Deluxe editions of Black Sabbath’s 80s albums ‘Heaven & Hell’ and ‘Mob Rules’ due in March

For the past decade, it’s felt as if Black Sabbath have ignored their post-Ozzy legacy.  Although the first six albums with Osbourne will always represent their most career defining work, there’s no getting around the fact that 1980’s ‘Heaven & Hell’ and the following year’s ‘Mob Rules’ – both recorded with vocal powerhouse Ronnie James Dio – are often cited among fan favourites.

Both albums were issued as 2CD deluxe editions back in 2010, but have been out of print for some time.  A reissue of those sets would have been welcomed, but two new editions – release date 5/3/21 – offer the bulk of that material with some.variation.

Continue reading

JORN – Heavy Rock Radio

jorn heavy rock radio lpPossessed with one of the biggest voices in rock – possibly the biggest, alongside his regular collaborator Russell Allen – Jorn Lande has carved out a career with some great releases over the years. His place as Dio’s natural successor is very much assured due to a few albums of self-penned material often presenting well-honed performances. He’s also fond of a cover tune or six: his 2010 album ‘Dio’, in particular, did exactly what it said on the tin, with Lande putting his stamp on tunes originally brought into the public eye by the late, great Ronnie James, the results meeting critical acclaim. Some six years on from his Dio-fest, Lande’s eleventh studio album ‘Heavy Rock Radio’ finds the huge voiced Norwegian wheeling out more covers. This time, however, the results are sometimes questionable. So questionable in places, the disc could have perhaps been subtitled “Jesus Christ, How Did This Happen?”. The answer to that should-be-rhetorical question, of course, simply being “because he’s Jorn Lande”. As most people know, with Jorn you only get Jorn, and that means – whatever the material in hand – it’s very much a case of “dials up to eleven and needle in the red” all the way. In this respect, he’s very much made each of the cuts his own, but frankly, his choices don’t always work.

Continue reading

Tracklist revealed for Rainbow box set

At the end of January, rock legends Rainbow will release a six disc, career spanning box set.  Much speculation has been made as to what the set supposedly contains.  Even at the time of writing, Amazon UK does not share any details.

Although its been common knowledge for some time that the set will contain many unreleased gems, things have been quiet on the tracklist front, but you can now check out the full contents below.   Of particular note is the inclusion of the live version of ‘Stargazer’ (previously only available on the Monsters of Rock 1980 live LP) and a DVD containing the TV broadcast version of that same headline performance, clocking in at approximately half an hour.  The Donington film has been bootlegged many times, but this set marks the first time it has been issued in an official capacity.

‘A Light In The Black’ tracklist:

Continue reading