Disco de Black Sabbath: “The Dio Years”

Personally, I have never been a fan of the Dio-led Black Sabbath. I'm sorry, but I've always considered Sabbath without Ozzy to not be Sabbath at all, and considering I've never been much of a Dio fan either (solo or Rainbow) that didn't really help any. However, once upon a time, I gave Dio and Sabbath a chance, and ended up converting. "The Dio Years" compiles some of the best material to come from Dio's time with Sabbath after Ozzy's departure, including favorites and no brainers like "Neon Knights", "Heaven & Hell", "Die Young", "The Mob Rules", and a live rendition of "Children of the Sea". There are also three new tracks that are worth the price of admission alone: "The Devil Cried", "Shadow of the Wind", and "Ear in the Wall". This is one of those oh so rare cases when a compilation album is released with some new material, and the new material is actually pretty good. While one could argue that a few other tracks would have been more than welcome here (like "Time Machine"), "The Dio Years" is a pleasently surprising, well assembled compilation disc that fans of Dio or Sabbath, new and old alike, should definitely check out.

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 isn't the place to debate the whole "who is the better singer" issue. If you prefer Dio or want a good cross-section sampler, getting this one is money well spent. Could it have been better? The original press with Tony and Ronnie hinted at a box set so the single-disc compliation-- however complete-- does feel like a bit of a cheat, particularly because both this disc and the "Heaven and Hell" tour did brisk business. A box set or at least two discs certainly would have sold well. Nothing on here really merits dropping, but "Sign of the Southern Cross," "Computer God" and the "E5150" intro to "The Mob Rules" are serious omissions, and only a single song from "Live Evil" is a shortfall.

Make no mistake, a superb product with great sound, I just wish there were more to it.