BLACK SABBATH - Heaven and Hell

After Ozzy Osbourne left the band (apparently kicked out by Tony Iommi), Black Sabbath brought a lead singer that came with a different vision of music. Coming from Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Ronnie James Dio was certainly the one that gave this band a new face, with his strong voice, totally different from Ozzy’s. What’s more, Iommi gave Dio full credit, leaving him to write the lyrics for all songs on this album. Musically, songs were signed Dio/Iommi/Butler/Ward.

Tony Iommi comes up with something different from previous Black Sabbath products, both in riffs and solos and in the acoustic parts. First you’d think that he would need another guitar player, as it is proper for a heavy metal band, but listening carefully to the album, we realize (beside the fact that guitars are often overlapped) Geezer Butler handles this role quite well, perfectly supporting Iommi with his bass. When Iommi is helped by Butler, the latter is followed without hesitation by Bill Ward, a drummer that keeps it all together, even though, according to his own admission, due to excessive drugs he can’t remember recording this alum. And, to complete the picture, Geoff Nicholls joins the band and completes the atmosphere by his simple keyboard playing, bringing new air to the band. About Ronnie James Dio, all I want to add is that in my opinion is that he is the main hero of this product, because without him this album would have not existed, while later albums would have appeared anyway regardless of the singer’s name.

This record is produced by Martin Birch, who had produced materials signed  by Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, Rainbow or Whitesnake, and later would produce for MSG or Iron Maiden, to give just a few examples. This is the main reason why Heaven and Hell comes with such a clear sound, rather unusual for the times, being ahead of the times in metal. Even though NWOBHM bands were extremely trendy that year, Black Sabbath not only did not lag behind, but showed everyone how a heavy metal album should sound in every aspect.

It is my opinion that with this album Black Sabbath reached their peak in songwriting, and this is certainly the best product in the history of the band. Of course, the one with Ozzy Osbourne is justly seen as their golden lineup, with its eight unique studio albums. At the same time we cannot neglect the time when the band was fronted by Tony Martin, giving some collection-worthy materials with Iommi & co. Even so, no other Black Sabbath product manages to rise to the level of Heaven and Hell, and metal would have been poorer without this album.

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