So over the past week I've had a real deep dive into post Dio (the first time) Black Sabbath and honestly I'm speechless. All this time I was assured that it was absolute fucking dogshit all the way down with them progressively getting worse after Sabotage, with the only 'good' Sabbath album post-Ozzy being Heaven and Hell...but the music is actually real damn interesting.
Dehumaniser might genuinely be the best Dio Sabbath album and it reminds me so much of the switch Judas Priest made when they made Painkiller. TV Crimes is rapidly going up my list of favourite Black Sabbath tracks.
The Mob Rules carries on the vibe of Heaven and Hell without missing a beat, it's not the significant downgrade people make it out to be. Country Girl is a banger, even if the key riff is basically a recycled Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
Born Again is an interesting one, I dismissed it completely from the get go because of the absolutely awful album artwork but Ian Gillan's vocals actually work well with Sabbath and he certainly gives it his all.
The Tony Martin albums are interesting too because his vocal style is basically knockoff Dio and it's clear that that's the direction that the band wanted to go... just without Dio.
Honestly the more I'm listening, the more I'm convinced the entire narrative of Black Sabbath was shaped by a bunch of doom metal manchildren who couldn't get over Black Sabbath continuing without Ozzy. The riffs are great, the solos are great, the core band has been talented throughout their entire run and there's barely been any 'bad' tracks in the whole discography.
