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A few days after the passing of the great Ronnie James Dio, who died at the age of 67 due to cancer, I decided to dust off what is, alas, his last studio album.
"The Devil You Know" was released in the first half of 2009 by Heaven & Hell. Behind this new monicker were hidden the four musicians from the Black Sabbath lineup with Dio on vocals: Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, Vinny Appice on drums, and the same American singer. The four had released three excellent albums in the '80s ("Heaven and Hell," "Mob Rules," and "Live Evil," the first of which with Bill Ward, the original Ozzy-era drummer, on drums) and a worthy follow-up in '92 ("Dehumanizer"). Reuniting in 2006 with the aforementioned Ward on drums (who quickly left) as a band exclusively for live performances, they released an excellent live album in 2007 ("Live from Radio City Music Hall") that officially confirms the excellent shape and chemistry of the quartet in about 2 hours of concert in which the group traverses the entire discography of the lineup.
Despite denials, rumors begin to circulate that the band is working on a new studio album, and finally, the news is made official. "The Devil You Know" features the heaviest sound, in the "classic" sense of the term, and leaning towards doom that the four have ever composed. It starts off strong with "Atom and Evil", a track that features a Ronnie James Dio in great form (which will be quite noticeable throughout the album) both in terms of vocal interpretation and for the lyrics that, as usual, explore fantasy themes. It continues with "Fear", a slightly weaker track than the previous one, which speeds up the atmosphere a bit (especially in the riff): "Bible Black", the album's first single, opens with an arpeggio clearly rooted in Led Zeppelin ("Stairway to Heaven"); the track is the closest our artists could get to a ballad, with an excellent solo by Iommi and a good rhythmic section managed by the Butler-Appice duo. "Double the Pain" flows quickly without particularly standing out in either a positive or negative way, making room for "Rock and Roll Angel", for which more or less the same can be said. "The Turn of the Screw" stands out, however, for its excellent rhythm and slow beats, giving it a diabolical atmosphere. With "Eating the Cannibals", the album hits its high point: a very fast-paced and short track (compared to the album's standards) with a good chorus and quite a unique lyric. Another very convincing episode is represented by "Follow the Tears": with an excellent refrain, this track also presents a "diabolical" atmosphere and features the best Appice of the album in action.
With "Neverwhere" and "Breaking Into Heaven", the album returns to more relaxed and dreamy atmospheres, a trademark of Dio, closing the album in a worthy manner.
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Other reviews
By Nesci
Heaven & Hell (aka Black Sabbath) reaffirm that they still have a lot to say, and a lot to teach the new generations of musicians.
Tony Iommi, a distinguished and sober man in his sixties, is still able to compose such devastating riffs!
By the green manalishi
"The big weak point is the vocals, often slow, dragged, tired, despite the excellent voice of Ronnie James Dio."
"This album could indeed easily be a solo album by Dio, as repetitive as only the latest albums by Ronnie James are known to be."
By Xabaras
This is not a Dio + Black Sabbath album, name changes aside, here are the truly archaic Sabbaths, those dark and gloomy of the Ozzy period, but with the vocal contribution of a phenomenon like Ronnie James Dio.
It is perhaps the best album of 2009 and a powerful, dark, up to date but at the same time 'the devil we know' album.
