Heaven and Hell is a band that has a lot to live up to. Almost 30 years ago this line-up (with Bill Ward in place of Vinny Appice) recorded one of the best heavy metal albums of all, completely revitalising the career of a band that was on the verge of being relegated to rock's history file. Even when these four elder statesmen of metal reconvened there was speculation a full album would ensue, and at last such a beast has emerged. The last time these guys got together the result was less than spectacular, hamstrung by clashing egos and old wounds, but that was long ago. Now, it seems like something that was just meant to be.
In some ways, The Devil You Know is an apt title for this album. When those gigantic riffs come crushing down and that golden voice comes in, it's like slipping into a comfortable pair of old shoes. Yet this is also darker, heavier and gloomier than anything these people have recorded in decades, and that's saying something. And perhaps because of this, I found this album to be a bit of a grower, expecting it to be more like Heaven and Hell. Instead, this is a thoroughly doom-laden volume, with very little of the upbeat rock aspects that came with the Dio-fronted Black Sabbath. Gone too are the themes of optimism and empowerment; Dio's lyrics were always strange but there was something uplifting about them. Here it sounds like he's woken up to a world where everything is black, and he's decided to leave off the analogies and present the darkness as it is. It's not until track seven, the oddly-titled "Eating the Cannibals", where the band breaks out of the slow, almost moribund trudge through the gloom they take from the moment the album begins. Because there's no obvious rock-out hits here like "Die Young" or "Neon Knights", it may take a couple of listens or more for The Devil You Know to sink its hooks in, but when it does it will become apparent just how powerful and pertinent this album is.
The Devil You Know is an ominous album, and very much one for its time. Like the first Black Sabbath releases, The Devil You Know is a mirror of the zeitgeist, a bell tolling doom in dark and troubled times. This is one of the year's best.
- Atom and Evil
- Fear
- Bible Black
- Double the Pain
- Rock N Roll Angel
- The Turn of the Screw
- Eating the Cannibals
- Follow the Tears
- Neverwhere
- Breaking into Heaven
Rating: 95%
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