BLACK SABBATH — Mob Rules (review)

BLACK SABBATH — Mob Rules album cover Album · 1981 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Time Signature
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Genre: heavy metal / doom metal

I always thought that "The Mob Rules" never quite made it, compared to "Heaven and Hell" and I never really was able to fully appreciate "The Mob Rules", but lately I'm finding myself gradually changing my mind about that.

Like "Heaven and Hell", this album is more of a straight heavy metal album, containing a number of straight uptempo hard rockers such as "Turn Up the Night", "The Mob Rules", "Slipping Away" and the typical 80s metal "Voodoo"(which are slightly heavier though), but these have been less captivating to me than their counterparts on "Heaven and Hell", but I find myself enjoying listening to them much more now than before, which is a very positive surprise to me.

Interestingly, this album also contains tracks that musically are slightly reminiscent of the very heavy and doomladen material of the early days of the Ozzy-era. For instance, "The Sign of the Southern Cross", while not as heavy as "Iron Man", "Electric Funeral" or "Black Sabbath", is still heavy enough to be considered a doom metal track of sorts. It opens out with a beautiful acoustic introduction with soft but impressive vocals by Dio before kicking into a heavy Iommi-style riff of the sort that can never go wrong. "Southern Cross" is one of my favorite os the album. "Country Girl" is another one, may because it contains another one of those Iommi-riffs, but also because of its melodic bridge section. "Over and Over" is another melancholic doom-laden track, and another favorite of mine, while "Falling Off The Edge of the World" is probably the best track on the album.

I think that fans of traditional heavy metal and hard rock will appreciate this album, and some doom metal fans might like it too for its heavier tracks.
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