Newly released are two classic Ronnie James Dio-fronted Black Sabbath albums — 1980's Heaven And Hell and 1982's Mob Rules. Each record was issued digitally, as a double-CD and two-LP set. Due to space constraints, both vinyl editions include a selection of bonus material from the CD's.
Tony Iommi told us that the band's legion of fans embraced the great Ronnie James Dio and the group's turn-of-the-decade rebirth: “The fans stuck with us — I mean, obviously, you're going to get some that didn't agree with it. When we first went out with Ronnie, we believed in what we did and we loved what we were doing, and so, we weren't trying to cover anything up. We just went out and done it (sic), and we got the odd one or two, who'd shout 'Ozzy,' and stuff — but that soon went off once they got used to Ronnie and accepted him into the band. I mean it is so difficult to change a lead singer in a band. And a lot of bands have really fallen by the wayside by trying to do things like that. But we really believed in what we were doing — and loved what we were doing and (it was) just nice to see the crowd with us, really.”
Iommi admitted he still has a soft spot for both the Dio-fronted albums: “Those two albums, I really do love. I mean, Heaven And Hell was the initial one and that was a groundbreaking thing for us, because it was so different to what we've done before. And I knew that those songs were really good. They just felt — y'know when you get that feeling that this is it, this is great. And I've always worked — I have to like it first. If I don't like it, it's not worth trying to record it and put it out.”