The Business side of music can be a bitch. Like every business, money and technicalities are everything. It was always true, but much truer nowadays. Take Black Sabbath for example. A band once based on drugs, doom and creativity, is now nothing more than a money making machine, controlled by lawyers, managers, contracts and greed. All the things the original Black Sabbath loathed way back in the anti-establishment 70's. But for a band to keep up these days, they've got to play the game. But let's back up a little bit. The original Sabbath ended as the 70's was coming to a close. Original singer, Ozzy, is out, and Dio's in. We've all heard the story. But with Dio's presence in the band brought not only a new voice, but a new writing style, a new vibe, as well as new life. In a way, Ozzy hadn't been relpaced at all. Black Sabbath become something else, entirely. And this change couldn't have come at a better time.
The release of Heaven and Hell conveniently came out around the same time as Ozzy's first solo album. Most anyone doubting the capabilities of this new guy was no doubt put in their place pretty quick by this refreshing new take on this no longer familiar band. What is now considered the traditional Sabbathy sound, had been replaced by a more contemporary Metal sound, perfect for the times. Black Sabbath was indeed back. But sadly, this new version would slowly crumble, as drummer, Bill Ward, took off not too long after this, due to personal issues. There would be one more album with Dio, but with a new drummer. A guy named Vinny Appice, who did a fairly good job filling in for the burnt out Ward. Not long after this, there was a huge disagreement, Dio left he band, took Appice with him, and started his legendary solo career. And so begins Black Sabbath's so-called dark period.
Ten years and five albums later, Sabbath had become about as irrelevant as it was going to get. With its current era having little identity due to constant bass and drum changes, Iommi had no problem telling current singer, Tony Martin, and whoever else, to get lost, as the team of Dio/Appice was returing to the fold. And of course. Geezer too. After one pain in the ass recording process, Dehumanizer was born. A very un-Dio-Sabbathy bunch of songs. Uninspired, uninteresting, and put bluntly, a little hard on the ears. A growly Dio sounds like shit on this one for some reason, and really, they all do. I don't know what happened, but Fuck Dehumanizer. That's all I got to say. And who really cares about Black Sabbath in 1992, anyway?And due to yet another disagreement, this time invloving a show that included the "one time only" return of Ozzy, Dio Sabbath fell apart again. Time to get those other guys that nobody cares about back in. So, a little more of that, and later on, the inevitable reformation of the original Black Sabbath. This reunion, however, would mean the end of an era. To get Ozzy back in, contracts were signed. This was a different Ozzy than the broken man who was booted out almost two decades ago. Ozzy had made a name for himself in his solo career which, at the time, overshadowed Sabbath. For the past glory and legacy of this band to be restored once and for all, Shozzy (Sharon and Ozzy) demanded partial ownership. And a decision was made which ended this pattern of line up changes forever. Once again, there is only one Black Sabbath. Despite regaining respect and cementing their legacy as a big fucking deal, Sabbath merely became an oldies attraction, Almost constantly touring, playing only the greatest hits we've heard a thousand times, but never actually coming out with anything new. This phase ran its course, and just like that, the original Black Sabbath was again history.
A decade and a half after Dehumanizer, the original's reunion went nowhere, really, and now, talks once again start up between Black Sabbath and Dio. A "Dio Years" compilation album is released with three new tracks, all fairly strong material which were well-recieved. This leads to a successful tour. Tour leads to talks of an album. And right on schedule, Bill Ward shoots down any chance of being involved in that. However, Vinny "Dio's Drummer" Appice is always available. And then it was made official. The Mob Rules/Dehumanizer version of Dio Sabbath would be coming out with a new album. But said album being part of the Sabbath catalogue is out of the question. After a lawsuit with Ozzy, clearing up any confusion of who's in Sabbath and who isn't, a decision was made to start a new band. Dio-fronted Sabbath would now be known as "Heaven And Hell. Named after the first album featuring Dio.
There's not a hell of a lot to say about the recording of this album. No drama, everyone got along and hada great time, everything went smoothly. And most importantly, the album ended up nothing like Dehumanizer. So, let's take a look at The Devil You Know.
Atom And Evil: Slow, pretty, very Sabbathy. Not the best song on here, but still a refreshingly melodic opening track, letting us all know that Dio Sabbath is back. 6/10
Fear: This one switches gears nicely, giving us one of Iommi's coolest and fastest riffs to date. Dark, catchy and modern. Some energetic stuff, here. 7/10
Bible Black: I just can't praise this one enough. Starting out slow and heavenly with an acoustic guitar, until we are plunged into Hell with a lost soul. Shit picks up and gets real menacing real quick. This might not be a popular opinion, but I consider Bible Black to be Dio-Sabbath at its catchiest and all around best. Perfect! 10/10
Double The Pain: I could see some UFC fighter picking this song to come out to. Very much a fight song. Sounds like there's a story behind this one. Not sure who's. Not a very Sabbathy one, but one of the stronger tracks. 7/10
Rock And Roll Angel: Well, this just reminds me of Creed. So, that's not good. Still, not too shabby. Most chicks probably favor this one. 5/10
The Turn Of The Screw: Here, we hit a bit of a mid-album slump. There's not really anything wrong with this song, but it's not quite worthy of this album, which would probably be better off without it. 4/10
Eating The Cannibals: Fun little song. The shortest track on here, but one of the catchiest. Nothing impressive. Great solo by Iommi, though. Somewhere between filler and greatness. 5/10
Follow The Tears: A close second to Bible Black. Powerful and doomy, with a slow build into a beautifully evil epic. One of the all time greats for this band. 9/10
Neverwhere: The only song I enjoyed less than The Turn of The Screw. These two songs would be better suited for a solo Dio album. And even then, they'd be filler. 3/10
Breaking Into Heaven: Slow, doomy, majestic, evil, and beautiful. This is what The Dio-fronted version of Black Sabbath is all about. A fantastic final song for this legendary group. 8/10
Not bad at all. Dio, Iommi, Butler and Appice left Black Sabbath behind and the baggage and drama that came with it, and just did what they do best; Create amazing music. I wouldn't put this one quite up there with the Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules albums, but this is a far cry from Dehumanizer, which left a bad taste in many mouths for many years, until The Devil You Know finally came along and made up for it. Any fan of of this Sabbath incarnation should have no trouble forgetitng this is not an official Sabbath album. Because when it comes down to it, the music is all that matters in the end.
After a successful release and tour, plans were already in place for yet another album to be recorded. Iommi was already throwing around ideas for riffs and everything. This, of course, did not happen, and, sadly, never will, as Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer. And on May 16th, 2010, it did him in. The world had lost one of the true icons of Metal. Now, I don't believe in an afterlife. And from what I've heard, neither did he, but I do hope that somewhere, on some plain of existence, the voice of God is alive and well, and restored to its 80's perfection. Not that his voice lost much in his final years. Quite remarkably, his 67 year old vocal cords did him better than most 27 year olds. Ronnie James Dio will never be known as someone who wore out his welcome. He just kept on kicking ass until the very end.The truth is, I never had much use for 'ol Dio while he was alive. I always thought Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules had their moments, but they never quite clicked with me, and I never really appreciated his talent until I heard The Devil You Know. So, regardless of what this band was officially referred to in the end, I'll always be grateful that they got together once again to give the Dio Sabbath fans some Closure. Since the untimely end of Heaven And Hell, Drummer, Vinny Appice has moved on and joined a band called Kill Devil Hill. While Tony and Geezer have reunited with Ozzy and (NOT) Bill Ward to officially reform Black Sabbath to give some closure to the other end of the fanbase. A much more satisfying and long-awaited album, but that's another story. Shozzy may have successfully had The Devil You Know stricken from the record books, but they'll never sweep it completely under the rug. Nor will they make us forget the power of the almighty Dio, and his influence over Black Sabbath and Metal in general. So ends another chapter from the greatest band in the world! 7/10
