The year was 1980 and I had just heard the new Black Sabbath album Heaven & Hell featuring new singer Ronnie James Dio...I was a huge Ozzy/Sabbath fan and did know not what to expect, by the time the album had finished I knew I would never be the same. Ronnie James Dio had the most amazing voice I had ever heard. Most metal singers were trying to sound like Robert Plant. Dio was able to retain sweetness in his highs while dropping down into ballsy lows with incredible range. The lyrics from Heaven and Hell are still some of the most inspiring ever written. Songs about freedom and the trappings of duality and materialism were not common in the rock/metal world at the time. Dio and new producer Martin Birch were able to create a much more refined Sabbath sound. They lowered Bill Wards drums and Geezer Butlers bass(which is what gave Ozzy's Sabbath its signature sound) in the mix and allowed Tony Iommi to create a much more symphonic sound that drove all of the songs on the album. Thank you RJD !
BLACK SABBATH - Heaven and Hell
The lover of life's not a sinner
The ending is just a beginner
The closer you get to the meaning
The sooner you'll know that you're dreaming
So it's on and on and on, oh it's on and on and on... See More
It goes on and on and on, Heaven and Hell
I can tell, fool, fool!
Well if it seems to be real, it's illusion
For every moment of truth, there's confusion in life
Love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer
And it's on and on, on and on and on....
They say that life's a carousel
Spinning fast, you've got to ride it well
The world is full of Kings and Queens
Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams
It's Heaven and Hell, oh well
And they'll tell you black is really white
The moon is just the sun at night
And when you walk in golden halls
You get to keep the gold that falls
It's Heaven and Hell, oh no!Fool, fool!
You've got to bleed for the dancer!
Fool, fool!Look for the answer!
Fool, fool, fool!
BLACK SABBATH - Die Young
Gather the wind
Though the wind won't help you fly at all
Your back's to the wall
Then chain the sun
And then it turns around and face you
As you run, you run, you run!
Behind a smile
There's danger and a promise to be told
You'll never get old
Life's fantasy
To be locked away and still to think you're free
...You're free
You're free"
So live for today
Tomorrow never comes
Die young, young
Die young, die young
Die young, die young, young ...
DIO - Rainbow in the Dark
When there's lightning - it only always brings me down
Cause it's free and I see that it's me
Who's lost and never found
Do your demons - do they ever let you go
When you've tried - do they hide -deep inside
Is it someone that you know
You're just a picture - you're an image caught in time
We're a lie - you and I
...We're words without a rhyme
Feel the magic - I feel it floating in the air
But it's fear - and you'll hear
It calling you beware
There's no sign of the morning coming
There's no sign of the day ... See More
You've been left on your own
Like a Rainbow in the Dark
RJD in Jack Blacks Tenacious D movie "Pick of Destiny"
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