An English hard rock institution whose influence on heavy metal cannot be overstated, Black Sabbath not only pioneered the genre, they helped launch the career of one of its most colorful and controversial characters in Ozzy Osbourne. The band distilled the smoke and strife of its industrial hometown into a punitive blast of doom-laden heavy blues-rock via bass player Geezer Butler's dystopian lyrics, which leaned heavily on the occult, and guitarist Tony Iommi's seismic riffing.
When paired with Bill Ward's economical yet formidable work behind the kit and Osbourne's primal tenor, the effect was both powerful and accessible - a blueprint for aspiring decibel pushers of every skill level. The band formed in 1968 under the ill-fitting name the Polka Tulk Blues Band - Iommi and Ward, who had just left the pub blues outfit Mythology, were looking to take the genre in a more robust direction. They enlisted the services of Butler and Osbourne, both of whom had played together in a group called Rare Breed, and by the end of the year were operating under the moniker Earth. The transition from Earth to Black Sabbath took place the following year, after Osbourne and Butler penned a song that was inspired by the 1963 Boris Karloff horror film of the same name. The resulting 'Black Sabbath,' a funereal slab of blast furnace-forged dread built around the augmented fourth/tritonic interval, better known as the devil's interval, would serve as the opening volley on their explosive eponymous 1970 debut. Released via Vertigo Records, the more progressive subsidiary of Philips/Phonogram, the bulk of the Rodger Bain-produced LP was recorded in a single day. Only a handful of guitar overdubs - Iommi's signature sound was lent considerable gravitas by the fact that he tuned his guitar a half-step down to provide some slack for a pair of fingers that saw their tips removed in a factory accident - along with the rain, thunder, and tolling bells that so effectively introduced the group to the world, would be added later.
The record was released on Friday the 13th, which helped kick-start the band's reputation for populating the fertile crime scene that is history with plenty of blood spatter. Flush with eventual genre classics like 'The Wizard,' 'N.I.B.,' and the aforementioned title cut, Black Sabbath was initially dismissed by critics - retrospective reviews were far more reverent - but it managed to reach the U.K.
Top Ten and hold court for over a year on the U.S. Top 40, eventually going certified platinum. With the surprise success of Black Sabbath, the band wasted little time in getting back into the studio. Released just seven months after their debut, Paranoid, the very antithesis of the sophomore slump, would spawn two of their biggest singles in 'Iron Man' and the nervy, hard-hitting title track, the latter of which would be the band's only Top Ten hit - the LP went straight to the top of the U.K.
Charts, and sold over four million copies in the U.S. Deeper yet no less immediate cuts like the air-raid siren-led, politically charged 'War Pigs' and the trippy, mellow doom anthem 'Planet Caravan' showed a group that had far more creative gas in the tank than its detractors would have cared to admit. Paranoid also afforded Sabbath their first measure of controversy after an inquest was made regarding an American nurse who committed suicide while listening to the LP - for many, the name Black Sabbath would become synonymous with Satanism throughout the '70s and '80s. Sabbath continued to blow the unholy horn of plenty with albums three and four.
Mot passe winrar. Released in 1971, the brutish Master of Reality was certified double platinum on the strength of fan favorites like 'Sweet Leaf,' 'Children of the Grave,' and 'Into the Void,' the latter two of which saw Iommi downtune three semitones in order to release even more string tension - Butler followed suit, and the deep earth pummeling that followed has been widely cited as the auger of sludge, doom, and stoner metal. The LP also featured the Iommi-composed/Butler-penned 'After Forever,' which, much to the confusion of some of the band's more zealous critics, reflected the bass player's deep Catholic faith. 4, recorded in Los Angeles, arrived the following year, and was the first Sabbath outing to not see Rodger Bain handling production duties - Iommi and then-manager Patrick Meehan would co-produce the album.
Certainly the group's most ambitious outing to date, Vol. 4 also represented Black Sabbath at their most chemically dependent - the album's working title was Snowblind - shipping in speaker boxes filled with cocaine, and turning their rented Bel Air house into a boozy black cauldron of rock star excess. Nevertheless, they managed to pull it together long enough to piece together a dark, introspective gem of a record that didn't spawn any hits - the caustic riff-gasm that is 'Supernaut' must have charted in some other more forgiving dimension - but still topped the album charts. 4 dutifully reflected Sabbath's debauched collective headspace at the time, but retained enough of the blue-collar might that fueled their early works to connect. Arriving in 1973, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was another success, doubling down on the more progressive elements of Vol.
4, even going so far as to tap Rick Wakeman from Yes to contribute keyboards to the track 'Sabbra Cadabra.' Bolstered by the now iconic title cut as well as the punishing 'Killing Yourself to Live,' the LP not only resonated with fans, but elicited positive comments from mainstream critics as well, becoming Sabbath's fifth platinum album in the U.S. And earning their first silver certification in the U.K.
Sabotage, released in 1975, saw Sabbath returning to the bottom-heavy, molten metal attack of their debut, for the most part dialing back on the orchestral flourishes and studio trickery of their last two outings. It also arrived in the midst of contentious litigation between the band and its now former manager Meehan. Between the bruising 'Hole in the Sky,' the angst-fueled 'Symptom of the Universe,' and the nearly nine-minute epic 'The Writ,' the band sounded both reinvigorated and wrecked - a bloodied beast, filled with bullets, standing on the corpse of its captor. Fans and critics were kind, but the musical climate was changing both at home and abroad, and Black Sabbath were beginning to feel the chill. By 1976 the band was undergoing an internal struggle as well, having to contend with an increasingly frustrated and chemically dependant frontman, who was looking to strike out on his own.
Technical Ecstasy (1976) and Never Say Die! (1978), despite going gold, suffered beneath the weight of both the band's substance abuse issues and its increasingly diminished position in popular music. Bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols were on the rise, and Sabbath's brand of stalwart heavy blues-rock was losing favor.
During the recording of Never Say Die!, Osbourne quit, eventually making his way back into the fold during the final sessions, but in 1979, after touring in support of the album, he was fired from the group for good. Osbourne's departure and successful solo career may have signaled the end of an era for the group, but Black Sabbath weren't about to go gently into that good night. At the suggestion of the band's new manager's daughter Sharon Arden (later to become Sharon Osbourne), Iommi, Butler, and Ward brought in ex-Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio to take over vocal duties. Dio's powerful voice, as idiosyncratic and iconic as Osbourne's but with far more wholesale appeal, proved the perfect fit for Black Sabbath 2.0. Released in 1980, Heaven and Hell was a critical and commercial success, becoming their third-highest-selling LP behind Paranoid and Master of Reality. That same year, while on tour, Ward had reached the apex of his alcoholism and announced that he too was leaving the group. Vinny Appice, the younger brother of legendary Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice, was brought in to replace him, and would appear on the group's tenth studio outing, 1981's Mob Rules.
The album received mixed reviews, but still managed to go gold in the U.S. And crack the U.K. Top 40 on the strength of the fiery title track, which also appeared - in a different version - in the cult animated, adult-fantasy film Heavy Metal.
The band's first ever concert album, Live Evil, was released in 1983. Recorded during the group's 1982 tour in support of Mob Rules, it presented an audio snapshot of the band at the peak of its technical powers, but failed to capture the internal tensions that were bubbling beneath all of the pick slides and pyrotechnics.
Citing an irreconcilable falling out with Iommi and Butler, Dio and Appice left the group in the middle of mixing the album, and formed their own band. With the newly minted Dio issuing Holy Diver and Osbourne dropping his third chart-topping solo LP, Bark at the Moon, Black Sabbath were at a definite crossroads.
Undeterred, Iommi and Butler immediately began looking for new members with whom to start up the old machinery, eventually settling on Deep Purple's Ian Gillan on vocals and a freshly sober Bill Ward behind the kit. Que es calculo diferencial. While it sold well initially, the resulting Born Again was a critical failure, a tone-deaf collection of subpar Sabbath tropes that would ultimately leave Iommi the last man standing. Even the tour in support of the album was a disaster, with Ward, who relapsed during recording, being replaced by Move/ELO drummer Bev Bevan, and a cringe-inducing prop malfunction providing the inspiration for the 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap's now classic Stonehenge sequence. After the tour Bevan left, Gillan rejoined Deep Purple, and Butler went solo, leaving Iommi no choice but to put the band on hiatus.
What followed was a long period of near-constant personnel changes, with Iommi remaining the sole original member. Issued in 1986, the bluesy Seventh Star was, for all intents and purposes, an Iommi solo album - record company pressure forced him to add the Black Sabbath moniker to the front cover - and 1987's Eternal Idol was the first to feature new semi-permanent vocalist Tony Martin.
Hard rock heavyweight drummer Cozy Powell joined Iommi and Martin on 1989's Headless Cross and 1990's Viking-themed concept album Tyr, but none of the initial post-Born Again LPs had much of an impact critically or commercially. Once again the musical paradigm was shifting away from the hard rock/heavy metal genre, and Sabbath were just trying to stay afloat. The generally well-received Dehumanizer, a Heaven and Hell/Mob Rules-era reunion with Butler, Dio, and Vinny Appice, provided the Black Sabbath name with a much needed shot in the arm in 1992, and managed to sneak them back into the Top 40 both at home and overseas, but it would prove to be a one-off affair.
Arriving in 1994, Cross Purposes kept Butler on board and brought back Martin on vocals, but it failed to capitalize on any momentum left over from Dehumanizer's success, and the following year's disappointing Forbidden, the band's 18th studio LP, would be the last outing for Martin, as well as the last studio album from the band for nearly 18 years. Iommi, Butler, Ward, and Osbourne would eventually make their way back under the stage lights in 1997, culminating in the release of the Best Metal Performance Grammy Award-winning double live LP Reunion, but it would be 16 years - and a whole lot of Ozzy, who was eventually given his own reality television show - before the band would bring the dark arts back to the recording studio. Released in 2013, the Rick Rubin-produced 13, which also brought home a Grammy, this time for the single 'God Is Dead?,' would be Black Sabbath's final album, and in 2015, Osbourne, Iommi, and Butler - Ward refused to participate - announced that their upcoming world tour would be their last. The aptly named The End Tour, which concluded in their hometown of Birmingham, saw Black Sabbath closing the coffin lid on a nearly 50-year career and cementing their legacy as the unheralded harbingers of heavy, sludge, stoner, and doom metal. A concert LP/film of the performance, aptly titled The End, was released in 2017.
James Christopher Monger. ORIGIN Birmingham, England. GENRE. FORMED 1968.
June 2010 Released: 2010, Rating: 5.0/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz Black Sabbath needs no introduction, and if they do, than you should be reading up on Miley Cyrus’ blog rather than perusing these pages. Each of the Dio-era releases with the band are classics in their own right, but 1981’s MOB RULES often gets overshadowed by its older brother, HEAVEN AND HELL. H&H was a turning point for the band; the first post-Ozzy release, the album that gave Sabbath a second chance, not to mention the cadre of classics spawned from that LP. But to follow up an album of that magnitude and proving that it wasn’t just a one-off fluke was just as formidable a task as convincing the fans that there was life after Ozzy. But the resulting MOB RULES demonstrated that this new Sabbath lineup was the real thing. The chemistry between the band was tangible and the live performances have become the stuff of legend.
2008 saw the release of the RULES OF HELL box set, featuring remastered editions of the Dio-era albums, but the lack of any bonus material or anything beyond the original tracklisting of those discs left many die hard fans (myself included) feeling a little disappointed. But In 2009, Sanctuary/Universal Records UK began releasing expanded, deluxe editions of several classic Ozzy-era albums, remastered and featuring never before heard bonus tracks and alternate takes. The inevitable demand for similar treatment of the Dio albums has paid off, as Sanctuary/Universal UK has recently surprised us with deluxe 2-disc editions of HEAVEN AND HELL, MOB RULES, and LIVE EVIL. Now, I’m a cynic. I already own these albums on several formats, several times over, so what's the incentive to buy these again, especially at the price of an import? Well if you’re going to explore any of these, MOB RULES is where you need to start.
Disc 1 features the original studio album in its entirety and sounds phenomenal. Audiophiles who were raised with the vinyl or original CD pressings will appreciate the difference in overall sound quality. Disc 1 closes out with a live 12” single version of “Die Young” and the Heavy Metal soundtrack version of “The Mob Rules,” but Disc 2 is the real reason why this album is worth the price of admission.
Disc 2 features the full LIVE AT HAMMERSMITH CD, which is arguably the best collection of ’81-’82 era live material with this lineup. Originally released in 2007 and limited to 5,000 hand numbered copies, this is as close to being in the crowd as you could ever hope for without actually having been there. Where LIVE EVIL sounds processed and manufactured, the LIVE AT HAMMERSMITH tracks sound like they came straight from the soundboard and are essentially untouched. You’ll hear some feedback, you’ll hear some flubs, but these are the things that Sabbath fans have always wanted and the reason there are so many existing bootlegs of the band during this era. You won’t find full, live recordings of “Country Girl” or “Slipping Away” anywhere else, and finally getting to hear these underrated classics on stage makes up for having to endure “War Pigs” or “Neon Knights” for the zillionth time.
I could write for another six pages about why MOB RULES is a brilliant album, but the bottom line is that this should be a mandatory addition to your music collection. At its core it’s an amazing record, and the bonus features are worthy enough to truly label this as a “deluxe” edition. Disc 1 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 10.Die Young (Live 12” Version) 11.The Mob Rules (Alternate Version) Disc 2 1.E5150 (Live) 2.Neon Knights (Live) 3.N.I.B. (Live) 4.Children of the Sea (Live) 5.Country Girl (Live) 6.Black Sabbath (Live) 7.War Pigs (Live) 8.Slipping Away (Live) 9.Iron Man (Live) 10.The Mob Rules (Live) 11.Heaven and Hell (Live) 12.Paranoid (Live) 13.Voodoo (Live) 14.Children of the Grave (Live).
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2010 Deluxe CD 2008 CD 2009 Vinyl 1996 CD Original CD MP3 Deluxe MP3 iTunes Personal Note. This was the first Black Sabbath album I ever bought. Before this, I only owned one metal album, that being AC/DC’s Back in Black.
I was thumbing through a Circus Magazine, and saw the cover art for this album, which totally kicks ass. There was a remark in there about “See Black Sabbath on tour at a venue near you” or something like that.
I thought I’d check out what kind of band would have cool cover art like that. The first Black Sabbath song I ever listened to was “Turn Up the Night”.
I was totally blown away. Unfortunately, Sabbath had just left Philadelphia (I was living there then), so I had to wait until Born Again to see ’em for the first time.
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Black Sabbath Mob Rules Album
The week after this, I bought Paranoid (totally at random), and I was hooked forever. I credit this album for getting me into Black Sabbath. My original purchase was on pre-recorded cassette tape. To this day I still have the paper sleeve insert, and the actual tape media. But the shell the tape was got broken years ago, so I transplanted it into another cassette tape shell I got from Radio Shack at the time.
I still have this as of the writing of this page on November 2011, 30 years later. Still works, surprisingly. Track Listing. Turn Up the Night.
Voodoo. The Sign of the Southern Cross.
E5150. The Mob Rules. Country Girl. Slipping Away. Falling off the Edge of the World.
Over & Over. The Mob Rules (Alternate Version, 2010 Deluxe Only) Disc 2 (2010 Deluxe only) Live at the Hammersmith Odeon (12/31/81 – 1/2/82). E5150. Neon Knights.
N.I.B. Big fan of Sabbath. Thank you for this site. Gott tell you though, there is NO COINCIDENCE in the Ozzy splotch on that album cover. It’s simply not there.
I mean Greg Hildebrandt, the artist himself, told you he painted it prior to it being commissioned by Sabbath and that splatter that looks like “Ozzy”, or “Kill Ozzy” if one that credulous, has always been there. No one altered it subsequently and rather than coincidence it’s the mind seeing what it’s told to see, similar to all the satanic backmasking Judas Priest had to go to trial over. The Mob Rules album was the first Dio-era Sabbath album I got into in the spring of 1995. I was still getting into the Ozzy-era albums and I wanted to hear a Dio-era album so my friend let me borrow The Mob Rules and I let him borrow Sabotage. I was impressed with the album from beginning to end. Like all Sabbath albums, The Mob Rules is a masterpiece! The Sign of the Southern Cross is so powerful and I enjoyed the keyboards and bass effects in E5150 before the great Mob Rules title track.
I will agree with the movie “Heavy Metal’s” description of the song in the sypnosis as “pounding.” Falling off the Edge of the World, Over and Over, Country Girl and Voodoo are also amazing masterpieces. It was an honor to hear many Mob Rules songs when I saw Heaven and Hell live in 2007 and 2009. Just picked up on import the 2004 earmark vinyl. What can of worms this pressing is! On the one side the pressing is immaculate with no surface noise, CD quiet. However i have come to find out they only cut vinyl from CD Masters. They put Mob Rules as Track 1 Side 2.
And because it is from the CD there is about a tenth of a second of E5150! That also means E5150 abbruptly ends side one with no fade. What a head scratcher – not to mention just plain LAZY! I will NEVER purchase anything from this label ever again.
I’m addicted to buying these deluxe editions, and I’ll be doing more Sabbath in the coming days! BLACK SABBATH – Mob Rules (2010 deluxe edition) The entire Dio-era catalogue of Sabbath has now been reissued so many bloody times! First there was the original CD issues, then the Castle remasters in 1996, then the Dio years boxed set ( The Rules of Hell), and now these deluxe editions. I’m feeling lightly pillaged. But buying these is optionalunless you’re a die-hard like me. If you’re not, stick to the Dio box. If you are a die-hard, plunge forward.
The big reason to buy this set is the Live at Hammersmith Odeon bonus disc. Folks, when Rhino announced this live album in 2007, I jumped on it immediately. The CD sold out immediately, only 5000 copies were ever made. Limited and numbered (I got #3723), even if it sucked it was bound to be worth a fortune in the future right?
Well not necessarily. Now it’s been included as a bonus disc. (It’s also seen a vinyl reissue.) So, for me this sucks — my Rhino issue is no longer as desirable to collectors. For you, it’s awesome. Now you can have this blistering live album, way better than Live Evil! All the other expected perks are here, including bonus tracks: the soundtrack version of the title track, and a B-side (“Die Young”, live) from a 12″ single.
It also has extensive liner notes that cover the recording, the tour, and the Hammersmith disc. Throw in some photos and a great remastering job, and you have (hopefully!) the last copy of Mob Rules that you will ever need to buy.
Mob Rules itself is very much a brother record to Heaven and Hell. You have that big dramatic epic (“The Sign of the Southern Cross”), the speedy opener (“Turn Up The Night”) and everything else in between (“Voodoo”). It’s not quite up to the lofty standards of H&H, although it does follow the blueprint quite closely.
I find the closer (“Over & Over”) to be the weak link in an otherwise pretty damn strong chain. I think the title track, “The Mob Rules”, is probably one of the greatest heavy metal songs ever written. Furiously paced, with Dio’s pipes in fine form, it an energized trip.
“The Sign of the Southern Cross” is, as far as I’m concerned, pretty much an equal track to “Heaven and Hell”. Its riff is simply earth-shattering. Once again, Dio’s pipes are unequaled. Even something like “Country Girl”, a lesser known track, blows me away. Iommi pulls another memorably powerful riff out of his bag of tricks, while Ronnie wails awayabout what, I’m not sure.
But it sure is fun to sing along. “Slipping Away” is another personal favourite due to Geezer’s fluidic bass solos. “Falling Off the Edge of the World” smokes, another fast Iommi riff that bores its way into the brain. You’ll be exhausted by the end of it. Really, the only mis-step is the album closer, “Over and Over”, which I find a bit too dull and slow for an album as great as Mob Rules.
Black Sabbath Mob Rules
Pick it up to help complete your Sabbath collection, and to hear the awesome Live At Hammersmith Odeon. Hahaha I wasn’t even thinking to ask! Funny, I went off on how everyone should have the first 4 records (you said 6, and I could see that point, too!), but right now I have Black Sabbath and Master Of Reality on CD, and Paranoid on vinyl, and that Hits set 1970-1978.
That’s it, I don’t have any others. I have owned Volume 4 in the past, though.
I think someone borrowed it at some point and I never got it back. Wish I knew who, but it could have been in any of three provinces so yeah, it’s gone.
I do have a search list, though, and all the Sabs I don’t have are on there (and it’s a lot as I only have the 3 albums and one comp, currently). I know you recommended Born Again, too, and that is also on my list! Glad we’re in agreement that the original album isn’t quite as good as Heaven & Hell, but it’s got some incredible performances. I’d love to hear that concert CD but I’ll have to find the deluxe edition at a nice price in order for me to upgrade my original CD pressing.
As you know I’m not nearly the metal (or Sabbath) fan that you are, but after revisiting their catalog last year I got a much better appreciation for them, and especially the first two Dio-era albums. I love the Celtic vibe of “Country Girl.” The slower parts of the song remind me of “Die Young,” but what’s wrong with that, right? Martin Birch deserves a lot of credit for how huge this album sounds. Interesting what you say about Birch, I had not heard this before. This must be around the same time he began producing Maiden, was he still working with Whitesnake or had he moved on from them? His workload may have caused some stress. Luckily it seems he had recovered well enough to produce the amazing Maiden albums at least.
I really wish he had been working with Sabbath all along. They really needed some direction there for a while. After Terry Brown, Birch is probably my favorite (Rock/Metal) producer.
Another awesome Sabbath album. I was all about H & H but, over time, I’ve started to prefer this one. Not that there’s much in it but I think Mob Rules just edges it for me. And (for anyone that doesn’t have that Hammersmith disc already) this is probably the most essential of the deluxe editions in terms of the bonus tracks. I could never get into post-Tears Ozzy. I though Ozzmosis was too dull and patchy although it had some great songs.
And Down to Earth was just boring. I think I only listened to Black Rain about once. And top marks for the phrase “lightly pillaged”.