478. Black Sabbath / Heaven and Hell. 1980. 5/5

Though I was not old enough to really take in all the commotion, it must have been a dire time when Ozzy was finally moved on from Black Sabbath. Their preceding albums had lost the magical quality of their earlier releases, and there must have been questions over the band’s future. They decided to hire Ronnie James Dio, who had left Rainbow after similar conflicts with Ritchie Blackmore.

To cut a long story short – what was produced was one of the greatest albums of all time.

From the opening riff, with Geezer and Tony thundering in together, and then the majesty of Dio’s vocals coming in with "Oh, no… here it comes again…” you are absolutely hooked. There must have been some doubt that Sabbath could operate with another vocalist at this time, but those doubts were surely wiped away about thirty seconds into the opening song.
“Neon Knights” is a classic, showcasing everything the band has to offer – Iommi’s brilliant guitar riffs, the amazing bass work of Geezer Butler, Bill Ward’s wonderful synchronisation, and the stellar vocals of Ronnie Dio. It also highlights a change in the lyrical writing, an added bonus of Dio joining the band. This flows beautifully into “Children of the Sea”, which is an excellent example of how Sabbath could now diversify with their new vocalist. Following this is “Lady Evil”, the "magical mystical woman” that feels so much like a Dio concoction.

“Heaven and Hell” is still as huge a song today as it was almost thirty years ago. Highlighting the best of all four band members, it surely stands as one of the best songs ever written in any genre of music. Through various versions of Black Sabbath, and also in Dio’s own band, this song continues to exist in live sets. It is a monster that stands the test of time.
This then leads into "Wishing Well" and "Die Young, both of which almost steal the show of being the best on the album. Certainly "Wishing Well" sometimes gets overlooked because of the profile of the surrounding songs, but it still contains one of my favourite lines in a song ever...

"I'll give you a star, so you'll know just where you are
Someday, someway, you'll feel the things I say
Dream for awhile of the things that make you smile
Oh you know - that I'm your Wishing Well"

There has, amongst my group, been conjecture over the final two songs on the album, and as to whether they fall into the category of ‘filler’. Now while they probably don’t hold up as brilliantly against the first six songs on the album – what would? In a way, it is a good way to close out an album of such shining brilliance. Neither “Walk Away” nor “Lonely Is The Word” overshadow what has come before them, and yet they hold their own in a way that doesn’t disappoint. Dio’s vocals soar in “Lonely Is The Word”.

This is not a traditional Black Sabbath album, in the mould of what had come before Heaven and Hell. While the basics of the music remain in the riffs and drum beat, there is no doubt that the arrival of Dio in the band pushed them into a new dimension musically.

This album is a true masterpiece.
My first memory of this album is of walking to the amusingly titled “Double Games Period” in Year Eleven at school, and spending the entire two hours watching other people play basketball and volleyball while we cranked this album in my cassette player and lay back and enjoyed it. I still think of those times every time I listen to the album.

Quite simply, this is one of the greatest ever. It stands the test of time as well as any other album ever recorded, and it holds its place in history without question.

Rating: Ranks in my top five albums of all time. 5/5