HEAVEN & HELL - LIVE FROM RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL 2007

Details

• Release Year: 2007
• Genre: Music
• Plot: Comprised of former members of Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell grew out of a 2006 reunion of post-Ozzy frontman Ronnie James Dio, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Vinny Appice for the purpose of recording new tracks for a Sabbath compilation called The Dio Years. Heaven & Hell then toured, drawing deep from the Dio-era Sabbath catalogue. The masterful Heaven & Hell: Live from Radio City Music Hall is one result of that rekindled partnership, a two-hour, Gothic metal marathon filmed in 2007 before a thrilled New York City audience. Largely comprised of classic Sabbath material, the show unfolds with a deceptive ease. The seasoned bandmates play with graceful concentration even as they plunge into the maw of doomstruck power chords and grinding riffs, the wiry Dio stalking Heaven & Hell's swampy sound like some fusion of a crow and benevolent overlord. At times, it's impossible not to contradict oneself while trying to describe the group's intricate, paradoxical sound: 'Children of the Sea,' for instance, is somehow both a snaking and watery mystery. 'E5150/After All (The Dead)' is equally epic and nonchalant. 'I' is a show-stopping, nightmarish blues that leans toward the anthemic, while 'Falling Off the Edge' is highlighted by a molten rhythm and Dio's taut vocal. This is a fine outing from a historic ensemble. --Tom Keogh ;
• Cast: Ronnie James Dio, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Vinny Appice
• Runtime: 2:30
• Company: Rhino