I really didn't discover Black Sabbath until the very late 80s, after the terrible feud between Ozzie and Black Sabbath, and after Dio was long gone from the band. Still, some of my earliest impressions of what Sabbath should have sounded like were based on Dio's vocals, not Ozzie's.

One of the most powerful Sabbath songs ever was the classic "Heaven and Hell." The powerful lead guitar riff assaults your ears like an explosion of thunder. The drawn out hang of each chord sweeps you into the song like few songs can do. And Dio's vocals never sounded better -- before or since.

Dio was at his peak on this album. When Sabbath followed this one up with The Mob Rules, Dio wasn't quite this good. His vocal ability is so full of life, attitude, and power. Though not quite as smooth and clear as a later successor, Tony Martin, Dio demonstrates some brilliant deftness in vocal manipulation.

Iommi offers up his usual brilliant riff virtuosity, and he is in top form in producing excellent solo material. Geezer is sounding very strong here, too. The whole band is playing well together, proving all the nay-sayers who were convinced that Sabbath was through that this band was here to stay for at least another decade.

Granted, Dio only did two more albums with Sabbath after this one -- and only one of those was in the studio. But the presence of the metal giant was too strong to be snuffed out so easily.



Recommended: Yes