Friday, January 13, 2023

Bible Black, Heaven and Hell

The late Ronnie James Dio pulled off something of a miracle with the release of The Devil You Know in 2009. Dio was 66 years old, had only 13 months to live, but somehow and he and the aged members of Heaven and Hell (aka, Black Sabbath) put together one final terrific Sabbath album. Much better than 13 IMO.

I love this entire album, but my favorite song is "Bible Black." I dig the atmospheric spoken word intro .. but strap on your jockstrap for 1:30 when it kicks in with a dark, heavy, murky, stoner groove that is everything I love about the Black Sabbath sound. It is the Black Sabbath sound, because a lineup that includes Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Dio is Sabbath.

Crank this son of a bitch and enjoy your Friday.

Let me go
I've seen religion but the light has left me blind
Take me back
I must have the Bible Black



4 comments:

  1. While the original six Sabbath records will always be my favorites, I’ve recently come to really appreciate Ronnie’s time with the band. It’s more grandiose and epic, and you just can’t fuck with his vocal ability. Now I’m going to go listen to “Heaven And Hell.”

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  2. I caught the new Dio documentary last night and highly recommend it. It skims over the 90s a lot, omitting some potentially interesting stories, but it's generally a great tribute to the man.

    I like 13 okay but I like The Devil You Know a good deal more. 13 feels like Black Sabbath paying homage to itself, taking a lot of old hits and reworking them just a little bit to get "back to their roots" or something (I noticed that Rick Rubin had Metallica do the same thing on Death Magnetic). The Dio album just feels like a great band doing a new album - it's clearly got the same style but it's forward-looking instead of nostalgic. I feel like we got cheated out of more from them.

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  3. Dustin: No one fucks with Dio! Enjoy the listen.

    Andy: What's the new documentary called? I'll plan to watch it.

    Good observation re., 13 and Death Magnetic.

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  4. It's called Dio: Dreamers Never Die.

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