Music / Heaven and Hell (1980)

It goes on, and on and on...

Heaven and Hell is the ninth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released by Vertigo Records on 18 April 1980.

After the disappointing reception of Never Say Die! and general band tensions finally reaching their breaking point, frontman Ozzy Osbourne was dismissed from the band. While he went off to finish work on what was now his solo debut, Sabbath needed a new singer. Enter American singer Ronnie James Dio, up to that point known for fronting Elf and Rainbow.

Upon release, it was seen as a success, at the time being the third-highest selling album behind Paranoid and Master of Reality, earning an RIAA Platinum certification by 1986.

Tracklist:

Side One

1. "Neon Knights" (3:53)
2. "Children of the Sea" (5:34)
3. "Lady Evil" (4:26)
4. "Heaven and Hell" (6:59)

Side Two

1. "Wishing Well" (4:07)
2. "Die Young" (4:45)
3. "Walk Away" (4:25)
4. "Lonely Is the Word" (5:51)

Principal membership

• Geezer Butler - drums
• Ronnie James Dio - lead vocals
• Tony Iommi - guitars
• Bill Ward - drums, percussion

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Contains examples of:

• Epic Rocking: The title track, clocking in at just a second shy of 7 minutes long.
• Heavy Mithril: The vocalist is Ronnie James Dio, so this is naturally given. The opening track "Neon Knights" is about legendary knights and heroes, though it seems to also impose their ideas on the modern world, being the titular neon knights.
• New Sound Album: Courtesy of Dio, the album is a new sound from Sabbath. Echoing a Deep Purple sound on tracks like "Lady Evil" and Dio's personal Heavy Mithril sound on the title track.
• Our Angels Are Different: The angels in the album cover were smoking cigarettes and playing poker.
• Word Salad Lyrics: It is Dio after all...
  Well, if it seems to be real, it's illusion
  For every moment of truth, there's confusion in life
  Love can be seen as the answer
  But nobody bleeds for the dancer
• Weird Moon: "Heaven and Hell", even though this is just Ronnie singing about people who try to deceive others:
  And they'll tell you black is really white
  The moon is just the sun at night

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