Black Sabbath
BY RYAN MARKMANN
1979 was a rough year.
There was a nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island, 66 Americans were taken hostage in Iran, John Wayne passed away, and the Village People climbed to the top of the pop charts with “YMCA.”
And, just to rub vodka in the wound, Ozzy Osbourne parted ways with Black Sabbath.
Continually sagging sales from precarious electronic ventures such as Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die, combined with drugs and internal conflicts, led to Ozzy (depending on whose story you hear) quitting or being fired.
The remaining members, most notably guitarist Tony Iommi, were left with the question of who would make a suitable replacement. The answer was Ronnie James Dio.
The “Man on the Silver Mountain” and former Rainbow frontman assumed his new role with gusto, adding fresh oil to the squeaky wheels of the Sabbath machine. Under the guise of flowing, permed hair and high, piercing vocals (in contrast to Osbourne’s more monotone drawl), Dio spent four years with Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and Dio drummer Vinnie Appice, becoming part of two often overlooked albums, Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules.
On such hits as “Neon Knights,” “Lady Evil” and “Turn Up The Night,” Dio’s lyrics were a twisted version of King Arthur’s Court, steeped in images of swords, dragons and maidens.
With the new release of Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, a retrospective of Dio’s time with the band, including three new studio tracks, Dio (unable to use the name Black Sabbath per insistence from Osbourne’s camp) is on a subsequent tour under the moniker Heaven and Hell.
So, if you admire the man who purportedly made the “horned hand” the official hand sign of heavy metal, start flexing your fingers. If not, don’t fuss. In the revolving-door world of rock reunions, it has already been reported that Ozzy is in talks for a Black Sabbath reunion…again.
(Originally published in the San Antonio Current on April 27, 2007)
1979 was a rough year.
There was a nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island, 66 Americans were taken hostage in Iran, John Wayne passed away, and the Village People climbed to the top of the pop charts with “YMCA.”
And, just to rub vodka in the wound, Ozzy Osbourne parted ways with Black Sabbath.
Continually sagging sales from precarious electronic ventures such as Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die, combined with drugs and internal conflicts, led to Ozzy (depending on whose story you hear) quitting or being fired.
The remaining members, most notably guitarist Tony Iommi, were left with the question of who would make a suitable replacement. The answer was Ronnie James Dio.
The “Man on the Silver Mountain” and former Rainbow frontman assumed his new role with gusto, adding fresh oil to the squeaky wheels of the Sabbath machine. Under the guise of flowing, permed hair and high, piercing vocals (in contrast to Osbourne’s more monotone drawl), Dio spent four years with Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and Dio drummer Vinnie Appice, becoming part of two often overlooked albums, Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules.
On such hits as “Neon Knights,” “Lady Evil” and “Turn Up The Night,” Dio’s lyrics were a twisted version of King Arthur’s Court, steeped in images of swords, dragons and maidens.
With the new release of Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, a retrospective of Dio’s time with the band, including three new studio tracks, Dio (unable to use the name Black Sabbath per insistence from Osbourne’s camp) is on a subsequent tour under the moniker Heaven and Hell.
So, if you admire the man who purportedly made the “horned hand” the official hand sign of heavy metal, start flexing your fingers. If not, don’t fuss. In the revolving-door world of rock reunions, it has already been reported that Ozzy is in talks for a Black Sabbath reunion…again.
(Originally published in the San Antonio Current on April 27, 2007)
posted by Ryan Markmann at
8:58 AM
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