Camel Clutch Cinema - #40: Movies WITHOUT Wrestling

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Craig and Guy talk about movies that sound like they should have wrestling in them... but sadly do not. First up is Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. Then they move to movies like Honkytonk Man, The Rock and King Kong (not Bundy.) Also, Guy delves into the WWF cookbook and tells us about Pat Patterson's cabbage balls.

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Camel Clutch Cinema - #39: My Breakfast With Blassie

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Craig and Guy head off to a taco shop to ponder the 1980s performance piece "My Breakfast With Blassie". They delve into some of the behind the scenes stories of the film, discuss the movie's premiere and talk about Freddie Blassie's odd little handbag.

Camel Clutch Cinema - #38: Into and Outro Movies

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Guy Hutchinson and Craig Cohen are at Pro Wrestling Syndicate's Super Card Night Two where they meet Bret Hart, look at Mike Knox and the Rock & Roll Express and discuss all of the movie clips in the Camel Clutch Cinema intro and outro montages.

Exploring the Rules of Hell - Journey's End

Back in March I started to listen to all of the music that Black Sabbath recorded with singer Ronnie James Dio. Collected as The Rules of Hell and 45 tracks in total, it  covered three studio albums, a live album, and a career retrospective*. Before March I was an Ozzy Osbourne era loyalist. Many weeks later I am very pleased to say that that's no longer the case.

I feel silly for ignoring this music for so long, but I'm happy that I finally opened myself up to it. Not only did I add some excellent Black Sabbath music to my collection, but I also gained a greater appreciation for what an amazing singer Ronnie James Dio was.

Now that my journey is complete I've compiled a 13 song playlist that includes my favorite tracks from The Rules of Hell.

1 - "Neon Knights" (Heaven and Hell)
2- "Children of the Sea" (Heaven and Hell)
3- "Heaven and Hell" (Heaven and Hell)
4- "Lonely is the Word" (Heaven and Hell)
5- "Turn Up the Night" (Mob Rules)
6- "The Sign of the Southern Cross" (Mob Rules)
7- "The Mob Rules" (Mob Rules)
8- "Over and Over" (Mob Rules)
9- "Children of the Grave" (Live Evil)
10- "Computer God" (Dehumanizer)
11- "Master of Insanity" (Dehumanzier)
12- "Time Machine" (Dehumanizer)
13- "Shadow of the Wind" (The Dio Years)
Playlist on Spotify
*The three new songs included on The Dio Years are only included in the digital download version.

Exploring the Rules of Hell - Ear in the Wall

"Ear in the Wall" brings my 45 song journey through the Dio lead Black Sabbath to an end. It's been quite an experience going through the catalog song by song, and I can't believe that I am done. I listened to some great music and definitely gained some new favorite Sabbath Songs.

Sadly "The Ear in the Wall" isn't one of them. It starts with a promising riff but the verse finds the band reverting to stock metal territory. The chorus gets things back on track but overall the song is pretty sub par. The solo is interesting and Dio's lyrics paint some interesting images, but it's not enough to really make the song standout.

Tomorrow I'll wrap things up and offer up a playlist that includes the best songs that I listened to. Thanks for taking this journey with me! I hope you enjoyed it.

Exploring the Rules of Hell - Shadow of the Wind

"Shadow of the Wind" opens with a monstrous riff. It is slow, plodding and unmistakeably Black Sabbath. It's much more memorable than "The Devil Cried" and will likely find its way to the Black Sabbth playlist that I put together after I finish these write-ups.

Dio's vocal is just amazing. He delivers through out, but during the post-solo section he sings with more power and emotion than any song that I have covered here so far. There is also some great bass work from Butler during this section as well.

Tomorrow the final Dio Black Sabbath* song, "Ear in the Wall"!

*The Live Evil/Mob Rules/Dehumanizer line-up did record an album and tour as "Heaven and Hell" between 2007 and 2010, opting to go under a different name to not distract from the Ozzy Osbourne lead version which had reunited (but was on hiatus) by this point.

Exploring the Rules of Hell - The Devil Cried

One of three songs recorded for inclusion with a Dio era Black Sabbath best of collection in 2007, "The Devil Cried" shows the band in top form. It's the same line-up from Mob Rules, Live Evil and Dehumanzier.

Iommi's guitar tone is thick and punchy, Appice's drums are solid and Butler's bass is as deep as ever. Dio's voice shows no sign of the15 year layoff from the band.

It's a good track and I'm glad it was included on  the digital version of The Rules of Hell.

One interesting note: The three new songs are credited to Iommi/Dio from a songwriting perspective.

Tomorrow, "Shadow of the Wind"!

Exploring the Rules of Hell - Time Machine (Wayne's World Version)

Originally featured on the Wayne's World soundtrack, this earlier version of "Time Machine" is slightly different than the one found on Dehumanzier. The production is listed as being by Black Sabbath as opposed to Mack.

I didn't compare the songs too much but in addition to having a more aggressive feel there are slight changes, especially in the early parts of the song. It's cool that it was included on The Rules of Hell.

Tomorrow I'll listen to the first of the final three Black Sabbath songs to feature Dio, 2007's "The Devil Cried"!

Exploring the Rules of Hell - Buried Alive

"Buried Alive" brings me to the end of Dehumanizer, and it is a good final track from a very solid album. Combining classic Black Sabbath with more modern sounds the song covers a lot of ground.

Parts sound like they could be found on several albums from the era from bands influenced by Sabbath. Alice in Chains and White Zombie came to mind while listening.

Butler's bass is really busy and with it's deep tone it is easy to miss. Iommi delivers several excellent guitar breaks. Iommi was really inspired on this album and turned in some memorable guitar parts.

Tomorrow the last Dio Black Sabbath song for 15 years, "Time Machine (Waynes World Version)"!

Exploring the Rules of Hell - I

"I" is the first forgettable track on Dehumanizer. That it is Track 9 of a 10 track album shows how strong Dehumanizer is. By no means is it a bad track though; It's just too run of the mill.

After a cool blues based riff at the intro it kind of descends into a fairly stock sounding metal tune.There are some highlights though. Dio's vocal is excellent.

Tomorrow I'll listen to the last track on Dehumanizer, "Buried Alive"!

Camel Clutch Cinema - #37: Movie Connections to Wrestlemania 29

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Guy Hutchinson and Craig Cohen are joined by Captain Marvelous as they simulcast with the Off the Ropes podcast. Together they discuss the movie careers of all of the wrestlers on the card, Wrestlemania 29 predictions, MicroLeague Wrestling on Commodore 64 and King Kong Bundy's appearances on Married With Children.

Exploring the Rules of Hell - Too Late

The first acoustic track on Dehumanzier starts with an intro that reminded me a bit of "Die Young" from Heaven and Hell. Dio's vocal is fitting and Butler's bass lines are nice and melodic.

Things become real memorable though after the guitars get electric.There is a heavy middle section that is followed by an excellent Iommi solo that finds him reaching some high notes via what sounds to me like a DigiTech Whammy pedal. If it is, it's some nice use of the effect, and a bit different than other player's use of the pedal.

Tomorrow I'll listen to "I"!

Exploring the Rules of Hell - Sins of the Father

"Sins of the Father" comes right out of the gate with vocals and guitar. The melody has kind of a Beatles feel to it. It is definitely different than anything that the band has presented before, and it shows how versatile this line-up of the band was.

The song goes through a few different feels and lays into a nice groove at one point. Iommi delivers a few non-traditional guitar breaks that serve the song perfectly. He does go traditional before it's over though, turning to a blues based approach for the outro-solo.

Tomorrow, "Too Late"!

Exploring the Rules of Hell - Time Machine

"Time Machine" has a nice driving pace and a really aggressive Dio vocal. Parts of the song sound like they would fit right in on Sabotage while others feel completely fresh. It is a great melding of new and old Black Sabbath without sounding calculated.

An earlier recording of this song (from the same sessions) appeared on the Wayne's World soundtrack. That's included on The Rules of Hell and I'll cover it on Sunday.

Tomorrow I'll cover "Sins of the Father"!

Exploring the Rules of Hell - Master of Insanity

"Master of Insanity" has its roots in a Geezer Butler Band demo from the mid 80s.* The version on Dehumanizer is slightly reworked to give it that true Black Sabbath feel.