Heaven & Hell – The Devil You Know (Release Year – 2009)
Black Sabbath, or Heaven and Hell if you prefer is back with their first CD with Ronnie James Dio since 1992’s Dehumanizer. Seventeen years is a hell of a long wait for new material from any band, but the gentlemen of Heaven & Hell made it worth the wait. They have delivered another disc of quality heavy rock.
I can only use one word to describe Ronnie James Dio….incredible! How is it possible for RJD to sound this good at this stage in his career? His vocals continue to astound me on “The Devil You Know”. He continues to sing better than just about anyone out there in hard rock today. With no surprise, Tony Iommi dishes out some awesome guitar work on this disc. His guitar solos on this album are brilliant to say the least. Listen to his incredible riffs on “Bible Black” or “The Turn of the Screw” and I guarantee you will come back for more.
Geezer Butler is still laying down the deepest doom laden bass licks I have ever heard, and Vinnie Appice just kills it on the drums.
Does The Devil You Know live up to Heaven & Hell, Mob Rules or even Dehumanizer? Probably not. This album is not without its problems. A couple of the songs on this disc could be better. While some of the tunes don’t work for me, even the worst songs on “The Devil You Know” are only a minor distraction. The music speaks for itself and does so loudly. Two of the better cuts, “Bible Black” and “Eating the Cannibals” could go down as some of the best Heaven & Hell tunes ever.
The Bottom Line: I have listened to this CD a couple of times now, and it seems to get better with each play. The elder statesmen of heavy metal can still get it done in 2009. Black Sabbath and Dio fans will likely enjoy this disc as much as I have. Buy this!!
Rating:
Out 0f 10
Track Listing:
1. Atom And Evil
2. Fear
3. Bible Black
4. Double The Pain
5. Rock And Roll Angel
6. The Turn Of The Screw
7. Eating The Cannibals
8. Follow The Tears
9. Neverwhere
10. Breaking Into Heaven
Heaven & Hell is:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Tonny Iommi – Guitars
Geezer Butler – Bass
Vinnie Appice – Drums
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Hard Rock Hideout 
it kick’s f—– ass.narly
Oh man, this thing ROCKS! I love “Eating the Cannibals” and “Follow The Tears” the most…today. Tomorrow may be something else. Great disc! Best of ’09 so far…
$9.99! Yikes – cheaper than iTunes, and I can hold it in my hands (and have full fidelity!).
Rock on.
1) Is it out already?
2) Perhaps you meant “Mob Rules”……
Mob Wars…lol…I made the edit. Don’t know how I missed that. The Devil You Know is in stores tomorrow. Best Buy has it on sale this week for $9.99.