My brother Louie recently posted a Paul Elliott article from Classic Rock, Is Heaven and Hell Black Sabbaths Finest Hour? I read the article, and absolutely understand why someone would make that statement. It is a very fine hour indeed, just not for Black Sabbath.
I would argue this is not a Sabbath record at all.
When we are all gone and the world looks back at our generation, explaining post Ozzy Sabbath won't even be much of a footnote. They were the creators, the guys that started it all. In hindsight, history will only discuss one true Black Sabbath. No one will care about the 5th bass player or that one guy who kinda sounds like the other guy (with all due respect to Tony Martin).
Ozzy and Sharon got it right when they made Iommi change the name. It truly is something else entirely, and deserves its own accolades. Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules may be Dio's finest hour. It is absolutely Iommi's finest hour. A directional shift away from blues based horror rock, and overhaul into a completely separate entity. His playing is phenomenal, and the writing is watershed.
I have always felt calling Iommi's bands post Ozzy, Black Sabbath, is a discredit to the original band, and calling "Heaven and Hell" "Black Sabbath" is just not accurate. Especially in hindsight. I will give Tony credit for keeping it somewhat barely alive after Dio, but as someone who was there, Iommi seemed to be lost from a fans perspective. Sabbath wasn't chasing the Ozzy years during the 80's, they were chasing the Dio material, and save a few memorable tracks, not doing it justice.
I look at Sabbath as 4 bands. Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell, Red Devil Baby, and Headless Cross.
Heaven and Hell was an amazing band and probably my favorite of the 4. Dio/Iommi/Geezer/Bill/Vinnie made two amazing records in the 80's, and showed the world how metal should sound.
Rip Ronnie.
On and on. And on. And on.
Nago.
