Black Sabbath Album: “Dio Years [Tour Edition]”

Okay, I'm biased as anything. Black Sabbath is my favorite band of all time. I own every piece of Black Sabbath music out there, and I mean EVERYTHING! And when I say I'm a fan of Black Sabbath, I mean every single era/version of Black Sabbath, be it the classic era of Ozzy Osbourne, the one off shots with Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes, the rocky Tony Martin years, and most importantly the legendary periods with Ronnie James Dio.

You see, it was Ronnie James Dio's time in Sabbath that got me into them in the first place! 1981:Thirteen years old, sneaking into the R rated animated feature "Heavy Metal" and hearing that legendary opus "The Mob Rules" blasting through the screen like nothing my ears had ever heard before.

I've been hooked ever since.

Now, Rhino Records has finally given this line-up it's proper due with "The Dio Years". Within this fully remastered compilation is 13 select cuts from Black Sabbath's four officially released albums with Dio: Heaven And Hell, Mob Rules, Live Evil, and Dehumanizer. While to fully please any fan of this era, one disc doesn't fully cut it (where's The Sign Of The Southern Cross, Walk Away, or their biggest hit from the 90's Time Machine?!!?), it does give members of this new generation a great sample of what they may have missed while growing up in this Alternative/Rap/Nu-Metal world of today.

Most of the big ones are here: Neon Knights, Heaven And Hell, The Mob Rules, TV Crimes, and the live (and superior to the studio) version of Children Of The Sea. As well as deeper cuts like Lonely Is The Word, Voodoo, and others. Each track has been remastered with Warner Bros original first generation tapes and they have never, and I mean NEVER, sounded this good ever! No edits, no goofy remixes, just the classic Black Sabbath sound most of us grew up on, just louder and crisper than ever before. Just as how the Black Sabbath/Ozzy era release "The Black Box" received superior & proper remastering, "The Dio Years" seem to have been given the exact same attention. Thank you, thank you Rhino for that!

And if that wasn't enough, the original Mob Rules line-up (including Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and drummer Vinny Appice) recorded new songs! Not just one, or two, but THREE brand new tracks, making this Best Of to any Sabbath fan a must buy! The Devil Cried, Shadow Of The Wind, and Ear In The Wall, all written and recorded around late 2006 show that these guys still have alot of power left in them, sounding just like where they left off in 92's Dehumanizer. And they'll need that strength too, as most already know that they are currently on tour as "Heaven And Hell" to promote this release along with the 5000 only pressing of Rhino Handmade's "Live At The Hammersmith Odeon 1981" release due in early May. It's good to see this line-up finally get it's due, especially after a decade of overshadowing by the original Ozzy Osbourne version, which quite frankly, needed a break.

Oh and before I go, I dare anyone who thinks Black Sabbath is "only Ozzy" to purchase this, give it a listen, and you WILL see that The Dio Years WERE just as important! I couldn't imagine Black Sabbath without those classic Dio led albums.

No true Black Sabbath fan ever would.

THE BAND: Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitars), Geezer Butler (bass), Geoff Nichols (keyboards), Bill Ward (drums on songs from "Heaven And Hell" only), Vinny Appice (drums on all other tracks).

THE DISC: (2007) 16 tracks clocking in at approximately 79 minutes. Included with the disc is a 6-page foldout containing song titles/credits, band members, what songs came from which albums, and a brief history/interview of the band during the Dio years. This release covers material from 1980-1992, and includes 3 new songs recorded in 2006/7. Digitally remastered sound. Label - Warner Bros / Rhino.

ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Heaven And Hell (5 songs), Mob Rules (4), Dehumanizer (3), Live Evil (1), Unreleased (3).

COMMENTS: After Rhino and Warner Bros put out "Symptom Of The Universe" (2002) covering the Ozzy years, I figured they had to do something with the Dio material. Thankfully I wasn't holding my breath... because 5 years later in '07, here it is finally. Another welcome addition would be to give us fans another Black Sabbath compilation covering the best of the Tony Martin era ("The Eternal Idol", "Headless Cross", "TYR", and "Cross Purposes")... that would make the trilogy complete. Dio's material with Sabbath was always strong, and somehow I picture Ronnie James Dio with Sabbath much longer than only 3 albums worth. Dio just seemed to be a great fixture in the band and at the time - the perfect replacement for Ozzy. Being an old school rocker from the 70's, I often wondered if anyone could replace Ozzy Osbourne... and Dio took it on and ended up doing an amazing job. Dio produced two classic albums with Sabbath in "Heaven And Hell" (1980) and "Mob Rules" (1981), followed by a good album over ten years later with "Dehumanizer" (1992). As for the songs on this release - most are well chosen, but there are some interesting inclusions and odd omissions. The staples are here - "Heaven And Hell", "Neon Knights", "Lady Evil", "Turn Up The Night", "The Mob Rules", "Voodoo", "TV Crimes", etc. "Heaven And Hell" has 5 of the album's 8 songs included here (and rightfully so)... the only track missing is "Children Of The Sea" (however, they make up for it by including the 'live" version with track 13). "Die Young " and "Lonely Is The Word" are good songs, but by no means classic. There are 4 songs taken from "Mob Rules", and the only questionable inclusion here is "Falling Off The Edge Of The World". Again, a good song... but, one of Dio's best songs in his catalog - "The Sign Of The Southern Cross" - absolutely needed to be here. The real question comes with "Dehumanizer". My 3 favorite songs here were also the most played from the album - "Time Machine", "Computer God" and "Master Of Insanity"... all strangely absent ("Time Machine" is the other song that needed to be here). While I miss all these omitted songs, this "Dio Years" disc is still a decent mix of songs from the era. The 3 new tracks are good (not instant classics, but still good) - one slow, one mid-tempo, and one fast... for me "Ear In The Wall" stands out. As with ALL compilations - the song selection will not be perfect. I honestly think to many reviewers here are knit-picking this release. "The Dio Years" is a nice package - a full disc of music, crisp sound, a lot of classic material, and for the most part good song selection. (4 stars).

This is a must have for any serious metal fan. The live show is awesome too, Dio delivers like he's 21 LOL

Go grab it, you won't be disappointed!!

Just to start off,I am a big fan of Dio,as a solo artist.More familiar with Ozzman as the leader of Sabbath,but do like Dio's stuff with Sabbath. Don't have any Sabbath with Dio,besides this album,I just purchased.But that will change,now. Pretty much,only familiar with "Neon Knights","Heaven & Hell,"The Mob Rules","Falling Off The Edge Of The World" & "Children of The Sea".But after listening to the new and old tracks,I never heard,am a new,big fan of Dio's Sabbath days. "Ear In The Wall" is my fave new song.The other's are cool.So,if you are a Sabbath,Dio,Rainbow(w/ Dio,of course) fan,I would suggest picking this one up.I am a fan of slow stuff and fast,so it pleases me."Mob rules",will probably start my collection of Dio's Sabbath stuff.

D I O !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a coming from a guy who owns every Ozzy Osbourne solo album, as well as most of his music while fronting Black Sabbath. I bought this album basically because I had a couple extra dollars in my pocket to spend, I never knew that 5 years later I would still be enjoying it. This was my very first introduction to Dio fronted Sabbath, and I recommend it to anybody who wants to find out what was so special about Ronnie James Dio. The guy truly was magic, his lyrics were great and his vocals were off the charts. Sabbath was just a different band when Dio joined it, I personally prefer Dio fronted Sabbath, its just so heavy its like musical ecstasy. This compilation is so loud, it will break glass cups or cause any nearby picture frame to slide off the wall. Favorite tracks: Neon Knights, Lady Evil, Heaven & Hell, Die Young, Voodoo, and After All (The Dead). God bless you Ronnie James Dio for giving us this great music, may you rest in peace. We promise to keep rocking!