See, in order to replace a deity and maintain balance and purpose in life, one must replace it with another deity. The band made a risky choice in parting ways with the Prince of Darkness himself, but the choice paid dividends. Meanwhile, the progenitors of it all saw their powers diminished by the ever-worsening behavior and addictions of their iconic frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, and their own creative implosion. Judas Priest was on the rise, since '76 the undisputed rulers of all metaldom, but they would soon be challenged by a young London quintet named after a medieval artifact of torture and capital punishment. ItРІР‚в„ўs fortunate that the years following for the band would successfully follow in its footsteps, even if a bit uneven at times.Р”Р„s the 70s rode by, the grandeur of classic progressive rock started to fade, while heavy metal music continued its unstoppable, nitroglycerin-fueled ascent. Sure, music of this type existed before, but Black Sabbath really solidified it here like they did with similar sounds of the late РІР‚В60s prior. Much like when the band dropped that debut a decade earlier, they had basically re-reinvented the wheel. The impact that this had really doesnРІР‚в„ўt need to be said. РІР‚СљWishing WellРІР‚Сњ nicely places solos into the chorus to hook the listener even more, while you get РІР‚СљWalk AwayРІР‚Сњ working as a simple rock РІР‚Вn roll number. РІР‚СљLady EvilРІР‚Сњ of course is a steadier one that allows the bass to showcase itself decently, whereas opener РІР‚СљNeon KnightsРІР‚Сњ goes the other direction and showРІР‚в„ўs Black SabbathРІР‚в„ўs leap towards something far more intense without any sign of slowing. Varying these apart from one another manages to pack everything up to a point that the melodies stand out on their own and catch on very quickly. It almost works as an open-ender to keep you looking forward to whatРІР‚в„ўs next.Р”В«etween all of this is straightforward tracks to allow Heaven And HellРІР‚в„ўs refined and powerful approach to break more ground. Synths do wonders for this song! Ending with РІР‚СљLonely Is The WordРІР‚Сњ was also a solid move, as it fits in the least and contains the bluesiest progression. That one rides primarily on faster passages only to drop everything in a jarring manner for a soft and soothing bridge. WhatРІР‚в„ўs extra fun is songs doing this the opposite way, particularly РІР‚СљDie YoungРІР‚Сњ. The acoustic intro for РІР‚СљChildren Of The SeaРІР‚Сњ does this in a more subtle way, coming in with a clean and colorful lick that leads to traditional Iommi-style riffs. Other examples of this exist here, just to way lesser degrees. Even when you reach the solo, the resolution still doesnРІР‚в„ўt happen until you reach the closing vocal lines, speeding up everything that came before. Yet never at any point does it feel like it drags, because you can just feel the drop coming, like a long ass rollercoaster. The title track spends so much time riding on simple riffs, a steady bassline, and throwing vocals on the forefront.

The most notable thing about this record is the way it consistently works with progression, utilizing that to work as a rising action to what would be the climax of not only a story, but also musical avalanche. We had our SaxonРІР‚в„ўs and MotorheadРІР‚в„ўs of the time, but talk about paving the path for what I truly think would become USPM.

So the only logical way to go is reinvent themselves, and in hindsight, there really wasnРІР‚в„ўt much out there that sounded anything like Heaven And Hell. Can you imagine taking the disjointedness that was Never Say Die! and throwing that into the blender with their new frontman? Nah, a mess would ensue. You would think that bringing in Ronnie James Dio into the picture meant a merging of Black Sabbath and Rainbow, and one of the things that I love is that it simply is not.

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