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HEAVEN & HELL
Track Listing: Neon Knights (3:53), Children Of The Sea (5:34), Lady Evil (4:26), Heaven And Hell (6:58), Wishing Well (4:08), Die Young (4:45), Walk Away (4:26), Lonely Is The Word (5:52).
Back in 1980 the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (or NWOBHM as we all remember it! ) was riding high and one of the original inventors of the genre Black Sabbath had found a new lease of life with ex-Rainbow singer
Ronnie James Dio.
Earlier, in the seventies, the band had found much worldwide success with original singer Ozzy Osbourne, but by about 1979 Sabbath, fueled by personal disputes and an excessive rock n' roll lifestyle, appeared to have run out of creative steam.
Guitarist Tony Iommi had always wanted to progress the band's music and when Ozzy flew the nest he knew exactly who he wanted to fill the post. Dio's soaring voice and fantasy lyrics gave a huge shot in the arm
to Sabbath; the music was lifted to new heights and an era of rebirth was brought about for the band. Of course there were those who missed Ozzy but, having been a huge fan of Rainbow before, this for me was a
match made in heaven.
The opener 'Neon Knights' charges along like a horse bolting from the stable with Iommi's guitar sounding more lively and agile than ever and Dio's superb rock voice giving its all.
'Children Of The Sea' follows with a beautiful acoustic intro with harmonised guitars, bass and keys providing a serene layer of sound over which Dio sings his mystical lyric : "In the misty morning, on the edge of time, we've lost the rising sun, the final sign..." Some spectacular heavy riffing follows with Gregorian chant style vocals providing a superb backdrop to a classically flavoured guitar solo taking the band into Rush or maybe even Yes territory.
Likewise the title track. 'Heaven And Hell' is another piece of superb symphonic metal with Dio's memorable vocal melodies and some scorching guitar work from Iommi ending with a beautiful classical guitar
refrain. 'Walk Away , 'Lady Evil' and 'Wishing Well' are all more straight ahead rockers, but still great songs nonetheless - listen out for Geezer Butler's melodic bass which is very prominent in the mix.
'Die Young' begins with a gorgeous atmosphere with synths and guitars before launching into a full frontal melodic metal assault, then changes back down a gear for the beautiful chorus and a monumental instrumental
break. Finally 'Lonely Is The Word' rounds off the album with some truly inspired guitar work once again from Iommi.
The critics have always poked fun at Black Sabbath and although these days the band are remembered and worshipped still as the Godfathers of Heavy Metal, their excellent musicianship was often underrated and is
particularly evident on this album.
This remastered CD comes with a nice booklet including all the lyrics, lots of pictures and accurate sleevenotes. This is majestic metal at its best and comes totally recommended for those who like something on the heavier side.
Steve 13th February, 2002
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