Not really a fan of ether, individually, but Sabbath’s early stuff (basically up to the mid-1970s) is superior. I doubt that really had much to do with Ozzy however. After Sabbath Blood Sabbath it’s pretty much all shite to these ears.

Sabbath never excited me & Ozzy never excited me because he was a bit too freaky for my taste. Before answering, I had to look up Dio because I had NO idea who he was, so that should tell you something, Guess I don’t have a valid argument for either!!!

Is that a JoJo reference?

@LadyMarissa All of Sabbath’s early stuff was done with Ozzy as the lead singer. Ozzy left the band and Ronnie James Dio (who had been in Rainbow) joined the band. Most Sabbath purists like the early stuff with Ozzy, with Paranoid being many people’s favorite. I just prefer Dio’s greater vocal range and musicality.

@LadyMarissa: If you want to hear some Dio, google “Last in Line” and “Rainbow in the Dark.” Those are two of his popular songs outside of Sabbath.

Osmonds.

Ricky Nelson was a better singer than his father. ;-p

My daughter prefers Ozzy. I guess I’m in the minority. I was never a huge Black Sabbath fan, but I was a huge Rainbow fan. So the fact that I like Dio in Sabbath isn’t any surprise.

Honestly, there’s basically nothing about Dio that appeals to me.

@Darth_Algar Fair enough! He was a bit over the top, I grant you.

Oh, over the top can be alright. I mean, I dig Iron Maiden, even though I acknowledge they can be a bit ridiculous. But I dunno, Dio just never did it for me, for whatever reason that I’ll never be able to quantify.

@Darth_Algar Oh, I love Iron Maiden too, and they’re still making music; their last album was actually pretty good. Bruce Dickinson was a commercial airline pilot.

@Caravanfan

Have you ever heard any of Bruce Dickinson’s solo output? I mean, some of it’s absolute bunk (avoid Tattooed Millionaire entirely, Christ that album is awful and just screams “we’re just trying to cash in on the name here”). But there’s some really excellent stuff in there too. Especially once he got more serious about it. The Chemical Wedding is, in my view, the best album he’s ever recorded. And I’m including Maiden’s stuff when I say that.

@Darth_Algar Thanks! I haven’t heard The Chemical Wedding. I’ll take a listen later today.

@Caravanfan

Also Adrian Smith is involved in it, and he and Bruce just seem to really work well together. Even looking at Iron Maiden’s stuff, a lot of my favorite material seems to involve the two of them on the writing end.

Ozzy, and only the first 3 albums. Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), and Master of Reality (1971) are really good albums. The rest of Black Sabbath stuff is embarrassing, and Dio is silly.

@Darth_Algar Just put on The Chemical Wedding. You’re right, it’s a lot of fun. I’m sitting in my office in the ICU head banging with the devil sign.

@Hamb My daughter agrees with you. And welcome to Fluther!

Also, it’s Black Sabbath is nothing without Bill Ward, who was a complete monster. If you haven’t seen it, here’s a live version of War PIgs from 1970. Ward is abusing those drums, and it’s great.

@Hamb I haven’t seen that video before. Awesome.

@Hamb Just saw your profile. I should say “Welcome back”. I’m a return X 2 myself.