Black Sabbath - Mob Rules

Better Than Heaven and Hell

While one of my favorite Sabbath (with Dio) tunes is "Children of the Sea" from Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules is such a more complete and better all-around effort. I must agree with the reviewers before me that it is simply great! "Voodoo", "Sign of the Southern Cross" and "Falling Off the Edge of the World" are classics. Though Heaven and Hell is generally regarded as the better of the two albums, I place Mob Rules right up there with Dio's best efforts. The remastered edition adds today's sound to this metal classic... November 5, 2008

Mob Rules (****1/2)

Black Sabbath-Mob Rules ****1/2

Mob Rules is leaps and bounds ahead of every other post Ozzy-era Black Sabbath release. Not only that but it is really one of the groups top albums of any line up.

Appice is truly one of musics greatest drummers and he really shows that here. Very energetic and technically solid. Dio also manages to make his Dungeons and Dragons mystics work with Iommi here for the first time. Speaking of Iommi, the man is on fire here. Lightning quick solos and killer riffs to rival some of his most infamous work.

'Turn Up The Night' opens the album and is easily one of the very best Sabbath songs on tape, or vinyl in this case. Super fast, almost thrash pace and more power than one song should be allowed to have. The title track is possibly the most brutal piece of music Iommi has ever laid down. Mixed with Dio's almost apocalyptic lyrics it is a instant classic. 'The Sign Of The Southern Cross' is a slow crawling pile of death. Sounds stupid I know but it is really the only way to describe it, hearing is believing. 'Slipping Away' sounds more like solo Dio than Sabbath but it works so that is okay.

As previously stated Mob Rules is among Black Sabbaths greatest triumphs as a band. It is just too bad that the rest of the post Ozzy material wasn't this good. October 8, 2008

Another great Sabbath album that picks up where Heaven and Hell left off

Black Sabbath's tenth album Mob Rules was released in late October of 1981 (in time for Christmas shopping here in the US).
Many fans of Black Sabbath must have thought that Ozzy Osbourne's firing from the band would have ruined Black Sabbath but the acquisition of Ronnie James Dio was equipped with a great singer who gave Sabbath its heaviest album in years with 1980s Heaven and Hell.
After the success of Heaven and Hell, drummer Bill Ward left the band due to drug, alcohol and family problems leaving bass player Geezer Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi as the only two original Sabbath members left. Bill Ward was replaced by new drummer Vinnie Appice (younger brother of the legendary Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge, Beck Bogart and Appice, Rod Stewart and Cactus fame) and by default Sabbath was now an Anglo-American band (Dio and Appice being from the States while Iommi and Butler are Brits).
Returning, aside Dio, was producer Martin Birch and the band recorded its second effort with Dio. Is Mob Rules as good as its predecessor, read on and find out (as I did back in December of 1993 when I got the cassette and subsequently CD).
We open with the killer rocker "Turn Up The Night" which is an awesome rocker although some whine it is an inferior Neon Knights remake, I say no way! We follow with another excellent rocker present is "Voodoo", on which Iommi shells out some damn fine riffs. Next is the nearly EIGHT minute masterpiece, which is also this album's best track, "The Sign Of The Southern Cross". The track starts out acoustic before we rock out and Dio's lyrics are stellar. We segue into the instrumental "E5150" which was written for the movie Heavy Metal (released earlier that July) and is a great sort of intro to the first half of the album's closer which is the awesome title track. It's one of its best tracks of all of the album's nine tracks, in fact The Mob Rules' title cut was recorded for the movie Heavy Metal in July of 1981.
Mob Rules' second half starts with the rocker "Country Girl" which rocks. Dio's vocals are excellent and Iommi's riff and solos rock as well. Next is the rocker "Slipping Away" which has a superb Dio vocal plus messieurs Appice, Iommi and Butler each get to solo on the song's middle section. Next is another classic "Falling Off the Edge of the World" which is one of Sabbath's best songs ever! The opening to this song is incredible which is slow and lumbering and before long we speed things fast into a killer rocker. Dio's vocal performance is one of his best and his lyrics are among the best ever. The closing "Over and Over" is another classic. It's a slow dark doomy number with unbelievable vocals by Dio. Iommi's riff and solos are top notch as well.
The Mob Rules album was yet another US Top 30 album for the band and also achieving Gold status and is just as good if not better than Heaven and Hell.
Recommended! July 24, 2008

One of Sabbath's best?

I might get some funny looks but I may actually like Mob Rules better than Paranoid or Master of Reality. It's hard, fast, slow, and epic all at once. Sabbath gets a leaner, though still heavy, sound here. Dio is an aquired taste for some but he puts in a great performance here. Some people may not like the more 80's influenced metal sound but for those who do, this is a real treasure.

Turn Up the Night: Starts off with four quick beats of the hi-hat and then all hell breaks loose. Straight ahead metal. Iommi and Geezer's riffing is hard and heavy, Vinny's drumming is a welcome change of pace and Dio is strong as ever. A personal favorite.

Voodoo: A return to the slower, pounding songs of the early days, with maybe a touch more speed. The riff is pure evil and Dio's lyrics work well here. Iommi rips it on the solo.

The Sign of the Southern Cross: Starts off quietly, with Dio softly crooning. The metaphors and phrases in the opening lyrics seem a little silly to me, a complaint I have with some of Dio's work. Then Vinny attacks, followed closely by Iommi and Geezer, and all is forgotten. This riff is bone crunching and used sparingly, leaving Dio set mostly to Vinny's drumming. Both prove up to the challenge.

E5150: If you work the title out in Roman numerals, this song spells EVIL. Spooky keyboard and synth throughout, with Iommi contributing some weird guitar effects. As a stand-alone, this isn't much of a song. In fact, I would call it boring. However, taken as an extended intro to the following one, it's quite effective. Builds up a creepy, dark atmosphere which...

Mob Rules: Explodes into one of Iommi's best riffs. Pounds and pounds and pounds to Dio waling about the mob and something evil in the night. Dio shines here, snarling line after line as Appice lays a powerful beat, with Geezer galloping along. Lean, fast, evil. One of Sabbath's best.

Country Girl: The title sounds like it couldn't possibly involve evil or demons, right? WRONG. A Country Girl who steals souls. Perhaps they should have taken a break but when you've got a good thing going, why stop? Good riff, kind of a change of pace from most of Iommi's, and Dio's pretty good on this one.

Slipping Away: The riff here isn't as strong but the dueling solo between Geezer and Tony more than makes up for it.

Falling Off the Edge of the World: Another track highlight for me. Starts off with some slow, emotional guitar work and vocals. Then it melts away with a dark, brooding voice intoning "aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh." The song picks up pace. Dio sings like a man who's "seen the faces of doom" pretty convincingly. A little more depressing than the other tracks, I quite like it.

Over and Over: A good closer. Not a great one, unfortunately. Dio gets very emotional but the track is a little lackluster compared to the rest of the album. It's good, just not as good.

With the exception of the last track, all these are far above average or just plain exceptional Sabbath tracks. For me, this is the best Dio era album and in the top 5 Black Sabbath albums. May 4, 2008

MOB RULES: Right up there with "Heaven & Hell"

THE BAND: Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitars), Geezer Butler (bass), Geoff Nicholls (keyboards), Vinnie Appice (drums and percussion) - replacing original drummer Bill Ward.

THE DISC: (1981) 9 tracks clocking in at approximately 40 minutes. Included with the disc is a minimal 2-page foldout containing song titles/credits/times, band members and thank you's (no photo or song lyrics). This is the band's tenth studio album (and Dio's 2nd with Sabbath). Recorded at the Record Plant (Los Angeles). Album cover artwork by the famed Greg Hildebrandt (with twin brother Tim, they created the artwork for the original Lord Of The Rings - circa 1970's, the Star Wars posters and assorted Marvel comics). Label - Warner Bros / Vertigo Records (UK).

COMMETS: As much as I liked "Heaven And Hell" (1980), I always thought "Mob Rules" was more of a complete album. Keep in mind - both albums are outright Dio/Sabbath classics. Ronnie James Dio was clearly in his prime - a five year stint with Rainbow, two classic albums with Black Sabbath, and then his solo career taking off with "Holy Diver" (1983). Somehow I feel "Mob Rules" got the short end of the stick being stuck between two monstrous albums. From the opening cymbal crashes on "Turn Up The Night", this album rocks. This opening track really kicks the album off to a great start. The lone single "Voodoo" is a slower track with ultra heavy drums. Both tracks have trademark Iommi guitars - rhythm and solos. The 8-minute masterpiece - "The Sign Of The Southern Cross" - is one of handful of Dio's best tunes (with ANY band). * How did Sabbath's compilation, "The Dio Years" (2007), miss this single most important song? A sluggish beat, trodden and heavy, cool guitars and effects, and stunning Dio vocals. "E5150" is a 2+ minute experiment with sound effects and guitars... ultimately the only track deemed skippable. Where "E5150" almost lulls you to sleep, it's all for naught as the following fast-paced title track kicks you in the teeth. "Country Girl" is a mid-tempo rocker... strangely, about love and desire. "Slipping Away" has some cool rhythm sections complete with dueling lead and bass guitars. "Falling Off The Edge Of The World" has a delicate and misleading intro... only to break into a fast middle and ending. The album closes on a slow but emotional note with "Over And Over" (including a shredding guitar solo). For me, this album quietly rivaled anything in Black Sabbath's catalog (5 stars).
May 2, 2008

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