HEAVEN & HELL — The Devil You Know (review)

HEAVEN & HELL — The Devil You Know album cover Album · 2009 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Warthur
Even if you set aside the fact that it was Dio's final studio album, Heaven and Hell's sole studio release is still a significant metal album as one of the most important Black Sabbath side projects either. (Indeed, either this is a Black Sabbath album under another name - or some really great Sabbath albums from the 80s were actually Heaven and Hell pieces).

Dio, Iommi, Butler and Applice are back together and in much finer form than the disappointing Dehumaniser, making this my favourite album any of these luminaries have appeared on since Mob Rules - and doom metal fans will be ecstatic to know that their musical direction often cleaves a bit slower and doomier than was typical for Dio-era Sabbath, drawing both on the Ozzy era and the slow dirges of songs like Sign of the Southern Cross.

However, rather than entirely committing to that direction, the band haver a bit, sometimes flirting with shifting gear to the more energetic sound of tracks like Neon Knights but not quite getting there. It's not an embarrassment, but it still doesn't quite hit the heights of Dio's original stint as Sabbath's vocalist.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us