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Black Sabbath

Mob Rules [Deluxe Edition]

Written by: MT on 03/09/2010 13:11:22

The passing of heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio struck an uncomfortable chord in the metal masses. The only way to grieve was to celebrate all the great music Dio gave us; and he had a lifetime of it. His passing made a lot of Black Sabbath fans re-visit some of the band’s old gems. “Mob Rules” is certainly one of those.

In 1981, Black Sabbath released “Mob Rules”. The second album to feature the new vocalist Ronnie James Dio after Ozzy Osbourne’s departure. The album was the follow up to the highly successful “Heaven and Hell”, which unfortunately has a tendency to overshadow this. “Heaven and Hell” took the band to a new era of faster paced and more groove oriented songs with Dio fearlessly putting the naysayers in their place. “Mob Rules” picks up right where they left off and boasts a beefy collection of songs and can definitely hold it’s own despite a few short comings.

The album opens with the punk-ladened riffage of “Turn Up The Night”, followed by the classic Voodoo and then my personal favourite, the doomy ballad “The Sign Of The Southern Cross”. There is a short interlude with “E5150”, a filler track that doesn’t really contribute much to the album. Suddenly “The Mob Rules” kicks in and reminds us what a powerhouse Black Sabbath was at this stage of their careers. The high octane riffs, flawless vocals, spot on drums, tight bass and stunning solo by Tony Iommi makes this one of the highlights of Sabbath’s career that defines the brilliance of the Dio era. The song is followed by “Country Girl”, which is believe it or not, a love song that isn’t half bad and Sabbath still manages to keep it raw. Towards the end of the album between the less noteworthy “Slipping Away” and “Over And Over” is the epic “Falling Off The Edge Of The World”.

As this is a deluxe edition which is remastered and comes with an bonus CD, the real question is if its a worthy addition to the Sabbath discography and your money. The songs are remastered incredibly well and sound fantastic. The original didn’t have anything wrong with it sound-wise, so this isn’t a selling point for most. The bonus CD is a live recording from the Hammersmith Odeon in England in ’81/’82 and is a real treat for all the hardcore Sabbath fans. It’s a great live recording that sounds surprisingly good and lets you hear what the old Ozzy songs sound like with Dio at the helm. The band so incredibly tight live, making this bonus CD well worth the extra money. Not to mention the cover which is rich with pictures and juicy details, making this a good addition to any fan’s collection.

Download: The Mob Rules, The Sign Of The Southern Cross, Turn Up The Night
For The Fans Of: Classic and old school heavy metal
Listen: Myspace

Release Date 05.04.2010
Universal Records