What may very well be a quick way for the label to cash in on the tour with this line up has served as a door opening experience for some Ozzfest loyalist, whom have never head or realized that there was a Black Sabbath with out Ozzy. Ronnie James Dio who stepped into the front man shoes after the original line-up imploded, will forever be in the shadow or Ozzy, but that has not kept him from making some landmark music with one of the biggest and badest band in all the land. The disc spans all four Sabbath/Dio albums including the short lived reunion album Dehumanize. (Heaven and Hell (1980), Mob Rule (1981), Live Evil (1982), Dehumanize (1992)

All the tracks here are stand out tracks, some will argue about which tracks should and should not have been included here, but this is a refresher course in all things Sabbath, or even better a refresher course in all things rock. Dio’s voice is pristine, the instruments are clean and crisp, and the songs much better than I remember them over two decades ago. This group of songs showcases the diversity of a group of musicians that influenced every band that every had a guitar player.

The addition of three new tracks make this compilation all the more interesting. Hearing an outfit like this with 21st century production, makes one wonder just how amazing all those songs would be if recorded today. The new songs are not as masterful as the old classics, but they still stand tall in a see of wannabe rockers.

(Spleen)

Black Sabbath – The Dio Years
Lable: Rino/Wea
Release Date: April 2, 2007