Jumping into this 45 day journey through the Ronnie James Dio fronted incarnation of Black Sabbath it was nice to have the first song that I listen to be one that I am somewhat familiar with."Neon Knights" is the lead off track from 1980's Heaven and Hell, and it's an excellent album opener. It has a nice driving pace and I instantly cranked the volume up as I listened to it for the first time. I also started to question if ignoring the post-Ozzy era Sabbath was a good idea.
Tony Iommi's guitar is as distinctive as anything from the Ozzy era. It has a nice dirty tone with lots of edge. The rhythm section of Bill Ward on drums and Geezer Butler on bass is tight and locked in. Ward's drum lines aren't overly complex and showcase a drummer who plays for the song and not the spotlight. And the drum tone is so natural! No huge sounding snares here. Just a kit mic'd up and dropped into the mix. Butler's bass lines are a joy to listen to as well. With a fat, rounded tone he works within the riff and melody without ever coming off as distracting.
In the opening bars it feels like a song that would fit right in on Sabotage, but that all changes when Ronnie James Dio comes in. Right out of the gate it is clear that this is a different Black Sabbath. Dio is a much more melodic signer than Ozzy and he owns the song from the first words. It is a strong, confident vocal with Dio "marking his territory" for lack of a better phrase.
The lyrics are a bit on the ambiguous side but that doesn't prevent them from being incredibly descriptive. Where earlier Sabbath mostly told straightforward stories here it is all about mood and feel. Dio sings of getting "close to love", "Dragons and kings", and "Bloodied angels". I'm not sure what any of it means or how it all fits together but I have already imagined a half dozen scenes.
The other noticeable difference in this version of Black Sabbath is much more subtle. The band had used keyboards and synths before but the keyboards on display here function in a different way. Most notable during the extended breakdown, Geoff Nicholls keyboard adds a dense sonic layer to the bed that Iommi solos overs.
Listening to "Neon Knights" has me excited for the rest of this musical journey. Here's hoping that the goodness on display here is a hint of what's to come.
Stop by tomorrow as I listen to "Children of the Sea"!
3 comments:
It's awesome that you're listening to Dio era Sabbath. I like Heaven and Hell a lot and I remember listening to it when I was in high school. Every day for months, the first thing I did when I got home was put Heaven and Hell on the turn table, (it was records in those days, not CDs), and cranking it. No one else was home at that hour so I could really rock out. Good memories!
That's awesome!
I'm really enjoying this. Mad that I waited so long to get into the Dio era but I'm being rewarded with some amazing music!
Fast song? Slow song? Fast song.
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