{"id":41607,"date":"2009-07-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-07-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/mob-rules-2\/"},"modified":"2009-07-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-07-16T00:00:00","slug":"mob-rules-2","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/mob-rules-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Mob Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

A decade into their career, Black Sabbath had definitely earned the label of \u201csurvivors,\u201d having dealt with the departure\/firing \u2013 depending on whose story you believe \u2013 of vocalist Ozzy Osbourne and replacing him with former Elf\/Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. The fact that Black Sabbath could put out such a strong album in Heaven And Hell<\/i>, Dio\u2019s first fronting the band, was even more evidence that the group could survive tough times.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p>But the follow-up release, Mob Rules<\/i>, dares to suggest that the decline that was seen in albums like Technical Ecstacy<\/i> and Never Say Die<\/i> was not only back in force, but was in high gear. It\u2019s not that this is a bad album, but it hardly conjures up the dark images and sense of foreboding that early Black Sabbath albums just dripped. This release featured Black Sabbath more as a heavy metal band rather than a doom-and-gloom group \u2013 and the change is not welcome.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p>After maintaining a stable lineup for most of the \u201870s, Mob Rules<\/i> is the second Black Sabbath album in a row to feature a change in personnel \u2013 something that would become rote for Tony Iommi for the remainder of Black Sabbath\u2019s career. Out was long-time drummer Bill Ward; in was Vinny Appice. I can\u2019t rightfully say whether the change was good or bad \u2013 honestly, it\u2019s hardly noticeable at times. This is actually meant more as a compliment to Appice, as his traps work fits in well with the overall sound.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p>It\u2019s not that the musicianship is at fault with this disc \u2013 indeed, Iommi\u2019s transformation as a guitarist continues with this release, and his solos remain quite tasty. Nor is it any fault with Dio\u2019s vocals, though he doesn\u2019t sound quite as menacing on this disc as he did on Heaven And Hell<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p>Therein, actually, lies the problem with this album, something the listener is able to pick up on from the opening track \u201cTurn Up The Night.\u201d The bulk of the nine songs on this disc are written more in the vein of standard heavy metal; \u201cTurn Up The Night\u201d wouldn\u2019t have sounded out of place on rock radio at the time. Tracks like \u201cCountry Girl,\u201d \u201cSlipping Away,\u201d and even the title track, just don\u2019t sound like typical Black Sabbath songs. Maybe it was that Iommi and crew were tired of writing about the darkness and wanted to brighten things up a little bit. (And I\u2019m not putting on blinders by ignoring the fact that even some of the latter Osbourne-era work wasn\u2019t nearly as dark as their earliest material.) Maybe it\u2019s that a vocalist with a style like Dio\u2019s almost seems to demand more mystic fare.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p>Ah, but even when Black Sabbath does<\/i> turn a little more into the black, as on songs like \u201cVoodoo\u201d and \u201cThe Sign Of The Southern Cross,\u201d the end results generate little more than a \u201cmeh\u201d reaction from the listener. What happened to the Black Sabbath whose even hinting at the dark overlord could scare the hell out of \u2013 or should that be into<\/i>? \u2013 the listener?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p>If taken merely as a metal album by a typical \u201880s metal band, Mob Rules<\/i> isn\u2019t a terrible way to spend 40 minutes. But longtime fans of Black Sabbath might find themselves questioning if this was, truly, the band they knew and loved. Heaven knows they would be asking that question for a good portion of Sabbath\u2019s latter years.<\/p>\n

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