BREAKING OUT OF HEAVEN VINYL BOX SET Heaven & Hell (Warner Music) *****
Many thanks to Ditch Records on Fort Street in Victoria for bringing this in and sliding it to me a day early. Breaking Into Heaven represents the final chapter of the Dio era of Black Sabbath in fine form; a comprehensive booklet, a poster of the Devil You Know album cover, a replica of the 2007 Heaven & Hell tour booklet, and 7 LP’s of the finest metal ever made; they sound great.
I was as happy to get ahold of this as I was Anno Domini, the box set of Tony Martin-era vinyl albums to complete my Sabbath collection, thus fulfilling my collector’s lust. The three albums contained in Breaking Out Of Heaven- Live At Radio City Music Hall, The Devil You Know, Neon Knights: Live At Wacken– join my collection on vinyl for the first time.
I’ve been listening since picking the box set up before lunch today; the sound is heavy, articulate, and extremely powerful as I hoped it would be. The songs themselves are not new to me as I’ve had all three albums on cd since they were originally issued, but to have them sound this good is gratifying. This is the order in which I pulled them out of the box and threw them on my turntable.
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
Originally released in April of 2009, this is an explosive display of maximum heaviosity front to back. Songs tend to be heavy and plodding for the most part, but that works very well for Ronnie, Tony, Geezer and Vinny. This is 2 LP’s containing the original 10 songs on sides 1 thru 3. The 4th side contains the 3 excellent bonus tracks from The Dio Years Sabbath compilation, which proved this lineup had plenty left to say and fueled the Dio-era reunion. This album had the unintentional effect of showing how powerful Black Sabbath’s 13 album could have been had producer Rick Rubin NOT been involved. There would have been more of this too, had stomach cancer not taken Ronnie out in May of 2010.
HOT TRACKS: Double The Pain, Ear In The Wall
LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL
This was recorded within the first few weeks of the tour in support of The Dio Years Black Sabbath compilation, by which time they’d changed their name to ‘Heaven & Hell’ and resolved to only play songs from the Dio era. The missus & I saw them in Calgary on this tour, my first time seeing them live. As Tony Iommi strode to the front of the stage to wave to the crowd, I kept punching Cherryle in the shoulder and saying “There’s Tony! It’s really him!!”
Great sound quality and fine performances over these 3 LP’s and a good mix of tunes containing some of my absolute favorites. My sole beef is Vinny Appice’s drum solo; it’s boring, but then most drum solos are. Exceptions to that rule for me are Neil Peart, Tommy Aldridge, Ian Paice, John Bonham and Don Brewer. That aside, this album still holds up well.
HOT TRACKS: Lady Evil, Lonely Is The Word
NEON KNIGHTS: LIVE AT WACKEN
This was filmed and recorded on July 30th 2009 at the famous German heavy metal festival. Heaven & Hell were playing at the very top of their game, not knowing at the time that this would be the final filmed performance for Dio, who would succumb to stomach cancer the following spring. I suppose that would make this record (2 LP’s) unexpectedly poignant, but taken strictly on its sonic and musical performance it is a superior recording. The crowd is with them and the performances are ballsy; they aren’t holding back as they give everything they have and leave it all on the stage. For Ronnie’s final major performance it’s a high note to go out on.
HOT TRACKS: Time Machine, Falling Off The Edge Of The World
—
Spending this kind of money ($228.99 plus tax) just to complete my vinyl Black Sabbath collection may seem excessive or foolhardy, but if you’ve ever collected anything then you understand.
With Breaking Out Of Heaven I take almost as much joy in knowing that I now have these records on vinyl as I do from listening to the music itself. I appreciate the warmer sound of the vinyl, and I just spent most of the last 4 hours listening to some of my favorite songs from my favorite band- priceless.
It may say ‘Heaven & Hell’ on the outside of the box, but it will always be the continuing story of Black Sabbath to me.
