Review Summary: Dio and company—no diss on Geezer, Tony, and Vinny, but this is Dio's band now—ride again!
Review Summary: Dio and company—no disrespect to Tony, Geezer, and Vinny, but this is his band—ride again! Fricking awesome comeback.
"Heaven And Hell: Live at Radio City Hall (2007)" is a great album, and don't let anyone convince you otherwise. They perform all their classics ("Heaven and Hell", "The Mob Rules", "Neon Knights") and some deep cuts ("Computer God", "Lady Evil").
Dio, Tony, Geezer, and Vinny had returned yet again. Slightly over fifteen years after their last effort ("Dehumanizer"), they still sound absolutely top-notch. This live reunion occurred partially to display two of their three new songs, "The Shadow of the Wind" and "The Devil Cried". (Shortly after, they would record "The Devil You Know".)
"After all......" Dio is a great vocalist after all these years.
That line is from the opener to the show album, a medley of "E5150" and "After All (The Dead)", which is, by the way, superb. Dio sings it better—in my opinion—than in the studio version, off of "Dehumanizer". In the studio, Dio almost slips into "Wonderwall" mode, and drones in a weird, monotonous tone.
Thank god he only did that once, and improved it here. (I still like "After All" in the studio nonetheless.) Sorry to mention the immediately following, for fear of being labeled as a "track-by-tracker" again, but I have to. Dio screams, and I mean SCREAMS the opening line on "The Mob Rules". I am absolutely blown away still by that. His range is still so impressive. It is very odd—as he had never done that in this song before—but I absolutely fricking love it. To speak of other impressive tracks on the album, (I already mentioned this one) I would mention "The Shadow of the Wind". This is a doom-filled dirge, and I mean that in the best way.
"Oh, it's night again,
And the dark just killed the sun.
If the light must end,
You've got time to run away.
There's a door to dreams,
And it always lets you in.
But with a silent scream,
All the nightmares must begin.
Still you chase what you can't see,
Like death, and pain, and sin,
And the Shadow of the Wind...
The Shadow of the Wind!"
Awesome lyrics from an awesome band, which just about sums up what Black Sabbath (or, I guess, Heaven and Hell) still represents: the best metal in the world.
It remains to be said—which I shall shortly remedy—what exactly is so awesome about this album. Here it is: the pure *energy* brought by everyone. The fans included. Dio sounds pissed when he needs to sound pissed, and he sounds pretty when he wants to sound pretty. Tony plays magnificently (as always) and Geezer plays really well. Vinny plays well also, most notably on the aforementioned 'doom-filled dirge'.
Post Script: In the comments section from my first ever review, Dio's "Magica", someone told me not to do song-by-song reviews, so I tried to avoid that approach this time around. Do you prefer this one? Why or why not?
Come on, tell me how you feel.
