Ozzy Osbourne-era Black Sabbath were doom-metal pioneers,
specializing in dark, apocalyptic blues at a time when peace and love
reigned. Upon Ozzy’s departure and Ronnie James Dio’s arrival, the
band’s sound moved deeper into mainstream hard-rock territory. It was
only after Dio embarked on a solo career that the baddest little man in
metal nurtured his musical aggression. When he returned to Sabbath with
1992’s underappreciated Dehumanizer, the band’s doomier roots
were on full display, resulting in the last necessary Sabbath
document.
Due to legal wrangling on Ozzy’s part, a Dio-fronted Sabbath has to
work under the name Heaven and Hell (the title of a Dio/Iommi
composition). Which is exactly what the band delivers—awesomely
heavy riffs (heaven), with all of them sounding similar (hell).
Opener “Atom and Evil” is one of those terrific nuke-warning dirges
Sabbath once specialized in (the line “someday you can cry for everyone
/ who burned when you were clever” is particularly haunting), but by
the time the second, plodding track, “Fear,” stumbles forward, it’s
clear Heaven and Hell is giving old-school fans exactly what they want:
slow metal.
“Eating the Cannibals” is the only full-throttle number, yet it,
too, is hamstrung by a weak chorus. Perhaps the band should’ve gone
with an outside producer or, better yet, crafted an album wherein each
song possessed unique sonic qualities.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2009.