impact of Sabbath’s ‘Heaven and Hell’ remarkable

June 23, 2010

Last month Ronnie James Dio died of cancer at the age of 67. Although his death was sudden, it wasn’t unexpected to those in the know. His battle with the disease lasted six months. When Heaven and Hell (basically the early ’80s version of Black Sabbath) canceled all of their European tour dates in April, one had the feeling that Ronnie’s situation had taken a bad turn. On May 16, the news broke that he’d died early that Sunday morning. Many stories have been written and many tributes have happened since.

It’s now fitting to remember RJD in a way that he would have wanted. 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of the seminal hard rock/metal release Heaven and Hell. Regardless of age, the album and its production stand the test of time, and is as relevant today as much as it was deemed progressive at the time.

Dio literally brought Sabbath back from the dead. When Ozzy was unceremoniously relieved of his duties, band leader Tony Iommi went on a mission; to replace one of the most popular lead vocalists and front men in the history of music. When Dio left Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow after great success, Iommi and Dio got together. The result was the first song written for the H&H album, “Children of the Sea.” The rest, as they say, is history.

It wasn’t an easy road initially for the new Black Sabbath. Dio’s brand of dungeons and dragons type lyrics were both applauded and reviled by fans and critics alike. Chants of “Ozzy, Ozzy” greeted the band when they initially took the new lineup on tour. Dio knew he had to sing songs like “Iron Man” and “War Pigs” and make them his own. Looking back he knew that his vocal style wasn’t right for those songs and he didn’t much enjoy doing them, but he took the songs and molded them to a style befitting of him.

The opening track on H&H is a thunderous stomp called “Neon Knights.” It became a staple at every Sabbath show since 1980. Even when Dio wasn’t a part of the band and Iommi kept the Sabbath brand alive, every singer had to perform that song, along with the title track, “Heaven and Hell,” and “Die Young.” Let’s talk about the song “Heaven and Hell.” It is one of the best hard rock songs of all time.

The tune begins with its signature riff and goes through progression and musical changes throughout. The lyrics are timeless. The imagery serves as a metaphor for reality and life. “The world is full of kings and queens/who blind your eyes then steal your dreams/it’s heaven and hell.” Anyone can relate to the sentiment reflected in those few lines. “They’ll tell you black is really white/the moon is just a sun at night/and when you walk in golden halls/you get to keep the gold that falls/it’s heaven and hell.” The use of paradox by Dio is found throughout his stint with Sabbath and when he decided to go solo in 1983. It really is his signature style. “Lonely is the Word” closes the album. It’s Iommi at his heavy best. The two more mainstream tunes are “Walk Away” and “Lady Evil.” Although more accessible to the masses, they serve as the change of pace to the overall theme of the record. “Wishing Well” is an up tempo riff-laden track with speed as its main ingredient.

Heaven and Hell went to #9 on the UK charts and #28 on Billboard’s US charts. It was the best showing since the ’75 release of Sabotage. It was after Sabotage that the Ozzy era began to come to a close. Sabbath would release two more albums with Ozzy, but addictions and infighting among the original members was too much to overcome. The demise of the band resulted in the resurgence of Sabbath and launched the incredible solo career of Osbourne.

Heaven and Hell represents everything right with ‘80s metal. It was mature, lyrical, and musical. The riffs were heavy, but woven with acoustic guitar, keyboards, and the impeccable production of Martin Birch. In the end, very few albums from that era, or any era for that matter, can boast the influence or the downright greatness of H&H.