Black Sabbath Paranoid

The first two Ronnie James Dio-fronted Black Sabbath albums, 1980’s Heaven and Hell and 1981’s Mob Rules, are receiving deluxe reissues via Rhino Records.

As evidenced by their so-so 1983 live set, Live Evil, a Dio-era Black Sabbath live performance was never truly captured on vinyl – as the aforementioned album was allegedly the victim of far too much knob-twiddling during the mixing stage. As a result, many longtime fans will attest that this lone live document was an album that lacked the spark of Sabbath's live shows circa 1980 through 1982. But the good folks at Rhino Handmade have come to the rescue, with the release of 2007's limited-edition Live at Hammersmith Odeon…

"Seventh Star" was intended to be a Tony Iommi solo album. However, the record company wanted the album released under the Black Sabbath moniker. A compromise was reached and the record was billed as "Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi". When the band went on tour, they dropped "Featuring Tony Iommi" from their name and Iommi continued releasing new studio albums under the Black Sabbath name through 1995.

Black Sabbath was embroiled in a protracted legal battle with its former manager in 1975 when the band started recording its sixth studio album, SABOTAGE. The group felt sabotaged at every turn – hence the album’s title – but that feeling helped fuel the intensity of the new music they were making. In spite of the distractions, the band created one of the most dynamic – and underappreciated – albums of its legendary career.