Black Sabbath – Heaven and Hell (Release Year – 1980)
In 1979 due to lack of commitment and personal conflicts, Ozzy Osbourne was asked to leave Black Sabbath. None other than Ronnie James Dio was brought in to replace him.
Heaven and Hell is the first of 3 discs (and a live disc) featuring Ronnie on vocals and the 9th overall by Black Sabbath.
Heaven and Hell is nothing short of a metal masterpiece! Who can deny the incredible opening track Neon Knights! This is an up tempo track that pleases both Black Sabbath and Ronnie James Dio fans. Great vocals by Dio and killer guitars by Iommi. Awesome!
Neon Knights
Children of the Sea is another classic Sabbath track. This mid tempo jewel featues that fat Geezer Butler bass rhythm, and more awesome vocals by RJD. Outstanding!
Children of the Sea
Lady Evil is infectious as hell. Geezer’s bass sounds extremely fat on this track. If you don’t find your self singing “Lady Evil, Evil...” after a single listen, then you probably wont get this track. That would be a real shame too. This is killer track!
Heaven and Hell is unmistakably one of the biggest songs Black Sabbath has ever written. Dio’s vocals are in fine form here. Iommi’s guitars are amazing on this song. The sheer heaviness of this track is what makes it so cool. I can’t say enough about this track. Definitely one of my all time favorite metal songs!
Heaven and Hell
Wishing Well is a cool track that you need to sit and absorb a few times. Iommi’s guitar work on this track is so cool, you need to listen to this multiple times to get the true enjoyment out of it.
Die Young has a very trippy Pink Floyd and Queen progressive feel to it while retaining that Sabbath heaviness. I like this track more each time I hear it.
Die Young
Walk Away is one of those tracks that needs to grow on you. Af first it seems that this track isnt as heavy as some of the Heaven and Hell. This track is probably the least heavy of the 8 songs here. It is still a rocking track, but not one of my favorites.
Lonely is the Word is a another great track where Dio really belts out the vocals. One again, Iommi’s guitars are excellent. This song makes me want to break out a lighter and start waving it in the air. Absolutely incredible playing, and a superb song to close this record out with.
Heaven and Hell is an extraordinary debut by Dio with Black Sabbath. If Iommi and company were trying to get people to forget about Ozzy with this disc, they accomplished the task. This is an impressive heavy metal classic that still sounds great in 2007. No hard rock fan or metalhead should be with out it!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Neon Knights
- Children of the Sea
- Lady Evil
- Heaven and Hell
- Wishing Well
- Die Young
- Walk Away
- Loney is the Word
Black Sabbath is:
Ronnie James Dio – vocals
Tony Iommi – guitar
Geezer Butler – bass guitar
Bill Ward – drums
Geoff Nicholls – keyboards
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Inevitably, after a couple of beers with your buddies, the comparisons between lead singers always come down to Bon Scott and Brian Johnson, and Roth vs. Hagar. The fans are usually polorized between one or the other because they are very different singers. For this reason, the ones that make a relatively seamless transition are often overlooked. Ronnie J Dio picked up where Ozzy left off in such a commanding fashion nobody could really argue. Heaven and Hell is, without question, one of Sabbaths greatest.
I agree with you all, There arent many 16 yr olds out there who appreciate all of black sabbaths work. I am one of the few who have to say that todays heavy metal sucks, Black Sabbaths work on this album shows everybody that even an tired band can rebound and this is a perfect example, my favorite album (secound only to Sabotage) and every track on this album is a masterpiece
My favorite Black Sabbath album, hands down. Even if you are an Ozzy purist, there is no way you can deny the masterpiece that is HEAVEN & HELL. Sabbath hadn’t done a great album in years and their reputation was a but tarmished but RJD brought new life, a fresh perspective.
It’s a great album and very much with the times for 1980. Which was important because it had been about five years since Sabbath had done a good album.
An excellent album – Iommi raised his game no end on this, possibly the new partner in Dio or possibly because he heard what Randy Rhodes was doing with Ozzy??? All the same a great piece of Sabbath crossed with Rainbow. Essential.