A great album (Mob Rules - Black Sabbath)

Member Name: Mr Chubbers

Product:	Mob Rules - Black Sabbath
Date:	07/05/05 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The Sabbath wall of noise, Country Girl, The title track

Disadvantages: None, None, Still none

The fans that disowned Sabbath when Ozzy left made a big mistake, or rather two big mistakes, the first was missing out on Heaven And Hell and the second was missing out on this, the follow-up. It was released in 1981 and still sounds excellent today.

Bill Ward, the drummer, checked into rehab again so he was replaced by Vinnie Appice, who doesn't let the side down. Other than that the line up is the same as for Heaven & Hell, being Ronnie James Dio with the voice, Geezer Butler with the booming bass and Tony Iommi with the down-tuned guitars.

Sabbath deliver the towering sound they are famous for on tracks like the eight minute Sign Of The Southern Cross, the juggernaut Mach 1 tune that is Falling Of The Edge Of The World and the shattering title track, one of the hardest heaviest tunes they ever put down.

It's not all noise noise noise though; Country Girl, my favourite song on here, spins a simple riff round and round with brilliant lyrics, the slower Over And Over sees Iommi lay down his ultimate chops on the album and Turn Up The Night is pure adrenalin with a joyful vocal to match. We even get the wierd and wonderful instrumental E5150 and it's solos galore, bass, drums and guitars, on Slipping Away.

This is a blistering heavy metal album. I'll admit that Heaven And Hell might be musically better, but for sheer balls-out heads-down rock this takes some beating. A fantastic record. Just don't mention any of the ones that came after it. Well alright, maybe Headless Cross.

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