MOB RULES
Black Sabbath
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We know what you’re thinking: “Wait, didn’t they skip a few albums in there somewhere? Did they put them all on Patreon or…what happened?” Rest assured, nothing has been skipped, however, we did jump ahead a little bit because “some of us” have been jonesing to fast forward through the BLACK SABBATH catalog by 3 albums or so and time travel straight to 1981 and the release of MOB RULES, the final studio album (at the time) from the legendary Ronnie James Dio era of the band.
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Tony Iommi – Guitars
Geezer Butler – Bbass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Released 11/4/1981
Recorded 1981
Label Vertigo
Producer Martin Birch
There’s a certain distinctive sonic difference between Heaven And Hell and MOB RULES, primarily with regard to production. While Heaven And Hell tends to have a more “Rainbow meets Ozzy Sabbath” sound to it, MOB RULES sounds much more like the first three Dio solo albums from the early 80’s, so much so that it almost sounds like it could pass as a Rainbow, BLACK SABBATH, or even Dio record. But, at the end of the day, if you had to say, “THIS album sounds like BLACK SABBATH with Dio”, the only correct answer would be MOB RULES.
Always remember that the difference between “hot ranch and ‘the smell of’ hot ranch” is as vast as the difference between a “frenulum piercing” and a “frenum piercing”. It’s high time we “right the wrongs” from a few episodes back and get “up close, pretty front” in order to understand that “the gravy’s got no giblets in it” when you JOIN US as we celebrate the most Ronnie James Dio sounding BLACK SABBATH album in heavy metal history as we dive into MOB RULES.
TURN UP THE NIGHT
Single Released February 1982
TURN UP THE NIGHT:
Strangely, this song almost doesn’t sound like the rest of the album…it’s more upbeat and “happy” and not doomy and dark like Sabbath usually is. Maybe a little reminiscent of Neon Knights on some level.
Also, what does “Turn Up The Night” mean exactly?
Turn up the Darkness?
Turn up the Nighttime?
Turn up the stars? (“We’re stars…”)
Or maybe “turn up the party?” The lyrics are a bit odd even for Dio as generally his lyrics are much more profound with loads of metaphors and imagery. Overall, still a solid opener.
“A rumble of thunder, I’m suddenly under your spell,
No rhyme or reason, or time of the season, but oh well…”
VOODOO:
That’s really a strange and unusual riff, the shape and the movement of it.
The lyrics on this seem far more fitting of a Dio song than “Turn Up The Night” (which, ironically is one word away from being the absolute worst KISS song of all time…even by Billiam’s standards).
Something about the guitar solos on this album REALLY slice right through the mix.
“So if a stranger sees you,
Don’t look in his eyes,
‘Cause he’s voodoo…”
THE SIGN OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS:
Maybe one of the finest songs EVER by Black Sabbath and certainly one of the finest from the Dio Era. The darker sounding vibe of the acoustic guitars combined with RJD’s eerie vocal delivery creates a powerfully mystical vibe. The lyrical imagery in this song is unmatched on ANY Sabbath record from ANY Sabbath era. Definitely dark and definitely doomy.
“From the book, the word is spoken,
Whispers from forgotten song…”
It almost feels like you’re hovering high in the air “in the misty morning on the edge of time…”
To be fair, you really have to listen to this, E5150 and The Mob Rules as one singular piece of music in the same way you’d listen to Sleeping Village, A Bit Of Finger and Warning: as a singular composition.
“If there isn’t light when no one sees,
Then how can I know what you might believe,
A story told that can’t be real,
Somehow must reflect the truth we feel…”
E5150 (or EV150):
As an instrumental, this is the sonic equivalent of anxiety and evil having a baby together. If you know anything about Roman numerals, then you understand what the title means.
“You are all…useless…”
It’s a feeling of extreme anxiety and the horrifying realization of something diabolical and evil coming out of the earth to terrorize and destroy mankind. For an actual visual representation, go check out the 1981 animated movie “Heavy Metal”.
Mob Rules
Single Released October 1981
THE MOB RULES:
“Ohhhh, come on!!!”
This is one of the few Sabbath songs of ANY era where Tony Iommi uses an SG with a tremolo (aka whammy bar). An undisputed classic. Also, there’s a slightly different version of this song on the soundtrack (and in the movie) Heavy Metal.
“It’s over it’s done,
The end has begun,
If you listen to fools,
The mob rules…”
COUNTRY GIRL:
Weirdly, this sounds like it belongs more so on a Rainbow record than on a Sabbath record, yet it still works as a Sabbath song. Considering Sabbath are all about topics that fall under the heading of “evil”, it’s safe to say that falling in love with a country girl and having her “snatch your soul away” and break your heart may just be the worst kind of evil ever to befall man.
“Don’t ever fall in love,
Don’t give your heart away,
No, never, never fall in love,
With a country girl.”
SLIPPING AWAY:
Strangely, this is similar to “Turn Up The Night” in that it seems sort of out of place, but it just works somehow. The back-and-forth soloing of Iommi and Butler and Appice’s drums leading up to the solo shred section are a nice treat that we don’t get much of anymore: actual legit JAMMING!
“No more running in a circle,
It’s time to move along,
Round, round, round we go,
A start without an end,
So I’m slipping away…”
FALLING OFF THE EDGE OF THE WORLD:
This might be the quintessential Dio Era Sabbath song. You can practically visualize a large, dimly lit castle with clouds rolling by overhead and a sad dragon perched over the gates when a storm quickly moves in, the winds pick up, the rain starts coming down and the dragon spreads its wings and flies off into the black as everything that’s been previously known begins crumbling and falling away.
That riff is insane, the shape of it. To play that riff and make it sound as tight as The Master does is far more difficult than one might think.
“Help me, tell me I’m sane,
I feel a change in the earth, in the wind and the rain,
Save me, oh take me away,
You know I’ve seen some visions from Hell, and I’ve heard what they say…”
OVER AND OVER:
Perhaps one of the most profound Sabbath songs ever written about depression or a depressed state of mind. And maybe one of the most melodically doomy songs in all of metal, certainly in all of Sabbath.
The guitar solo (and really the entire song) is very much an exercise in melancholy. This song might be more sad than Lonely Is The Word as there is a palpably overwhelming sadness and desolate loneliness that permeates the song musically and lyrically. Pure poetry.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m dying at dawn,
And sometimes I’m warm as fire,
But lately I feel like I’m just gonna rain,
And it goes over, and over, and over again…”
Show Notes:
(00:01): “That’s a recoil…” / #brother / #darkchocolaterum from #Roatan / #RussellsReflectionsCocktailEdition / #deadmansfingers #thisepisodesclinkyoftheepisode / #andbegin / ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “That was a hardcore song…”/ ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!*** / “Servin’ it up and suckin’ it down…” / #thisepisodesbeeroftheepisode #MangoCart
Beer Of The Episode
Golden Road Brewing
Mango Cart
#GoldenRoadBrewing / #McJonalds / “It’s how women jerk off…”/ “You don’t wanna skip…that’s a waste…”/ #moneyshot / “That’s probably my least favorite porn…”/ “I need a plot and a story and a director…”/ “The new things…for you kids today…”/ #Manscaped #FathersDayGiftIdeas / “Dude, what if he’s got Magnum P.I. pubes?” / ***Go to manscaped.com and enter promo code METAL for 20% off and free shipping!!!*** / “I’m just gonna be myself…and read this.”/ “He’s got #sideburns on them balls…”/ #thetotalpackage / “What’s a #zaddy ?”/ #seedlessseed / “The gravy’s got no giblets in it…”/ #testimonies #facepubes (“This is a very well used instrument in my bathroom…”) / “I thought about putting that other places…”/ “I went a little bit further…”/ #yourballswillthankyou / “Sometimes it just takes one word…” / “Are you fucking kidding me!?”
(12:00): #PatreonShoutout #MetalNerderyPatreon / “That’s a good band name…”/ #loveyoumeanit / “Patreon should get the first listen to the #Doomsicle tracks…”/ “That is a killer segue into The Wizard…”/ #Albatross & #IommiWorship / #newpiercingtechnology (“I saw it on 2 different ladies…”) / #markthetime (“You’ve got something in your teeth…”) / “The one I saw was in the butt…”/ “It was in the 2nd hole…”/ “Did you get your teeth pierced?” / #frenulumpiercing #smileypiercing / “Where does it stop?” / “Ask yourself, is that Patreon material?” / “This was obviously the before picture…”/ “Dude, this was NOT coffee, brother…”
(20:02): “We have something to share…”/ “Basically, we played the wrong band…” / #Imminence #BeyondThePale / “We’re gonna right the wrongs…” / “They’re from the Netherlands…I think they’re #Dutchish …”/ #BeyondThePale STORM EN DRIFT
#subtitles (“They’re on top of a building…”) and THE AGE OF THE PARIAH (“It’s kinda hooky…that riff.”) / #melodicdeathmetal / Hail to #bolth the song & the band
(25:13): ***IF YOU’D LIKE TO GIVE US A CALL AND LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL YOU CAN DO SO AT 980-666-8182*** or check us out on the #socialmedia at #Instagram and #Facebook and #YouTube or you can email us at metalnerdery@gmail.com / Ken from Connecticut and some clarification regarding the whole #BeyondThePale incident / “You could kinda say it’s their #BlackAlbum …”/ “You could totally do comedy dude, it’s literally that easy…”/ “If you’re a #pianist …it sounds like #penised #pasttense …” / #tromboner / #RussellsReflectionsComedyEdition #TheNewPunchline #PunchlineComedyClub (“There’s probably still coke residue on the walls…”) / “I think he’s kidding…he’s trolling…he thinks it’s all done.”/ #LandmarkDiner / “The overall experience was just sad to me…”/ “That’s how you get better…”/ #thehits and #oldbits (“If it’s funny, it’s funny.”) / #upcloseprettyfront (“Up close, pretty front…we were pretty close up front…”) / “The way that finished…we’re gonna get canceled…”
(36:05): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST Presents: BLACK SABBATH – MOB RULES / #BlackSabbath #MobRules #MobRulesBone / #RainbowSabbath / “To me, Mob Rules sounds like #Dio …”/ “Is this the GOOD Sabbath or the BAD Sabbath?” / “It’s not #OzzySabbath …”/ “No, it’s different…” / #VanHalen vs #VanHagar / “I’m the guy in the middle of the argument…”/ #caughtinthemiddle / “Who had more hits?” / “But, fuck…”/ “That’s #JourneyVanHalen …”/ “That’s what we should do…split up the whole thing…” / “Martin Birch produced it…” / #tangentional / Released November 4, 1981 (“It sounds more modern than 1981…”) / “After all that buildup…”/ TURN UP THE NIGHT / “It kinda almost sounds like Neon Knights Part II…”/ “It chugs…”/ “I’ve heard it pronounced so many ways…” / “One of the weirdest riffs…” / VOODOO (“Sounds like #DeepPurple…sounds like #Rainbow…”) / “Rainbow…Sabbath…or Dio?”
(49:50): “The next song is one of the best songs ever written…” / THE SIGN OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS (“that sounds like it was recorded ‘on a misty morning’…”) / “That sounds like #doommetal … / “From the book the word is spoken, whispers from forgotten song…”/ #ShelbysBalls / “I heard the first 3 Dio albums first, and THEN heard this…”/ “You are all…useless…”/ E5150 (or EV150) / “If evil and anxiety had a baby…”/ “Evil in #romannumerals …”/ “And now you’ve ruined it…”/ “This reminds me of the movie #HeavyMetal a little bit…” / #HeavyMetalSoundtrack / THE MOB RULES (“Ohhhh, come on!!!”) / “I’m gonna vomit my thoughts…”/ #DioVsOzzy #IronMullet / “They enter the ring, and one of them is dead (snaps) instantly…”/ “I like when you get excited…”
(1:01:34): “Can she make good cornbread?” / COUNTRY GIRL #killeropener #sidetwo / “That’s a Sabbath riff, for sure…”/ “The next one…has a bass solo, guitar solo showdown in the middle…”/ SLIPPING AWAY (“This is 80’s all day…I hear #Zeppelin…”) / “Metallica should do that on their next album…”/ “They could have kept that going a little while longer…”/ NOTE: the #LedZeppelin song in question was actually Custard Pie, not The Wanton Song / #deepcut FALLING OFF THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (***Be sure to check out our #DioEraSabbath and #RonnieJamesDio episodes…***) / “Like a clean tiger…or a shiny diamond.”/ “This next riff is fucking crazy…”/ #nimblethimbles / “Can you #markthetime so I can make sure and talk over it?”/ OVER AND OVER (“Oh who’s talkin’ now!?”) / #outrosolo / “That was angsty…”/ “It reminded me of that part on #MasterOfPuppets …it was an accident.” / “I think they were married for like a week…”/ #yousureaboutthat? / #allegedly / “Briefly engaged…different than married.”/ “You know what that’s never happened with, ever?” / #drugpsychosis (“This makes you different…”) / “The biggest dick move of your life?” / “Usually that comes with a price tag…”/ “Historically speaking…I’ve got a low blow tolerance…but I’ve never gotten #blackoutstoned and thrown a bong at somebody’s face before…” / ***THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!!*** / ***Come on down to the #BunkerpoonGiftShoppe and get your #MetalNerderyPodcastMerch at metalnerdery.com/merch *** / #outroreel