Exploring the Rules of Hell - Turn Up the Night

The follow up to Heaven and Hell, 1981's Mob Rules found Black Sabbath without another original member. Drummer Bill Ward left during the tour in support of Heaven and Hell due to personal problems. He was replaced by Vinny Appice who handled drum duties. After the tour Appice stayed on board and recorded with the band and returning producer/engineer Martin Birch.

It seems fitting that the newest Sabbath member would be the first one heard on Mob Rules as a four count on his high hat kicks things off. The band comes out in high gear with a nice fast paced riff that sounds like a distant cousin of "Symptom of the Universe". The band sounds tight, and Appice seems to be a good fit. He's a different drummer than Ward but seems to understand what the drummer for Black Sabbath should be doing. There is some great snare work on display here and some excellent tom roles.

Dio brings forth a series of rhymes in what starts as a pretty simple melodic approach, but leading into the guitar solo he goes in an unexpected direction. It feels like a choice that only Dio would make and has me excited for the rest of the album.

Iommi is on fire through the whole track with a few guitar breaks occurring before a wah-wah infused solo. It's an inspired solo and it finds Iommi exploring new sonic territory.

"Turn Up the Night" is a great album opener and I'm anxious to hear what's in store for me over the course of the next eight songs.

Stop by tomorrow for "Voodoo"!