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July 25, 2008
The Rules of Hell Box Set Review
 Back in 2004, Black Sabbath released "Black Box", the definitive remastering of the original eight studio albums with Ozzy. It was well received, and of course, after release, people's attentions turned to what might come next. There was talk then of a "Black Box II" which would cover the Dio Years. Not much happened then with that because Sabbath was still touring with Oz on the annual Ozzfest into 2005. In 2006, the band was finally inducted into both the UK & US Hall of Fames, and after that, things seemed to settle down, and some folks were thinking that might be "it".
Well, as has happened before, Black Sabbath came back again with Ronnie James Dio, and talks began anew about the box set of the Dio era. While nothing was settled, there was some talk that we would get a box. Then word came down in late 2006 that the "Box" had been whittled down to a single disc, that being "The Dio Years", which showed up in 2007. Great though it was, some folks felt it a letdown after (falsely, most likely) expecting a full Dio era box set. We skip ahead to 2008, and word comes down during the spring that there would finally be the box set of the Dio era albums. That's what this is. Some commentary about the newly released box set, "The Rules of Hell", which comprises the four releases from the classic era of Black Sabbath.
First off, let me start by quoting my own review of Black Box from four years ago. I said then about Black Box.. "if you're looking to buy this based on the recent trend of other box sets to include rare songs and things like that, you WILL be disappointed. But if you're interested in how the songs SOUND, then my god, this is for you." This holds up again for RoH. Lets get into some detail on that.
The first thing you will notice is the box is significantly smaller than the other two boxes (Black Box & Radio City Deluxe). It's not that much larger than the four jewel cases inside there. Check out the picture reference here for comparison. When you take the shrink wrap off of the thing, there's a paper overlay that covers the outside of the box, but is not attached to it in any way, and appears to be meant to be discarded once you open the set. Opening the box reveals the insides to be four jewel cases inside there. Check out a picture:
The physical CDs themselves contain a nice font style writing similar to the fonts used in the original packaging of the particular albums. Black Box did the same thing four years ago, but these feel a bit more readable than those discs. Black on Black is never the easiest thing to read.
What do the discs contain? We have the three studio albums from the Dio era of Black Sabbath. Those being 1980's "Heaven & Hell", 1981's "The Mob Rules", and 1992's "Dehumanizer". The live release from 1982, "Live Evil" is also in this box (in its original two disc configuration). The newer releases (The Dio Years, and the Radio City and Hammersmith releases) are not represented. But that's OK - those are all new releases, less than 24 months old for all of them, so it's probably right that they weren't included.
Which brings us to our next point - the one I quoted from my Black Box review. "Extras". As is the case with most box sets, there's some sort of extras package. The recent Genesis box sets are a treasure trove of extras and whatnot. These things are not here. The four albums are as they were when originally released. The only notable difference here is Dehumanizer. Due to contractual things at the time, Dehumanizer was released worldwide by IRS, but inside the US by Warner/Rhino. The US version of Dehumanizer had a track that wasn't on the general worldwide release, that being the version of "Time Machine" from the movie Wayne's World. But that's it folks. There's no "sixth disc" of unreleased tracks, demos, and all that. If you're familiar with the collector's scene (cough), there are quite a few unreleased and demo tracks from the Dehumanizer sessions that exist (that weren't used elsewhere), so they could have been, but they weren't. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, really. Oh sure, who wouldn't like to see more tunes? The grapevine says that Tony isn't a big fan of that kind of thing, and that's probably why these boxes are the way they are. I did make some inquiries on this subject before the album was released. If you take the "no unreleased demos" as read, there aren't a ton of tracks that could be included anyway. The only tracks I am aware of were the alternate Mob Rules version from the Heavy Metal soundtrack, as well as an alternate version of Dehumanizer's "Letters From Earth". That track turned up as a "B side" to the CD single for TV Crimes. I know it exists, I bought it myself in 1992. When I checked into these tracks, I was told by someone at the record label tht the Heavy Metal version of Mob Rules couldn't be used, since it was on another record label. The annoying part was that the guy didn't even know that version of Letters From Earth existed! It was even on a Warner release - so they have it somewhere in their vaults - that it wasn't even considered was something personally irritating. Additionally, there is no overall "box booklet". There are booklets with each individual album, but no overall booklet - something that was in the Black Box set. There are jewel case insert booklets with each of the four albums. Each of THOSE has a new story about that particular album's story as it were. These new stories comprise about 90% of the booklet space, so there is some good reading material. Anyway, that's enough of the griping. I do admit I tend to be the kind of person who gets worked up over their own little pet minutiae when it is not being served, so I need to let that go. Lets get to the music, which is by far the strongest point of this set.
A little history on Sabbath remastering. In 1996, Castle Records released new remasters of all the Black Sabbath albums from 1970-1987. This included two of the three Dio studio albums (and Live Evil). Those masters were from the European master set, not the "Warner Brothers original" (as I've come to understand it). These were needed upgrades at the time, and while better than the original CD releases, probably not what I could call "definitive". Fast forward to 2003, and there was a package named the "Dio Anthology" that covered Ronnie James Dio's career from Elf through to Black Sabbath and the Dio band. There were a handful of Black Sabbath tracks on this compilation, and they were remastered, as everything else was for that package. Sounded good. Fast forward again to the 2007 release "The Dio Years", and Dehumanizer tracks were added to the remastering party. This stuff sounded quite good. Was much cleaner than any release at that time. Then we get 2008's Rules of Hell. This is of course the first time that the entire Dio studio catalog (plus Live Evil) got the full remastering treatment. If you recall, shortly before Black Box came out, there was a two CD greatest hits of the Ozzy era called 'Symptom of the Universe", and both Black Box and Symptom were from the same remastering session. Rules of Hell is different in that the remastering work done for this box set was an even NEWER version than the work done for the tracks released just last year! The recordings in Rules of Hell are QUITE fantastic!
 Heaven & Hell: Well, this album by far benefits the most from the remastering work done for this set. This is probably due to the fact that it is the oldest album in the catalogue here, being 28 years old at this point (ACK!). I will say that this is by far the cleanest version of the album I've ever heard. It has a freshness that is totally new to me. I know this album very well, it is a metal classic, and even the most ardent "Ozzy only" fan tends to think this is a pretty decent disc. I say that because I think it's the one most people are familiar with. The single biggest thing here is Geezer Butler's bass. It's far more noticeable than it EVER had been before. Oh sure, you knew it was there, but it never stood out. I have a great subwoofer system on my computer at work, and this is where I listen the most. It is REALLY noticeable, and that's without maxing the bass on the woofer, too. :) This is a great mix, and it makes me wonder why this kind of stuff couldn't be done before? By far the highlight of the box set for me. The booklet has an new story, and also has some artwork I have not seen before. It's done by Lynn Curlee, the guy who did the original artwork for the Heaven & Hell album cover (although it wasn't done specifically for Sabbath). I am unclear as to whether this is truly new artwork, or another of Lynn's older pieces. Either way, a nice surprise to see in the booklet.
 Mob Rules: This album holds a special place for me, because it was the first Black Sabbath album I ever got. As frequent visitors to my site know, I bought this album solely on the cover art. At that time I didn't know about Black Sabbath, and I saw the cover art in Hit Parader magazine, and thought.. "I wonder what their music sounds like if their cover art looks like THAT!" So I ran out and bought it, and was instantly hooked by the opening riff of Turn up the Night. While I could never recapture that feeling, the new RoH remaster of Mob Rules is a definite improvement over the previous CD versions of the album I've owned. This album always (to me) had meaty, somewhat muddled sound. Now this isn't a bad thing - normally muddled means bad, but this had a heavy low end sound that wasn't "crisp", if you know what I mean. This new version keeps that feel I'm having issues describing, yet notches up the clarity. The bass isn't as noticably pronoucned as it is in the new version of Heaven & Hell, but it is most definitely an improvement. Of course, I'm somewhat biased about this disc, because of what it means to me and Sabbath in general, it's hard for me to be totally objective about this one.
 Live Evil: When this album was released on the original Warner set of CD's it was a double CD. Was one of those "fat" double CD cases from years gone by, if you remember those. The kind now that hold like five discs in the same space. Anyway, when Castle did their remastering in 1996, Live Evil was butchered. Was cut down to a single disc, and almost 100% of the crowd banter was gone. Fortunately, this release restores the album to its original configuration of two discs, allowing for everything to be put back. The problem for me is that no amount of remastering can help this one. When it was BRAND NEW in December of 1982, it was pretty cool. The problem is it feels overproduced to me - the band sounds "flat", it has no bite, and no crispness. Heck, Geezer Butler himself referred to this album as "Live in the Studio Evil" on a 2007 TV interview. I've seen Black Sabbath live a ton of times, and I've always wondered where the band's live energy went on this disc. This is not a complaint about the remastering, but the original release itself. I've always felt that Live Evil was an inferior live recording, and while I've checked it out as part of my reviewing duties, I cannot say I will honestly listen to this much. The limited release "Live at Hammersmith" from last year beats the crap out of Live Evil. It wouldn't have happened obviously, but I wish that Hammersmith was included in this package over Live Evil. Having said that, it is nice that its original release format of two discs was included, so in that regard, it is an improvement over the 1996 Castle release by miles.
 Dehuamanizer: This is the album that benefits least from the remastering. This is probably because the album is the most recent of the studio work in here. I really love this disc, there's some absolutely stellar tracks on here. It's not like the remastering work produced NO difference, it's just the differences are far less noticeable than the other studio albums in here. I'm going to say the least about this one for that reason.
If you look at this review on my Black Sabbath site, it's enhanced with pictures. These will show you that the inside of the box is four CD jewel cases, and that's it. Unlike Black Box or the Radio City Deluxe release, there's no real reason to keep the actual box this comes in if you don't want to. Since these are just CD jewel cases, and not some custom molded digipak or something, the exterior "box" in the box set can be discarded, and you can put the jewel cases with all your other jewel cases. I'm not advocating throwing it in the trash, as that doesn't seem right either - it's just odd that the box set is just that - a box. Some box sets have the "box" be part of the packaging, and it all comes together in a nice presentation so to speak. Not here, the box is just "a box". The exterior has some artwork on it, but it's that kind of "black on black" that Black Box featured, so it doesn't really stand out, either.
If you're still with me, you might think that I'm dumping on this box a lot, and that I don't like it. That is definitely not the truth. If you get all hung up on extras, packaging and the like, well, then you may not like this set. But if you're like me, and like Black Sabbath for the right reasons, that being the music, then you will absolutely love this set. Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules are seriously improved. Dehumanizer less so, but it does sound better than before, and Live Evil? Well, it's Live Evil. The pricing on this set is quite nice, too. If you're a Black Sabbath fan that knows these albums well, you'll find a lot to like about the remastering. If you don't have these albums, it should be a no brainier - go get them. They're classic pieces of metal, and the remastering does wonders for them. You'll enjoy it.
Some other notes. I've been told that this is a North American release (like most recent Rhino stuff). I did inquire as to whether or not it will be released outside of North America, and I cannot get a concrete update on that. It would have been nice if the three studio tracks from the Dio years package could have found their way onto here. They actually are, if you buy the box set from a digital format (such as Amazon's MP3 store, or iTunes or the like), but the physical disc version does not have them. Geezer Butler has said that the title of the box is not for the obvious "Hell" connection, but it's a play on the names of the first two albums with Dio. Granted, Sabbath has never been above playing the "Satan" angle for marketing (look at the box cover art), but I personally find these kinds of album names tiring. Yawn. It's Satan again. Can we move on to something more important than that?
That's it for me and my review of "The Rules of Hell". Hope to see you back here again before too long with a review of "Black Box 3: The Everything Else" box set. Oh, you can see my photo gallery of the images used in the review here, which includes a couple of others not used in the review.
A special thanks to Rhino Records who provided the copies for the giveaway I ran last week. Go support the band, and buy the box! Here's some ordering links. If you don't care about physical media, check out the digital versions. They're priced well (iTunes is $24.95 and Amazon's MP3 store is $22.95 as I write this). Both the digital links come with the three new tracks "The Devil Cried", "The Shadow of the Wind", & "Ear in the Wall".
US: Amazon.com's physical CD page
US: Amazon.com's MP3 download page
UK: Amazon.co.uk's Page
US: iTunes download page
Posted by Joe Siegler at 2:08 AM | Permalink
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July 18, 2008
Win a free copy of the "Rules of Hell" Box set!
It's giveaway time again! This coming Tuesday is the US release date for the Black Sabbath Box Set "The Rules of Hell". If you've been living under a rock, then you don't know this is the Dio era of Black Sabbath's remastered box set offering. It contains the three studio albums Dio Sabbath released, plus the tepid live release, "Live Evil". This is the first time these albums have been remastered from the original Warner Bros source masters (the 1996 Castle versions were a different source master). I've had a pre-release copy in my hands for a few weeks now, and I have to say, they sound improvement is quite noticable (especially on H&H and MR), but I'll have a full review later.
Anyway, I'm here to give away some copies of the box as has been my custom on this site for quite some time now. I've got five copies of the box set that are being given away. First off, I wanted to thank the folks over at Rhino Records for providing me with the copies to be given away. If you don't win these contests, please go support the label and the band by buying copies. Here are some ordering links:
ALBUM ORDERING INFO: First are some links you can use to order the album.
US: Amazon.com's physical CD page
US: Amazon.com's MP3 download page
UK: Amazon.co.uk's Page
US: iTunes download page
US: Best Buy Ordering Page
 As per my contests in the past, you'll need to answer a few trivia questions about the band. If you get them all right, you'll be put into a drawing for a copy of the Rules of Hell Box Set. Here are the questions you need to answer:
- The painting used for the cover of the Heaven & Hell album was not originally created for the album. What was that painting's original name?
- What was the name of the artist that painted the cover art for The Mob Rules album?
- Name the two theatrical movies that the Dio era of Black Sabbath contributed songs to.
- Which song from Dehumanizer was the only track to be played live on the 1994 Cross Purposes tour with Tony Martin?
- What is Ronnie James Dio's real surname?
You need to send your answers for the questions and your name and address to roh@black-sabbath.com. There's two important things here. First the email must go to this address. Second, you have to include your name and address. IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THESE TWO SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS, YOUR SUBMISSION WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. The contest will run through Tuesday the 22nd of July at noon (my time, which is the Central Time Zone in the US). You don't have to be in the US to be eligible to win.
A few notes about other versions of box set I should point out.
- It appears that the digital distributions of the Rules of Hell box set include more material than the physical version. I'm referring to the versions that appear on places like iTunes and the Amazon MP3 store. These two versions also include the three new tracks from the Dio Years set (Devil Cried, Shadow of the Wind, & Ear in the Wall).
I'm attempting to find out if these will be on the physical version, but I do not believe they are. Confirmed. Rhino told me this afternoon that these tracks appear on digital versions only.
- The Best Buy version has a limited edition exclusive bonus disc, which contains five live tracks, culled from last year's "Live at Hammersmith" release. More details available here.
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Posted by Joe Siegler at 11:13 AM | Permalink
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July 8, 2008
The Rules of Hell at Best Buy
I just found out today (thanks Steve) that there was a version of the forthcoming "Rules of Hell" box set being sold at Best Buy which is an "exclusive". I was not aware of this happening, so I hit up my contact at Rhino for information. I was told there is indeed going to be a version of "Rules of Hell" specifically available at Best Buy.
The majority of the box will be exactly the same as you can get everywhere else. There will however, be an extra CD packed on the outside that will contain five live tracks from 1981. The live tracks are:
- Neon Knights
- The Mob Rules
- Children of the Grave
- Voodoo
- Country Girl
The source of these live tracks was the "Live at Hammersmith" release from May of 2007. The first four of these tracks already were released on the UK Tour Edition of "The Dio Years" last year. Country Girl was not on the Tour Edition release.
If you want to check out this release, you can do so via this link over at the Best Buy website.
From my personal experience at Best Buy, given the quantities Best Buy tends to stock of things like this, if you're interested, you may wish to pre-order. Best Buy will have the regular version fine, but this one with the extra disc might be harder to come buy. I mean, this isn't the kind of stuff that fills the "best sellers" section at Best Buy. That section is usually filled with crap, so special editions of Black Sabbath might not be in huge quantities at Best Buy, know what I mean? :)
Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:52 PM | Permalink
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June 10, 2008
Deep Purple's Around the World DVD
 If you're a fan of Black Sabbath (why else would you be reading this), then you're probably also a fan of Deep Purple. Both bands have long histories of personnel changes, and carrying on when popular opinion seemed to think that they should not. The primary difference between Black Sabbath and Deep Purple is that Sabbath stopped putting out new studio albums in 1995. Thing is, the year after that, Deep Purple started in on their revival, and started releasing some really good studio albums with Steve Morse. Some would have thought that Ritchie Blackmore's second departure from Purple would have killed the band for good, but if anything, it revived them - the work that Purple has put out since 1996 onwards has been almost uniformly excellent.
That is the reason for the DVD box set I'm talking about here. It's called "Deep Purple: Around the World Live". This is a very nice quality set. It's got four DVD's in it. The first three are all concert footage (interspersed with interview stuff as well). The fourth DVD is a rather long documentary on the history of the band in the Steve Morse era. The documentary talks about all kinds of stuff with Steve Morse, spends a lot of time on the departure of Jon Lord as well, and is really quite cool. There's some references to the other times of Purple's history, but this documentary is really all about the Morse era. Which I happen to love, so it was right up my alley. Ian Gillan even referenced a concert I saw with a friend of mine in 1994 in Texas, which was technically Steve Morse's third ever gig with Purple. There's a review I did of it back then still online over at the Highway Star website, too!
Anyway, there's tons of concert footage, and with the sets varying over several years, you don't get the same set lists all the time, it varies - and includes live tracks from Battle Rages On, an album I rather liked, and is under appreciated. I'm going to post the press release below, so there will be some more stuff to read. But the bottom line is this. If you like Deep Purple, and want to see more than just old music videos of Highway Star when Ian Gillan talks about Steve McQueen, then I urge you to check out this set. Its' really good stuff, and I didn't even get into the booklet that comes with this. :)
Eagle To Release
FOUR-DVD DEEP PURPLE BOX JUNE 17
Around The World Live, The Definitive Deep Purple Concert Boxed Set, Spans 1995-2002
New York, NY (May 29, 2008)—On June 17, 2008, Eagle Rock Entertainment, through its wholly-owned Eagle Vision subsidiary, will release Deep Purple: Around The World Live [pre-book date May 28, Retail Sales Price $39.98], a 4-DVD boxed set chronicling live shows in 1995 India, 1999 Australia and 2002 England. The fourth disc, Access All Areas, is a documentary of the band, from inception on.
Deep Purple is one of the most beloved Hard Rock bands in music history. Seen as one of the key precursor bands to what ultimately became Heavy Metal, it is also in the Guinness Book Of World Records as the loudest band ever. Its debut album, Shades Of Deep Purple, came out in September of 1968. By year’s end, The Book Of Taliesyn was also out and 12 months later, in 1969, its self-titled third album made them stars. Superstar status was achieved in the ‘70s, and there was no looking back from there. All during the ‘80s and ‘90s, Deep Purple continued to make new fans, performing its music on stages all over the world. With 18 studio albums, six live albums, and 14 of Hard Rock’s greatest musicians (including guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, organist Jon Lord, vocalist David Coverdale, guitarist Joe Satriani, and the late Tommy Bolin) who have filled its ranks at one time or another, Deep Purple has sold millions of records, and are considered one of the greatest bands of alltime. (The current lineup, which has been solvent for six years, consists of vocalist Ian Gillan, guitarist Steve Morse, bassist Roger Glover, keyboardist Don Airey and drummer Ian Paice.)
Around The World Live disc bonus features an eight-song fourth concert from 1995 Seoul, South Korea (Disc #1), a 1999 documentary, “A Band Down Under” (Disc #2), and a 2002 interview with vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover (Disc #3).
This lavish boxed set comes complete within a hardback cover that also includes a 32-page specially commissioned book written by Joel McIver of Great Britain’s Classic Rock magazine, illustrated with photographs of the various eras covered by the concerts.
Packed with rare and previously unseen material, this is the ultimate Deep Purple 57-song nine-hour collection!
Track Listing
Disc #1 “Bombay Calling—India 1995”
1) Fireball
2) Maybe I’m A Leo
3) Black Night
4) The Battle Rages On
5) Woman From Tokyo
6) Perpendicular Waltz
7) When A Blind Man Cries
8) Perfect Strangers
9) Pictures Of Home
10) Child In Time
11) Anya
12) Space Truckin’
13) Guitar Solo
14) Lazy
15) Speed King
16) Highway Star
17) Smoke On The Water
Bonus Material “Live In Seoul South Korea 1995”
1) Black Night
2) Woman From Tokyo
3) When A Blind Man Cries
4) Perfect Strangers
5) Child In Time
6) Speed King
7) Highway Star
8) Smoke On The Water
Disc #2 “Total Abandon—Australia 1999”
1) Ted The Mechanic
2) Strange Kind Of Woman
3) Bloodsucker
4) Pictures Of Home
5) Almost Human
6) Woman From Tokyo
7) Watching The Sky
8) Fireball
9) Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming
10) Guitar Solo
11) Smoke On The Water
12) Lazy
13) Perfect Strangers
14) Speed King
15) Black Night
16) Highway Star
Disc #3 “Live At The NEC—England 2002”
1) Fireball
2) Woman From Tokyo
3) Mary Long
4) Ted The Mechanic
5) Lazy
6) The Well-Dressed Guitar
7) When A Blind Man Cries
8) Space Truckin’
9) Keyboard Solo
10) Perfect Strangers
11) Speed King
12) Guitar Solo
13) Smoke On The Water
14) Hush
15) Black Night
16) Highway Star
Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:32 PM | Permalink
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May 20, 2008
New Studio Album in 2009, plus other news
I received a press release today regarding the upcoming "Rules of Hell" box set, as well as the Metal Masters Tour. Most of what is contained within is information we already knew, but there were a few tidbits in here worth pointing out before you check out the full press release.
- New Studio album in "Early 2009": Previously it was expected that the new album Heaven & Hell would have been out late this year, but apparently that's not happening. According to this press release, the album will be out in "early 2009". Now before a lot of fans go and get their panties in a knot, remember Early 2009 means more than "Up to January 10th". Don't forget, we're getting a new Sabbath (yeah, yeah, yeah - It's Black Sabbath, and you know it), album with Ronnie Dio - let's give 'em a chance to do it right before bitching about WHEN, eh?
- Album Track Listings: The track listing for the Rules of Hell box set is below. As expected, no new tracks are here. It's five Discs, with Live Evil being put back to its original two disc configuration when released back in the day. The three Dio era studio albums have no new or unreleased tracks. I did notice that the version of Dehumanizer being used is now confirmed to be the US version, which means both versions of Time Machine will be on there.
- Tour Dates: Not every date below on the Metal Masters tour will have all the bands. One date will not have Judas Priest, and one will not have Motorhead (not the same date). If you're in one of these cities, you'll want to check the listing below.
- Box Set Pricing: If you're into buying your tunes from places like Apple and their iTunes store, the pricing will be of interest to you. The box set will be available the same day as the physical version (July 22nd) for a suggested retail price of $24.99. 25 bucks for all the Dio era albums is quite a nice price, so if you're into buying your tracks digitally, that will be of interest to you.
Here's the entire press release for you to check out:
Five-CD Boxed Set Features Newly Remastered Versions Of
Every Dio-Era Sabbath Album, Available July 22 From Rhino
Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice Are Currently Recording Long Awaited New Heaven & Hell Studio Album, Set To Be Released By Rhino In Early 2009
Heaven & Hell Will Return to the Road This Summer for the Metal Masters Tour With Judas Priest, Motörhead, and Testament
LOS ANGELES – Heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath were reborn in 1980 when founding members Tony Iommi and Terry “Geezer” Butler added vocalist Ronnie James Dio to the lineup. The band’s short but memorable time together added an unforgettable chapter in Sabbath’s storied history. Rhino relives the demonic fury conjured by the Dio era with THE RULES OF HELL, a boxed set featuring all three of the band’s studio releases (Heaven And Hell, Mob Rules, Dehumanizer) and their double live collection (Live Evil) – each recently remastered for the first time. The set comes packaged in a deluxe slipcase with extensive liner notes featuring all new interviews with the band. This five-disc boxed set will be available from Rhino on July 22 at all physical outlets, as well as www.rhino.com, for a suggested list price of $54.98. The set will also be available the same day at all digital outlets for a suggested list price of $24.99.
Two years ago, Dio, Iommi and Butler and drummer Vinny Appice reunited to record a trio of new songs for Rhino’s Black Sabbath: The Dio Years before launching a highly anticipated and greatly acclaimed world tour under their new moniker Heaven & Hell. Revitalized by the reunion, the lineup is back in the studio now recording the first ever full-length studio album from Heaven & Hell, set to be released by Rhino in early 2009. To whet the fans’ appetites for the new album, Heaven & Hell will return to the road for a short stint on the Metal Masters Tour, a month-long North American trek with Judas Priest, Motörhead, and Testament. This blistering metal juggernaut will launch August 6 in Philadelphia.
The Dio-era’s first effort, HEAVEN AND HELL, hit the racks on April 25, 1980. Greeted by ecstatic reviews, the album peaked at #9 in Britain. In the U.S., its Top 30 success gave the group its first platinum disc in six years. Opening with the chugging anthem “Neon Knights,” the album also includes the epic title track, “Wishing Well,” “Die Young” and “Lonely Is The Word.”
The group’s follow-up, MOB RULES, was the first without original drummer Bill Ward, who was replaced with Appice. The album bristles with Iommi’s signature dark riffs, Butler’s elaborate bass lines, Appice’s hammering behind the drums and Dio’s inimitable growling. The album includes the high-octane tracks—“Falling Off The Edge Of The World,” “Turn Up The Night,” and the title track—plus the mid-tempo rocker “Voodoo” and the slow-churning epic “The Sign Of The Southern Cross,” a favorite among band members and fans alike.
Released in December 1982, LIVE EVIL stands as a modern metal masterpiece and a testament to the power of the Dio, Iommi, Butler and Appice lineup. Recorded in Seattle, Dallas, and San Antonio, the sound is upfront and aggressive, a virtual front-row seat for epic versions of their classics including “Neon Knights,” “Children Of The Sea,” “The Sign Of The Southern Cross” and “Heaven And Hell.”
DEHUMANIZER (1992) is seen by many metal aficionados as one of—if not the most—underrated work to ever carry the Sabbath name. After the lineup fell apart in 1982, the group reconvened a decade later to release this lost classic. The album forged something new, pushing its legend to a new generation of metal heads with incredible tracks like “I,” “Computer God” and “TV Crimes.”
THE RULES OF HELL
Track Listing
HEAVEN AND HELL
1. “Neon Knights”
2. “Children Of The Sea”
3. “Lady Evil”
4. “Heaven And Hell”
5. “Wishing Well”
6. “Die Young”
7. “Walk Away”
8. “Lonely Is The Word”
MOB RULES
1. “Turn Up The Night”
2. “Voodoo”
3. “The Sign Of The Southern Cross”
4. “E5150”
5. “The Mob Rules”
6. “Country Girl”
7. “Slipping Away”
8. “Falling Off The Edge Of The World”
9. “Over And Over”
LIVE EVIL
Disc 1
1. “E5150”
2. “Neon Knights”
3. “N.I.B.”
4. “Children Of The Sea”
5. “Voodoo”
6. “Black Sabbath”
7. “War Pigs”
8. “Iron Man”
Disc 2
1. “The Mob Rules”
2. “Heaven And Hell”
3. “The Sign Of The Southern Cross/Heaven And Hell”
4. “Paranoid”
5. “Children Of The Grave”
6. “Fluff”
DEHUMANIZER
1. “Computer God”
2. “After All (The Dead)”
3. “TV Crimes”
4. “Letters From Earth”
5. “Master Of Insanity”
6. “Time Machine”
7. “Sins Of The Father”
8. “Too Late”
9. “I”
10. “Buried Alive”
11. “Time Machine” (Wayne’s World Version)
Heaven & Hell North American Tour Dates
(Except where noted, all shows also feature Judas Priest, Motörhead, and Testament)
AUGUST
6 Philadelphia, PA Susquehanna Bank Center
7 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion
9 Holmdel, NJ PNC Arts Center
10 Wantagh, NJ Jones Beach Theater
12 Hamburg, NY Grandstand Stage/America's Fair **
13 Toronto, ONT Molson Amphitheatre
15 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena##
16 Pittsburgh, PA Post-Gazette Pavilion
18 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Center
19 Chicago, IL First Midwest Band Amphitheatre
22 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center
23 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
24 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
27 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
28 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion
30 San Bernadino, CA Hyundai Pavilion At Glen Helen
31 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
**Featuring Motörhead and Testament ONLY
## Featuring Judas Priest and Testament ONLY
Posted by Joe Siegler at 11:26 AM | Permalink
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April 24, 2008
Rules of Hell Box Set Update
A couple of days ago I posted the news that there will be a box set based on the four Dio era Black Sabbath releases. I posed some questions of band management regarding some details on the set, and I can now bring you an update based on what I found out.
Individual Releases: The albums will likely eventually be released on their own, but no plans yet, and even that's not for sure. For now you should consider them part of the box set only.
Remastering: This is not the same remastering sessions that produced last year's "The Dio Years" releases. This is a totally new remastering session from the Dio Years sessions.
Five Discs: The press release stated that there would be five discs in this release. The five discs will be Heaven & Hell, The Mob Rules, Dehumanizer, & Live Evil. Live Evil will be two discs as it was when it was originally released way back when, so that's where we get the fifth disc.
Extra Tracks: There are no extra tracks here, the albums are as they were originally released. I specifically asked about the alternate version of Mob Rules (Heavy Metal soundtrack), and the alternate version of Letters to Earth (TV Crimes Single). Was told they're not being included. Less clear are the two versions of Time Machine. The 1992 version released in the US had two versions (standard & Wayne's World). The WW version was not on versions outside of the US. Since this is being released by Warner/Rhino, it's likely the one on here will have both, but I don't know that for sure at this time.
I was told the "new" extras will be extensive liner notes and things along those lines. I also do not know at this time what the packaging will look like. One of the emails I got said that had yet to be completed, so I doubt there's full decisions made on this stuff yet. Once I get some artwork and further details, I'll be sure to update straight away.
UPDATE: Something occurred to me a few hours after I posted this. I don't know whether this box will be available under the name Black Sabbath or Heaven & Hell. Will update with that too when I find out.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:28 AM | Permalink
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April 22, 2008
Website question
UPDATE: This has been fixed. Thanks to Adam Alexander for pointing me in the right direction. Turns out it was the "Gallery" templates and using a strict doctype. Changed it to transitional, and it worked fine.
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I have a strange question that I can't seem to find an answer to, so I thought I'd take it to you, the site visitor. If you're good at diagnosing HTML problems, I have something for you to look at. It's the code that generates the Photo gallery here. The gallery is being generated by software called (boringly enough), "Gallery". I'm using their theme system to embed the site's look around the bits that Gallery itself generates for the pictures.
Anyway, the problem is with the embedding. If you look at the two images below, it's the same code generating these. However, one looks wrong.
Anyway, the problem is with Firefox. Usually I have this problem the other way around, but Firefox has had that black bar on top of the menu for awhile now, and I've never been able to figure it out. I fiddled with the ad banner code and moved the "boxed" version from the news section (which is generated by Movable Type) to the gallery section. However, that too has a weird display problem similar to the black bar above the menu.
I'm thinking it's with the overall framing code like I'm missing one small tag somewhere that will get rid of the problem. If you know HTML well, can you take a look at this, and see if you can figure out what the frig I'm doing wrong?
If you can solve the problem for me, I can probably hook you up with a free CD or something (the first email I get about it that actually solves the problem will be the one I pick for that).
Thanks for any help you can give. I've been doing websites now for 13 years, and this one is a bugger for me.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:57 AM | Permalink
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April 21, 2008
New Tour Dates & "Black Box 2" Announced
Today brings a major announcement from band management. I was just emailed a press release which folks will find very interesting. The entire press release is listed below, but I'll get to the bullet points of the thing here:
Tour announced:
First up is a tour dubbed "The Metal Masters Tour". This is an 18 date trek across parts of the US. It starts on August 6th, and ends up August 31st. A complete list of dates:
Wed 06-Aug-08 Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ
Thu 07-Aug-08 Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA
Sat 09-Aug-08 PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
Sun 10-Aug-08 Nikon at Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY
Wed 13-Aug-08 Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON
Sat 16-Aug-08 Post Gazette Pavilion, Pittsburgh, PA
Mon 18-Aug-08 DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit, MI
Tue 19-Aug-08 First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL
Fri 22-Aug-08 Superpages.com Amphitheatre, Dallas, TX
Sat 23-Aug-08 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX
Sun 24-Aug-08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, San Antonio, TX
Wed 27-Aug-08 Journal Pavilion, Albuquerque, NM
Thu 28-Aug-08 Cricket Wireless Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ
Sat 30-Aug-08 Glen Helen Pavilion, San Bernardino, CA
Sun 31-Aug-08 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
Dates as to when these shows tickets' will go on sale are in the full press release further down the page. The other bands on the tour besides Black Sabbath er, Heaven & Hell are Judas Priest, Motorhead, & Testament. I've seen Motorhead with Black Sabbath a few times in the past on the Cross Purposes & Forbidden tours. Judas Priest will have a new album out, as will Testament, and Heaven & Hell's new album I don't think will be out then, but should be well underway. Could we see a new track during these dates? We'll find out.
Black Box II announced:
When Black Box was released in 2004, one of the things not mentioned then was "what about remastering all the other Sabbath albums?" Well, today (part of) that has been announced. First off, I must state that this is NOT called Black Box II. That's my own name. This is called "The Rules of Hell".
I have already asked a few questions of Band management regarding this box set, when I get some answers, I'll report back. What I've asked is this:
- Is this a new remastering session, or is it the same sessions that produced the versions used on the Dio Years?
- Anything in the way of extras, or is it just the albums like it was in Black Box?
- Will there be Geezer (or Ronnie as the case may be) approved lyrics again like there were in Black Box?
- Will the albums be made available on their own, or only as part of this box set?
Again, I do not know the answers to these questions - yet. When I find out, I'll report back. This is very cool, as the Dio era albums need an upgrade. I'm hopeful about the extras, because there are more tracks sitting around than what were on the actual albums, so hopefully some of that stuff can be released, too. Here is the official text regarding this set:
Heaven & Hell will be supporting the release of ‘The Rules Of Hell’ a five-CD boxed set available on July 22nd from Rhino Records which features re-mastered versions of all four Dio-era Black Sabbath albums (‘Heaven and Hell,’ ‘Mob Rules,’ ‘Live Evil,’ and ‘Dehumanizer’) in a deluxe package with new liner notes.
A personal note: That leaves "Black Box 3: The Everything else set". Bring that on too, guys!
Judas Priest MP3 available:
While not directly Sabbath related, the same press release has announced that you can download for free an MP3 from the new Judas Priest album, Nostradamus here.
This is all very exciting news, and I really need to get off my duff and caught up with old emails and submissions before a new tour starts!
There's also a cool interview over at Billboard.com with Rob Halford talking about the tour and Judas Priest's new album. Check that out here. (Thanks Blabbermouth)
If you want to read the official press release, it is available below:
Continue reading "New Tour Dates & "Black Box 2" Announced"
Posted by Joe Siegler at 2:07 PM | Permalink
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April 18, 2008
Bill Ward remembers Cozy Powell
 Below is the text of an email I received from Bill Ward regarding the recent anniversary of the death of Cozy Powell..
H! Everyone.
Thanks, Joe, for reminding us it's been ten years since Cozy died. I think about him from time to time. I've always been grateful that our last phone conversation ended on a high note. I felt we were both sincere with each other, sharing mutual respect when touching on our individual histories in Hard Rock/Metal.
Over the years, death has sometimes come quickly to old friends, and I've felt the pain and dilemma of not returning a phone call as I would have liked to, but didn't; not being able to say a proper good-bye in life; being upset, or undone, or unresolved from the last conversation, then feeling the loss of that end. With Cozy, I felt we had the perfect ending conversation. We talked from the heart. In hindsight, our conversation seems gift-like, fitting perfectly into the great order of things. Cozy died about ten days after he and I spoke, maybe sooner, I'm not sure.
OK. Drum students - listen to this man. Check out the band Rainbow. Listen to "Stargazer." Cozy is a master. Listen to the top of the song - that's Cozy Powell playing. Discover this giant of Rock drumming. He lives forever on records and in our hearts.
Thanks, Coze - nice work.
--Bill
Posted by Joe Siegler at 2:46 PM | Permalink
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March 28, 2008
Rumors
I heard a few interesting rumors in the last few days or so, and wanted to pass them on.
What I've read tells me that there's going to be a big cool tour in the fall, that being Heaven & Hell will be touring with Judas Priest & Motorhead. When I read about this, I immediately checked with band management, and as usual, they didn't have anything to say about rumors, but if this is true.. Oh man.. I saw Sabbath with Motorhead several times in the mid 90's when Tony Martin was the frontman. I saw Priest a few times in the 80's, and again on Ozzfest 2004. If this comes off, it's going to be one heck of a tour! Where they'll play I haven't heard anything about, but these things tend to come off in the US a lot.
I also heard rumors of some live dates during the summer, but I don't know if it's the same rumor as the Motorhead/Priest one, a different one, or just BS.
But it appears something is going on, and I have to imagine they're into writing the new album by now. I haven't had much to say lately, but this might be why.
Now I just need to get through my pile of emails and get caught up before more live dates get announced.
UPDATE: I found this text over at Ronnie James Dio's site, which has some detail on the writing, which is underway. Nice to see that.
If you've been wondering what Ronnie is up to, wonder, no longer: After taking some well-deserved time off after last year's monster Heaven and Hell world tour, Ronnie will be heading off to the UK in March to begin writing the new Heaven and Hell record with the guys. Tony Iommi will then travel to LA to reunite with Ronnie, Geezer and Vinny to continue working on the record during April and May.
Then, Ronnie will take a break during the summer to play a few special up close and personal dates for the Dio fans.
UPDATE: Rob Halford of Judas Priest all but confirms this on this story I just read.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:16 AM | Permalink
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March 27, 2008
Heaven & Hell Artwork
I received this email awhile back from Sabbath fan Eric Goldberg, and it's sat in the dark recesses of my inbox for ages. In going through email tonight, I saw it, and thought I'd bring it up now. Thanks Eric, and sorry for the delay.
I'm not sure if you know or are interested, but the image of the Angels fighting on the front of the "Angel War" Heaven and Hell shirt that says on the back "The closer you get to the meaning, the sooner you'll know that you're dreaming" is taken from a famous image from an illustration of Milton's "Paradise Lost" by Gustave Dore, a French artist who lived in the middle of the 19th century. (As a side note, Dore lived a little over 200 years after Milton, and is famous for also illustrating Dante's "Divine Comedy" and Poe's "The Raven".)
The H&H shirt is pretty close to the original (much closer in fact than Sabbath's "Eternal Idol" cover was to Rodin's sculpture). See below for a comparison:
In case you are interested, you can see more of Dore's images on the web if you Google him, but here are a few sites you may find interesting:
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:18 PM | Permalink
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