also another good track. "Country Girl" (4:02) has powerful guitar riffs and drum work. What is truly my best favorite is the 8th track titled as "Falling off the Edge of the World" (5:02) because it has a very good structure, starting with mellow and moves to bluesy part and later the heavier part.