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Heaven and Hell

Live Radio City Music Hall 2007 DVD

Review by Greg Olma

This tour and now DVD has been a long time coming. I always felt that the Dio era of Black Sabbath was overshadowed by the original line-up. While the Ozzy era was innovative and basically created the heavy metal sound, I have always felt that the Dio version was better. Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules are as much classics as Paranoid and Sabotage. To celebrate the release of Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, the Heaven and Hell tour was put into motion. This is basically Black Sabbath mach 3 (Vinnie Appice is on drums) but no matter what you call it, it is great to see this line-up back together again, if only for one tour.

Like the Y&T DVD I reviewed in this issue, this one is a pleasure to watch. The edits are kept to a minimum and you really do get the feeling that you are in Radio City Music Hall watching the show. Bright lights are not used so at times the set is a little dark but that only adds to feeling of being at the show. I saw this tour and they pretty much kept the lighting the same. The stage set is also simple but effective. It looks as though you are in the ruins of an old church. They really tried to bring back that vibe they had in 1982 when they were promoting the Mob Rules album. Musically, there was never a doubt that this was going to be pure magic. The band play it simple and don’t do any Sabbath songs that didn’t feature Dio. You get cuts off Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, Dehumanizer, and a couple of new tracks. With those albums as your basis, you would be hard pressed to screw up a set list. I was glad to see that they played the whole “Die Young” song; not just the beginning and I don’t recall them ever playing “Falling Off The Edge Of The World.” This DVD also gives you the full show and not some truncated version. You get every last glorious note. You also get a few extras which include the rehearsals and production of the set, some fan interviews, and a nice little clip of the history of the venue, but quite honestly, after viewing the main show, these pieces were not necessary. Live Radio City Music Hall is a must have for any metal fan. I can’t see any self respecting Black Sabbath passing over this one.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2007 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
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