Rhino
2009
1. Atom & Evil
2. Fear
3. Bible Black
4. Double the Pain
5. Rock & Roll Angel
6. The Turn of the Screw
7. Eating the Cannibals
8. Follow the Tears
9. Neverwhere
10. Breaking into Heaven
This new "debut" album from Heaven & Hell... or the new Black Sabbath as we know it is... gave me mixed feelings from the time it was announced. On one hand I have been waiting for Black Sabbath to do something worthwhile once again and on the other I've always been more of a fan of Ozzy era Sabbath than Dio and what followed. Certainly, I wanted to hope for a great new Sabbath album, but I approached this one with a degree of skepticism.
When I first started listening to The Devil You Know I thought I was in for a decent, but unremarkable album. Both Atom & Evil and Fear start off the album with a familiar doomy Black Sabbath sound but without a lot of anything memorable. Really these two tracks just plod along without much going on in the riffs are pretty typical. At this point I'd pretty much decided this was what to expect from the rest of the album and that it was Black Sabbath but not at their prime. These two songs basically just don't have the riffs and hooks that make for Great Sabbath and only good/decent Sabbath. So is this the bulk of the album? Is this to be a good, but unremarkable album?
No... no not at all. From the moment the riffs kick in after a slow intro in Bible Black this album does not let go at all. Holy fuck does this album pick up and hit you with nasty, heavy riffs galore. Whoever decided to put the two weakest tracks at the start of the album is either an idiot or a genius because everything else seems to crush you by comparison. The sound of this album becomes an immense beast and Dio just starts to wail. I'm just gonna come right out and say it... Black Sabbath or Heaven & Hell have come up with a new classic. The playoff between the great sounding guitar loaded with hooks, bass, and Dio at his best is nothing short of amazing. Picking highlights was probably the toughest part of writing this review. The worst this album has to offer are two tracks which are simply good and at best it blows my mind and makes me want to bang my head till it comes off.
It seems the kings have returned to claim their throne. I'd almost forgotten how awesome Iommi can be and the same gos for Dio considering how mediocre his solo career has turned. Stick with this both of you and never look back. It's time for Heaven & Hell.
Highlights: Bible Black, Double The Pain, Turn Of The Screw, Follow The Tears
Rating - 4.5/5
2. Fear
3. Bible Black
4. Double the Pain
5. Rock & Roll Angel
6. The Turn of the Screw
7. Eating the Cannibals
8. Follow the Tears
9. Neverwhere
10. Breaking into Heaven
This new "debut" album from Heaven & Hell... or the new Black Sabbath as we know it is... gave me mixed feelings from the time it was announced. On one hand I have been waiting for Black Sabbath to do something worthwhile once again and on the other I've always been more of a fan of Ozzy era Sabbath than Dio and what followed. Certainly, I wanted to hope for a great new Sabbath album, but I approached this one with a degree of skepticism.
When I first started listening to The Devil You Know I thought I was in for a decent, but unremarkable album. Both Atom & Evil and Fear start off the album with a familiar doomy Black Sabbath sound but without a lot of anything memorable. Really these two tracks just plod along without much going on in the riffs are pretty typical. At this point I'd pretty much decided this was what to expect from the rest of the album and that it was Black Sabbath but not at their prime. These two songs basically just don't have the riffs and hooks that make for Great Sabbath and only good/decent Sabbath. So is this the bulk of the album? Is this to be a good, but unremarkable album?
No... no not at all. From the moment the riffs kick in after a slow intro in Bible Black this album does not let go at all. Holy fuck does this album pick up and hit you with nasty, heavy riffs galore. Whoever decided to put the two weakest tracks at the start of the album is either an idiot or a genius because everything else seems to crush you by comparison. The sound of this album becomes an immense beast and Dio just starts to wail. I'm just gonna come right out and say it... Black Sabbath or Heaven & Hell have come up with a new classic. The playoff between the great sounding guitar loaded with hooks, bass, and Dio at his best is nothing short of amazing. Picking highlights was probably the toughest part of writing this review. The worst this album has to offer are two tracks which are simply good and at best it blows my mind and makes me want to bang my head till it comes off.
It seems the kings have returned to claim their throne. I'd almost forgotten how awesome Iommi can be and the same gos for Dio considering how mediocre his solo career has turned. Stick with this both of you and never look back. It's time for Heaven & Hell.
Highlights: Bible Black, Double The Pain, Turn Of The Screw, Follow The Tears
Rating - 4.5/5
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