Review Summary: Heaven and Hell, Vol. 2
While Black Sabbath’s
Heaven and Hell and its follow-up
Mob Rules are often regarded as being created by the same formation, this is not true. Bill Ward was the second original member leaving Sabbath, finding it hard to cope with the death of both his parents in a short space of time. He was replaced by American drummer Vinny Appice, causing membership to become even more mixed.
Mob Rules, already the group’s tenth album, continued Sabbath’s comeback started with
Heaven and Hell and it seemed things continued going well again for the once diminished force.
Sabbath's tenth is very much a continuation of the sound created with their ninth. The same fantastical lyrics and powerful vocal performance by Dio and the still heavy but yet streamlined sound are once again present. Nevertheless, it cannot be helped to hear that while
Heaven and Hell was a superb album, even finding its place among Sabbath’s very best, it’s follow-up is a minor disappointment. This is due to a few issues. The compositions may be similar, but almost never reach the height of those that served as their inspirations. Of course, it was almost impossible to make this a finer record than its predecessor by keeping up the very same style, but apart from that reasoning, the songs are just never as good. How much of this is due to the loss of Ward is debatable, but it is certain this had its effect. The drummer had always been an integral part of the band’s sound, and Appice just doesn’t cut it compared to him. The newcomer never even makes so much as a dent in
Mob Rules. Of course, he’s hard to hear under Iommi’s driving riffs, Butler’s bass heaviness and Dio’s vocal might, but you could clearly hear Ward in
Heaven and Hell. Unless I start listening the drumming on purpose, it goes by unnoticed.
But do I lay all the blame on Appice? Of course not. I only fear that the creativity in the band worked best when Ward was in the band together with Iommi and Butler, and that had been partly taken away as an effect of his absence. Don’t get me wrong though.
Mob Rules is a great Sabbath album, but it is significantly less compelling that
Heaven and Hell.
Turn up Night,
Sign of the Southern Cross and
Falling Off the Edge of the World, for example, are damn excellent tracks, but it is in some moments that
Mob Rules definitely doesn’t feature equally strong writing. Too many moments, among them
Voodoo and
Slipping Away have the band on auto-pilot composing, their riffing being repetitive and too standard-fare for Sabbath’s doing. Others are even pointless, such as the strange instrumental
E5150 and the silly
Country Girl. These are what detract strongly from the album's overall quality.
I won’t be too critical though. Iommi and Butler have always been one of the best guitar/bass-interplay duos in the genre, and Dio’s vocals are a force every metal band would have liked to have on their side at some point. It’s just a shame that, after
Heaven and Hell,
Mob Rules just isn’t as consistently delivering the goods, some weaker tracks definitely being present. This was also the last album fronted by Dio, who broke up with the band after discussions about him putting up his vocals too high in the mix. Whether this was a good or a bad thing is debatable. Possibly, if he had stayed, the next Sabbath record would have been even more of a step down from this, although still enjoyable. But then again, if he hadn’t left with Appice to form
Dio, we wouldn’t have had
Holy Diver.
Mob Rules is, with good reason, the last really respected piece in Sabbath’s discography, although some of their later work is still worth looking into. Another end of an era for the group, who would work with a variety of singer, bassists and drummers from this point onwards, creating quite a few decent records but nevertheless fading into oblivion. This record is what it is: a great Dio-era record, but certainly no
Heaven and Hell. Despite that, those who enjoyed that album will most certainly find this a necessary addition to their collection.
Mob Rules’ Black Sabbath was:
- Frank Anthony ‘Tony’ Iommi ~ Guitar
- Ronald James ‘Ronnie Dio’ Padanova ~ Vocals
- Terrence Michael Joseph ‘Geezer’ Butler ~ Bass Guitar
- Vincent Appice ~ Drums
- Geoff Nicholls ~ Keyboards
Sabbath Classics:
Turn Up the Night
The Sign of the Southern Cross
Falling Off the Edge of the World
TO BE CONTINUED…
