I am very excited to hear about the reunion of Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell lineup i.e. Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, and Tony Iommi with Ronnie James Dio. This version of Black Sabbath, for legal reasons, will be touring in 2007 as “Heaven and Hell”.
The dispute over the rights to the Black Sabbath name is interesting. When I listen to the Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules albums, I hear a completely different band so I have no problem with them going by a different name. Whether they perform as Black Sabbath or Heaven and Hell, one thing is for sure – the fans wills get to hear great music. What often gets forgetten is how great the Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules albums are and sadly, they get overlooked because of the obvious – it’s Black Sabbath without Ozzy.
I have seen Black Sabbath twice as the headliners for Ozzfest 2000 and 2004. The first time was a dream come true for me. They were all locked in and put on a great show. The highlight for me was when they played “Into the Void.” That song is as heavy as it gets. The 2004 show, on the other hand, was not as good. As a fan of Ozzy, it was difficult for me to hear him sing. It was like watching a hall of fame player who’s far past his prime, but still insists on playing. For War Pigs, the band was playing in one key and Ozzy was singing in some completely other key. It was painful. The Osbourne camp is quick to state that Ozzy will be recording an album with the original Black Sabbath following the Heaven and Hell tour. If they were going to record, I think they should have done so in ‘98 when they were recording “Psycho Man” for their Reunion album. Ozzy’s not getting any younger and he may need a respirator by the time they record again. I hope I’m wrong.
The tour for Heaven and Hell should be one of the best draws of ‘07 and I look forward to seeing this version of Black Sabbath live. If others are not familar with the Dio years of Black Sabbath, I highly recommend the following songs from iTunes:
From Heaven and Hell: 1) Children of the Sea (I absolutely love this song), 2) Heaven and Hell. If you see Dio perform solo, he still plays these songs.
From Mob Rules: 1) Voodoo (my personal favorite), 2) Sign of the Southern Cross, 3) Mob Rules, 4) Country Girl. In fact, buy the entire Mob Rules album. You can’t go wrong with any of the tracks.
