HEAVEN & HELL - THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

It was a huge surprise to hear the announcement of a new Black...*sorry*... Heaven & Hell-release! I got even more hyped after hearing the first samples that were released for the upcoming reunion of the classic Dio-fronted lineup.

When I finally got my hands on the new release my thoughts were mixed. Yes, there were quite a few memorable songs but I had a hard time digesting the slow tempo throughout most of this album. If you're like me and expect the album to kick off with an up tempo track, resembling Neon Knights or Turn Up The Night, then you're bound to be disappointed with Atom & Evil. The opening track is really heavy featuring one of the most extreme guitar sounds from Tony Iommi and it has managed to grow on me over time. The rest of the album follows the same heavy and slow pattern which sends a clear message to modern metal bands implying that you don't necessary have to be fast in order to play metal music.

The only two compositions that really stick out of the bunch are Eating The Cannibals and Neverwhere due to their faster tempo approach. I did eventually grow to enjoy The Devil You Know over time but it's still nowhere as great as Heaven & Hell, Mob Rules or even Dehumanizer. The idea of a Dio-fronted reunion album was, in retrospect, much better than the final result but at least this album kick-started a tour which gave fans an opportunity to see one final tour before the passing of Ronnie James Dio.

***** star songs: Eating The Cannibals (3:37)

**** star songs: Atom & Evil (5:15) Bible Black (6:29) The Turn Of The Screw (5:02) Follow The Tears (6:12) Neverwhere (4:35)

*** star songs: Fear (4:48) Double The Pain (5:25) Rock & Roll Angel (6:02) Breaking Into Heaven (6:53)