Metal Music For Beginners Series - Volume II

(The curtain rises again as the same figure from before makes his [or "its"?] way onto the stage, seen in the same attire as the previous night.... a long dark robe with a hood that hides the face. There is an unsettling shift in the audience as he startles everyone with his deep voice, still just as low and just as shocking in volume despite the lack of a microphone. The voice seems to surround them in an uncanny clarity as each word is spoken.)

"Ladies and gentleman, we shall continue with our journey to enlightenment by revisiting the band from the previous night.... Black Sabbath. Only this time, I should point out that the man at the helm is not the same man from before. Everyone, allow me to introduce you to the man who became a legend upon his arrival on the metal scene.... Ronnie James Dio, the voice behind Black Sabbath's ninth studio record, 'Heaven and Hell'."

It was 1980, and ten years had passed since metal music was introduced upon an unsuspecting world full of the prim and propers, the jocks, the politicians, the hippies and the criminals. Times were changing, and many things that may not have had an effect on society ten years prior were suddenly rearing their heads into the mainstream.... while still sustaining substance and originality, unlike that which we see in the mainstream today.

After eight groundbreaking albums with singer Ozzy Osbourne, the time had come to part ways, in Sabbath's opinion, and move onward. But there was one hell of a pair of shoes to fill after Ozzy was released. Very few would have the ability to reach the standards already set by Osbourne and his unique vocal style. Such a daunting task would intimidate even the most confident of vocalists of that time, given that Black Sabbath were the unintentional creators of metal music.

Then along came Ronnie James Dio.

While he sounded nothing at all like Osbourne (I dare you to show me ONE man who can sound exactly like the Ozzman!), he, just like Ozzy, had his own unique vocal style, cementing him into the very legacy of everything metal was turning into. He sustained a melodic sense of vocal patterns, while at the same time, adding a slight rasp in his voice to add some intensity felt internally by metal, thus creating a more creatively "hard" singing style. This allowed Sabbath to survive the 80's and the different metal forms it was to offer not too long from then (thrash and power/speed metal, for example). So put Dio's voice with 80's Sabbath tunes, and you get a different sound, while still managing to obviously be Sabbath.

This also marked the debut arrival of drummer Vinnie Appice, who replaced original drummer Bill Ward, halfway through their tour in support of "Heaven and Hell", the last Sabbath album Ward would appear on until 1983's "Born Again" (featuring Ian Gillian from Deep Purple on vocals in place of Dio).

Now, regardless of whether you prefer Ozzy, or Dio, the fact still remains that Dio's appearance on the scene helped further change what metal music would form into as we know it. And with the classic musicianship to be expected of Black Sabbath, it was destined to break through in its own respective fashion. And now, for your listening pleasure, here are the two most well-known tracks from the album, "Heaven and Hell" and "Neon Nights".

"Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our second night of metal education. I hope to see you all back here for more very soon, as we will delve into the 80's, a very essential piece of the puzzle that is the formation and evolution of metal music. Till next time, and as always, stay metal."

(All lights fade away, as does the figure.... leaving the entire auditorium full of people and without a host once again....)

- @damiancraymond