[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAhFQKV-7vI[/youtube]
Metal Insider contributor Anthony Maisano is listening to a different metal album that was released on that day every day this year.
This is my favorite album of all time. It’s just a masterpiece. This album is EVERYTHING Heaven and Hell was, but with a TON more fire and energy behind the band. Songs like “Voodoo” and the title track are some of Iommi’s best riffs of all time. Period. Any era of Sabbath. Then you have songs like “Falling Off the Edge of the World” and “The Sign of the Southern Cross” which shows an ambitious side of Sabbath, which was never, ever seen before this album. “Slipping Away” has an amazingly powerful Dio chorus, and “Over and Over” might be one of Sabbath’s most depressing songs ever. Where Heaven and Hell had, what I consider to be, safer, more melodically focused material, Mob Rules is straight up heavy Sabbath material, with that untouchable Dio kick to it. Vinny Appice adds a rock solid groove that this album needed, and really compliments Geezer Butler well in a different way than Bill Ward did. He’s not as busy as Bill Ward, any my preference for Vinny is by no means a knock on Bill Ward, but I think Vinny is far heavier, and just has a great groove for these songs.
I have nothing negative to say about this album, but if I was absolutely FORCED to nitpick, I’d say that “Slipping Away” is maybe just a touch weaker in general than the rest of the songs on the album.
Favorite Tracks: “Voodoo,” “Falling Off the Edge of the World,” “The Mob Rules,” “Country Girl,” “The Sign of the Southern Cross,” “Over and Over,” “Turn Up the Night,” “Slipping Away.”
If you haven’t guessed by the fact that this is my favorite album, I couldn’t recommend it more. I love Heaven and Hell, but I honestly don’t know why it gets so much more praise than this album. Literally everything that Heaven and Hell does right, Mob Rules does better. But again, it’s just my opinion. In any case, this is an album that any metal, or hard music fan should listen to.
