VHS?

Listen to "The Devil Cried" (legally) & New tour date

I just got word from Gloria Butler that Rhino records has made available some streaming audio versions of the new Sabbath track "The Devil Cried". Taken from the forthcoming album "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years", the Devil Cried premiered on various radio outlets last Friday.

If you missed it, don't worry, you can check it out legally right now! You will be able to purchase the single via iTunes and the like come March 13th, and the full album on April 3rd, but for right now, you can check out the tune via streaming audio via these links:
Click here to pick stream format
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Being a huge fan of Dio, I am looking forward to the new singles.This one sounds much like Magica but has that Sabbath influence for sure.Maybe some will say Dehumanizer?

Im really hoping they come to my area or at least L.A.
Seen Dio so many times I cant even count but never had a chance to see him with Sabbath

cactusoly

I heard this before, kinda so so the first time but it really grew on me. I wish Black Sabbath would tour. I am seeing some band called Heaven and Hell at the end of March ... I'm sure they will be just as good.

B5Erik

Sabbath should FIRE Ozzy again and bring back DIO for a full new album so that Black Sabbath isn't just a nostalgia act - and a bit of a joke (as they are with the addled, broken down old version of Ozzy).

Dio may be older than Ozzy, but he's firing on all cylinders and he's got legitimate musical talent.

One last full album with Dio and a tour to follow would be a great way for Sabbath to call it a day.

DVD Josh

Holy Diver!!!

cdollaz

Ozzy's last album was pretty damn good, and the one before that was awesome. His problem with Sabbath is they tour the same old shit. An Ozzy/Sabs tour would be fine if they would put out a new album and mix up the setlist a good deal.

Mordred

Would love to have another Dio-Sabbath, release. The new track is pretty darn good.

B5Erik

No, an Ozzy/Sabbath tour would be a train wreck.

Remember Ozzfest when Iron Maiden was blowing them off the stage every night?

Same thing happened in '78 when Van Halen opened for Sabbath - blew them off the stage every night - and Ozzy was shown the door.

The only difference is that Ozzy is now addled, physically handicapped, and headed downhill fast.

I will NEVER pay to see Ozzy live again. In the studio he's always had the band members & songwriters there to carry him. He had as many takes as needed to get a decent vocal performance, and even now under those carefully controlled circumstances he can still pull off a studio album - but not a tour. He was always a bit of a joke live, but he was also goofy fun. Now he's just a total joke, and it's not fun to watch that train wreck anymore.

Dio, on the other hand, is still in top form vocally, and on stage he still has total command - and his mind is just as sharp as it was in 1977, 1987, or 1997. He is a true musician (he can play guitar, bass, keyboards, trumpet, etc), and is one of the most talented songwriters ever in Rock and Roll. He is also arguably the best Hard Rock singer EVER.

So, Sabbath can choose to go back to Ozzy when the Heaven and Hell tour is over, or they can reconsider and ask DIO back for one final Sabbath album and tour.

Kind of a no-brainer from a quality standpoint. Unfortunately, from a media hype standpoint Ozzy is king.

cdollaz

I actually thought Dehumanizer was decent album.

VHS?

B5Erik ,
I couldn't agree more or said it better than that.
Ozzy is a commodity to Sharon and a marketing tool for his label.
I personally never liked Ozzy/Sabbath stuff.There were a few titles, but my opinions of them at those times paled in comparison to the Dio eras.

I wish we could have an answer as to why the name change though.
Iommi owns the Sabbath name so it hasn't a thing to do with Ozzy/Sharon.
We have seen the absence of Bill Ward before and Vinny on drums and still were called Black Sabbath.
I have this feeling it is a 'creative Dio' thing for some reason.

In any event I hope to see them on this tour and it would really be nice to see another tour stemming from another Dio/Sabbath album.I don't think the latter will happen though as after this little gig Dio is back in the studio to complete Magica 1 and 2

turborobb

Huge Black Sabbath fan here, I have to agree with everyone else, Dio is so much better then Ozzy. I'd love to see another Sabbath album with Dio.

and for the record the best non-Ozzy/Dio Sabbath album is the classic "Headless Cross", one of the greatest Metal albums of all time that nobody has heard.

Josh-da-man

Yeah, I've always had a soft spot for "Headless Cross" as well.

It sounds nothing like classic Black Sabbath -- probably more in the vein of Dianno era Maiden or early Queensryche -- but it's a great overlooked metal album.

Russell S

Wow! Nice to see some love for Headless Cross, one of my faves as well. I actually think there was a lot of good material that came from the Martin era.

And I'll just echo what everyone else seems to say regarding Dio vs. Ozzy. Not even a contest. Personally Ozzy-era Sabbath is my least favorite lineup. Doubt I'll ever see Ozzy live again, but meanwhile, I just got 4th row tickets for Heaven and Hell this morning.

nodeerforamonth

I consider Dio and Ozzy equals when it comes to singing with Sabbath. Both have their positives and negatives.

B5Erik

Dio has no negatives.

Ozzy IS a negative.

B5Erik

I'm another big Tony Martin fan.

My favorite Martin/Sabbath album was The Eternal Idol - a true return to the Heaven & Hell/Mob Rules style (almost). Headless Cross was good, Tyr was good, Cross Purposes was really good, but Forbidden was disappointing (unfortunately).

I saw them on the Cross Purposes tour, and it was a great show. Tony Martin was solid, Tony and Geezer were Tony and Geezer, and Bobby Rondinelli was an absolute monster on the drums.

B5Erik

Ozzy is a legend because of Tony, Geezer, and Bill. Ozzy wrote almost nothing when in Sabbath (Geezer wrote almost all of the lyrics and vocal melodies), and he was always a bit goofy on stage. He rode on the backs of the other guys in Sabbath, and then on the backs of Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley, and Lee Kerslake when establishing his solo career.

Ozzy was in the right place at the right time throughout his career. If he didn't know the guys in Sabbath since they were kids (thus getting in the band) he probably would have been dead by now like one or two of his siblings. If he hadn't stumbled across Randy Rhoads (and Daisley & Kerslake) his solo career would have ended in the early 80's (possibly without ever getting a record contract) - and he probably wouldn't be alive today.

He is a legend based on the work of others.

Dio became a legend based on his talent. His voice and his songwriting ability is what got him in Rainbow, and that work got him in Sabbath, which led to a brilliant solo career. He was helped along the way by some great musicians, but he wrote all his own lyrics and vocal melodies - and he wrote many guitar & keyboard parts himself!

cactusoly

I love Ozzy, but I agree that he is given way too much credit.

B5Erik

No, it isn't a stretch to say that at all. Ozzy has no musical ability - he was utterly and completely dependent on Tony and Geezer to provide him material to sing. He later became just as dependent on Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley, Jake E. Lee, and Zakk Wylde to get him through musically.

Sabbath actually got MORE successful after Ozzy got the boot and they brought in a real musician to be their singer. Heaven and Hell & Mob Rules outsold the previous 4 albums from Sabbath, and for good reason.

You're right in saying that they show a more polished musical maturity - and that's something that NEVER could have happened with Ozzy in the band. Ozzy had next to nothing to contribute as a songwriter - but that's also where you are totally wrong in one of your assessments. Singers DO write a lot of material. Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson, hell, even David Lee Roth could play a little guitar and wrote his own lyrics and vocal melodies!

Sabbath was dying with Ozzy - Van Halen made them look like rank amateurs in a way that only KISS had done opening for Sabbath previously. Ozzy had to go.

And do you think if Ozzy hadn't stumbled across the best new guitar player since Eddie Van Halen that his solo career would have amounted to anything? EVERY record company passed on him as a solo artist. All of them. It wasn't until Don Arden and Jet Records did his daughter a favor and signed Ozzy to a no money contract (no money unless his album sold well) that he got a chance at all. Without Randy's guitar playing and songwriting, and Bob Daisley's song arrangements and lyric/vocal melody writing, Ozzy would have done NOTHING as a solo artist. They made his career, and Sharon sold him as a "legend."

I was actually thinking about this driving home today - could Sabbath have hit it big with another singer instead of Ozzy in the beginning? I think they could have. The songs were the stars, not the guys in the band - and Tony & Geezer wrote all of the songs. Any good singer with a little personality could have done the job. Ozzy got the gig because he had a decent voice and they guys knew him from school. Pure and simple. Right place, right time.

As far as the Dio and Martin eras not being as "innovative" early Sabbath - maybe, maybe not. Very few bands have been that innovative. But the Dio/Martin eras have GREAT music. Tighter arrangements, better musical performances, and stronger melodies. And you can't tell me that songs like "Heaven and Hell," "Neon Knights," and "Mob Rules," aren't groundbreaking and innovative. No one else sounded like that before them. Several bands sounded similar afterwards, though.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing early Sabbath - I'm just saying that Ozzy has been sold by Sharon as a "legend" for the last 27 years, but it is is a legend based on hype and personality, not talent.

I'm glad that Sabbath (Heaven & Hell) is touring with Dio - and I'm glad that they have at least written and recorded 3 new songs with him. And I'm damn sure that Tony & Geezer felt a lot better working on new songs with Dio than they did with Ozzy a few years back. Having Dio there to help with writing and arranging songs takes some of the pressure off of them - and helps make for stronger songs besides.

nodeerforamonth

And from what I hear (from very reliable sources... i.e. someone that wrote a couple songs for him) he doesn't write any music now either! Other people write the songs & he puts his name on them.

cactusoly

any Dio fan should check out Rainbow : Rising one of the best hard rock albums of the 70's

Josh-da-man

I don't know if another singer could've filled Ozzy's shoes in the early Black Sabbath. Band dynamics are such a tricky thing that it's very likely they might not have "clicked" with anyone else.

One of the things I find most interesting about Dio's two Black Sabbath albums is how they're unmistakably Ronnie Dio albums, and don't really sound a lot like the Ozzy-era Sabbath. They sound more like Dio albums than Black Sabbath albums.

And, ever since I was a kid, I found it pretty obvious that Ozzy contributed very little to his solo work and was dependent on his supporting band. The precipitous quality drop between "Diary of a Madman" and "Bark at the Moon" is ample proof.

B5Erik

See, to me the whole, "Ozzy is a legend," thing is all based on hype. He's a mediocre singer with no real musical ability who just lucked into a really good gig back in '68. He's goofy, uncoordinated, and - let's face it - downright stupid.

Legend? Well, that's what Sharon has said since 1980. If not for Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley no one else would have ever bought that line. Sabbath with Ozzy peaked in 1971 and slowly went downhill for 8 years.

I just find the "Legend," of Ozzy to be a myth since I know how little he was responsible for any of "his" music, and how much he was given credit for other people's work. It's a legend that really needs to be debunked. Bob Daisley - to this day - has not gotten songwriting credits and royalties for songs HE wrote for Ozzy in the early and mid 80's. Legend? Not to me.

You obviously have good musical taste if you're a Dio fan. But don't downplay his importance in the history of the Metal genre.

And and to adress that last point...it isn't "fashionable" to dismiss Ozzy as a hanger-on, he WAS a hanger-on. That's just a fact. Tony Iommi tolerated him as lead singer - but never really wanted him there. Ozzy has no musical ability, is a mediocre singer, and was fired by Sabbath more than once. If those aren't the defining characteristics of a musical "hanger-on," I don't know what are.

Second, The Metal Mainstream BECAME the Metal Mainstream in direct response to bands like Rainbow and Dio-Era Sabbath. Dio helped guide the musical direction of both of those bands. There was no true Metal Mainstream before the early 80's. In the 70's Heavy Metal meant anything from Black Sabbath (the inventors of the genre, to be sure) to Deep Purple, to KISS, to Ted Nugent! (Remember the original liner notes on the back of Ted's 1975 album calling him a Metal Showman?)

Metal in the early 80's FOLLOWED Dio's lead (and the lead of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden). Ozzy era Sabbath was clearly a huge influence, but the bands in the 80's that sounded like Dio-era Sabbath (or Dio's own band) FOLLOWED those albums. No one else sounded like that before those albums. So while the albums Dio was involved with NOW sound like the "Metal Mainstream," they really helped to define what Mainstream Heavy Metal was!

It was historically important in a few ways. It helped revive the Heavy Metal genre (most music magazines had, "Is Heavy Metal Dead?" cover stories in 1979), it helped REFINE and DEFINE the Heavy Metal genre, and it added a level of musical maturity that the genre hadn't seen much of up to that point. Black Sabbath was considered a dead issue for a few years at that point, but Heaven and Hell changed that. It introduced some of Sabbath's best material - and created a style that Tony Iommi follows to this day. The Tony Martin era was a continuation of that style.

There is no question that early Black Sabbath was one of the most revolutionary and influential bands ever.

But Tony Iommi was much more responsible for the Legendary status of Black Sabbath than Ozzy. He wrote most of the music, he came up with the musical direction back in 1969, while Ozzy was just along for the ride. Hell, Ozzy was perfectly content when the band was called Earth and played Blues Rock!

Like I said, I see Ozzy's "Legendary" status to be largely a myth that needs to be debunked. (Especially since Sharon has built a lot of it on lies...)

B5Erik

Judas Priest hadn't had their breakthrough album yet when Heaven and Hell was released. Iron Maiden was on their first album, and sounded like Prog/Punk at that point - they didn't develop a style closer to Dio's until 1982 when Bruce Dickinson joined the band.

Back in the 70's no one sounded close to Dio (with the possible exception of Judas Priest, but they were such a small band with only a "cult" following that they didn't yet have an impact on the Metal sound).

By 1982 a lot of bands were adopting similar styles to Dio/Sabbath, but in 1979 when he joined Sabbath and co-wrote Heaven and Hell with Tony and Geezer it was a VERY new, very fresh sound. Believe me, I know - I was VERY into music by the late 70's and when I first heard Sabbath with Dio it was like, "WHOA!! WTF is that?" It went from KISS/Nugent/Aerosmith/Zep to Black Sabbath with Dio - a big leap forward that set a new standard of quality(Just as Dio's Holy Diver and Maiden's Piece of Mind did just 3 years later).

I bag on Ozzy quite a bit because he became so overrated as a "musician" back in the 80's - something that grew more over time, somehow - but you are correct. Ozzy was unique. He had a voice that fit the music like a glove. My assertion, though, is that there were a lot of good singers who could have fit the band just as well, and would have had as big of an impact - just in a different way. It wouldn't have been the same, but who knows? It might have been better! There's no way to know for sure, though. As it was Sabbath with Ozzy was a solid combination in the early 70's.

The thing that struck me immediately when I was first exposed to Ronnie James Dio back in the early 80's was just how smart he is, and how much he respects his fans. His interviews have always been intelligent conversations - and he NEVER talks down to the fans as if they aren't smart enough to keep up. He was the greatest unofficial Heavy Metal Spokesman back in the 80's and into the 90's - and, really, he still is.

Well, genius is stretching it more than a little bit. He flunked out of high school and has an IQ of 95 or so. Not a smart guy - even before the drugs! What he is is a very intuitive singer. He's also honest in his enthusiasm onstage, and the fans appreciate that.

I like his solo albums, but I like them for the musicians and the songs. Ozzy does contribute one of the truly unique voices to those songs, and often it is a huge asset. But I became an Ozzy fan back in 1981 because of Randy Rhoads, not because of Ozzy himself. His band members kept me interested - and when I finally saw Ozzy in 1986 I can honestly say that Jake E. Lee stole the show! Jake rarely gets the credit he deserves because Bark at the Moon was rushed in songwriting and The Ultimate Sin was produced by a slick Pop Music hack (Ron Nevison, who also screwed up KISS' Crazy Nights album).

Anyway, Ozzy is not without merit - but my problem with him is that he usually gets WAY more credit than he deserves as a "musician," and creator of Heavy Metal. (THAT credit belongs solely to Tony Iommi - and partially by accident! Missing fingertips and all forcing him to tune down to lighten string tension giving him a doomier sound...)

Dio has been in Ozzy's shadow ever since he joined Sabbath - even though he truly outshines Ozzy when it comes to talent. That's bugged me for 25 years!

Every now and then, though, Dio gets some props from the media. Not nearly often enough, though....

VHS?

Ozzy has a studio voice and thats that.Echo, re-verb, it just isn't his own.Hell, even Howard Stern made his voice sound like Ozzy on one of his tracks.
I just don't see and never have seen, Ozzy as a 'pioneering' artist.
As stated, he had others create who and what he is today.

Dio on the other hand doesn't throw some shit voice into editing tools and make something of it.I know many artists do that but when you have two men at one time or another in the same band and compare them, Dio comes out the clear winner for several reasons.

They call Ozzy the 'Prince of Darkness'
Then by all accounts that should make Dio 'King of Darkness' ( IMO )

Going back to my question in another post of the band name issue...
Identity from Hell for Black Sabbath vets
The article/interview can be read here in full

porieux

I thought Iommi had already addressed this issue and said that it was his choice not to call it Black Sabbath. Or is the implication that he was in 'spin mode'?