Text by Phil Ashdown
Black Sabbath seemed well past their prime as the new decade dawned. They had finally decided to sever ties with their charismatic frontman, Ozzy Osbourne after he had become unreliable and erratic following the mediocre Technical Ecstacy album. The band and Ozzy faced an uncertain future as most people thought they were in a permanent and irreversible decline.
Guitarist Tony Iommi began to plan a new project outside the Sabbath world and contacted singer Ronnie James Dio. When the remaining members got together to discuss the future they decided to get a new singer to replace Ozzy and Dio was available following his departure from Rainbow. Dio was a complete opposite to Ozzy, in style, sound, look and indeed work ethic and things came together smoothly and quickly.
Another key ingredient came with the arrival of renowned producer Martin Birch to help with the overall sound and to help the band focus ideas. It was Dio’s suggestion to use Birch as they had worked together on Rainbow’s classic Rainbow Rising LP. The first song that Iommi and Dio wrote together was Children Of The Sea whilst the first song recorded was the stunning title track.
Iommi told Classic Rock magazine, “It was all so exciting and challenging. We were doing things that, quite frankly, would have been beyond us with Ozzy. He wasn’t that sort of singer. But with Ronnie, there were so many more options. It really did feel like we were starting all over again. And we all knew when the album was finished that it was something special. It felt right for the time, and was Black Sabbath as people had never heard us before.”
It was a concern that some die-hard Sabbath fans might not take to an album without Ozzy and an American fronting the British founders of the heavy metal sound but band members just got on with the business of making the best album they could whilst pushing the boundaries of their sound and style.
Recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami and Studio Ferber in Paris, Heaven And Hell was released on April 25, 1980. Most cynics were completely blown away and the album made it to no.9 in the UK and no.28 in America. It was the band’s best chart performance since 1975’s Sabotage.
The front cover of the album sleeve featured an image taken from a painting by artist Lynn Curlee, Smoking Angels, inspired by a 1928 photograph of women dressed as angels, smoking backstage during a college pangeant. The back cover was a group portrait drawn by artist Harry Carmean.
- Neon Knights
- Children Of The Sea
- Lady Evil
- Heaven And Hell
- Wishing Well
- Die Young
- Walk Away
- Lonely Is The Word
Album Line-up
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Tony Iommi – Guitar
Geezer Butler – Bass
Bill Ward – Drums
Geoff Nicholls – Keyboards
The real acid test would be when the band took to the road, mixing up songs from the new album with those from their past. The tour started on April 17, in Germany. Iommi told Classic Rock Magazine “We knew that was also gonna be a serious test, but it helped that Ronnie was open to trying everything. He was prepared to do any of the songs chosen from our years with Ozzy. Of course, it was very different for him to be heard singing anything closely connected to Ozzy, as opposed to the new stuff. But we met this head on, and I believe we made it work. The crowds were big and, mostly, very supportive.”
The world tour started in Europe and included a sol-out four-night residency at London’s Hammersmith Odeon with Girlschool in support. As a side-note, US heavy metal band can trace their roots back to this time when the guitarist in support band Shakin’ Street, Ross The Boss met Sabbath bass tech Joey DiMaio at a UK show, becoming friends and forming Manowar soon after. However things would soon take a less positive tone when long-time drummer Bill Ward quit after four months of touring due to health problems. At Dio’s suggestion he was quickly replaced by Vinny Appice, the younger brother of celebrated drummer Carmine.
In his place, the band went for Vinny Appice, younger brother of the more celebrated drummer Carmine Appice. He fitted in really well and soon became a real powerhouse alongside bassist Geezer Butler, a more true ‘rock’ drummer than Bill’s jazz style of playing. The only songs from Heaven And Hell not played during this tour were Wishing Well and Walk Away. During the North American leg Sabbath Co-headlined most of their shows with Blue Oyster Cult as the two bands shared the same manager, Sandy Pearlman. The shows were a huge success with high attendances. As the tour progressed friction between the two bands increased over which band should close the show and the logistics of staging both group’s impressive props and lighting. Iommi soon decided to fire Pearlman after the tour’s conclusion.
Touring Line-up
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Tony Iommi – Guitar
Geezer Butler – Bass
Bill Ward (Replaced by Vinny Appice) – Drums
Geoff Nicholls – Keyboards
It’s now 40 years since this album first astonished metal fans across the globe, in the process giving Sabbath a rebirth and is now rightly regarded as a classic.
Mick Wall noting in his book Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe: “For once their timing was spot on. In Britain, Sounds magazine had begun championing a new musical phenomenon it dubbed ‘The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ – The reborn Black Sabbath, with their glistening new sound, incomparable new singer and top-drawer new album, were seen as part of a widespread revival in rock fandom.”
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- Black Sabbath - Sabotage - 1st - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £65.00, $81.90, €76.05 (New Item) (arrived 26-Apr-2024 16:55)on April 30, 2024 at 11:13 pm
BLACK SABBATH Sabotage (1975 UK first press 8-track LP with black & silver design with 'Nems Records & Tapes' logo & '9119 001' catalogue number, their sixth studio album including Hole In The Sky & Symptom Of The Universe, housed in the original textured picture sleeve with the same catalogue number on the spine & the back. The sleeve shows some light ring wear and edge scuffing, whilst the vinyl is clean & grades VG+/EX- with just a few faint spindle marks & the occasional lighthairline not affecting play)
- Black Sabbath - The Complete '70s Replica CD Collection - Numbered - UK - cd album box set - £95.00, $119.70, €111.15 (Back In Stock) (arrived 19-Apr-2024 09:39)on April 30, 2024 at 11:13 pm
BLACK SABBATH The Complete 70's Replica CD Collection (Rare 2001 UK limited edition 8-CD box set featuring a total of 74 tracks across 8 classic albums from 'Black Sabbath' to 'Never Say Die', each CD is presented in a mini-LP style card picturesleeve with replica inserts/ posters - the complete set is housed in a custom stickered silver embossed picture box with the individually numbered hype sticker on the front & superb photograph booklet, all in Near Mint condition CMXBX305)
- Black Sabbath - Never Say Die! - Matt Sleeve - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $31.50, €29.25 (New Item) (arrived 19-Mar-2024 17:59)on April 30, 2024 at 11:13 pm
BLACK SABBATH Never Say Die! (1978 UK Vertigo 'spaceship' label 9-track LP, the eighth studio album by English rock band, this example has a matt picture sleeve with illustrated credits inner. The sleeve has some light edgewear and a few scuffs, whilst the vinyl reveals just the odd cosmetic mark and very few signs of play. An Excellent copy!)
- Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 2nd - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £35.00, $44.10, €40.95 (New Item) (arrived 23-Mar-2024 11:41)on April 30, 2024 at 11:13 pm
BLACK SABBATH Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973 UK second issue 8-track vinyl LP on the black & silver label with silver 'WWA' label logo, housed in matt gatefold picture sleeve with the inside image going all the way to the outer edges without a border. The rear of the sleeve states manufactured and printed in England with no reference to 'Howards Printers' and has 'album concept and design: Pacific Eye & Ear...' credit printed in a bold print on the back. The sleeve(VG) displays somenoticable general wear with scuffing , whilst the vinyl has a few surface scuffs & marks but remains in EX/VG condition WWA005)
- Black Sabbath - Never Say Die + p/s - UK - 7" vinyl - £15.00, $18.90, €17.55 (New Item) (arrived 10-Apr-2024 15:50)on April 30, 2024 at 11:13 pm
BLACK SABBATH Never Say Die (1978 UK injection moulded 7" vinyl single, also including She's Gone. The flipback card picture sleeve shows some light general wear while the vinyl shows only very light signs of play SAB001)
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