Many had left
Black Sabbath for dead at the dawn of the '80s, and with good reason -- the band's last few albums were not even close to their early classics, and original singer
Ozzy Osbourne had just split from the band. But
the Sabs had found a worthy replacement in former
Elf and
Rainbow singer
Ronnie James Dio, and bounced back to issue their finest album since the early '70s, 1980's
Heaven and Hell. The band sounds reborn and re-energized throughout. Several tracks easily rank among
Sabbath's all-time best, such as the vicious album opener, "Neon Knights," the moody, mid-paced epic "Children of the Sea," and the title track, which features one of
Tony Iommi 's best guitar riffs. With
Heaven and Hell,
Black Sabbath were obviously back in business. Unfortunately, the
Dio-led version of the band would only record one more studio album before splitting up (although
Dio would return briefly in the early '90s). One of
Sabbath's finest records. ~ Greg Prato