| Mob Rules | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Black Sabbath | ||||
| Released | 4 November 1981 | |||
| Recorded | 1981 at The Record Plant, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 40:25 | |||
| Label | Vertigo Warner Bros. (US/Canada) |
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| Producer | Martin Birch | |||
| Black Sabbath chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Rolling Stone | [2] |
Mob Rules is Black Sabbath's tenth studio album, released in November 1981. It peaked at number 29 on the U.S. charts.[3]
In the UK, it became the fourth Black Sabbath studio-album to attain Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in February 1982.
Contents |
It was the first album to feature Vinny Appice on drums, who had replaced original member Bill Ward in the middle of the tour in support of the previous year's Heaven and Hell.
The cover art is a modified version of artist Greg Hildebrandt's piece entitled Dream 1: Crucifiers from 1971, with Black Sabbath licensing its use for the cover of Mob Rules. The original artwork has been augmented for the album, where not only have the band and album names been conspicuously added to the back wall, but also the hook hanging on the left side of the structure was changed to a crucifix, and the stain in the middle of the structure has been altered to resemble a devil's head. Lastly, Greg Hildebrandt's name has been added to the bottom center of the piece, as the original was rectangular in shape with the artist's name and year in the lower left corner, thus being truncated in the album's square presentation. The lyrical themes are dark, notably on tracks such as "The Sign of the Southern Cross" and "Falling Off the Edge of the World".
The Live Evil album was recorded on the Mob Rules tour. The album is included in the Black Sabbath box set The Rules of Hell.[4] The Mob Rules lineup toured under the name Heaven & Hell from 2006 until Ronnie James Dio's death in 2010. Their only album, The Devil You Know, was released in 2009.
All songs were written by Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler. All lyrics were written by Ronnie James Dio.[5]
This is a repackaging of the previously released Limited Edition CD Live at Hammersmith Odeon
This instrumental interlude became the concert opener on the supporting tour, replacing "Supertzar", which had been used since 1975. "E5150" would also be the opener on subsequent tours with Dio. The title is "EVIL" as roughly translated from Roman numerals: 5=V, 1=I and 50=L.
A different recording of the title track appeared in the animated motion picture Heavy Metal and is featured on the soundtrack album. In the UK, a 7" and 12" picture-sleeve single of Mob Rules (album version) preceded the album release. The B-side was a previously unavailable live version of "Die Young" (the studio version of which is on the Heaven and Hell album).
| Year | Song | Chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Singles Chart |
US Mainstream Rock |
US Modern Rock |
UK Singles Chart |
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| 1981 | "The Mob Rules"/"Die Young" | — | — | — | 46 |
| 1982 | "Turn Up the Night"/"Lonely Is the Word" | — | 24 | — | 37 |
| 1982 | "Voodoo" | — | 46 | — | — |
| 1982 | "E5150" | — | — | — | — |
| Region | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | November 1981 | Vertigo Records |
| United States | November 1981 | Warner Bros. Records |
| Canada | November 1981 | Warner Bros. Records |
| United Kingdom | 1996 | Castle Communications |
| United Kingdom | 2004 | Sanctuary Records |
| United States | October 2008 | Rhino Records |
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RIAA certification[7] (United States)
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BPI certification[8] (United Kingdom)
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CRIA certification[9] (Canada)
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| Book: Black Sabbath | |
| Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. | |
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