The Dio Years

This compilation from 2007 consists of material Black Sabbath did with Ronnie James Dio as the band's vocalist, ranging from Heaven and Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981), Dehumanizer (1992), and a live version of "Children of the Sea" taken from their 1982 live album Live Evil, along with three new recordings which are included in this compilation but the band did these under the moniker Heaven & Hell.This is an excellent Black Sabbath compilation in that it contains more of their material with Dio as vocalist, as another Black Sabbath compilation I bought in 2003 titled "The Best of Black Sabbath" (a 2CD compilation mostly consisting of the Ozzy Osbourne era) featured only two songs from the Dio era. So I'm really pleased that such a compilation like this one is in existence as I enjoyed the Dio era of Black Sabbath more than the Ozzy Osbourne era (no disrespect to Ozzy, of course). Heaven and Hell was the very first Black Sabbath album I ever bought and was really enthused about it, and that got me buying Mob Rules and the other ones they did before Heaven and Hell, and in 2012 I decided to treat myself to their 1992 album Dehumanizer.Going back to this compilation, Black Sabbath: The Dio Years will please any true rock and metal fan such as myself, whether you're familiar with the band or new to them. Very highly recommended.

In my humble opinion, a great selection of songs . Sorry to say Sabbath sounded far better with him as lead singer. Think he made a huge difference to compositions and sound.

Excellent! Killer album! Thanks a million.

I have 95% of Sabbaths output with Ozzy and R J Dio, only missing Dehumaniser and Technical Ecstasy, and enjoy both camps equally. They both have their distinctive qualities and strengths.This compo fills in a few gaps in the Dio side of things. For a start 3 new tracks which follow on from the Dehumaniser tracks as if they were recorded a couple of months later and not at least a decade. Ronnies voice is still as good as ever, amazing!The upside of this collection is the sound quality of the remastering. Rhinos boffins really eek out every detail. I have the remastered cds that came out from Castle a couple of years ago and was not happy with the sound of the Dio era material. This redresses that problem completely.The downside is the sound that Iommi has chosen to hammer out of his guitar on the later tracks. It has a strange overdriven sound that comes across as muffled and drowns out Geezer in places. A small quibble, but one worth mentioning.I had a good laugh at the lyrics to Ear in the Wall this morning on the way to work, so that was a good start to the day.Worth getting to hear the first 9 tracks as they ought to be heard.

The first time i heared black sabbath was probably in about 1983. i remember someone lending me a Black Sabbath single,Heaven and Hell was on one side and Die young was on the other side,i remember being completely blown away,that's when i got my first electric guitar.When you listen to those heavy riffs and the emotion that Tony iomi puts into his music,especially on the track Heaven and Hell.Although Ozzy was excellent in sabbath. Their late vocalist Ronnie James Dio, was an amazing singer,fantastically loud and awesome one of the best .I love every track on this album.Black Sabbath will always be a great band .This really defines the brilliance of the Dio years.

This collection of Dio's time with Black Sabbath is superb and servies to illustrate his vocal talents.Half of the album comes from Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. One track from Live Evil, three from Dehumaniser and three new tracks for the album which presumably serve as an intro to the then, forthcoming, Heaven And Hell band. The tracks are in order and you can sense the changes in musical style as you progress through the album.Another great rock album that highlights Dio's talents as a rock god.

This is a great CD of Dio years in Black Sabbath a must have for fans of Dio and black Sabbath it is wall with the money and a great way to remember Dio in his Sabbath day s . A must for fans of both Dio and black Sabbath.

I wasn’t really into Black Sabbath after Ozzy left but having listened to this I should have. Every song is a Gem. Brilliant.