«Heaven and Hell» is the ninth album by Black Sabbath and it was released on 25 April 1980 by Vertigo in Britain, with Martin Birch producing. It is the band’s first album with Ronnie James Dio on vocals, after the departure of Ozzy Osbourne, and it marked a new chapter for the group. The line-up is Tony Iommi on guitars, Geezer Butler on bass, Bill Ward on drums and Geoff Nicholls on keyboards.
“`Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Dio, Rainbow, Judas Priest
The sound changed noticeably compared to the previous years. The pianos of the older records disappeared and in their place came a more mystical atmosphere, with themes of magic and dreams. Iommi’s riffs remain heavy but they tie in with Dio’s dramatic voice, giving a more direct and epic heavy metal sound, built on solid riffs and clean songwriting with nothing unnecessary in it.
«Neon Knights» opens powerfully and at a fast pace and became one of the most recognisable tracks of that period. «Children of the Sea» begins with an acoustic intro before it enters a slow but heavy riff, while on «Lady Evil» the bass of Butler takes over. The title track «Heaven and Hell» stretches over almost seven minutes: it starts slowly, speeds up in the middle and closes acoustically.
Next to them stand «Wishing Well» and «Die Young», faster tracks with strong solos, «Walk Away» in a lighter hard rock mood, and «Lonely Is the Word», which with its slow and eerie tone recalls the Ozzy years more than anything else.
The album belongs to that «lost» period of the Black Sabbath catalogue that stayed on the sidelines for a long time, yet its influence on the genre is hard to dispute. It was the album that showed the band could move forward without Ozzy and find itself again.
See also
See also: Black Sabbath’s «Lost» 1970 Dutch TV Appearance and Tony Iommi on Life After Ozzy Osbourne.
