IN SEARCH OF CD BOX SETS - VOLUME IV

[RJhog (Admin)]

I spent some time listening to Black Sabbath this week.  Specifically, the Ronnie James Dio era box set entitled "The Rules of Hell".  And that is the subject at hand for this volume.  I have to say that I am truly enjoying going through these box sets from front to back.  After all, that's what I bought 'em for, right?

So let's get to it.  The Rules of Hell was released by Rhino in 2008.  The physical product comes packaged in a black cardboard box.  The CD's are in jewel cases and they sit in a tray that slides in and out of the cover box.  The front of the cover box is embossed with a cross superimposed over a circle, with each of the names of the albums that are contained inside printed in the circle.

The material included consists of the three studio albums released by the Dio era band as well as a live album.  Those albums are Heaven & Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981), Live Evil (1082) and Dehumanizer (1992).  There is also a bonus disc which was exclusive to Best Buy (this is the version discussed here).  The bonus disc contains five songs from the previously released Live at Hammersmith Odeon.  The tracks are Neon Knights, The Mob Rules, Children of the Grave, Voodoo and Country Girl.  So it's a pretty straight forward, fairly complete coverage of the RJ Dio fronted version of the band to that point.   There were three new songs recorded by the band for the Black Sabbath: The Dio Years compilation, but those are missing, so you can't call it complete.  

Nonetheless, it's got a lot of good music.  Of course, Heaven & Hell is a terrific album, with Neon Knights, Children of the Sea, Lady Evil and the title track being the standouts for me.  I'm not as big a fan of the follow-up, Mob Rules, though it's not too shabby.  I particularly like the songs The Sign of the Southern Cross, The Mob Rules and Country Girl. The two disc live album is okay, but it's really weird listening to Dio sing Ozzy's songs.  I mean, Dio was a terrific singer, much better technically than Ozzy, but Ozzy just had a particular sound that fit those songs so well.  Ozzy probably doesn't sound good singing Dio's songs either.  As far as Dehumanizer goes, I really didn't think it was all that good before.  But I really liked it this time around, maybe even more than Mob Rules.  I thoroughly enjoyed TV Crimes, Letters From Earth, Time Machine, Sins of the Father and Too Late.  It comes across to me as a more aggressive record, especially Dio's vocals.  Finally, the bonus disc is nice to have as part of the collection, but it's certainly not necessary.  

As far as availability goes, the set is out of print and you have to purchase it from second hand sellers.  The best price on Amazon right now is $69.99.  I do not remember how much I paid for it at Best Buy.  That price is probably a bit high based on the value, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless you are just a collector.  But if you are a collector, you probably already own it.

For a complete track list, click HERE.

[Scott]

I picked up the Deluxe sets of Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules, they are great!  Also, I have the Dio Years compilation with the bonus tracks you're missing.  THat's all I own the of Dio era Sabbath releases and its close enough to complete for me.  I think that 2009 release under the band name "Heaven & Hell" was one I didnt quite get into so its missing for me as well.

But I'll say this, those first two Dio lead albums and the deluxe packaging are stellar inclusions in my collection and though I prefer Dio's Sabbath debut, Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules has held up very well!  Better than I remember, so maybe Jon is onto something about that one...

[RJhog (Admin)]

Out of curiosity, have you ever heard Dehumanizer?

[Scott]

Just the tracks that are on the Dio years (3 of them), but I really don't remember them.  I should go back listen again.

[RJhog (Admin)]

I was just curious.  I had heard it but not really remembered it.  Then when I listened to it this week I was surprised at how aggressive it seemed.  

[Scott]

Ive been on an aggressive kick for some time now, this may fit right in...

[TageRyche]

I have these albums separately and love them so I won't be buying this but it is good to see that you enjoyed it, especially Dehumanizer which while not having the same profile as the first two studio albums is really quite good.