The Dio Years by Black Sabbath (CD, Apr-2007, Rhino)

Okay, I'm biased as anything. Black Sabbath is my favorite band of all time. I own every piece of Black Sabbath music out there, and I mean EVERYTHING! And when I say I'm a fan of Black Sabbath, I mean every single era/version of Black Sabbath, be it the classic era of Ozzy Osbourne, the one off shots with Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes, the rocky Tony Martin years, and most importantly the legendary periods with Ronnie James Dio.

You see, it was Ronnie James Dio's time in Sabbath that got me into them in the first place! 1981:Thirteen years old, sneaking into the R rated animated feature "Heavy Metal" and hearing that legendary opus "The Mob Rules" blasting through the screen like nothing my ears had ever heard before.

I've been hooked ever since.

Now, Rhino Records has finally given this line-up it's proper due with "The Dio Years". Within this fully remastered compilation is 13 select cuts from Black Sabbath's four officially released albums with Dio: Heaven And Hell, Mob Rules, Live Evil, and Dehumanizer. While to fully please any fan of this era, one disc doesn't fully cut it (where's The Sign Of The Southern Cross, Walk Away, or their biggest hit from the 90's Time Machine?!!?), it does give members of this new generation a great sample of what they may have missed while growing up in this Alternative/Rap/Nu-Metal world of today.

Most of the big ones are here: Neon Knights, Heaven And Hell, The Mob Rules, TV Crimes, and the live (and superior to the studio) version of Children Of The Sea. As well as deeper cuts like Lonely Is The Word, Voodoo, and others. Each track has been remastered with Warner Bros original first generation tapes and they have never, and I mean NEVER, sounded this good ever! No edits, no goofy remixes, just the classic Black Sabbath sound most of us grew up on, just louder and crisper than ever before. Just as how the Black Sabbath/Ozzy era release "The Black Box" received superior & proper remastering, "The Dio Years" seem to have been given the exact same attention. Thank you, thank you Rhino for that!

And if that wasn't enough, the original Mob Rules line-up (including Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and drummer Vinny Appice) recorded new songs! Not just one, or two, but THREE brand new tracks, making this Best Of to any Sabbath fan a must buy! The Devil Cried, Shadow Of The Wind, and Ear In The Wall, all written and recorded around late 2006 show that these guys still have alot of power left in them, sounding just like where they left off in 92's Dehumanizer. It's good to see this line-up finally get it's due, especially after a decade of overshadowing by the original Ozzy Osbourne version, which quite frankly, needed a break.

Oh and before I go, I dare anyone who thinks Black Sabbath is "only Ozzy" to purchase this, give it a listen, and you WILL see that The Dio Years WERE just as important! I couldn't imagine Black Sabbath without those classic Dio led albums.

No true Black Sabbath fan ever would.

Having been a Dio fan since Richie Blackmore's Rainbow, i was keen to check this one out, and was not disappointed. I have most of these tracks on vinyl but was very impressed with this compilation which included 3 new tracks and sounds great on cd. Classic 'bare bones' heavy metal riffs from Tony Iommi and punchy rhythmic bass lines from Geezer Butler, all held together by Vinnie Appice's powerful drumming. Dio has a very different style to Ozzy and while pehaps not being the performer that Ozzy is, he is in my opinion, the better vocalist. Highlights for me, "neon knights" and "mob rules", without doubt classic Sabbath and classic Dio. And some would say that the Dio years were indeed the best years.

In the genre of heavy metal, this band and this singer are among the very best. Here in one disc is an overview of their past work together as well as three new songs.
For anyone who has never heard "After All," or "Die Young," it is great that they included them here. It is hard to understand why "Sign of the Southern Cross" and "Computer God" were left off, though. These can be found on the 2007 live release of this band, or on DIO's "Stand Up And Shout Anthology," but it means that this disc is not quite complete.
But, for the 16 songs included here, as well as good liner notes, this is a great buy for metal fans.

Great collection! Although I personally would have adapted the play list slightly...but I've yet to see a comprehensive best of set by any band that I was totally satisfied with...

The three new songs are INCREDIBLE, much better and far more satisfying than the recent Tony Iommi albums and MILES better than anything Ozzy's had to offer for quite some years now.

Official - NEW Heaven and Hell album in 2008!

For anyone who considers themselves a true fan of the group Black Sabbath, this CD highlights the best songs from the "Mob Rules & Heaven&Hell" albums that featured Ronnie James Dio as lead vocalist.If you enjoy Black Sabbath I'm pretty sure you will like the songs selected.I'm glad I bought it.