The Rules Of Hell [Box]

Performer: Black Sabbath
Engineer: Darren Galer; Stephen Wissnet; Eddie De Lena; Joe Foglia; Lee De Carlo; Mack; Martin Birch; Angelo Arcuri; Bill Freesh
Producer: Geezer Butler; Mack; Martin Birch; Tony Iommi; Black Sabbath
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Black Sabbath: Ronnie James Dio (vocals); Tony Iommi (guitar); Vinny Appice, Bill Ward (drums); Geezer Butler. Audio Mixer: Mack. Arrangers: Geezer Butler; Ronnie James Dio; Bill Ward . More than a box set of remastered materials, Rhino's release of THE RULES OF HELL is a five-disc testimonial chronicling one of the most exciting yet underrated episodes in hard rock/heavy metal history: that of Ronnie James Dio's contributions to the Black Sabbath mythos. The combination of Dio's operatic refinement with Sabbath's trademark bulldozing thunder catapulted the band into a fresher, more expressive period. THE RULES OF HELL has captured all that magic in a box, and consists of the following full-length albums: HEAVEN AND HELL, MOB RULES, the double disc LIVE EVIL, and DEHUMANIZER. Complete with extensive liner notes, photos, and biographical information, THE RULES OF HELL proudly displays the evolution of metal's most influential ambassadors. A sequel to the 2004 set Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978, Rules of Hell rounds up all the Black Sabbath albums with Ronnie James Dio, beginning with 1980's Heaven and Hell and its 1981 follow-up Mob Rules, spending two discs on the 1982 live album Live Evil, then skipping forward a decade for Dehumanizer, Sabbath's reunion with Dio. Some may complain that this skips over a large chunk of Sabbath's latter-day history but 1983-1990 was a time when singers passed through the lineup like grains of sand, and the results were equally transient, leaving these Dio-fronted albums as the last great albums Black Sabbath recorded. Well, at least that's true of Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules; opinion is divided on Live Evil and Dehumanizer but taken altogether, these records form a legacy. Although it is not expanded upon with bonus tracks, that legacy is treated well on Rules of Hell as the four albums are remastered, the set is given good liner notes for each album and it's housed in a slipcase. It's a handsome package but not as deluxe and luxe as Black Box, which truly felt like an indulgence. Instead, it feels like a group of individual reissues gathered together in a simple slipcase -- a nice, affordable away to get all these well-done reissues at once, but some fans may want to wait and see if Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules are eventually released on their own. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Blender (Magazine) (p.87) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Dio re-enchanted Sabbath's doomy riffs with theatrical swagger....'Neon Knights' burns like speed metal..."

Known worldwide as the embodiment of heavy metal, England's Black Sabbath enveloped the 1970s in a dense fog of apocalyptic imagery, monolithic guitar riffs, and horror-movie lyrics. When frontman Ozzy Osbourne left the band in 1979 for a highly successful solo career, the band soldiered on with a number of replacements, including Rainbow's Ronnie James Dio. In 1997, Ozzy and his former bandmates staged a much-publicized reunion. In the 2000s, when Ozzy got busy with solo recordings, Ozzfest, and his reality show THE OSBOURNES, Dio stepped in once again to front another incarnation of the band.

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