Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath album)

Heaven and Hell is the ninth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on 25 April 1980. It is the first Black Sabbath album to feature vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who replaced original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in 1979.

For the band featuring Black Sabbath members, see Heaven & Hell (band).

Heaven and Hell
Studio album by
Black Sabbath
Released25 April 1980
RecordedOctober 1979 – January 1980
Studio
GenreHeavy metal
Length39:46
LabelVertigo
ProducerMartin Birch
Black Sabbath chronology
Never Say Die!
(1978)		 Heaven and Hell
(1980)		 Mob Rules
(1981)
Ronnie James Dio chronology
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
(1978)		 Heaven and Hell
(1980)		 Mob Rules
(1981)
Singles from Heaven and Hell
  1. "Neon Knights"
    Released: July 1980
  2. "Die Young"
    Released: December 1980

Produced by Martin Birch, the album was a commercial success, particularly in the United States, where it reached number 28 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum for 1 million sales.[1] In the band's native country, it sold well enough to be certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry in April 1982.

Overview

The initial sessions for what became Heaven and Hell began with Ozzy Osbourne following the conclusion of Black Sabbath's Never Say Die! Tour. The band convened in Los Angeles for eleven months to record a new album, a process described by guitarist Tony Iommi as a "highly frustrating, never-ending process". Osbourne has stated that he had become fed up with the experimentation on the preceding albums Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die!, preferring the band's earlier, heavier sound. In his memoir, Iommi revealed that he still possesses a recording featuring Osbourne singing an early version of what would become "Children of the Sea" with different lyrics and "a totally different vocal melody."

Ronnie James Dio was introduced to Iommi in 1979 by Sharon Arden, who would later marry Osbourne.[2] Initially, Dio and Iommi discussed forming a new band, rather than a continuation of Black Sabbath.[2] The pair met again by chance at The Rainbow on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles later that year.[3] Both men were in similar situations: Dio was seeking a new project and Iommi required a vocalist. "It must have been fate," Dio recalled, "because we connected so instantly."[3] The pair kept in touch via telephone, until Dio arrived at Iommi's Los Angeles house for a relaxed, getting-to-know-you jam session. On that first day, the duo finished "Children of the Sea",[3] a song Iommi had abandoned prior to Osbourne's firing.

"Sabbath was a band that was floundering," Dio observed. "And, with my inclusion in it, we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, cared a lot about each other, and knew that we could do it again – especially under the banner of a band that had been so successful."[4]

Sabbath's line-up was in a state of chaos as the band prepared to enter the studio to record what would become Heaven and Hell. Not only had the band replaced its longtime vocalist, but drummer Bill Ward was battling personal issues that would see him also leave the band within months. Demo recordings for the album featured Geoff Nicholls on bass, as longtime bassist Geezer Butler was going through a divorce and his future with the band was in question.[3] In fact, when Dio first joined the band, he doubled for a short time as bassist and vocalist,[2] having played bass in the band Elf in the early 1970s. At one point Iommi contacted close friend Frank Zappa for help finding a bassist.[2] Zappa offered his bassist for the Heaven and Hell sessions but Iommi preferred a permanent member.[2] Eventually, Butler returned to the band and Nicholls stayed on as the band's unofficial keyboardist.[3]

Former Elf and Rainbow bassist Craig Gruber also rehearsed with the band, though the extent of his involvement is unclear. In a 1996 interview, Iommi stated that Gruber participated only "for a bit".[5] Gruber has stated that his contribution was quite substantial; he says he cowrote most of Heaven and Hell's songs and that it was he and not Butler who played bass on the album.[6] Despite not being credited for his contributions, Gruber says he and the band nonetheless reached "a suitable financial arrangement".[6] Iommi conceded in his 2011 autobiography that Gruber had indeed recorded all the bass parts on Heaven and Hell, but Butler had re-recorded them upon his return, without listening to Gruber's bass tracks. Gruber later stated in an interview in 2009 that he only helped write "Die Young".[7]

Personal issues aside, drummer Bill Ward wasn't completely happy with the direction Black Sabbath was moving in creatively. "Heaven and Hell for me wasn't a turning point," he recalled. "Heaven and Hell was the beginning of a new band of which I had no idea what band I was in… It was almost like Ron was capable of coming up with lyrics that seemed to fit his idea of how Black Sabbath ought to be, and I sensed a kind of... unrealness about the lyrics. My favourite song on Heaven and Hell was a blues song that we did, 'Lonely Is the Word' – and that seemed to be real… But things like 'Lady Evil', they seemed almost like bandwagon-type lyrics… 'Lonely Is the Word', I definitely liked playing that song. And 'Children of the Sea' – I did like to play that too. I thought Ronnie was a very good singer."[8]

Black Sabbath performing in Cardiff in 1981

Heaven and Hell was recorded at Miami's Criteria Studios (in which the band recorded Technical Ecstasy) and Studio Ferber in Paris. Dio suggested the band hire producer Martin Birch, who he had worked with as a member of Rainbow in the 1970s.[3] Birch was Sabbath's first outside producer since the band parted ways with Rodger Bain following 1971's Master of Reality, with Iommi primarily producing the band's albums since that point by himself.[2] Iommi stated that the band felt that they were creating something special in Heaven and Hell. In his memoir, he wrote, "Ozzy would sing with the riff. Just listen to 'Iron Man' and you'll catch my drift: his vocal melody line copies the melody of the music. There was nothing wrong with that, but Ronnie liked singing across the riff instead of with it, come up with a melody that was different from that of the music, which musically opens a lot more doors. I don't want to sound like I'm knocking Ozzy, but Ronnie's approach opened up a new way for me to think ..."

Black Sabbath had a long history of playing pranks on drummer Ward, and this continued during the recording of Heaven and Hell. During a slow day in the studio, Iommi doused Ward with a solution used by studio technicians to clean the tape heads, and he then set light to the solution, which was much more flammable than he had anticipated. Ward suffered third degree burns as a result and still has scars on his legs from the incident.[2] Ward has stated that, due to his alcoholism, he has no memory at all of the period in which the album was recorded.[9] His behaviour became erratic; on the Heaven & Hell Tour, Ward began dictating long and rambling press releases to the band's public relations representatives after every show, instructing them to "get that out on the news wires tonight".[3] Ward's personal issues, which included the deaths of both his parents, would soon force him to leave the band. Dio recalled answering the telephone in his hotel room one morning mid-tour to hear Ward say "I'm off then, Ron", to which Dio replied "That's nice Bill, where are you going?" "No, I'm off mate. I'm at the airport now", indicating that he was incapable of completing the tour.[3] American drummer Vinny Appice was quickly brought in to replace him. The Heaven and Hell album represents the only Sabbath material recorded during the Dio-era that does not feature Appice on drums.

Artwork
Back cover artwork by Harry Carmean

The album's cover art was taken from a painting by artist Lynn Curlee, Smoking Angels, inspired by a 1928 photograph of women dressed as angels smoking backstage during a break at a college pageant.[10][11] The album's back cover illustration of the band was drawn by artist Harry Carmean.[12]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Drowned in Sound8/10[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]
Sputnikmusic5/5[15]
Martin Popoff10/10[16]

The album was successful, becoming the band's highest-charting album (No. 9 UK, No. 28 US[17]) since 1975's Sabotage and the third highest-selling album of Black Sabbath behind Paranoid and Master of Reality, respectively. It was eventually certified platinum in 1986 for selling 1 million copies in the United States. In the UK, it became the third Black Sabbath studio album to attain silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in November 1980. It subsequently attained gold certification (100,000 units sold) in April 1982, the only Black Sabbath studio album to be thus certified. Heaven and Hell was re-released as part of the Black Sabbath box set The Rules of Hell in 2008.[18] In 2017, it was ranked 37th at Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[19]

Greg Prato of AllMusic called Heaven and Hell "One of Sabbath's finest records" and maintained that the band "sounds reborn and re-energized throughout." Giving the album five stars, Sputnikmusic's Tyler Munro opines, "Musically, the album speeds thing up, while still retaining the Sabbath sound ... Complete with a slow plodding bassline and repetitive drumming, the album's title track is quite possibly the best thing Sabbath have ever done ... it's one of the best doom metal songs ever recorded."

Some critics insisted that Dio's addition irretrievably altered the band, with Rolling Stone contending, "Although Dio could belt with the best of them, Sabbath would never be the same." In his autobiography, Iommi admits, "We were doing big shows and it was difficult for Ronnie to go out and stand in front of people who had seen Ozzy in that spot for ten years. Some of the kids hated it and they'd shout: 'Ozzy, Ozzy!' But eventually Ronnie won them over."

In an interview with Songfacts, former Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society dismisses the idea of the Dio-era being authentic Sabbath: "You listen to Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio in it, and it's not Black Sabbath. They should have just called it Heaven & Hell right from the beginning. Because you listen to that Heaven and Hell album, that doesn't sound anything close to Black Sabbath. I mean, that sounds about as much like Black Sabbath as Blizzard of Ozz sounds like Black Sabbath. If you were to play Black Sabbath for me – and I'm a huge Sabbath freako – and then with Father Dio over there, I'd be going, 'Oh, cool, what band is this? This is good stuff.' I mean, the songs don't even sound Black Sabbath-y. I mean, 'Neon Knights', could you picture Ozzy singing over that song?"

Mick Wall noted in his book Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe: "For once their timing was spot on. In Britain, Sounds magazine had begun championing a new musical phenomenon it dubbed 'The New Wave of British Heavy Metal' ... The reborn Black Sabbath, with their glistening new sound, incomparable new singer and top-drawer new album, were seen as part of a widespread revival in rock fandom."

Track listing

All music written and arranged by Butler, Dio, Iommi, and Ward; lyrics by Dio[12]

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Neon Knights"3:53
2."Children of the Sea"5:34
3."Lady Evil"4:26
4."Heaven and Hell"6:59
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Wishing Well"4:07
6."Die Young"4:45
7."Walk Away"4:25
8."Lonely Is the Word"5:51

2010 deluxe edition

Disc one contains the original album with no bonus tracks.

Disc two
No.TitleOriginal releaseLength
1."Children of the Sea""Neon Knights" live B-side6:24
2."Heaven and Hell""Die Young" live B-side7:19
3."Lady Evil"Mono Edit, 7" Single3:54
4."Neon Knights"Live, Hartford, CT, 19804:49
5."Children of the Sea"Live, Hartford, CT, 19805:58
6."Heaven and Hell"Live, Hartford, CT, 1980 & 12" single version12:34
7."Die Young"Live, Hartford, CT, 19804:36

Charts

Personnel
Black Sabbath
Additional performer
Production

Release history
Region Date Label
United Kingdom 1980 Vertigo Records
United States 1980 Warner Bros. Records
United Kingdom 1996 Castle Communications
United Kingdom 2004 Sanctuary Records
United States 2008 Rhino Records

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[28] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Covers
  • Iron Savior covered "Neon Knights" on their 1998 album, Unification.
  • "Heaven and Hell" was covered by American doom metal band Solitude Aeturnus on their 1998 album, Adagio.
  • The 2000 Holy Dio: Tribute to Ronnie James Dio compilation featured covers of "Neon Knights" by Steel Prophet, "Children of the Sea" by Jag Panzer, and "Heaven and Hell" by Enola Gay.
  • "Heaven and Hell" is briefly covered acoustically by Tenacious D for Dio's 2002 "Push" music video. At the beginning of the video, Jack Black and Kyle Gass are shown standing on a sidewalk busking and singing "Heaven and Hell" with a few alternate lyrics. They stop when Dio walks up to them and tells them that he'll pay them if they would just play some Tenacious D songs.
  • Primal Fear included a cover of "Die Young" on the limited edition digibook version and Japanese edition of their 2004 album, Devil's Ground. The track also appeared on the Metal Is Forever – The Very Best of Primal Fear compilation.
  • San Diego-based band Benedictum recorded "Heaven and Hell" for their 2006 debut album, Uncreation (which also contains a cover of Black Sabbath's "The Mob Rules").
  • Gothic metal act Elis recorded "Heaven and Hell" as a bonus track for the digipak version of their 2006 album, Griefshire. Their singer, Sabine Dünser, died suddenly between the production and release of the album.
  • Jørn Lande covered "Lonely Is the Word" on his 2007 album, Unlocking the Past. The song was also included on his 2010 full-length album tribute to Ronnie James Dio, titled Dio. Lande also recorded a cover of "Die Young" for inclusion on his 2016 all-covers album, Heavy Rock Radio.
  • Queensrÿche covered "Neon Knights" on their 2007 album, Take Cover.
  • In 2010, Machine Head mainman, Robb Flynn, released audio and video of an acoustic cover of "Die Young" as a tribute to his former manager, Debbie Abono, who had died on the same day as Ronnie James Dio.[31]
  • Warrior recorded "Neon Knights" for the 2010 Neon Knights – A Tribute to Black Sabbath album.[32]
  • Manowar covered "Heaven and Hell" on the 2010 album Magic: A Tribute to Ronnie James Dio.
  • Stryper covered "Heaven and Hell" on their 2011 album, The Covering.
  • The 2014 Ronnie James Dio – This Is Your Life tribute, overseen by Ronnie James Dio's long-time manager, Wendy Dio, included a cover of "Neon Knights" by Anthrax.[33] Stryper's version of "Heaven and Hell" was a bonus track on the Japanese edition.

See also

References
  1. Prato, Greg. "Black Sabbath: Heaven and Hell at AllMusic. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  2. Iommi, Tony (2011). Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306819551.
  3. Hotten, Jon. "The Dio Years" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  4. Ronnie James Dio interview with Tommy Vance for BBC Radio 1's Friday Rock Show; broadcast 21 August 1987; transcribed by editor Peter Scott for Sabbath fanzine Southern Cross #11, October 1996, p27
  5. "The Iron Man Speaks". black-sabbath.com. March 1996. Archived from the original on 10 September 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  6. Dome, Malcolm (1 October 2009). "Craig Gruber: 'I Played On The Heaven & Hell Album'". Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  7. https://playdabass.ca/bass-players-worldwide-2/bass-players-surnames-the-letter-g/craig-gruber/
  8. Schroer, Ron (October 1996). "Bill Ward and the Hand of Doom – Part III: Disturbing the Peace". Southern Cross (Sabbath fanzine) #18. pp. 16–17.
  9. Brien, Jeb (producer/director); Hardiman, Monica (producer/director) (1999). Black Sabbath: the Last Supper (Documentary/Concert). Automatic Productions.
  10. Time-Life Books: This Fabulous Century 1920–1930, pg. 200
  11. Black Sabbath Online (http://www.black-sabbath.com/2008/12/lynn curlee interview)
  12. Heaven and Hell (CD) album notes. Warner Bros. Records, Inc. 1980. pp. 2–3.
  13. Stannard, Joseph (8 April 2010). "Black Sabbath: Heaven and Hell; Mob Rules; Live Evil (remastered)". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  14. "Black Sabbath: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  15. Munro, Tyler (15 August 2006). "Black Sabbath: Heaven and Hell". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  16. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  17. "Heaven and Hell: Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  18. Welte, Jim (22 April 2008). "Legends align for Metal Masters Tour". MP3.com. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  19. Greene, Andy (21 June 2017). "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  20. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 195". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  21. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Black Sabbath – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  23. "Swedishcharts.com – Black Sabbath – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  24. "Black Sabbath | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  25. "Black Sabbath Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  26. "Charts.nz – Black Sabbath – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  27. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  28. "Canadian album certifications – Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell". Music Canada.
  29. "British album certifications – Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Heaven And Hell in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  30. "American album certifications – Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  31. "Machine Head Frontman Releases Cover Of Black Sabbath As Debbie Abono Tribute". Blabbermouth.net. 25 June 2010.
  32. Christopher Gonda (16 February 2010). "Warrior Post Cover Song of Black Sabbath's "Neon Knights"". PureGrainAudio.com.
  33. "Anthrax Recording Black Sabbath's 'Neon Knights' For Dio Tribute". Blabbermouth.net. 9 July 2012.
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